New Pioneer Elite SC-57

[Davemcc]

I just pulled out my Integra processor and put the new SC-57 in place. So far, I am unimpressed and just about ready to put it back in the box and forget about it. All the physical connections are made. I have followed the Wiring Navi on the computer disc that came with it but that program is stuck at Step 3 - Detection. I have hit the Detection key and successfully detected the receiver on the network but I cannot advance the Navi program. The program is stuck in a continuous page reload loop and hitting the Next key does nothing. There is no way to skip to the next step. It's simply stuck in limbo.

So barring the fact that the Navi doesn't work, I tried to set it up the old fashioned way. First, the HDMI connection to the TV is acting like it can't get a handshake. It will flash an image for a second every 10-12 seconds. This is with both the OSD and sat box. There seems to be no control over the HDMI setup that might fix this. The TV is only a couple years old and is HDCP compliant.

Third, the only way to detect the speakers is via MCACC. There is no manual speaker selection. Without the wiring Navi working properly and without running the sound program, there is no way to configure even a basic audio setup. This thing has been plugged in for 2 hours and I haven't heard it make a single noise yet. To my mind, there is no point to running MCACC if I can't see the instructions, process and results on the OSD.

I have to go to work soon. I will take this up again in the morning but if I can't get it resolved very, very soon, it's going to be classified as a piece of junk and go back in it's box. I can't return it because I bought it on sale at an Authorized Dealer's closing the store final sale.

Any suggestions will be helpful. At this point, I'm just frustrated.

 

[moves]

Return it.. it sounds faulty.

 

[Davemcc]

Return it.. it sounds faulty.

Read OP. Can't return it. Final store closing sale.

Update...I have sound now. I'm so accustomed to my preset volume on, I forgot to turn the volume up.

I still have intermittent HDMI image though. No combination of turning components off and on in different sequences will make the handshake.

 

[Adam]

Hi, Dave. Sorry to see that it's been frustrating. Hopefully you'll get it set up the way that you like it soon. Turning the volume up helps.

Third, the only way to detect the speakers is via MCACC. There is no manual speaker selection. Without the wiring Navi working properly and without running the sound program, there is no way to configure even a basic audio setup.

Check out page 76 of the owner's manual. That's the beginning of the "Manual speaker setup" section. I've manually configured my Pioneer Elite before.

 

[Davemcc]

I figured out the HDMI issue. I had to set the video resolution to Pure. I had it set to Auto, thinking that would be a safe setting. If I set the resolution to Auto or any 1080p setting, I get the handshake issue. Would I be correct in suggesting that as long as my resolution is set to Pure, that I have lost any potential use of video upconversion?

I have the Video Conversion on. My display is 1080p. I don't understand why I can't use the Auto resolution or 1080p output settings.

The good news is that once I could see the setup menu, I found the manual speaker setup page just to get started. Next step is getting it on the network.

 

[slipperybidness]

I figured out the HDMI issue. I had to set the video resolution to Pure. I had it set to Auto, thinking that would be a safe setting. If I set the resolution to Auto or any 1080p setting, I get the handshake issue. Would I be correct in suggesting that as long as my resolution is set to Pure, that I have lost any potential use of video upconversion?

I have the Video Conversion on. My display is 1080p. I don't understand why I can't use the Auto resolution or 1080p output settings.

The good news is that once I could see the setup menu, I found the manual speaker setup page just to get started. Next step is getting it on the network.

I have an elite reciever from a few years back. Those models are notorious for being difficult to configure. In all honesty, it was a couple of years before I was truly comfortable with tweaking all the settings and figuring everything out. In the 4-5 yrs that I've had it, I have had a few problems that I tracked to the wrong button being hit at the wrong time on the remote by mistake.

Great hardware, steep learning curve.

 

[Davemcc]

Well, I am able to watch TV now...so that's a plus.

I have managed to play music from my Escient server over the network BUT........the receiver will not display it's OSD while in the Home Group input or in the Bluetooth adapter input. It goes back into that HDMI handshake mode that displays the OSD for a second every 10 seconds or so.

Why the heck won't a $2k+ receiver show it's own display on a compatible and properly connected display? Nor be able to output video in the Auto resolution mode. Nor be able to convert to 1080p.

 

[Adam]

I think it's user error. J/K...kinda. I don't have problems with my Pioneer Elite. Then again, I read the manual... (I know, my man card has been revoked...again.)

 

[Davemcc]

I think it's user error. J/K...kinda.

Not in this case. I phoned Pioneer's tech line. I did everything they suggested to no avail. They want me to drop it at the local service depot because it actually is faulty.

Rather than do that, wait months for a repair or replacement then settle for a refurbished unit instead of the new equipment I paid for, I called the dealer in Toronto. He said that if I can get this unit there, he will exchange it for another.

Does anybody remember a certain Integra processor that was defective right out of the box and took about 10 weeks for a replacement to be shipped from Japan?

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Good to hear they will exchange it for you, Dave. Hopefully the next one works flawlessly.

 

[engtaz]

Not in this case. I phoned Pioneer's tech line. I did everything they suggested to no avail. They want me to drop it at the local service depot because it actually is faulty.

Rather than do that, wait months for a repair or replacement then settle for a refurbished unit instead of the new equipment I paid for, I called the dealer in Toronto. He said that if I can get this unit there, he will exchange it for another.

Does anybody remember a certain Integra processor that was defective right out of the box and took about 10 weeks for a replacement to be shipped from Japan?

Good to hear. Good Luck.

 

[3db]

Wow. A bag full of problems with that particular unit. Hopefully the relacement will have you up and running in less than a half hour. Reconnecting an AVR back into the rest of the system is a real b?tch I found out recently. Good luck.

 

[bkfitz]

bummer man...

