Hey everyone. So I know the Onkyo 600 series popping thing isn't new news, but I can't seem to find info on this issue i've been having. I haven't checked the serial # to find out if I need the firmware update, but regardless, I get the popping whenever I switch to a HDMI source connected to the 605 (360 and ps3) and usually I get the pop when the system boots and such. (annoying, but I can live with it) The weird thing is that randomly whenever i'm watching tv or playing a game, the onkyo clicks (pop) and the screen image flashes on/off once (does it very fast like 1/2 of a second, so not slow enough to reset the 360, tv or ps3 signal, but still noticable) and the sound cuts out for about 1.5 seconds. Weird huh? Sometimes it doesn't happen all day, sometimes it starts and does it every 15-30 minute intervals or longer. I got this 605 used and have been using it for the last month and a half and it just started happening within the last 2 weeks. (as far as I can tell) I have not introduced any new additions to the onkyo. (tv cable box is only componant source, and has optical out,but 360 and ps3 area all hdmi out to 605, and the onkyo is set to send everything through HDMI out to tv: 360,ps3 and tv) My friend says the "hdmi handshake" pop is normal mostly, but I have no idea about the "in the middle of a show flicker/click" issue. He said it may be some kind of "security check" feature that the receiver is doing. I am getting the issue regardless of source. 360, PS3 and cable box all perform this at random intervals. Any idea or just a sign that the unit needs repair or firmware updating of some sort? I have it with about 5 inches of top clearance for heat, and it gets hot, but not too hot that I can touch it and notlose skin, but it's not something I want to linger on too long. lol Thanks for any advice!
I would contact Onkyo about it. Since it was used, I think you're finding out why the original buyer sold it. Not too many people are selling the newer Onkyos, once they get them, because they are such good performers. I, personally, use an Onkyo 805, and am loving it. Good luck!
I talked to a local receiver repair center, (who refused to touch it because of it having HDMI and the politics involved with the creation of HDMI as a source...weird, I know, but I read about that stuff too i'm just surprised he would refuse to investigate or service it) Anyway, he said that the issue could be multiple hdmi signals (from 360 and ps3) conflicting and doing their "bootleg security check" thingy to see if anything is connected that could be recording from the unit. One of those hdmi features. So i'm thinking of taking another set of component cables and connecting them from the onkyo, to the TV to let the cable box signal be input that way, instead of through the "everything I have connected" out HDMI cable. This possibly may stop the flicker thing while watching tv. If it does stop, but I continue to have the flicker with the 360 or ps3, I can live with it. I just don't want to have the wife angry with me for having tv audio go off/on multiple times during her shows. But I'm still not sure if this is the reason, or there is a hardware issue involved. (i.e. something broken/shorting internally)
I can't swear to it, but seems like someone at a home theater forum had a similar problem, and it turned out to be some cold solder joints, needed to be resoldered.
I was thinking exactly the same thing from the description of the fault.. probably under the large PSU caps which can come adrift especially when something is moved. The heat coming out is also interesting and I would check to see if there isn't a cap which has gone leaky or intermittently shorting.
Cool. Thanks guys for the idea that it might be capacitor related. Are these things easily replaced by a serviceman, or is this expensive/pricey? Also, I made a mistake on part of the setup. The cable box video out is componant straight to the television, not to the receiver and then out via HDMI. (which is everything else) So that's one reason why I thought the HDMI out wasn't playing nicely, however I am getting the video flicker through both the componant and hdmi. And i'm almost 99% sure it's not the TV having an issue. Sony sxrd model 3 years old (version the A3000 replaced) and if I leave the tv on and let it go to screensaver, I can let it sit and sit and never a flicker. Never had any performance issue with it prior to getting the onkyo a month ago. But if the receiver has a flaw, how can it affect the cable box's video, when the video isn't connected to the receiver? (the optical sound is connected though) Remember that the flicker is split second video loss, but a 1 second audio loss when it happens. The other HDMI in/out sources (360 & PS3) have the same problems, but they are only using HDMI in/out of the onkyo. The cable box is only touching the onkyo's optical in and nothing else. Let me know if there is some other hookup tests I might want to try. What about cable box componant to onkyo, and then to tv through componant?
