No audio from connected 4K player. (1 Viewer)

[greggor]

All three cables are 4K cables. I know cables are good because they work when I connected the player to my Samsung. This is a SC-67 receiver problem not picking up the audio.
Even with the audio set to HDMI 1 on the X700 there is no audio.
I just tried other HDMI inputs on my receiver and this thing is a dud on all HDMI inputs. My receiver has the latest firmware update so that's not it either. Something is amiss and I'm out of ideas.

 

[greggor]

I appreciate everyone trying to help.... Thanks for the sanity check on my receiver. A thought I have is that because the receiver is 6 years old it may not like the newest toys.

 

[greggor]

Have you checked for firmware updates for your Pioneer receiver? There may be a fix that addresses some HDMI issues.

I did a quick scan of the manual for your receiver, and page 76 is the start of the video options settings. There is a V. CONV setting that probably needs to be set to OFF, and you probably want the RES set to PURE. I would also make sure all the other video processing settings listed are turned off, as well.

Yes, I did go through all of these settings. All were set to off, res is set to pure.

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

All three cables are 4K cables. I know cables are good because they work when I connected the player to my Samsung.

And the cable from your receiver to your projector is also Premium Certified?

Are you only trying 4k discs or have you also tried playing Blu-rays and DVDs?

 

[xx Brian xx]

Go to the Audio Settings on the bluray and change it to PCM and see if it plays.

[Audio Settings]

x [Digital Audio Output]
[Auto]: Normally select this. Outputs audio signals according to the status of the connected devices.
[PCM]: Outputs PCM signals from the DIGITAL OUT (COAXIAL)/HDMI OUT jack. Select this if there is no output from the connected device.

 

[David Norman]

I guess it could be an HDMI handshake issue, as you suggested. Those can be quite difficult to solve -- I never could solve the one I had between my Sony X800's audio-only HDMI 2 output and my old Pioneer Elite 94-TXH receiver. I ended up upgrading to a new Denon model which completely supports the latest HDMI 4K specs at that time. I would try updating the firmware and then look for some possible video settings in the Pioneer's manual that could pertain to 4K video.

That would be a bit concerning to me -- another combo of Elite receiver and Sony 4K player that didn't play well together though the 94 is 5-6 yrs older than the 67

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Yes, I did go through all of these settings. All were set to off, res is set to pure.

Did you also verify you have the latest firmware update for your Pioneer receiver? There appears to be an update that can be downloaded here.

FYI, the firmware update is dated from January of 2013. That had to be the very early days of 4K, so I am also wondering just how well this Pioneer model handles 4K pass through, even though it's listed in the model's features. As I mentioned earlier, my old Pioneer Elite 94-TXH couldn't handle the HDMI version 1.4 audio-only output from my Sony X800 even with the latest firmware update, even though in theory it should have (it supported HDMI v1.3, and v1.4 was supposed to be backwards compatible with v1.3).

If the updated firmware does not resolve the issue, then the HDMI switch I linked to earlier may be an inexpensive option to get you going.

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

FYI, the firmware update is dated from January of 2013. That had to be the very early days of 4K, so I am also wondering just how well this Pioneer model handles 4K pass through, even though it's listed in the model's features.

That's the key. This receiver is from 2012 and doesn't support HDMI 2.0. This standard was released in September 2013, 9 months after the last firmware update. 2.0 is needed for 4k video.

 

[greggor]

Go to the Audio Settings on the bluray and change it to PCM and see if it plays.

[Audio Settings]

x [Digital Audio Output]
[Auto]: Normally select this. Outputs audio signals according to the status of the connected devices.
[PCM]: Outputs PCM signals from the DIGITAL OUT (COAXIAL)/HDMI OUT jack. Select this if there is no output from the connected device.

Tried that and no joy.

Did you also verify you have the latest firmware update for your Pioneer receiver? There appears to be an update that can be downloaded here.

.

Thanks, I Have verified that I have the latest firmware update.

That's the key. This receiver is from 2012 and doesn't support HDMI 2.0. This standard was released in September 2013, 9 months after the last firmware update. 2.0 is needed for 4k video.

I believe you are correct. My SC-67 just isn't compatible with the latest firmware update.

And the cable from your receiver to your projector is also Premium Certified?

Are you only trying 4k discs or have you also tried playing Blu-rays and DVDs?

Yes, the cable going to my projector is 4k certified

I have tried multiple sources; DVD, BluRay, Netflix. Youtube etc. No audio using HDMI 1 on the rear of the X700


My options are limited to either 1. Running a separate cable to my projector, 2. Using the HDMI switch that Scott recommended or 3. Upgrading my receiver. I like the 3rd option the best but it's just not in the budget right now because I would want something in the flagship range of whatever brand and model I went with. I'll try the switch first and see how that works and go from there. I like the player. Picture quality is outstanding and it sounds amazing. This is with the audio connected to my receivers HDMI input and the HDMI cable from my projector connected to HDMI 1 on the back of the X700.

