Equipment Crew Tech Thread

[Greybird2]

http://www.bing.com/translator/?ref=...from=tlh&to=en


This thread still makes no sense even with this translator...

[Synthetickiller]

I got the ash/composite color, but it's still translucent on the back, almost like it's just tinted. With the Note7's curved sides of the screen, the case doesnt seem nearly as protective as my Note3 case. However, people would be up in arms if they covered the curved portion.

I have a bunch of microsd cards and dont need 256gb, so I ended up choosing the watch.

That's neat. I can see why since the back is glass.
Speaking of glass, I'm really unimpressed with the gorilla glass 5. I was looking through youtube & found this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=571pu66vEBc

Basically, the scratch resistance has dropped substantially. It's slightly better than plastic, now. I'm really thinking of getting tempered glass screen protector this time around. I'm not impressed with the curved glass versions, so I'll probably get a flat one & just hope I won't drop it on that thin edge. I dropped my note 4 onto a socket. Gorilla glass 4 can't stand up to something like that. I doubt that the 5th itteration can either.

[CanadaBuilder2]

The tempered glass screen protectors, at least the ones I've seen and the one I have, is not really tempered glass. But for the low price of "insurance", I don't really care. I think they're more like thick plastic.

I have an S6. Got it last year. I'm considering getting a Note, not necessarily the latest gen, but maybe the next most recent one.

[CliveWarren]

Dumbing this thread down a bit, but I could really use an assist.

My sister called me last night. Hers six year old son is upset that their laptop computer won't play his games. I bought her that laptop 8 years ago, for her 40th birthday. It's an Inspiron 1525 running Vista Business. Obviously, she's getting Vista unsupported messages, and quite possibly Chrome Java unsupported messages. She does not use a computer much if at all. When he was born, she wanted a camera so I suggested she get an iPhone. This was the best decision of my life, as I've rarely or never need to be her tech support from that point forward.

The brat has an iPad. I'm not sure why, but there are things he cannot do with that. I think a Windows PC is still going to be lowest common denominator, and that everybody still needs one at some point, especially if he ever gets to playing downloaded games. She want's a Macbook to go with her iOS devices LOL, but why would you spend $1500 if you're not doing much of anything outside of browsing?

Is getting the lowest end Windows10 machine the way to go? Is it better to get something with a hard-drive, or would the Cloudbook be much better for battery life?

How can I (or can I) make a Win10 machine bombproof? Bear in mind I'm using a Chromebook 99% of the time, so I haven't ruled that out.

[KBKB]

Dumbing this thread down a bit, but I could really use an assist.

My sister called me last night. Hers six year old son is upset that their laptop computer won't play his games. I bought her that laptop 8 years ago, for her 40th birthday. It's an Inspiron 1525 running Vista Business. Obviously, she's getting Vista unsupported messages, and quite possibly Chrome Java unsupported messages. She does not use a computer much if at all. When he was born, she wanted a camera so I suggested she get an iPhone. This was the best decision of my life, as I've rarely or never need to be her tech support from that point forward.

The brat has an iPad. I'm not sure why, but there are things he cannot do with that. I think a Windows PC is still going to be lowest common denominator, and that everybody still needs one at some point, especially if he ever gets to playing downloaded games. She want's a Macbook to go with her iOS devices LOL, but why would you spend $1500 if you're not doing much of anything outside of browsing?

Is getting the lowest end Windows10 machine the way to go? Is it better to get something with a hard-drive, or would the Cloudbook be much better for battery life?

How can I (or can I) make a Win10 machine bombproof? Bear in mind I'm using a Chromebook 99% of the time, so I haven't ruled that out.

I think an inexpensive Windows 10 laptop is a good option. I find that I need Windows so that I can update the firmware on my cameras and perhaps other devices too.

I don't (really) have anything against Macs, but I (personally) try to stay out of Apple's ecosystem.

[CliveWarren]

I think an inexpensive Windows 10 laptop is a good option. I find that I need Windows so that I can update the firmware on my cameras and perhaps other devices too.

