Just bought a plasma,couple of questions....

[rumpelstiltskin]

Just a couple of little niggles.Don't laugh at me it's the first tv i've had to use an HDMI cable.The last scart socket setup up would make our Virgin box signal just come up on the screen when you switched the Virgin box on,this doesn't happen with the HDMI cable?I have to get a menu up on the TV and chose 'HDMI',then i can see the Virgin box signal?One more strange thing.When im flicking through the Virgin channels there are quite a few of them don't take up the whole screen?It's a 42 inch screen i got and theres a good 4 or 5 inches all round that isn't getting used?Anyone any ideas?Thanks!

[Tiggsy]

on my tv there was a setting to tell it which input to turn on 1st (as i have only one HDMI lead going in - with all my gear fed into an amp feeding the tv) i just turned all other inputs off....so now, turn on tv and it defaults to HDMI1

[rednotdead]

Have you changed the settings in the V+box - you need to tell it to use HDMI and that you have an HD telly. Once I'd done that it all jsut worked.

[rumpelstiltskin]

I've cured one thing.First thing i done when i got the TV was dive into the V+ Box settings and hoik everything up,HDMI,chose 1080 resolution etc and that last thing was the cause of one of the problems.I put it back to '720 wide' and all the channels are fullscreen now.Still think its a bit of a pain though to have to chose 'HDMI' with the av mode button just so you can watch the Virgin box?Missus will hate that!She's not very remote friendly,and the funny thing is she never has the bloody things out of her hands!

[Tiggsy]

but is HMDM1 the only input you need on the TV? Must be a way of telling the TV to start on that input.

[HRG.]

My Panny *should* start on the AV input but still chooses to start on the rf input

[rednotdead]

HRG. said:

My Panny *should* start on the AV input but still chooses to start on the rf input

Mine too - never been able to solve it. It does switch to AV when you turn the V+ box on though.

[headcase]

Its all down to the CEC info from the Virgin box. On your panny there is an option in the menu to eiter start up using TV or AV. If you set it to AV mode then the TV will switch to whatever AV is active at that moment in time, so if you have a DVD player plugged in to a SCART and turned on then the TV will go straight to that, the same for the HDMI inputs, the big BUT here is that not all HDMI devices actually use the CEC info properly so the Virgin box may not be telling your TV it is switched on at all even though it is.
As for the pic filling the screen then again its down to virgin, scroll through all of the HDMI picture modes, you will find there is 720, 1080 and also 720 wide and 1080 wide, pick one of the wide options and you will get your picture filling the screen.

[HRG.]

Seems logical... I shall Google it

ETA

Rednotdead, which of the AV inputs are you using, is it AV1 or something else? My default is AV2 and I reckon that could be it.

Edited by HRG. on Tuesday 6th October 18:58

[rednotdead]

HRG. said:

Rednotdead, which of the AV inputs are you using, is it AV1 or something else? My default is AV2 and I reckon that could be it.

AV1 is my V+ box. If you turn the tv on with no other device it defaults to the 'tv' input despite av being set as the default in the menu setup. As soon as you turn on the V+ box it will switch to av1.

Even more of a buggerance is trying to get the panny to select the right input with my Harmony one remote but that is another story........

[HRG.]

Just swapped mine, no difference Thought my scart was fully wired, but perhaps it isn't.

[rumpelstiltskin]

rednotdead said:

HRG. said:

Rednotdead, which of the AV inputs are you using, is it AV1 or something else? My default is AV2 and I reckon that could be it.

AV1 is my V+ box. If you turn the tv on with no other device it defaults to the 'tv' input despite av being set as the default in the menu setup. As soon as you turn on the V+ box it will switch to av1.

Even more of a buggerance is trying to get the panny to select the right input with my Harmony one remote but that is another story........

That's the way i have my LG is set up,AV1 is the V+ box,but the V+ signal doesn't come on the screen when i switch the box on?But sorry we seem to be sorting out a Panny now,i'll go away!

[headcase]

There seems to be a common problem here, we are talking V+ boxes and HDMI connections but you are using AV1 on your panny that is in fact a scart connector. You need to use HDMI1 (or 2 if thats where you plugged it in).

