Android Box - TV fried --- S802/S805

[ddzc]

Hi all,

I have a weird story to share because I can't figure it out for myself.

I have a couple of android boxes, both are s805 running 14.0 xbmc. I was living out east for a bit for work and just moved back home. I got these boxes out east...no problems with them.

Both boxes give the same exact symptoms on both of the tvs, which I'll describe below.

I tried them in my second bedroom on my Samsung LCD. When I boot in to the Android splash page, "usually" it's ok but when I boot in to xbmc, it displays for 5 seconds and then the video shuts off on my tv and the power light starts blinking like it has no signal. I tried with both boxes, same thing.

I took the boxes in to my main living room, I have a 52" Sharp Aquos LED TV. It started doing the exact same thing. I have digital tv from my provider and no problems at all watching tv from it. I tried the same hdmi cable, same thing.

Yesterday, I tested it again and my Sharp was really acting up, I had to do a reset to get it back up and running. I put it back on my cable tv box and it worked fine. Don't ask why, I wanted to test the android one more time on it bc it was blowing my mind on why it wasn't working...my tv is now completely fried and I have to bring it in for repair. It looks like an LED strip is burnt out, according to the error codes I'm receiving. I'm actually scared to death to test this on my other tv right now and wont.

Has anyone heard or seen anything so bizare? Is there a way I can test these boxes, the power and hdmi outputs? Something with the ios or xbmc image, I have no clue. Is there anything I can do at all other than burn these boxes, I'm a little frustrated.

Thanks

[satcomranger]

The first thing i would do is take a look at your cable line coming in from outside .. make sure there is a proper ground connection on the ground block / splitter or whatever they use at the Point of entry into the home.

Any electrical work in the home, like adding outlets, home extensions etc? Age of home?

And for the instances where your tv stick goes to no signal .. make sure that XBMC or whatever it is now called is not overscanning .. Does it boot into Android okay .. before XBMC is loaded .. wasnt quite clear ..

[RISCy Dude]

Some HDMI devices won't tolerate "hot-swapping". Connecting the cable when devices are powered can result in damage to some devices, usually a poorly designed device.
It would be fruitful if the Android box's power supply could be checked while under load.
Closely visually inspect the TV's HDMI port for physical damage. Android box and cables too.
I would think the only damage the Android box could do to the TV, is damage it's HDMI transceiver or input switch. I guess it could do damage more deeply in to the TV.
In addition to what satcomranger said, using quality surge suppressors or a UPS on modern equipment can spare a lot of headaches. Specially if you live in an area with high occurrence of storm activity or a residential/household power provider who's output is dirty or poorly regulated(brownouts, sags or spikes).
I wonder how many electronic devices are "quietly" destroyed by those events. We blame the product makers, but I don't think the blame is theirs alone.
Good luck, I hope you find the solution or cause.

[ddzc]

Appreciate the responses!

My place is new. I actually just had my outlet repaired 2 weeks ago where this TV and all the components are connected to. Previously, the outlet was wired to my light switches so when I turned the lights off, the outlet would shut off as well killing power to the tv and all the electronics. I had the power outlet replaced with the proper ground and now it stays on at all times, the switch doesn't control it any longer. In the past 2 weeks, we had one power outage but the tv wasn't on. My place is new, 1 yr old condo.

How do I check the overscanning? With my testing on both TVs, they all went out right after XBMC was launched. Only once did the power went out when it was in the Android splash page, which was the last time the TV worked before it fried. I also diagnosed the errors from the TV and it looks like an LED strip is burnt out.

How can I check the Androids power supply under load? When my main TV was working, I tried working hdmi cables, different hdmi ports, etc...same result. I can't test it any more bc the tv is completely gone now. I'm worried about testing these on my other tv, I don't want another fried tv. I was thinking the same thing, how can the Android box blow the tv...I figured, maybe the hdmi port if anything...I can't wrap my head around what is going on and I'm scared of playing around with it on my other tv right now.