I don't (really) have anything against Macs, but I (personally) try to stay out of Apple's ecosystem.

So, I've noticed in the past that kids can really louse up a computer. Other than installing a virus scan software, what are the best practices? Do I need a malware too? Do the utilities included in Windows (Defender?) do a good job? Will I need them to use a user account without admin privileges? Should I set up remote desktop so I can install programs for them when my phone rings? Is there any parental controls in the newer OS? Maybe to set time limits and whitelist only certain sites? In my house we generally have responsible parental supervision for the kids, at her house, who knows.

[KBKB]

So, I've noticed in the past that kids can really louse up a computer. Other than installing a virus scan software, what are the best practices? Do I need a malware too? Do the utilities included in Windows (Defender?) do a good job? Will I need them to use a user account without admin privileges? Should I set up remote desktop so I can install programs for them when my phone rings? Is there any parental controls in the newer OS? Maybe to set time limits and whitelist only certain sites? In my house we generally have responsible parental supervision for the kids, at her house, who knows.

I'm hoping that someone else can answer this.

(I mainly use my Windows machines for developing photos. Almost everything else is either done on one of my Linux boxes or on tablets / phones.)

[sowilson]

Dumbing this thread down a bit, but I could really use an assist.

My sister called me last night. Hers six year old son is upset that their laptop computer won't play his games. I bought her that laptop 8 years ago, for her 40th birthday. It's an Inspiron 1525 running Vista Business. Obviously, she's getting Vista unsupported messages, and quite possibly Chrome Java unsupported messages. She does not use a computer much if at all. When he was born, she wanted a camera so I suggested she get an iPhone. This was the best decision of my life, as I've rarely or never need to be her tech support from that point forward.

The brat has an iPad. I'm not sure why, but there are things he cannot do with that. I think a Windows PC is still going to be lowest common denominator, and that everybody still needs one at some point, especially if he ever gets to playing downloaded games. She want's a Macbook to go with her iOS devices LOL, but why would you spend $1500 if you're not doing much of anything outside of browsing?

Is getting the lowest end Windows10 machine the way to go? Is it better to get something with a hard-drive, or would the Cloudbook be much better for battery life?

How can I (or can I) make a Win10 machine bombproof? Bear in mind I'm using a Chromebook 99% of the time, so I haven't ruled that out.

You can get a Mac at a pawn shop for 3-400$. It won't be the latest and greatest but it would fit in with the kids other hardware.

[Synthetickiller]

The tempered glass screen protectors, at least the ones I've seen and the one I have, is not really tempered glass. But for the low price of "insurance", I don't really care. I think they're more like thick plastic.

I have an S6. Got it last year. I'm considering getting a Note, not necessarily the latest gen, but maybe the next most recent one.

A lot of them shatter like glass, at least form what I've seen. They don't feel like plastic at all (cold & slick like glass).

I might just end up with any kind of screen protector, just to stop scratching the screen. It's "strong" enough, so long as I'm careful. My UAG case should do enough of a job to protect it, hopefully.

Dumbing this thread down a bit, but I could really use an assist.

My sister called me last night. Hers six year old son is upset that their laptop computer won't play his games. I bought her that laptop 8 years ago, for her 40th birthday. It's an Inspiron 1525 running Vista Business. Obviously, she's getting Vista unsupported messages, and quite possibly Chrome Java unsupported messages. She does not use a computer much if at all. When he was born, she wanted a camera so I suggested she get an iPhone. This was the best decision of my life, as I've rarely or never need to be her tech support from that point forward.

The brat has an iPad. I'm not sure why, but there are things he cannot do with that. I think a Windows PC is still going to be lowest common denominator, and that everybody still needs one at some point, especially if he ever gets to playing downloaded games. She want's a Macbook to go with her iOS devices LOL, but why would you spend $1500 if you're not doing much of anything outside of browsing?

Is getting the lowest end Windows10 machine the way to go? Is it better to get something with a hard-drive, or would the Cloudbook be much better for battery life?

How can I (or can I) make a Win10 machine bombproof? Bear in mind I'm using a Chromebook 99% of the time, so I haven't ruled that out.

