HDMI surge protection
Discussion
beanbag said:
Can anyone recommend a good quality HDMI surge protector. Every time our A/C kicks in the amp has a fit and the connection is lost temporarily.
All the devices in the system are plugged into an APC UPS but I’m still getting the problem.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
An inverter UPS letting through spikes ?All the devices in the system are plugged into an APC UPS but I’m still getting the problem.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
pretty poor performance.
This is what I thought. I also tried with an APC voltage regulator without any luck. You’d hear the damn thing working each time the AC would kick in as it would click. That’s now feeding my server protecting it from surges.
It’s only the HDMI signal that’s affected. It must have something to do with noise but I’m no expert. It’s just driving me mad as it’s impossible to watch a movie without losing the picture every ten minutes or so for a second or two. Drives us insane with cliffhangers!!
I just want to find a solution to it...
It’s only the HDMI signal that’s affected. It must have something to do with noise but I’m no expert. It’s just driving me mad as it’s impossible to watch a movie without losing the picture every ten minutes or so for a second or two. Drives us insane with cliffhangers!!
I just want to find a solution to it...
OldGermanHeaps said:
How long is your hdmi lead? Tried an active amp or hdbt extender?
Sorry...busy weekend....anniversary so PH was put on hold 
The cable is about 5m long as it has to go behind the fireplace into the TV mounted above it, so it's not too long or overstretched.
What I'm going to try now is an HDMI surge protector. If that doesn't work, I'll returned it and exchange for a signal booster and I'll change the cables. The current ones are suitable for 1080p, but not 4K, although that shouldn't matter as my amp (Yamaha RX-V1900), does not support 4K. However maybe a better quality cable with more shielding will work?
Need to get to the bottom of this...
Just an update on this if anyone is interested.
I've managed to solve the problem by using an HDMI switch and by-passing the HDMI ports on the amp. There's clearly a fault with these. I can still use the amp without any issues by simply using a TOSLINK fibre optic cable from TV to the amp.
Since then I've had no issues whatsoever.
Moreover, as my amp doesn't support 4K, I plan to upgrade the switch to a 4K compatible one thereby giving me an update at the same time. I don't plan to replace the amp as that's a pretty hefty cost I can't justify.
I've managed to solve the problem by using an HDMI switch and by-passing the HDMI ports on the amp. There's clearly a fault with these. I can still use the amp without any issues by simply using a TOSLINK fibre optic cable from TV to the amp.
Since then I've had no issues whatsoever.
Moreover, as my amp doesn't support 4K, I plan to upgrade the switch to a 4K compatible one thereby giving me an update at the same time. I don't plan to replace the amp as that's a pretty hefty cost I can't justify.
At a guess I would say that your problem is differential voltages between the chassis of each device.
If you're using a two prong mains plug (or a two pin "figure of eight plug" into the TV) simply rotating the plug (and reversing the Live / Neutral connection) may effect a cure.
Adding the HDMI switch has most likely provided an additional path to ground between the respective chassis, resolving your issue.
This can occur when you have several devices using switch mode power supplies.
Said power supplies will usually have a relatively small capacitor connected from one side of the mains to chassis ground of the device it is powering.
With two prong plugs, it's easy for different devices to develop different AC voltage potentials across chassis.
Do you ever get a little tingle if touching a metal chassis whilst holding one of your HDMI cables?
I'm not sure if I explained this very well.
Essentially it's something like this:
You'll note that L(ive) is connected to the capacitor in one device and N(eutral) to the capacitor in the other.
This can make HDMI / SPDIF connections susceptible to the tiniest mains spike.
If you're using a two prong mains plug (or a two pin "figure of eight plug" into the TV) simply rotating the plug (and reversing the Live / Neutral connection) may effect a cure.
Adding the HDMI switch has most likely provided an additional path to ground between the respective chassis, resolving your issue.
This can occur when you have several devices using switch mode power supplies.
Said power supplies will usually have a relatively small capacitor connected from one side of the mains to chassis ground of the device it is powering.
With two prong plugs, it's easy for different devices to develop different AC voltage potentials across chassis.
Do you ever get a little tingle if touching a metal chassis whilst holding one of your HDMI cables?
I'm not sure if I explained this very well.
Essentially it's something like this:
You'll note that L(ive) is connected to the capacitor in one device and N(eutral) to the capacitor in the other.
This can make HDMI / SPDIF connections susceptible to the tiniest mains spike.
That's very interesting regarding the pin orientation. I will definitely give that a go. The question is working out which size is live and which is neutral. I am guessing it could be checked at the equipment itself, but I'm not sure about devices like my Apple TV. I did suspect it could be a ground issue but I wasn't sure how to resolve it.
I'll also check the "tingling" effect on the HDMI leads too. In the meantime, I plan to add further protection to the whole set-up by replacing the cheap HDMI switch I'm using with a more professional grade one. The better quality switches have built in surge and ESD protection so it won't do any harm. At about £80, it's not cheap but then again I'm protecting several thousand pounds worth of equipment so when you look at it this way, it's not a bad investment.
When I get a chance, I'll try and provide an update on the pin orientation.
Cheers!
I'll also check the "tingling" effect on the HDMI leads too. In the meantime, I plan to add further protection to the whole set-up by replacing the cheap HDMI switch I'm using with a more professional grade one. The better quality switches have built in surge and ESD protection so it won't do any harm. At about £80, it's not cheap but then again I'm protecting several thousand pounds worth of equipment so when you look at it this way, it's not a bad investment.
When I get a chance, I'll try and provide an update on the pin orientation.
Cheers!
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