Taker the onkyo out of the equation.. remove it completely from the setup and run the tv on cable on component for a few hours.. no flicker or messing about confirms the onkyo is causing all the problems.. Something .. anything.. connected which seems to have power supply faults can cause all kinds of bangs and pops and up's and downs and all kinds of things that may seem totally unrelated until you realise... the things all run on the same virtual ground when they are connected together..... one component throwing large spikes into that ground will affect everything else connected to a greater or lesser extent. As for price to get it fixed.. no idea.. I would fix it myself. Find somebody locally who has a rep for fixing microwaves and tv's and stereos.. that's who you need, not some shop who are scared of hdmi nonsense.
One other thing. I don't have any hum/buzz/whine so I don't think any kind of ground loop is affecting anything. I also have the cable line going through a surge protector/grounder. I have started playing the wii recently, and have not noticed this problem at all running the wii. Remember that it is componant out directly to the tv, and wii sound cables are connected to tv/passing through to the Onkyo receiver. This still doesn't eliminate much since there are 3 different setups for the devices attached. 1. Cable box: optical out to onkyo, componant video out to TV. (has audio/vid flicker) 2. Wii: Componant out to TV, RCA audio to tv/passed to onkyo. (no audio/video flicker) 3. 360/ps3: HDMI out to Onkyo. Shared HDMI cable output to TV. (both experience audio/video flicker) So i'm just confused here since each setup is slightly different, but they all share the onkyo at some point. The only exact same setup is the 360/ps3 so that makes sense that they would have the issue, but the cable box is totally different....just strange. I emailed Onkyo customer support about it and they said to do the "Hold down receiver and press standby to do a hard reset...." Why would that help in this case? I think it was a form letter reply.
A couple of things you've said makes no sense to me, so I don't understand what you're saying. ????? If you're going to tv with component from cable box, then out from tv to receiver with HDMI, that's totally wrong! I've not even seen a tv with an HDMI output. All I've seen are inputs. I, personally, say everything needs to go to the receiver first, then out to the tv. Makes for easier switching, and easier all around. Are you saying that the 360 and ps3 are going to receiver via HDMI, then a single HDMI out from receiver to tv? If so, that's correct. I'm thinking it's the tv. You have component cable from cable box, straight to tv. So, the receiver isn't involved at all with video. Yet the tv flickers. The HDMI from the receiver to the tv for video, also flickers. If it's the receiver, why does it flicker with the cable box, when it's not connected to the receiver? It's got to be the tv...........
I read from the initial post that the display on the receiver flickered? It's front panel illuminated lcd screen thing?? Might be an idea to start over with this clearly instead of getting sidetracked. TV seems fine running on it's component input. Things running through receiver have problems.. close?
To clear things up: JVC, I must have typed the #1. statement in questions kinda messy. I meant to say that the cable box has component cable out, going directly into the tv. The TV has no hdmi output or anything going "out" from the tv. Everything to the tv is "in" to the TV. Scum101, no the flicker is not "on" the receiver, the flicker happens breifly on the tv, along with a very quick audio drop and then recover. JVC, I'm still not convinced it's the tv. The main reason: The cable box and the wii are both using componant "in" to the tv, and ONLY the cable box, 360/ps3 experiences the audio/video flicker occasionnly. I have never seen this with the wii and i've been playing it alot. If the tv is bad, I would think the wii should display any of these issues. Perhaps I could switch the wii's componant input#1 with the cable input#2 port on the back of the tv and see if that changes anything, but it's still weird that if the tv went bad, how could multiple inputs go bad while leaving some fine? Now the cable box is also using optical out to the receiver, but the wii uses rca. I suppose the optical could be causing this. But in the case of the ps3/360, it uses the hdmi into the onkyo for audio, so that doesn't support that theory enough. (since they both also experience the flicker.) The setup with the onkyo makes the 360/ps3 unusable unless the correct input channel on the onkyo is switched on. For example: I turn on my tv input to my saved ps3/360 input "HDMI1". I turn on the 360. The screen stays blue until I switch the onkyo input to "game" setting. (let's say it was previously set to cbl/sat input) The screen flashes to black the 360 resets (indicating the 360 sees the video input has changed) and the xbox startup screen pops up and all is well. I guess my next test is to run the tv cable without the receiver on, to see if any flicker occurs. And to run the receiver without the tv on to see if the audio flicker ever occurs. Still weird and confusing as there is no decisive variable that =100% "here is the problem and how/why"
Just as an update. From watching the olympics and some shows recently for more than an hour, I usually have experienced the split second audio drop/reconnect issue. However, the video flicker is not happening. I am only hearing audio loss and not seeing the "usually" accompanying screen flicker.....strange.
