UMC-1 cycling on/off contsantly when used with Nvidia Shield

[rocks911]

Its been a long time since I've posted here, thats a testament to the reliability of the UMC-1. However recently an odd behavior has started.

I purchased an Nvidia Shield and connected it to the UMC-1 through a HDMI input. Both have worked together fantastically until I started messing with HDMI-CEC one touch play. This is a feature of the Nvidia Shiled whereby a connected device (TV) can be turned on and off automatically by activating the Nvidia Shield. This feature worked without issue for about six months but then the UMC-1 started to cycle on and off constantly. The pair became unusable together. I moved the Nvidia Shield to another television where the CEC feature worked without issue.

Is this something that is not compatible with the UMC-1?

[lynnmass603]

umc-1 does not have cec

[rocks911]

But does it work and play well with a unit that does?
Apparently this feature of Nvidia Shield is supposed to be used in conjunction with a TV, wherein the Nvidia is plugged directly into the TV and the TV will then turn off as a result of turning the Nvidia Shield off. So some type of signal is sent to tell the TV to turn off, Im wondering if that signal is sent to the UMC-1 and the bizarre behavior of the UMC-1 is caused by that signal. I just cant explain why the UMC-1 is cycling through on/off. If I plug a WD player into the same input I have zero problems, but when I plug the Nvidia Shield in I get the bizarre on/off loop.

support-shield.nvidia.com/shield-tv-user-guide/#t=Enable_SHIELD_to_Turn_on_your_TV.htm

[thrillcat]

Jul 10, 2017 9:18:10 GMT -5 rocks911 said:

Im wondering if that signal is sent to the UMC-1 and the bizarre behavior of the UMC-1 is caused by that signal. 

Ding ding ding.

You're sending a power toggle signal to a device that has no real idea what the signal is or means. It does actually toggle the current power setting, but does not know to send a confirmation signal back down the line to the Shield, so the Shield continues to send that signal over and over, thinking the UMC-1 is not powered on yet.

It's like texting your grandma on her flip phone. She has no idea what that alert is, so she's not reading or responding, even though the message is getting through.

[bootman]

You will need to turn off CEC and use a universal remote to control on and off in the sequence you desire.

[rocks911]

Well, this is a bit more complicated than I anticipated. I purchased a brand new Nvidia Shield and connected it to the UMC-1 via the HDMI Input 5 (where I have had several boxes connected throught the years to include a WD player, Boxee Box and the Shield) and powered the Nvidia Shield up and immediately the UMC-1 began cycling on/off. Well it doesnt turn completely off, it cycles to the Emotiva name in the display window and then the input info appears and the volume indicator runs up, then it cycles again, and again in a seemingly endless loop

I have ensured the CEC was turned off on the Nvidia Shield, but still it causes this odd behavior. Strangely enough when I plug in a WD player in its place this doesnt happen. I had an Nvidia Shield working with the UMC-1 for over six months without an issue and now they just dont work or play well together.

Ive included a short video which shows the behavior.



Thoughts?

[rocks911]

Does the UMC-1 incorporate CEC or ARC capabilities? I am the original purchaser of the UMC-1 and I have not upgraded firmware, I just dont see how
it could have these capabilities.
I dont understand why this continues after turning off the CEC function in the Nvidia Shiled

[rocks911]

So in the setup menu of the UMC-1 there is a setting for a "trigger" which is I suppose CEC by another name. All the triggers were turned on for whatever reason. I have never used that function, I have a universal remote that does that for me. However turning all the triggers off and ensuring that the Nvidia Shield had its CEC settings off still did no good. As soon as I powered the units up the cycling began. I guess thats a Loading loop? Ive tried other HDMI cables and other HDMI inputs on the UMC-1 to no avail. What is the reset procedure and do you suppose it will help?

[KeithL]

Triggers have nothing to do with CEC.

CEC is a signal that is sent through the HDMI cable, and that allows certain components to control other components. For example, when you put a disc in your Blu-Ray player, it turns the TV on, and switches the processor to that input (that's if it's working right). (CEC ONLY works through the HDMI cable, and CEC isn't very reliable or consistent between components from different manufacturers.).

The Trigger is a physical cable that you connect between the Trigger Output on the UMC-1 and the Trigger Input on your amplifier (or whatever). This cable uses an industry standard 12 VDC trigger signal, and is usually used to have your amplifier turn on when you turn the UMC-1 on. (You can configure the UMC-1 so the trigger turns the amp on in different situations.)

A "loading loop" refers to a situation where, often due to firmware corruption, the processor is unable to finish booting up. If the UMC-1 was in a loading loop, then, when you turned it on, the front panel display would simply display the word "Loading...." and it wouldn't do much else.
 
None of these seems to match what you're experiencing.

My first question is what you mean by "the UMC-1 cycles on and off".
Do you mean that the PICTURE turns on and off every few seconds?
Or do you mean that the UMC-1 actually switches on and off?
(If so, is it actually switching fully On and Off - or is it cycling between On and Standby?)
The halo light around the Power button will be OFF when the UMC-1 is Off, Blue when it's On, and Amber when it's in Standby.