If you are using SCART then the panasonic looks to pin8 for its switching info, so if you V+ box is connected via scart then you need to set the V+ menu to RGB and widescreen (16:9) then the correct signal will be sent via pin 8 of the scart connector. (this does work with a panny and a V+ box, ive done it a hunderd times)

With the V+ box ,when HDMI is selected and confirmed then the SCART outputs and RF outputs are turned off.

So to use HDMI with a V+ box you need to connect using a HDMI cable and then select the HDMI input on your TV. In the V+ menu set the output to HDMI and 1080 wide, it then re adjusts and asks you to press text to confirm. Again the auto switching should work fine (im pretty sure i set up a 32s10 today with a V+ box and the auto switching was fine)

One more note with panasonic TV's and AV switching ; if you touch the AV button to manually switch to an AV channel then this STOPS the auto switching from working, to fix that you have to turn the TV off then back on again.

EDIT to add, i dont think the LG's let you specify TV or AV at power up.

Edited by headcase on Tuesday 6th October 22:12

[rumpelstiltskin]

I wouldn't have thought my TV would have to have an option of starting up on AV or TV.All i want is to switch on my V+ box and for it to appear on my TV!Sounds so simple.

[Tiggsy]

What TV is it? mines a Panny G10 and theres a list you can pull up of all the inputs, HDMI1,2,3,4 AV1,2, Free Sat, USB, Etc, Etc.....you can then tell it the order to cycle through these when you press AV on the remote or which to remove from the list. By removing all but the one we use the TV now goes to the only input we have left on the list - are you sure yours doesnt do anything similar?

[rumpelstiltskin]

It's an LG 42pq6000.As far as i know when i press the button on the remote there's a list of all the inputs come up from left to right along the bottom of the screen.I have to shuffle along them,choose the one i want(HDMI1 for V+ box)Then i will see it on the screen.

Edited by rumpelstiltskin on Wednesday 7th October 09:56

[PJ S]

Rumpels, are we talking whilst the TV is on, or off?
If the TV is on, then as headers says, the info transmitted/received is what facilitates the auto channel switching, and it may be that your LG doesn't have that functionality in-built, as part of the cost saving measures they implement to make the product meet the price they need to market it at.
Assuming it does, and the TV is off, turn on the V+ box first, then the TV, and see if the detection circuitry kicks in then.
The Panasonic works that way as well.

[Tiggsy]

OK...just read the manual for that TV off the LG website and there look like two possibles? One is to go to the option to set input labels - on my panny this can be the default name (like HDMI1) or something bespoke (like Tiggs Input) or OFF....which on my TV stops that input being used.

If that doesnt work the parental controls section of the manual talks about input blocks where you can block certain inputs you dont want.

I'd have thought one of those would work?

[rumpelstiltskin]

Tried switching the V+ box on first,then switching on the TV but it still doesn't switch over to the HDMI1 itself to show you the V+ box signal.I couldn't see it being a cost cutting thing,it should be a basic functionality thing,well,for as little as i know it should be!Looks like i'll just have to chose it by the input labels thing like i've been doing all along.For what it's worth the hd picture on this thing is stunning!Couldn't find a more value for money TV than this for £489!Im really pleased with it.

Edited by rumpelstiltskin on Wednesday 7th October 10:39

Edited by rumpelstiltskin on Wednesday 7th October 10:42

[PJ S]

From the same PQ6000 manual downloaded - make sure Simplink is turned off, otherwise you may get problematic auto-input selection if on, and not using other LG/Simplink enabled devices.
Can you get access to a DVD player with HDMI out? If so, then borrow that, and plug it in to the V+ input being used, and see if the TV responds to that.
If it does, (when you press Play rather than just turn on), then you know the detection circuitry is fully working, and the issue must lie with the V+ box - voltage too low, therefore isn't actually meeting the spec required, or isn't putting out the code/setting the flag, and you'll need it replaced.

Strange thing with the manual there, was suggestion that HDMI cables must meet 1.3 spec - afaic, HDMI was HDMI as far as a cable is concerned, and the electronics in the connected devices decided what version of HDMI spec to adhere to.
If in fact there is a cable difference regarding 1.3 compatibility, then make sure yours is 1.3 compliant, as that could be all that's stopping the functionality from working properly, irrespective of Simplink being enabled or not.