Tech note: Arris DCX3600-M / Samsung TV's/HDMI issues

[Annoyed]

Had to replace the cable co provided DVR, a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300 which I had used for years, but finally gave up the ghost.

Replacement provided by Time Warner is an Arris DCX3600-M
And immediately noticed that automatic system startup/shut down that is done via HDMI stopped working right.. minor squabble, I can turn things on and off..

But more importantly, it broke the ARC (audio return channel) function of HDMI between the receiver and the TV; no sound when the TV is the source (netflix, broadcast TV, etc.)

It seems there is an issue with HDMI implementation on these new DVR boxes. While they don't participate in HDMI, there's something about it that breaks HDMI-CEC.

TW was no help on the issue, so I turned to the 'net.
Seems that you can bandaid this by preventing pin 13 on the HDMI cable that connects to the DVR box. It took about 45 minutes to do it, but I cut a very thin slice of packing tape (less than 1/16 in.) and covered that connector on the HDMI cable.. and Voila! everything behaving again. I'm gonna try to come up with some more permanent solution till Arris/TW fixes this, but that's what you have to do, prevent pin 13 from making contact.

Just thought I would pass this along in case anyone else hits the issue.

[mad_gater]

Had to replace the cable co provided DVR, a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300 which I had used for years, but finally gave up the ghost.

Replacement provided by Time Warner is an Arris DCX3600-M
And immediately noticed that automatic system startup/shut down that is done via HDMI stopped working right.. minor squabble, I can turn things on and off..

But more importantly, it broke the ARC (audio return channel) function of HDMI between the receiver and the TV; no sound when the TV is the source (netflix, broadcast TV, etc.)

It seems there is an issue with HDMI implementation on these new DVR boxes. While they don't participate in HDMI, there's something about it that breaks HDMI-CEC.

TW was no help on the issue, so I turned to the 'net.
Seems that you can bandaid this by preventing pin 13 on the HDMI cable that connects to the DVR box. It took about 45 minutes to do it, but I cut a very thin slice of packing tape (less than 1/16 in.) and covered that connector on the HDMI cable.. and Voila! everything behaving again. I'm gonna try to come up with some more permanent solution till Arris/TW fixes this, but that's what you have to do, prevent pin 13 from making contact.

Just thought I would pass this along in case anyone else hits the issue.

No alternative way of connecting the DVR box to the TV? The DVR box we have is connected via component cables, not via HDMI. If yours can be hooked up via component cables you can also try that until the HDMI connectivity issue gets fixed.

[Annoyed]

It does offer component as a option, but then you are using 4-5 cables (3 video and one or two for audio). Additionally, many consumer devices limit the resolution of component to 720 because there is no HDCP implementation possible.

Also, you lose the automatic source switching in the receiver when you go component; you have to manually select which input you want video / audio from rather than the equipment handling it automatically via HDMI

And finally, while I can access the rear of the cable box by reaching around, rewiring to use component would require moving the whole assembly out from the wall to get at the rear of the receiver, and I can't move this bastage on my own.