There is a Factory Reset, which resets the UMC-1 to its factory defaults, and which can be accessed in the menu.
However, it doesn't seem likely to that it would affect what you seem to be experiencing.

Jul 21, 2017 10:03:07 GMT -5 rocks911 said:

So in the setup menu of the UMC-1 there is a setting for a "trigger" which is I suppose CEC by another name. All the triggers were turned on for whatever reason. I have never used that function, I have a universal remote that does that for me. However turning all the triggers off and ensuring that the Nvidia Shield had its CEC settings off still did no good. As soon as I powered the units up the cycling began. I guess thats a Loading loop? Ive tried other HDMI cables and other HDMI inputs on the UMC-1 to no avail. What is the reset procedure and do you suppose it will help?

[rocks911]

Thanks for the reply Keith.

What I mean about cycling is shown in the short video Ive posted. Say for example I have the UMC-1 on and configured to accept a signal from my Nvidia Shield but dont have the Shield on, everything will be fine, the UMC-1's display will indicate HDMI5 along with the name I've assigned and audio source (also HDMI5) which is the usual display. It will sit like that without issue. Within 5-6 seconds of powering up the Shield I will lose the the display along with the audio and video feed and the UMC-1 display will simply say EMOTIVA. It will then cycle again and the input information will appear on the display and briefly the audio and video will return, everything will be as it should be and then it will lost, back to EMOTIVA on the display and a loss of display information, loss of audio and video.
The video I posted shows the behavior. Clearly I was wrong to call it a loading loop because its a loop that starts beyond loading.

Kinda hard to explain, it has a normal connection to the Shield, the display on the UMC-1 displays as it should and then it just loses the association and its back to EMOTIVA on the display. Again, the video I posted shows this. In fact on the video you can see a yellow light in the UMC-1 case illuminate and go out, and as the cycle repeats that light also cycles. I guess that light is connected in some way to some function of what the UMC-1 is doing.

Heres another vid:

[KeithL]

It appears your UMC-1 is doing an actual reboot cycle.... which is very strange.

We're not very familiar with the NVidia Shield, but only a few possibilities come to mind:

1)
Even though the UCM-1 doesn't support CEC - I suppose it would be possible that it responds to some other signal the Shield might be sending.
For example, it's possible that the shield has the ability to send IR remote control commands to other devices (the XBox 1 has this ability).
If it does, and it "knows about" the UMC-1, it could be sending an IR remote control command - and sending the wrong one.
You might look for any menu options on the Shield about "controlling other devices' and turn them off if you find any.

2)
The HDMI cable itself has a line which carries +5 VDC power.
If the Shield is sending power through this line to the UMC-1 (which it shouldn't be doing), that could interfere with the UMC-1's power supply and cause something like this.
Unfortunately, if that were the case, it would be some sort of issue with the Shield, or even a defective HDMI cable between them.

Clearly, if it's ONLY happening with the Shield, then it's related to some sort of interaction with the Shield - or the cable connecting them.

Jul 21, 2017 12:45:22 GMT -5 rocks911 said:

Thanks for the reply Keith.

What I mean about cycling is shown in the short video Ive posted. Say for example I have the UMC-1 on and configured to accept a signal from my Nvidia Shield but dont have the Shield on, everything will be fine, the UMC-1's display will indicate HDMI5 along with the name I've assigned and audio source (also HDMI5) which is the usual display. It will sit like that without issue. Within 5-6 seconds of powering up the Shield I will lose the the display along with the audio and video feed and the UMC-1 display will simply say EMOTIVA. It will then cycle again and the input information will appear on the display and briefly the audio and video will return, everything will be as it should be and then it will lost, back to EMOTIVA on the display and a loss of display information, loss of audio and video.
The video I posted shows the behavior. Clearly I was wrong to call it a loading loop because its a loop that starts beyond loading.

Kinda hard to explain, it has a normal connection to the Shield, the display on the UMC-1 displays as it should and then it just loses the association and its back to EMOTIVA on the display. Again, the video I posted shows this. In fact on the video you can see a yellow light in the UMC-1 case illuminate and go out, and as the cycle repeats that light also cycles. I guess that light is connected in some way to some function of what the UMC-1 is doing.

Heres another vid:

[rocks911]

Thanks for the replies, I also have a thread going at Nvidia's forum, Ill look into all possible settings, also Ive ordered new HDMI cables.

[rocks911]

This behavior now occurs with whatever I plug in. I plugged a PS3 into the same input and the UMC-1 started to cycle.

So where do I ship this or is there an authorized service center in Dallas?
Is it even worth the expense...maybe I need to upgrade...does Emotive still honor the discount card I received when I bought the UMC-1 eight years ago?

I know, so many questions...

[rocks911]

So before a commit this to use as a doorstop, how do I do a reset?