What games? There's no way to answer this without knowing what he's using it for. He's playing Crysis 3 or minecraft or solitair? lol
Almost anything being 8 years old is ancient.



If you want to build a windows 10 desktop, you can't futureproof (I think that's the term you're looking for) as Moore's Law states that processor speeds double every 18 months (still holds true since the mid 60s). Video cards seem to improve 15% to 20% every generation. I just wanted to give a reason why. I could give you specs or explain how to build one (the component quality would be a lot higher than store bought).

[CliveWarren]

What games? There's no way to answer this without knowing what he's using it for. He's playing Crysis 3 or minecraft or solitair? lol
Almost anything being 8 years old is ancient.



If you want to build a windows 10 desktop, you can't futureproof (I think that's the term you're looking for) as Moore's Law states that processor speeds double every 18 months (still holds true since the mid 60s). Video cards seem to improve 15% to 20% every generation. I just wanted to give a reason why. I could give you specs or explain how to build one (the component quality would be a lot higher than store bought).

We don't think it will be games like that, at least for another five years. He's only six. The only thing I've heard mentioned is Animal Jam, but I don't know if that's even an installed application or browser based.

I didn't mean future-proof. What I meant is reliable from a "OMG why is my computer doing this?" or "why does the IRS/CCRA/Russian mob wan't me to buy iTunes cards and send me the activation #s?" kind of scenario. I do not trust kids around Microsoft machines. I think other machines are much less exploitable when left in naive hands. Maybe the situation has improved in recent years.

[Synthetickiller]

Any current laptop would be fine.
Maybe you could see how well it runs on your chromebook? I know the specs are a lot lower, but that's relative to old hardware you're comparing it to.


If you do want to go MS, there are lot of walkthroughs for how to lock down a windows PC. It's not the easiest option, but it's there if you're interested.

[Domicron]

We don't think it will be games like that, at least for another five years. He's only six. The only thing I've heard mentioned is Animal Jam, but I don't know if that's even an installed application or browser based.

I didn't mean future-proof. What I meant is reliable from a "OMG why is my computer doing this?" or "why does the IRS/CCRA/Russian mob wan't me to buy iTunes cards and send me the activation #s?" kind of scenario. I do not trust kids around Microsoft machines. I think other machines are much less exploitable when left in naive hands. Maybe the situation has improved in recent years.

i think kids should be supervised when using the computer even if they're just playing video games. and if they're browsing online, then they definitely need to be supervised. apparently there's some pretty adult content available online, or so i've heard.

seriously though i'd try to keep an eye out for a DELL or other big name brand laptop on sale this labor day and just pull the trigger. honestly for like $500-$600 you should be good for at least a couple/few years for toddler games and simple browsing.

[KBKB]

If you want to build a windows 10 desktop, you can't futureproof (I think that's the term you're looking for) as Moore's Law states that processor speeds double every 18 months (still holds true since the mid 60s). Video cards seem to improve 15% to 20% every generation. I just wanted to give a reason why. I could give you specs or explain how to build one (the component quality would be a lot higher than store bought).

The original formulation of Moore's Law was (an observation) that the number of transistors per square inch doubled every two years. One of Moore's colleague's at Intel, David House, restated it in terms of performance - a chip's performance would double every 18 months. (I had to look this up. I had remembered that Moore's Law applied to transistor counts, but didn't remember the rest of it.)

In terms of CPU clock speeds, I don't think we've seen a recent doubling. I built my Windows desktop nearly three years ago using a 3.5GHz (3.9GHz turbo) core i7. We should have nearly two doublings now if Moore's Law still applied to clock speeds; i.e. it should be possible to buy 14GHz CPUs now. But that hasn't happened.

What has happened instead is that more cores are being put a chip - which may still be following Moore's Law. More of the functions of the motherboard are being put onto the chip as well. It may be that, for certain types of problems, we're still seeing a true doubling of performance. But that performance is harder to realize now. Programmatic changes are required to convert a single-threaded program to one capable of using multiple cores.

