Are HDMI connections/cables inherently unreliable? I’ve just got a new TV and am having trouble connecting my DVD recorder. Sometimes it connects, sometimes not. The same port will work with a different device and/or cable. Because the recorder works OK when connected with a SCART cable, and worked fine on the old TV it appears that the problem is with the connection on the recorder or with the cables. I’ve read elsewhere that HDMI is a compromise and can never be perfect. Opinions?

Its often down to over smartness. One device is on, sees the other one isn’t so switches to a different input/output.

What do you mean by ‘connects’? Not selecting the right input, or not working at all?

Speculating, what it might be is, HDMI is a secure signal. The player might require the TV to be switched on first so that it’s waiting to receive the signal. It shouldn’t, but it might.

If your player can enable CEC (called various brand names, usually something-link) then you might be able to get it to send the correct codes to wake up the TV.

It does sometimes ‘see’ it and the remote on the recorder is linked to the TV. When both SCART and HDMI are connected it will show ‘HDMI 1 DVD no signal, try another input’ and then sometimes switch to AV1 and work OK, or alternatively show the warning again for AV1. Switching the recorder on and off can help. I suppose it could be the 7 year old DVD recorder not being happy speaking to the brand new TV. It appears to have got worse since the TV downloaded some new firmware, too. Why oh why can’t a TV just be a TV and not a bloody computer?

I’d be trying a new HDMI cable I reckon.

What’s connected to AV1? You’ve not got it connected to both inputs have you? Don’t do that.

I have got it connected to both, the recorder’s instructions recommend this. However, I’ve tried every connotation. Maybe Mr Sony just doesn’t like Mr Panasonic.

I can’t possibly conceive why you’d need both connected. Unless there’s some Inherent Shitness (technical term) with that particular player converting analogue sources to digital, I guess. Does it provide any sort of explanation? Or, wait, have you misread it because it’s got a big diagram showing how to connect all available options?

If it’s suddenly presenting a signal over both HDMI and SCART simultaneously, both of which have the ability to “steal focus” on the TV, it’s not a great leap to wonder why the TV set is having kittens.

Maybe Mr Sony just doesn’t like Mr Panasonic.

There shouldn’t be any compatibility issues (theoretically). With SCART a manufacturer’s ‘smart’ control features can be proprietary, however over HDMI it’s standard. Sony’s Bravia Link and Panasonic’s Viera Link are both exactly the same thing, they’re simply CEC rebranded. Enable both in the menus on the two devices, get rid of the legacy AV1 cable and if it still doesn’t work buy a new HDMI lead.

Oh, and if you’re paying more than ten quid for a HDMI cable you’re having your pants pulled down, you just need something that supports HDMI 1.4 and isn’t made of cheese. The Amazon Basics ones are decent for the money.

It’s usually not the cables, it’s the handshaking between devices and various other devices in the chain that can make them throw a wobbly.

TV’s and devices connected over HDMI do what is called a ‘Hand-shake’ as in one is looking for a incoming signal from the other device, once received it processes it and if good you get a picture, if for any reason it deems the received signal is faulty or corrupt no picture.

Its best practise to turn the TV on first then the device connected via HDMI next(I appreciate loads of people will do it in reverse and never have a issue, but your having issues so assume best practise).

If you don’t get a picture try cycling through the AV inputs until you get back to whichever HDMI input your connected via to try and reinitialise the ‘Handshake’ process.

Ignore the fact your getting a picture via AV1 as this is most likely a SCART connection so your using a completely different connection and process to display a picture.

Now my dads NEW TV(which is a Sony had a similar issue when connecting to a Youview box via HDMI, the issue on his turned out to be the display setting ie(Auto,480P,720p,1080i,1080P) cannot remember which setting it was on but changing it allowed it to see and connect properly to the You View box.

It might be worth checking what yours is set to even if its set to auto,try changing it to 720P as a starter and see what happens.

Cables can be faulty out of the box as well and develop faults over time(seen plenty over the years as a ex sky engineer)

In my experience the connectors can definitely be poor and unreliable. I have a Sony tv where one HDMI input has now failed (previously unreliable) also an Apple TV which was replaced as the connector was a bit strange and would result in lots of loud noises being generated. The wires themselves vary a lot in quality (and certainly in price)