# HDMI audio video cable



## parman (Mar 9, 2007)

I cannot get any audio with my HDMI hookup.I have a Sony HD TV with a HD Motorola cable box that works fine as is. I want to hookup my DVR to my TV so I can tape vcr tapes and dvd's. I bought a belkin hdmi audio video cable that supports 1080p-1.3. Hookup instructions were to hookup hdmi to dvr and then back of tv. Change modes on tv remote to v4. I did that and got a picture but no audio. My picture and sound from the motorola box is from v3 but when I change to v4 for the dvr all I get is the picture. I can record to dvr but have no audio. Any suggestions. Thanks.


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## parman (Mar 9, 2007)

Bump!


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

FWIW, I've found certain devices that don't send the audio over the HDMI cable, even though it's clearly there. I had a DVD player that had that problem.


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

parman said:


> I cannot get any audio with my HDMI hookup.I have a Sony HD TV with a HD Motorola cable box that works fine as is. I want to hookup my DVR to my TV so I can tape vcr tapes and dvd's. I bought a belkin hdmi audio video cable that supports 1080p-1.3. Hookup instructions were to hookup hdmi to dvr and then back of tv. Change modes on tv remote to v4. I did that and got a picture but no audio. My picture and sound from the motorola box is from v3 but when I change to v4 for the dvr all I get is the picture. I can record to dvr but have no audio. Any suggestions. Thanks.


Let me ask again the hook-up scheme.

1. Motorola to TV and DVR to TV as well?
or
2. Motorola to TV and DVR and then DVR to TV
or 
3. Motorola to TV and to DVR (separately)
and
is your audio loss on recordings you've made since you hooked up the HDMI or does it appear with older recordings as well?


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## parman (Mar 9, 2007)

Motorola to tv and dvr to tv. I have no audio when I have picture with dvr. The hdmi cable is hooked to dvr to tv.I can record with my hookup but have no audio. The motorola is hd with built-in hard drive that I (can) use to tape programs. I wanted to hookup my dvr so I could record on dvd's.


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## parman (Mar 9, 2007)

When I had the dvr hooked up without hdmi I have audio.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Again, I had this exact same scenario, and I ended up connecting the audio with a separate cable. Don't know why the DVD didn't send out audio on the HDMI cable...


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

It's a far shot but if with the hook-up you are recording to your dvr from the Sony TV (which, if I understand correctly, gets picture and sound from the cable box) I gotta feeling that the TVs HDMI doesn't do audio out (just in). Hence my question whether older recordings going from your DVR straight to the TV via HDMI are also soundless. If they are then scrap this line of thinking.

John Wills' explanation seems to hit it best then.


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## parman (Mar 9, 2007)

That's true. There is no audio out from tv. I should say there is audio out but it is to the motorola box which is the sound from the high def motorola box to the tv. That's what I don't understand. The hdmi is suppose to be built-in audio with cable. If I can't use the hdmi I guess I will have to hookup my dvr back to where I had it before. I just wanted to use hdmi for interference and better quality picture for taping.
Thanks JohnWill and buffoon.


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

parman said:


> That's true. There is no audio out from tv. I should say there is audio out but it is to the motorola box which is the sound from the high def motorola box to the tv. That's what I don't understand. The hdmi is suppose to be built-in audio with cable. If I can't use the hdmi I guess I will have to hookup my dvr back to where I had it before. I just wanted to use hdmi for interference and better quality picture for taping.
> Thanks JohnWill and buffoon.


Final questions and then I'll let it go

What outputs does the cable box have (just co-ax or others like HDMI as well)?

What in/outs does DVR have (more than one HDMI)?

What HDMI (inputs, presumably) does TV have (more than one)?


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Well, my solution was to use the HDMI cable, but run separate audio. I've since changed the DVD player, and the new one works properly. If you use the HDMI for the video, you'll still get the maximum quality for video...


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

JohnWill said:


> Well, my solution was to use the HDMI cable, but run separate audio. I've since changed the DVD player, and the new one works properly. If you use the HDMI for the video, you'll still get the maximum quality for video...


Had to do the same for a friend with a HDMI PC to TV link for watching vids. According to his spec everything is there but audio just wouldn't support


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## parman (Mar 9, 2007)

The cable box has these outputs:
co-ax
hdmi
usb
ethernet
sata
ieee 1394
audio, video cables

The DVR has only one hdmi
red,white,blue av in,av out
coaxial digital out
red,white,black audio out
red,blue,green component video out

The tv has only one hdmi


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

There's always the one or two HDMI too few. I suffered from that a lot (mainly because the market didn't offer what I wanted) but replacement time (coupla units went AWOL at the same time) fortunately coincided with the market offering what I always wanted.
I was thinking along the lines of a cable box-DVR-TV hook-up but not sufficient HDMIs here. Still wouldn't have known whether that would have worked anyway.
To ask again: does the no-audio happen with DVR DVDs that were recorded from a previousr source? Since the TVs HDMI is only in I don't see how you could have recorded from the TV at all.
I hope the TV has audio in so that you can run a separate audio cable as John Will suggested.