I think that more R&D effort is being aimed at the mobile market these days.

At some point, Moore's Law will end. I think we're getting close. It may even have happened already.

[urbanlifter]

With their age, have you thought about maybe something like a Kindle or Leapfrog that they can play learning games on? Those you have full control over the content, the time used, while never having to worry about viruses or them goobering something up.

Past that point I would watch Woot for something, I got a nice Asus touch screen laptop for the wife for around $600. Decent price, probably 4-5 year expected life in terms of specs, sleek lightweight design (think MacBook only 1\3 price). Viruses shouldn't be an issue unless you are surfing places you don't belong, expensive but for peace of mind the full Norton or Macafee suite have pretty all inclusive protection.

Third option would be like Dom suggested, I have a 8 year old Dell that still works great for surfing the web. My kids also use it for playing learning games on PBSkids.org, they will sit on there for hours if you let them playing games.

[Synthetickiller]

The original formulation of Moore's Law was (an observation) that the number of transistors per square inch doubled every two years. One of Moore's colleague's at Intel, David House, restated it in terms of performance - a chip's performance would double every 18 months. (I had to look this up. I had remembered that Moore's Law applied to transistor counts, but didn't remember the rest of it.)

In terms of CPU clock speeds, I don't think we've seen a recent doubling. I built my Windows desktop nearly three years ago using a 3.5GHz (3.9GHz turbo) core i7. We should have nearly two doublings now if Moore's Law still applied to clock speeds; i.e. it should be possible to buy 14GHz CPUs now. But that hasn't happened.

What has happened instead is that more cores are being put a chip - which may still be following Moore's Law. More of the functions of the motherboard are being put onto the chip as well. It may be that, for certain types of problems, we're still seeing a true doubling of performance. But that performance is harder to realize now. Programmatic changes are required to convert a single-threaded program to one capable of using multiple cores.

I think that more R&D effort is being aimed at the mobile market these days.

At some point, Moore's Law will end. I think we're getting close. It may even have happened already.

Yeah, I don't mean speed.
Mhz, at this point is totally irrelevant. My old 5ghz 2600k has the same performance as my 4790k @ 4.4ghz. That's a significant improvement in 2 generations.
I'm talking about architecture in terms of completing tasks. I agree, the multiple core cpu revolution has kept it going. From what I've read, moore's law is still alive and well, despite desktops being stuck at 4 cores (we'll ignore AMD for now, since their 8 core cpus are simply not keeping up). I think what articles for the past few years discuss about moore's law is the doubling of transistors & not clock speeds.

If you talk about speeds (not usable speeds mind you, lol), the higest clocked cpu was an AMD Bulldozer FX chip. Someone cracked the 8.8ghz threshold on LN2. And I lied, its 9.3ghz, jesus... but it looks like there's a cold bug or something b/c that's not happening on 1.3v. http://valid.x86.fr/iad9i5



You bring up a good point about programming for multiple cores. Windows 10 does a much better job with anything over 2 cores vs Windows 7. It's noticeable for me. I usually move from one OS to another (win 2000 to xp, xp to vista, etc) and you always see a performance drop. From Win 7 to Win 10, I didn't. We can't realize how much better cpus are getting if the code is crap.

What you say about the mobile field is right. Everything is mobile now (and drives me up the freaking wall!). It seems like people not only ditch their desktops & laptops, but now are not even using tablets. Everyone just wants their phone to do everything. Idk how people exist without using a desktop or laptop. I have 3 monitors & that's barely enough for research purposes. I'd like 6 at some point, lol.

[CliveWarren]

With their age, have you thought about maybe something like a Kindle or Leapfrog that they can play learning games on? Those you have full control over the content, the time used, while never having to worry about viruses or them goobering something up.

Past that point I would watch Woot for something, I got a nice Asus touch screen laptop for the wife for around $600. Decent price, probably 4-5 year expected life in terms of specs, sleek lightweight design (think MacBook only 1\3 price). Viruses shouldn't be an issue unless you are surfing places you don't belong, expensive but for peace of mind the full Norton or Macafee suite have pretty all inclusive protection.

