Roku setup

[ALYX]

Does anyone else have an issue watching cable with their Roku hooked up to the TV?

[angele]

Yes, I have attempted to hook up a Roku to the only HDMI port available on my tv. Once I set it up, the cable was not accessible. Fortunately, I was able to access cable by resetting the cable box. Would an HDMI splitter make any difference?

[atc98092]

If your TV has more than one HDMI input, there should be no issue using a cable box on one port and a Roku on another. You simply change the input using your TV remote. If your TV only has a single HDMI port, then you need to either swap the HDMI cable from one device to the other, or use something that can perform switching duties. This can be done with an AV receiver or a stand-alone HDMI switch. 

An HDMI switch can be very inexpensive, or a bit more expensive with a remote to perform the input switch. Just make sure the switch is rated for at least HDMI 1.4. Most likely that won't be an issue.

[angele]

Thank you for the response. Everything you stated is precisely what I expected, but did not happen. The TV does indeed have only one HDMI port which had nothing attached to it prior to the Roku installation, which went smoothly BTW. After completion of the installation, I noted the HDMI port was labeled as HDMI 2. What is odd is that the cable port is also listed as HDMI 2 although the cable is connected via coax. There is no toggle option to any other port. This is baffling to me as I have a Roku set up on a different tv in the house with several other devices and have no problem toggling among them on different inputs, so I am not Roku challenged.

I think I may need to inquire of the cable company why the cable input is labeled the way it is, as it seems to limit my use of the only HDMI port on the TV. 

I am willing to invest in a switch but based on my confusion with this situation, I am concerned that I will run into the same issue. 

[atc98092]

@angele 

That indicates something is very peculiar with your TV. Can you provide the TV's name and model number? I'd like to see what the owners manual might provide. This has nothing to do with the Roku, but something within the TV setup that is very puzzling. 

[angele]

Dan,

I have the same thoughts, which is why I need to do more research before messing with the current setup. The TV is a Sony model number KV-30HS420. I didn't see anything peculiar in the manual. I think another complicating factor is that the system is hooked up to a receiver, and the receiver allows me to toggle between the cable (HDMI 2) and Blu-Ray (HDMI 1). If I turn the receiver off and only look at the TV, the input for the cable is HDMI 4. The only other option is VCR which is also connected to the system. All other inputs are greyed out. 

I am cautious about trouble shooting as I don't want to lose cable again.

I don't think the problem is with the Roku either. Part of the problem here is that I did not set up this system originally, so I am trying to figure out the logic of all the connections. Discussing this with you has helped me focus my troubleshooting efforts. Thank you. 

PS: I did a little more trouble-shooting and turned off the receiver. Everything is now working as it should. Cable comes in on HDMI 4 and Roku on HDMI 2. I learned a lot but still haven't figured out how the receiver fits into all this. 

[atc98092]

OK, using an AVR completely changes the picture. You don't do the switching at the TV, you switch inputs with the AVR. You should only change the input at the TV if you're using the OTA tuner. Everything else you want to display on the TV should be connected to the AVR, which then feeds your choice to the TV via the single AVR connection.

Another bit of news: your TV only supports 1080i and 720p HD over the HDMI connection. Roku players only support 1080p and 720p. If you saw the Roku on your TV, then it correctly identified the TV as 720p. 

No idea why your TV is labeled HDMI4 when you switch to the HDMI port. Since someone else configured it, they might have renamed to port to that for some unknown reason. Some, but not all devices allow renaming inputs. 

Just switch the input for the cable box and the Roku at the AVR (not the TV, and don't use the TV remote as it likely can't control the AVR). Let us know if you see them both now. 

[angele]

Thank you for this informative post and education. It was my attempt to use the receiver that caused my problem in the first place. When I installed the Roku and connected it to the only available HDMI port on my TV, it reported that the Roku was located on HDMI 2. I don't recall being given any other options. On the receiver, the cable TV input is located on HDMI 2 also, as displayed on the front panel (Yamaha RX V471).  The result was that I was able to use the Roku which worked fine, but the cable signal was lost. I was only able to get the signal back after I disconnected the Roku and reset the cable box. 

Is there a problem with using the TV to switch between cable and Roku? We only use the receiver to switch between cable and blu-ray. The person that uses that TV is happy with it and he does not enjoy new learning curves to the extent that I do. I would very much like to continue to trouble shoot this problem but I am concerned about rocking the boat after losing the cable signal as I mentioned. I also hope we are not getting too far off topic as the Roku is functioning well at this time. 

[atc98092]

Well, I don't use any cable box, but I do have multiple HDMI devices connected through Yamaha AVRs to my two main TVs. Both have a Roku and a Shield connected, as well as an older DVD changer and HTPC on one and a Blu Ray player on the other. Both AVRs connect to their respective TVs with a single HDMI cable, and there are no other direct connections to the TVs themselves.

I have no problems changing the AVR input to any of the connected devices. They all appear on the same HDMI input of the TV, since there's only the single connection. While I don't have the specific Yamaha AVR that you have, there should be no issues at all switching between the cable box and the Roku using the Yamaha remote. Your Yamaha is simply older versions of mine, with the biggest difference in that mine support 4K while yours is 1080. Since you're not using a 4K TV, that's not a factor. 

The only thing I can think of is since your TV doesn't support 1080p, there is an HDMI handshake issue when you switch inputs and the reset restores the handshake correctly. Those sort of issues can be maddening. I searched for a manual online and was hoping to see if the AVR could downconvert the connections to 720p, but it doesn't appear that AVR has that function. That would likely remove the HDMI handshake issue. 

But I do feel the issue is with the TV, and not the cable box, Roku or AVR. Those early HD sets that didn't support 1080p use a much older HDMI profile, and it seems yours just doesn't want to play nice when switching inputs. 

[angele]

Thank you for all the help. I have printed out all your instructions. I do have a lot to learn about A/V systems in general. I appreciate you helping me get my current issues resolved, and I have gotten a good education on this topic.