[Diapason]

I don't really know where to put this, but I'm tearing my hair out and this seems an ok place to start. Apologies if this isn't actually a hardware issue.

TL;DR version is this: OpenELEC on a 2820 NUC works with one of my Pioneer TVs, but not the other.

More details: I have 2 Pioneer plasma TVs, a KRP 500M and an LX5090. I've been happily using a 2820 NUC with the KRP 500M for a year or thereabouts, so I decided that I'd buy another to use on the LX 5090. However, I can't see anything beyond the opening NUC splash screen, i.e. as soon as it boots into OpenELEC I get a blank screen. In fact, I couldn't even see the installation screen when initially trying to install OpenELEC from a USB key, and I initially assumed it wasn't booting, but connecting up to my KRP 500M showed that it's booting fine, I just couldn't see it. (I had to use this TV to do the install, and I thought that once I was running OpenELEC properly the issue would be fixed, but no joy.)

Okay, trouble-shooting, I tried different inputs and different cables with no joy. I tried setting the input to PC or to Video with any combination of anything I have control over on the TV side and no joy. I tried my old NUC on this TV too and no joy. I turned off all HDMI-CEC control and no joy. So the status is that both NUCs work correctly on the 500M, but I can't get either to display anything beyond the NUC splash screen on the LX5090.

I can SSH in to the NUC and when I do, xrandr tells me that HDMI1 is disconnected. I thought this was a HDMI handshaking issue (and maybe it is) but it doesn't even seem to recognise that a TV is connected at all.

I should also say that everything else I have ever connected to this TV has worked without incident, including laptop running Windows, Chromecast, consoles, whatever, so this is the first time I've seen a problem like this.

I've been googling around all afternoon and I'm out of my depth now, really. Any ideas?

[skylarking]

Well, as both NUC's work on your KRP500 and both NUC's black screen on your LX5090, then it's an odd issue that may be a bugger to solve.

Before Pioneer exited the plasma business, they didn't often release firmware updates for their panels.
Since they have exited the plasma business, it's not likely they will release any fixes moving forward.
However, if your panel is still under warrenty, i'd give them a call and ask for product/technical support.
As part of your warrenty, you're entitled to support...

So look for any firmware updates that you could apply today.
I don't know which specific TV you have but i've seen G9PDP version 0908-0901 avilable for the PDP-LX5090H.
From what i have read, this firmware must not be applied to a PDP-LX5090 as it's a different beast.
I have not seen any firmware updates for the PDP-LX5090.
Who knows, Pioneer may be able to offer something that is not (yet) on their web site, so again, give them a call.

Also look at applying any BIOS updates available for your NUC's.
Applying TV and NUC firmware updates may or may not resolve the issue.
If not, you'll have to start looking at graphics driver issues...

As a disclosure, i have a HP Z210 workstation with integrated graphics running Windows 7 and connected to a Pioneer PDP-LX509.
With this setup, i could also see a Win7 splash screen when booting but as soon as the boot process configured the default resolution, it black screened.
I updated the Intel graphics driver with no joy.
I side stepped the problem by installing a Nvidia Quadro grahics card with latest Quadro drivers.
Maybe it's time for me to revisit the issue and again look at Intel graphics driver updates.
Who knows, maybe Intel has fixed the issue and i can pull the Quadro card out of the system...

Unfortunately, such a hardware solution are not something that you can use to side step possible Intel driver issues on the NUC...
But maybe you could try the latest OpenELEC release and/or update the linux driver (just don't ask me how as it's been a long time since i played with linux)..

Oh, and as another disclosure, i hate HDCP

[jjd-uk]

Connect the NUC to the KRP500M and enable debug logging (see Log_file (wiki)) and if you've got a smartphone download & get working one of the remote control apps. Connect NUC back to LX5090 and boot it from off then see if you can control it with the remote app, this will tell you whether Kodi is running if the remote app is able to communicate, then try selecting a movie or something to see if video starts to playback to see if it's just the GUI that fails to display.

Grab the debug log and post to pastebin http://wiki.openelec.tv/index.php/OpenELEC_FAQ#Support as it may give clues as to what's going on.

[Diapason]

Thanks both of you for the responses!

JJD-UK, I'm pretty sure I was able to control the NUC from the Yatse app yesterday, so I'll turn on debug logging and post it when I get home this evening. I appreciate the help.