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## parman (Mar 9, 2007)

Yes there is no audio since I hooked up my dvr to tv with hdmi. Previous recordings were done on another tv without hdmi.
Yes the tv does have audio in. I will try to hookup to audio in to tv and audio out from dvr. I have not tried that.
I could go back to other tv and hookup but would not have hdmi. I paid $50 for the cable so I do want to use it.


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## parman (Mar 9, 2007)

Hooking up to audio in on tv and audio out on dvr did nothing. I did put a dvd in from another recording and got sound and video. When I have dvr on in v4 mode from tv I got picture but no audio. TV stays on v3 for normal watching. In v4 I can watch,set recording and length of taping but no audio.


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

parman said:


> Hooking up to audio in on tv and audio out on dvr did nothing. I did put a dvd in from another recording and got sound and video. When I have dvr on in v4 mode from tv I got picture but no audio. TV stays on v3 for normal watching. In v4 I can watch,set recording and length of taping but no audio.


THAT IS REVEALING.
You're not recording audio in this set up. So you obviously don't get any in playback either methinks. Either because the TV's HDMI isn't sending audio out or the DVR doesn't have the IN function on its HDMI.
Can you give me model make of both TV and DVR ?


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## parman (Mar 9, 2007)

The tv is a sony bravia KLV-32u100m.
The dvr is a samsung dvd-vr375.


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

OK, the Samsung has an HDMI OUTput. 
The Sony BRAVIA has HDMI INput.
That means a HDMI cable between the two won't work BOTH ways anyway in all the HDMI functions of an HDMI cable. But although neither should really be possible, you can obviously send image from your TV (OUT of an IN), that your TV is receiving from elsewhere to your DVR via HDMI and your DVR is also receiving it (IN to an OUT) which is why it can record the image. Not even that should really happen at all but it's not uncommon.
But whereas the INs and OUTs are not switched sufficiently clean on either DVR or SONY TV or both for image, for audio they are.

What you have recorded from TV to DVR didn't have audio to start with, so there's none to play back. The fact that older recordings come thru in audio supports this.

Won't work, I'm afraid. You can't get fully supported HDMI into your DVR.
You can only playback via HDMI from your DVR what has been previously recorded elsewhere by different hook ups. Purchased DVDs for instance shouldn't be a problem.


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## parman (Mar 9, 2007)

So, you are telling me that I can only watch pre-recorded dvd's or vhs tapes through hdmi on my dvr. Meaning that if I watch a standard dvd that let's say the quality of picture is not real good; with the hdmi connection my dvd picture quality will be better. Is that correct? If that's not what you mean then I'm totally confused.


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

Yes

HDMI will only transport the quality of the original picture but THAT it will do with least loss. If your DVDs were recorded from an analogue source for instance that's the quality that you'll get thru a HDMI cable. 

If they were recorded from a HD source (DVD only, forget VHS since that's analogue anyway) then that's the quality that HDMI will also transport best. 

HDMI does not improve upon the quality at source but if the quality at source is good (even if it is not so good) HDMI will transport it best (better than an analogue cable).

On VHS; the quality of recording will not be as good on the cassette as at source. Even if the source is HD and you do get a better image on VHS than recording from an analogue source, the analogue nature of VHS entails that you'll have some quality loss.

DVDs are different.


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

buffoon said:


> Yes
> 
> HDMI will only transport the quality of the original picture but THAT it will do with least loss. If your DVDs were recorded from an analogue source for instance that's the quality that you'll get thru a HDMI cable.
> 
> ...


Parman, the ideal set up would be to be able to link HDMI from cable box to
TV and another to DVR and yet another from DVR to TV. But you lack the sufficient connection points so somewhere you'll have to compromise.


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## parman (Mar 9, 2007)

Is there not an adapter that would do that? Yes, it's true that I only have one hdmi connection at each box. I'm not even using the one at cable box even though I do have hd channels that I'm subscribed to.


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

parman said:


> *Is there not an adapter that would do that?* Yes, it's true that I only have one hdmi connection at each box. I'm not even using the one at cable box even though I do have hd channels that I'm subscribed to.


No idea. Probably offered somewhere out there but I'd be careful with what is promised it can do. Not worth the money. If you find anything that claims to convert Analogue signals to HDMI it'll only be some sort of enhancer but it won't be HDMI.


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## parman (Mar 9, 2007)

Thanks, Buffoon for all your help!


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

You're welcome. And Please remember to mark this as solved if you have no further questions.


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