Display connection issue with Yamaha RX-V675 receiver

[rnaeye]

Here is my setup:
-- I have MacMini, connected to Yamaha RX-V675 HDMI port via an HDMI cable.
-- The receiver is connected to an external display via HDMI cable. In other words, the Yamaha receiver is between the display and my MacMini.
-- My computer is connected to Schiit Modi 3 (D/A converter) which is connected to my receiver, then passive speakers.
This set up used to work.

Very recently I start seeing static/snow screen and I cannot use the display longer. When I was connecting the HDMI cable from MacMini to receiver, I found out (bu luck) that if HDMI cable is connected to V-AUX (HDMI port also, designed to connect game console, camcorder etc) on Yamaha, display works just fine. However, now I am not getting the sound. I do not know what is happening. Is there a way of getting sound from V-AUX? I checked the manual, I would expect sound but I do not get it. I would get the sound by chaning the source but then I lose video?

Any idea or solution?

 

[TLS Guy]

Here is my setup:
-- I have MacMini, connected to Yamaha RX-V675 HDMI port via an HDMI cable.
-- The receiver is connected to an external display via HDMI cable. In other words, the Yamaha receiver is between the display and my MacMini.
-- My computer is connected to Schiit Modi 3 (D/A converter) which is connected to my receiver, then passive speakers.
This set up used to work.

Very recently I start seeing static/snow screen and I cannot use the display longer. When I was connecting the HDMI cable from MacMini to receiver, I found out (bu luck) that if HDMI cable is connected to V-AUX (HDMI port also, designed to connect game console, camcorder etc) on Yamaha, display works just fine. However, now I am not getting the sound. I do not know what is happening. Is there a way of getting sound from V-AUX? I checked the manual, I would expect sound but I do not get it. I would get the sound by chaning the source but then I lose video?

Any idea or solution?

Apologies, I did not notice your post until now. We do try to respond to these sorts of issues promptly.

I fear there may be issues developing with the HDMI board.

This is how I would proceed. First of all I would connect a solid reliable unit, like a disc player to those HDMI inputs and see what you get.

If the issue persists, I would do a soft reset and remove the AVR from the AC for a period of time. Press the on off button around 30 times while disconnected to drain the power supply caps completely.

Try this two or three times.

If that does not work record all your settings and do a hard reset back to the original default settings. Then reset up your receiver. If three attempts at this fail, then it is not a software problem, but almost certainly a hardware problem.

As far as I can tell, that unit is about 10 years old, so is at a time when receivers start to fail. It is certainly not cost effective to look at repair, and in any event new HDMI boards for the unit are unlikely to still be available. So if hard resets fail, it is time to recycle the unit and look for a new unit. I personally advise against refurb units.

 

[Trebdp83]

What is the model of Mac mini? That model of Yamaha doesn't support 4K @60Hz. In this case, a Mac mini that supports 4K @60Hz may try to convert to 1080p @60Hz for output and there can be a handshake issue when doing so. Display settings can come into play as well but no display info here at the moment.

The Video Aux port does not allow for a combination of audio from an analog input source and the digital video input of another source connected to the Video AUX port. Both audio and video must be from the same device through the HDMI cable to the Video AUX port. If there is no sound produced from the Mac with this connection, check the sound output setting of the Mac mini and set it for the HDMI connection. This means the Yamaha will handle the D/A conversion. If that is not an option, try changing the video output settings in the Mac mini. Set the refresh rate at 30Hz and then move the HDMI cable to another port and see if it works.

 

[rnaeye]

Apologies, I did not notice your post until now. We do try to respond to these sorts of issues promptly.
...

Thank you for the comments. I have disconnected the unit as you suggested. However, I believe what solved the problem is following: I have changed the "Video Mode" from "Processing" to "Direct" Mode. Of course, figuring out this took a good couple of hours after checking and trying things randomly. In fact static screen was happening even before but very rarely. So far everything is looking good. Better than before. I am not sure what is the difference between Direct vs Processing but hopefully I can figure out with some google search.

 

[rnaeye]

What is the model of Mac mini? That model of Yamaha doesn't support 4K @60Hz. In this case, a Mac mini that supports 4K @60Hz may try to convert to 1080p @60Hz for output and there can be a handshake issue when doing so. Display settings can come into play as well but no display info here at the moment.

The Video Aux port does not allow for a combination of audio from an analog input source and the digital video input of another source connected to the Video AUX port. Both audio and video must be from the same device through the HDMI cable to the Video AUX port. If there is no sound produced from the Mac with this connection, check the sound output setting of the Mac mini and set it for the HDMI connection. This means the Yamaha will handle the D/A conversion. If that is not an option, try changing the video output settings in the Mac mini. Set the refresh rate at 30Hz and then move the HDMI cable to another port and see if it works.

This is very useful, I will keep it as a future reference. Please see my reply to "TLS Guy" where I explained what solved the problem (at least for now). I am using 2018 MacMini with Intel chip and my monitor is HP M24f.

 

[Trebdp83]

If Video Processing was set to Auto, the receiver and display would have negotiated an acceptable output resolution. But, negotiations can and do often go south. Setting it to Direct means it is output as is without any additional processing by the receiver of the signal. Short messages should be available on screen when in Direct mode. Results will vary of course.

I was mistaken about the Video AUX input port. While it cannot be used in combo with analog audio devices, its video signal should be able to be displayed when listening to the tuner or network sources.