Third option would be like Dom suggested, I have a 8 year old Dell that still works great for surfing the web. My kids also use it for playing learning games on PBSkids.org, they will sit on there for hours if you let them playing games.

I can't have him on a LeapPad. My sister got him an iPad for his 4th birthday, and the pre-school and after-school programs already expose him to computers. The slightly older kids come over and show him stuff on the computer too. That genie is out of the bottle.

Yeah, I'm not sure I agree about "Viruses shouldn't be an issue unless you are surfing places you don't belong". My little brother wasn't anywhere he didn't belong (had Child Control software) when he was 10, but his computer was constantly infected.

BTW my main machine is an 8 year old Q6600 running Vista 64-bit, and it's still going strong.

[urbanlifter]

Yeah, I'm not sure I agree about "Viruses shouldn't be an issue unless you are surfing places you don't belong". My little brother wasn't anywhere he didn't belong (had Child Control software) when he was 10, but his computer was constantly infected.

Some of my friends are heavy into Tech, one to the point where I could see him being a member of the hacker group 'Anonymous' in his spare time LOL. They claim most anti-virus software are junk and unnecessary, my Norton expired two years ago and I have never had issues, even when online gaming. It's what you surf, the emails you open up, things you chose to download that infect your PC. Sure, hackers can infect anyone, but that also includes people with sophisticated protection as well (if they can hack the government, they can hack you).

[Domicron]

as far as viruses go, the standard rules are good but it's still possible to get something. for a kids' pc, i wouldn't bother; i'd just make sure i don't do anything on the computer that matters like entering in credit card info, signing into my own email account, etc. if it catches a virus, just wipe it and continue.

[CanadaBuilder2]

Dumbing this thread down a bit, but I could really use an assist.

I'll give a more thorough reply later, but the lowest end Win10 machine (laptop?) should do for any game that's older than 2014, or 2013, and does not required giant GPUs. Then you need someone to clean format the thing, to remove any junk it came with, and just install the bare OS and drivers only.

I'll make a guess they want something like DOTA or LoL or the latest WarCraft / StarCraft type of game. Maybe whatever Pokemon game is available for PC. Or Minecraft for Windows.

Then make an image or backup, or use something like Shadow(something?), Deep Freeze ...

For the network, you need to block the laptop from your router. So you control their internet access, at least at home. You can't control it if they bring the laptop to their friend's house, or surf at Tim Hortons / Starbucks / Free Mall Wifi. If they surf through https, or anything encrypted, you need something that does Deep Packet Inspection and that's usually not practical for the home as that requires higher end hardware / software / DIY router thing (pfsense, edgerouter, linux box firewall variants).

But for reference, ask the kid what game he wants to play, name the game. We'll know more what he needs.

My kids play on a 3 year old tablet. Android. Limited to whatever is in the Google Play Store under 200 mb. So it's all blocky minecraft looking games, and youtube all day. (And I put NetFlix and set it to the "kiddy channel".)

For the other "parental" stuff, you can't expect to know more than your kids when they start growing up and getting more experience. You can only temper them with good advice and upbringing, and manners and stuff like that. I know, because my own parents are essentially computer illiterate and they ... obviously couldn't control me, when I was a kid. I rooted a bunch of boxes a couple decades ago, helped an ISP fix some security, and got legitimate free internet access until they shut down. I'm now a good boy. (Always have been, heh.)

If you put a cookie jar high up in the top level shelf of your kitchen, you will find it broken on the floor one day. If you want something kept hidden, you need a safe, or at least a cabinet with a lock. (And you might find they can break the lock one day too.)

[KBKB]

I finally got around to looking at the Zalman MS800 (case) that I ordered.

It's a cheap case. Where it's metal, it seems like it's steel, but it's on the flimsy side. There's a lot of plastic too.

So far, I don't like it as well as the Lian Li cases that I've been using recently nor the Antec cases that I used before that. (I'm still using those old Antec cases. Whenever I do a new build for one of our Linux boxes, I just reuse those old cases.)