I greatly appreciate everyone's help. Thank you! Once again everyone has proven why this is the best place on the internet to get answers.

 

[JohnRice]

What baffles me is why it works from the HDMI2 output, but not HDMI1.

I have to toss this in, under the circumstance. You said you want a "Flagship" receiver. Have you considered going separates (preamp/power amps(s)) instead? There are many benefits.

 

[greggor]

John,

The X700 has two outputs on the back. HDMI produces video and audio but will only send the video through my receiver. HDM2 only sends audio and will send the audio through my receiver. The issue is with the version of 4K HDMI my receiver will handle. I'll keep this player and connect two separate HDMI cables (audio out from HDMI 2 and Video out from HDMI 1 directly to my second HDMI input on my projector.

No need to sell me on separates as I agree they are really the way to but they're just not in the budget right now. When I start to research an upgrade from my SC-67 I'll look at separates as well. Do you have any budget friendly suggestions with all the bells and whistles? I run a 7.1 channel system with bi-amped front speakers....

 

[JohnRice]

As far as budget friendly preamps, you have a couple options. You can get a less expensive one from Emotiva or Outlaw, for example. Emotiva currently has a 7.1 model for $699 and Outlaw has one for $929. What I prefer to do is wait for Marantz (or someone else) to introduce a new model. With Marantz in particular, there is typically a narrow window when the previous model is available at a 50%+ discount. Early last year I got the AV7703 for $1050 instead of the regular $2200. Then, you might get something like a pair of Outlaw 5000s or Emotiva A-5175s for reasonably priced power. You'd have 10 channels available, but you don't have to use them all.

BTW, bi-amping with a receiver is pretty much a waste. Playing surround sound with a receiver, you run out of power supply (power coming in) long before you run out of total amplifier power (power going out). When the available power coming in is exhausted, there's nothing you can do about it. It's used up. There's possibly a benefit of presenting the amps with a less complex load, which might give a benefit, but that's a big "might". The only way to get more power is with more power, and there is such a thing as better power, as in, the amp maintaining better control over the speaker. Bi-amping with a receiver is mostly marketing BS.

 

[greggor]

I'm bi-amping using the Adcom GFA-555 for the fronts. I like Marantz products so I'll keep my eyes open for a deal when I'm ready to upgrade. I'm always looking for external amps juts to keep an eye on costs.

 

[JohnRice]

I'm bi-amping using the Adcom GFA-555 for the fronts.

So, you have two GFA-555s, with each one bi-amping one speaker?

 

[greggor]

One channel each speaker from the GFA and one channel each speaker from the SC-67

 

[JohnRice]

That's the wrong way to bi-amp. You'll have a gain mismatch between the two signals, and an imbalance in the sound. Over the years I've explored bi-amping, and most of the time it's done wrong, or doesn't produce anywhere near what it's expected to. I got curious about it because Jim Thiel, who designed my speakers, wasn't a fan of bi-amping. My conclusion was that in 99.9% of situations, the best solution is just a single, high quality, powerful amp. Also, it seems that very few people are remotely aware of the concept of gain in an audio system. You can't just cobble things together and expect them to function as intended.

 

[greggor]

So, you have two GFA-555s, with each one bi-amping one speaker?

That's the wrong way to bi-amp. You'll have a gain mismatch between the two signals, and an imbalance in the sound. Over the years I've explored bi-amping, and most of the time it's done wrong, or doesn't produce anywhere near what it's expected to. I got curious about it because Jim Thiel, who designed my speakers, wasn't a fan of bi-amping. My conclusion was that in 99.9% of situations, the best solution is just a single, high quality, powerful amp. Also, it seems that very few people are remotely aware of the concept of gain in an audio system. You can't just cobble things together and expect them to function as intended.

Well all I can say is that in my system it sounds amazing and there is a very big difference between just running my two front speakers from my SC-67. Maybe the pioneers MCACC calibration has helped balance things out.

 

[JohnRice]

Actually, the MCACC could straighten things out to some degree. What I wonder is, do you know which amp is powering which driver(s)? Ideally, the Adcom would power the woofer(s). I have no doubt there is a difference in the sound it produces. That's not really the issue.

 

[greggor]

Actually, the MCACC could straighten things out to some degree. What I wonder is, do you know which amp is powering which driver(s)? Ideally, the Adcom would power the woofer(s). I have no doubt there is a difference in the sound it produces. That's not really the issue.

The Adcom powers the drivers and the SC-67 powers the tweeters. It really does make a difference and I've tried using just the Adcom for the fronts and it sounded good. When I bi-amped the highs using my SC-67 it really opened things up. There's a level of dynamic range that didn't exist with the SC-67 or with just using the Adcom.

 

[David Norman]

One other thought admittedly a long-shot -- have you contacted Pioneer and gotten their input. Maybe they are aware of a solution or possibly even a beta firmware patch that might increase the compatibility or at least could tell you straight up it's a lost cause.\.

I don't know how much it's a firmware limitation or how much might be completely a hardware barrier