Ask S&V

Q I have TVs connected to both of my Onkyo TX-NR636 receiver’s HDMI outputs and am finding that I need to have both sets switched on before the receiver will pass any video content. Any suggestions on what settings to look for?—Chris Hauer

A I relayed your issue to Onkyo, and they responded that it could be a triggering issue related to HDMI cable length. A too-long cable run, from a source to the receiver or from the receiver to either TV, could be causing a voltage dip in the connection, which may in turn be creating the HDMI problems you’re experiencing.

To troubleshoot the situation, first turn off HDMI-CEC control in your sources, receiver, and displays (unfortunately, different brands have different proprietary names for this function, e.g., Anynet, SimpLink, or Onkyo’s own RIHD). Next, check that HDMI pass-through, a setting that allows the source to send its signal to the display even when the AVR is in Standby mode, is enabled in the Onkyo’s setup menu. Finally, make sure all HDMI cables in your setup are well seated—just disconnect and reconnect them.

If none of that solves the problem, buy an inexpensive HDMI repeater and experiment with inserting it after your sources and before the AVR, or just after the AVR output, specifically the longest one. If all goes well, this should boost the signal level in the cable high enough so that an EDID exchange (a protocol that allows for communication between the display and video source) can properly execute.