On the other hand, I knew it was cheap when I bought it. And, it'll probably meet my needs. I basically wanted a bunch of bays in the front into which to put some hot swap bays. I spent a long while looking, but did not find many cases which would meet my requirements.

I bent down some of the metal tabs that are preventing me from installing the hot swap bays. (Supermicro calls them "mobile racks".) These tabs are intended to help support optical drives or other drives / adapters with the same form factor. Since the mobile racks occupy three 5.25 bays, at least some of those tabs need to be flattened so that they can go in. I have a 6" C clamp that works on the left hand side (as viewed from the front), but the tabs on the right hand side are quite a lot longer and deeper - I'll need a deeper throated C clamp. I'll visit my local Ace Hardware tomorrow to find something suitable.

I still need to order the rest of the parts, but I want to see what things look like once I get the hot swap bays in. E.g. just eyeballing it, it appears that I might not be able to install the second upper fan due to interference with the fan on the back of the hot swap bay. I want to also see how far those fans extend into the main part of the case. That may affect the motherboard that I choose...

[KBKB]

I've been using Malwarebytes on one of my Windows machines. It seems okay, but as stated earlier, I don't use my Windows machines for activities which are likely to get viruses. I use these machines mainly for running Lightroom and Photoshop.

[urbanlifter]

Speak of the devil CW, woot.com today....

http://computers.woot.com/plus/apple...w_gh_cp_2_wp_3

[CliveWarren]

Speak of the devil CW, woot.com today....

http://computers.woot.com/plus/apple...w_gh_cp_2_wp_3

Thanks, but I think this is too rich for my blood. With the terrible exchange rate, and the duty/brokerage situation especially.

[CanadaBuilder2]

Thanks, but I think this is too rich for my blood. With the terrible exchange rate, and the duty/brokerage situation especially.

I noticed something about ... oh wait, those were Ipad Minis... RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) was offering them to open an account or something. TD is giving away Samsung TV's.

[Synthetickiller]

BTW my main machine is an 8 year old Q6600 running Vista 64-bit, and it's still going strong.

I'll obviously tell people to upgrade whenever they have an excuse. I view computers like people here view equipment. Should I buy ____? The answer is always yes, lol.
But... if the system is not bogged down (assuming you're not doing cpu heavy tasks), a good way to upgrade it on the cheap would be to drop a solid state drive in there if you already haven't. That would breath life into it like you wouldn't believe.

I finally got around to looking at the Zalman MS800 (case) that I ordered.

It's a cheap case. Where it's metal, it seems like it's steel, but it's on the flimsy side. There's a lot of plastic too.

So far, I don't like it as well as the Lian Li cases that I've been using recently nor the Antec cases that I used before that. (I'm still using those old Antec cases. Whenever I do a new build for one of our Linux boxes, I just reuse those old cases.)

On the other hand, I knew it was cheap when I bought it. And, it'll probably meet my needs. I basically wanted a bunch of bays in the front into which to put some hot swap bays. I spent a long while looking, but did not find many cases which would meet my requirements.

I bent down some of the metal tabs that are preventing me from installing the hot swap bays. (Supermicro calls them "mobile racks".) These tabs are intended to help support optical drives or other drives / adapters with the same form factor. Since the mobile racks occupy three 5.25 bays, at least some of those tabs need to be flattened so that they can go in. I have a 6" C clamp that works on the left hand side (as viewed from the front), but the tabs on the right hand side are quite a lot longer and deeper - I'll need a deeper throated C clamp. I'll visit my local Ace Hardware tomorrow to find something suitable.

I still need to order the rest of the parts, but I want to see what things look like once I get the hot swap bays in. E.g. just eyeballing it, it appears that I might not be able to install the second upper fan due to interference with the fan on the back of the hot swap bay. I want to also see how far those fans extend into the main part of the case. That may affect the motherboard that I choose...