 

[Davemcc]

Reconnecting an AVR back into the rest of the system is a real b?tch I found out recently. Good luck.

Actually, that part is easy. I had it wired configured correctly the first time and it didn't take long. About a half hour is right. That's the good part of HDMI. Everything was already there. Plug in speakers. Plug in HDMI. Plug in power. You're good to go.

On the other hand, it's hard to adjust settings in the GUI when you can't see the display or the menu layout. Displaying the image is the first priority and should be plug and play. Trying to figure the cause and solution to that problem was a huge distraction. I spent all my time trying to find a video setting that would cause my display to work. Getting sound barely registered on my priority list which is why something as simple as volume escaped my attention.

 

[3db]

Actually, that part is easy. I had it wired configured correctly the first time and it didn't take long. About a half hour is right. That's the good part of HDMI. Everything was already there. Plug in speakers. Plug in HDMI. Plug in power. You're good to go.

On the other hand, it's hard to adjust settings in the GUI when you can't see the display or the menu layout. Displaying the image is the first priority and should be plug and play. Trying to figure the cause and solution to that problem was a huge distraction. I spent all my time trying to find a video setting that would cause my display to work. Getting sound barely registered on my priority list which is why something as simple as volume escaped my attention.

Did you get the replacement yet?

 

[Davemcc]

Did you get the replacement yet?

Yup. Funny story...sort of.

I drove to Toronto and back 8hrs round trip to swap them out. I hooked up the replacement and guess what...same issue.

I had put the Integra back into the system with no issues at all with any source. When I put the Pioneer in, it was simply pull the wires from one and into the other. Everything should work, no? I knew it was wired correctly because I could see my PVR screen when the image flashed for a second every 10 seconds. So now I'm like WTF?! The Integra has worked and continued to work in the same system with the same sources and the same wires in the same configuration but the Pioneer won't work.

So I started swapping out cables. First from the receiver to the wall...no joy. The I wired the Pioneer directly to the TV and it works. So here's the part I don't understand, the wire in the wall is the same Monoprice model that came in the same shipment as the wire that works.

So what is it about the Pioneer that it won't function through my in-wall wiring (like the Integra). The receiver sits directly under the TV. No long cable run. The only significant difference (wires being the same brand/model) is the wall plates and extra cables from the receiver to the wall and wall to display (two extra 3ft HDMI). Is that really enough to fault out the Pioneer's video transmission capability?

Now I've got to call back the store in Toronto and tell them that the first unit is not really faulty, just that the receiver won't play nice in my existing system.

 

[3db]

Yup. Funny story...sort of.

I drove to Toronto and back 8hrs round trip to swap them out. I hooked up the replacement and guess what...same issue.

I had put the Integra back into the system with no issues at all with any source. When I put the Pioneer in, it was simply pull the wires from one and into the other. Everything should work, no? I knew it was wired correctly because I could see my PVR screen when the image flashed for a second every 10 seconds. So now I'm like WTF?! The Integra has worked and continued to work in the same system with the same sources and the same wires in the same configuration but the Pioneer won't work.

So I started swapping out cables. First from the receiver to the wall...no joy. The I wired the Pioneer directly to the TV and it works. So here's the part I don't understand, the wire in the wall is the same Monoprice model that came in the same shipment as the wire that works.

So what is it about the Pioneer that it won't function through my in-wall wiring (like the Integra). The receiver sits directly under the TV. No long cable run. The only significant difference (wires being the same brand/model) is the wall plates and extra cables from the receiver to the wall and wall to display (two extra 3ft HDMI). Is that really enough to fault out the Pioneer's video transmission capability?

Now I've got to call back the store in Toronto and tell them that the first unit is not really faulty, just that the receiver won't play nice in my existing system.

That is a little weird. Are the cable lengths identical between the in wall and the swapped cable that you used to trouble shoot? If so, maybe the in wall cable is somehow damaged and the Pioneer's implementation of the HDMI is more stringent than the Integra's making the Pioneer more susceptible to timing errors. I'm just guessing here.

 

[Davemcc]

That is a little weird. Are the cable lengths identical between the in wall and the swapped cable that you used to trouble shoot? If so, maybe the in wall cable is somehow damaged and the Pioneer's implementation of the HDMI is more stringent than the Integra's making the Pioneer more susceptible to timing errors. I'm just guessing here.

Going straight to the unit requires a single cable. Going through the wall requires 3 cables. One from the unit to the wall, one inside the wall and one from the wall to the TV. All the cables are identical, I just have to use three for the in wall setup vs. one going direct.

I would question the integrity of the in wall setup except for the fact that it works perfectly with the Integra.

 

[Alex2507]

Going straight to the unit requires a single cable. Going through the wall requires 3 cables. One from the unit to the wall, one inside the wall and one from the wall to the TV. All the cables are identical, I just have to use three for the in wall setup vs. one going direct.

I would question the integrity of the in wall setup except for the fact that it works perfectly with the Integra.

You got new gear curse ... simple as that.

I got old gear curse.

 

[bluephi1914]

I figured out the HDMI issue. I had to set the video resolution to Pure. I had it set to Auto, thinking that would be a safe setting. If I set the resolution to Auto or any 1080p setting, I get the handshake issue. Would I be correct in suggesting that as long as my resolution is set to Pure, that I have lost any potential use of video upconversion?

I have the Video Conversion on. My display is 1080p. I don't understand why I can't use the Auto resolution or 1080p output settings.

The good news is that once I could see the setup menu, I found the manual speaker setup page just to get started. Next step is getting it on the network.

My dad had the same issue with his.... Its the television that cant support the output from the receiver... or at least that was the problem with his. you could hear sound sometimes, but no picture or the picture would flicker in and out. IF you kept your eyes on the screen, his Samsung 3d television would quickly flash "resolution not supported"