Skylarking, I actually checked last night to see if I could find a firmware update for the TV, but found the same as yourself (5090H got some updates, but not the one I have). I may indeed contact Pioneer, but I'm not expecting much joy there since it's so long since they made plasmas. I'm long out of warranty as I bought this set in 2008 or 2009 which doesn't help matters. Regarding the graphics drivers, I'm not sure how much control I would have over that in OpenELEC, but this is an area I know little about. Is there any point trying to install another OS? I could try UBUNTU or KodiBUNTU without much hassle, but I don't have a spare copy of Windows lying around and I'm reluctant to pay up until I know it will definitely work.

[jjd-uk]

JJD-UK, I'm pretty sure I was able to control the NUC from the Yatse app yesterday, so I'll turn on debug logging and post it when I get home this evening. I appreciate the help.

This was while connected to the LX5090? did you see if you could initiate the playback of anything? as it could be the display mode the GUI is trying to use isn't working, but video modes for movies/tv etc might be ok.

[Diapason]

I certainly tried playing back a movie while connected to LX5090 but nothing appeared on the screen. I honestly can't remember whether it came up as "Now Playing" in the app or not, but I'll check that later. I'm pretty sure I also used the app to shut the NUC down remotely if that means anything, but to be honest I did so much messing yesterday I can't be 100% sure even about that.

[jjd-uk]

Ok, once you try that again and have the debug log of you doing it, then repost over on the Linux forum http://forum.kodi.tv/forumdisplay.php?fid=52 as the experts over there maybe able to help.

Just as an extra thought, it could be useful if you also grabbed a debug log of you running the NUC connected to the KRP, that way it can be seen if there's any difference in the display modes the NUC tries to use that might explain the different behaviour. It could be the LX is reporting a display mode it doesn't truly support or is buggy, therefore the NUC might need to be forced to use a different display mode.

[Diapason]

Great, I'll do that. Thanks!

[Diapason]

Okay, I've used the older NUC to do the tests for the simple reason that I have it set up properly and a remote app already connected to it, etc. The only downside here is that the logs are filled with a lot of unnecessary guff as it tried to update libraries, etc. Sorry about that.

I first connected the NUC to the (working) KRP500, booted it up, used the Yatse app to start and stop a movie, and then posted the resulting debug log file to
http://sprunge.us/TBPF

Next, I connected the same NUC to the (not working) LX5090, booted it up, used the Yatse app to start and stop the same movie (and was able to confirm via the app that it was indeed playing, not that I could see it on the screen) and posted the resulting debug log file to
http://sprunge.us/hICb

Eyeballing the results without any knowledge whatsoever, it seems that no video modes are returned from the LX5090 at all!

[jjd-uk]

I see you've now posted over on the Linux forum, so hopefully you get some assistance over there. I'm a Windows man so the experts over there will be best placed to help you.

[Diapason]

Thank you for your help in any case. Just before you go, do you think I'd have more luck solving this problem if I moved to Windows? I'm tempted to install Windows for other reasons, but if it provided a quick solution to this problem it would certainly push me further in that direction.

[jjd-uk]

It's a strange one so can't offer any guarantees, if it is an EDID problem with the NUC and LX then Linux maybe easier to work around it, however not sure if Openelec gives the level if file system access needed as it does have restrictions.

[Diapason]

Yeah, makes sense. Ta!

[jjd-uk]

Although if an EDID issue the hdmi driver can impact this so it's not purely hardware at play in these circumstances, so it's always possible the Windows driver may play nicer with the LX. Being cautious I don't want to cause you to unnecessarily waste effort, however if you've the time to spare and a Windows license you can use then it might be worth a try, but perhaps wait on some responses on the Linux forum.

[Diapason]

Forget it, I know the problem now and, as usual, it's always something simple.

I was googling around looking for reasons why the EDID might not be successfully read at all, and one of the pages pointed out that the +5V pin that triggers the EDID read is actually set slightly further back than the others, so if the cable connector is slightly out of the socket it won't connect and the EDID won't be read. For whatever reason, the HDMI cables connected to the LX5090 and set into the wall behind the TV all have a kind of "stop" (so the classic HDMI shape doesn't go all the way to the back) so the net effect was that the connector wasn't going far enough into the socket. All 3 cables, despite being different, have the same shape connector, and all 3 were suffering from this. Can you believe it? I found a HDMI female-male adapter lying around that cost nearly nothing, and plugging that into the NUC allows the cables to make a full connection, EDID gets read, and lo-and-behold, OpenELEC is now working perfectly.

I'm glad this has been resolved but I feel like a bit of an idiot. Let's never speak of this again.