That's the only issue with getting cheaper cases. I can't blame you. Hell, I said it was a good idea. It's just difficult getting one on the cheap.
Since it's not going to see high workloads, just make sure to drop in that 120mm intake fan at the bottom. I think the most important fan, actually is that 92mm fan that mounts to the bracket. I think you said it won't work. Why is that? It shouldn't interfere with an add on card or the rear fan on hot swap bay. If you can just place that fan at heatsink height, you're set. That's more than enough air moving. If you're worried about temps, upgrade to something better than the stock fan. Coolermaster makes a few good fans. Almost anything that's Gentle Typhoon brand is solid. The Enermax Magma might be a good fan to go with as well. I own two of the 80mm versions & they do an excellent job of moving air in a fairly straight line. They are half the price of the GT (Gentle Typhoon). My money would probably go towards the GT as they are just amazing fans.

[dieselmike]

Have a quick tech question. Please keep answers as Simple-Stupid as possible for me.

I recently hooked up my Blu-Ray to an old Sony Surround sound system I have (not too old - about 6 -7 years). This is how it is hooked up:

An HDMI cord going from "Out" of Blu-Ray to "In" of Sony Reciever. Then another HDMI going from "Out" of Receiver to "IN" to TV.

DVD's play absolutely fine. Pic is good, sound is good. Hear audio coming from all 5 speakers + the sub.

Blu Ray not so much. When I first start a Blu Ray, you can hear all audio in the form of music, explosions, background noise, Darth Vader breathing, etc. But no sound coming from the dialogue of the actors. You see their lips moving, but no sound coming from them.

The quick fix I have found is, if I unplug the HDMI in the back of the BluRay player - WHILE the movie is playing - and plug it right back in, all sound comes through and everything works. Sounds great from all speakers. But I have to do this EVERY time I stop and start the movie. And not necessarily a complete shut down either. If I simply "Stop" the movie but leave all power and them come back to "resume", same thing happens and I have to do the unplug-plug thing again. Pausing and starting up however will not affect it.

Any idea? I was thinking maybe my HDMI cables are outdated. Is there such a thing?

[Synthetickiller]

HD tvs (1080P) use HDMI 1.4.
UHD tvs (4k) use HDMI 2.0.

That said, you don't need the new cables.

The first thing I would do is hook it up to a different HDMI port on the receiver & see if you can replicate the issue.
The second thing would be to directly hook it up to the TV & see if that happens again.

If that doesn't diagnose the issue, test both cables going into the TV directly.

It's possible that the hdmi cable was damaged (It's happened to me). If you can verify that the cable isn't working right, pick one up on amazon for cheap. (well under $10 if you don't need anything longer than 6' to 10').


If none of those things fix it, report back & i'll see what I can come up with.

[dieselmike]

HD tvs (1080P) use HDMI 1.4.
UHD tvs (4k) use HDMI 2.0.

That said, you don't need the new cables.

There's no harm in using a 2.0 cable with a 1080p TV, just overkill correct?

The first thing I would do is hook it up to a different HDMI port on the receiver & see if you can replicate the issue.
The second thing would be to directly hook it up to the TV & see if that happens again.

The first test I will perform tonight when I get home and report back tomorrow.

I can already answer the second question. Prior to hooking up the Surround sound I did have the Blu Ray hooked directly to the TV. There was no loss of spoken dialogue in this configuration.


Note: This is currently the exact cable from the receiver to the TV:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It is also that cable that was used when the Blu Ray was hooked directly to the TV.

The one currently going from the Blu Ray to the receiver is an old short cable I bought many years ago from Monosite. (probably a first generation HDMI cable - If that matters).

I just find it weird that this only occurs with Blu Ray Disc and not DVD's.

[urbanlifter]

Another thing you may try is going into the menu of the Blu Ray player and look for software updates. I'm having trouble with mine right now because it was unplugged for 6 months and does not want to play BR at all (DVD's are fine). Blu Ray's these days require access to the interwebz to have all their 'Interactive' components updated, maybe it's been a while since you updated the software?

[dieselmike]

Good thought Urban. Will add that to the checklist tonight. I would think that it would send me a message like: "software update available would you like to install?" Or maybe it has an auto-update feature which may or may not be turned on. I will check all of this. It is connected to my home wi-fi.