[RISCy Dude]

I can relate to and understand your worries. That "potential to damage" will cause apprehension.
Regarding your condo being new. While that is certainly a plus, what your local power distributing concern is supplying is out of your or the condo's control. All we can do is defend against the Sags, Spikes, etc.
Spikes and sags are not always detectable by casual observation. You may not see them when they are happening.
That being said, I still cannot rule out the Android box.
Maybe a cable tester or port tester would help. Though I have not located a cheap port tester, some cable testers are on ****.
I have not used them.
Regarding the load test for the power supply(wall wart, ac adapter), at the minimum you will need a volt meter or multimeter or DVM, etc. If electronics or electrical work is unfamiliar to you, testing will require a little study. But basically, without some sort of breakout box, you would need to use the meter's leads to carefully pierce the jacket of each of the power supply cord's conductors. One lead for each of the two conductors in the cord(DO NOT SHORT conductors together in any way). If you are using a digital meter, polarity will not be an issue. once the meter is in place, turn on the Android box(dont have to connect to TV) and check the meter to see if the value is the same as is stated on the power supply. But voltage under load is only one aspect of the supply's output. How "clean" it is is also very important to digital devices, often measured as ripple or distortion. More advanced equipment is required to test for that. You can avoid all of that by locating a suitable replacement power supply, but then you would not know if the power supply was the problem. Maybe you can find a cheap, small-screen secondhand TV at a thrift store or craigslist, to be your "Test Dummy". Good luck

[RISCy Dude]

When you say,"LED strip", are you referring to the TV's screen, as in a row or line of pixels? Does this also happen when using the TV's built in RF tuner or an analog input?

[satcomranger]

Was the outlet replaced by an electrician? If the outlet has the hot and neutral flipped with respect to the real neutral ground it may give you problems ..

Let the stick boot to android ... then go into the display settings and make sure that it is properly calibrated with the edges of the screen .. that is how to make sure at least android is not overscanning ..
also xbmc has the same thing were you calibrate the corners of the screen .. some set dont handle overscanning well ..

just a few thoughts ..

[ddzc]

Sorry guys, I honestly appreciate the help and responses. I've been away for work, just returned.

I got the TV repaired. the TOP LED strip on my TV was burnt out. Apparently the tech told me that ALL Sharps die in 5 years and need the LED strip replaced, either top or bottom. My TV is exactly 5 years old. So I'm honestly not sure what to think about it. I tossed the boxes and bought new ones, being shipped as we speak.

In regards to the subject about the outlet...I had an electrician friend swap the receptcable. See attached (this was before) . I was told to replac eis with a receptable which has those two gold plates attached (as opposed to detached in the photo) and to cap the red cable. This resolved my issue in terms of the light outlet no longer controlling the power to that receptacle. Did it burn my tv out, I still don't have hard evidence to prove it...bad timing, not sure?

I'm going to buy that HDMI tester and test it out. Is there a device or tester which allows me to just plug the android tv box in to and it reads to me the voltage output? I tried googling with no luck.

In regards to the issue with the Samsungs, I did some research on it. I found a few other Samsung users with the same issue. One guy advised that he fixed it by covering the hole in the hdmi cord that goes into the tv (its called the device identifier pin) the very last one on top, as described in the attached pic.. Apparently, some smart tvs dont recognize the device as HDCP (covering the one hole on hdmi prevents the error).

Someone else said it's because the TV remote and android box use the same inferred code on the remote. I don't even have a tv remote for the tv, was lost yrs ago, just my digital cable remote to control the tv on and off. What are your thoughts?

Thanks!

[RISCy Dude]

In regards to the issue with the Samsungs, I did some research on it. I found a few other Samsung users with the same issue. One guy advised that he fixed it by covering the hole in the hdmi cord that goes into the tv (its called the device identifier pin) the very last one on top, as described in the attached pic.[ATTACH=CONFIG]10090[/ATTACH]. Apparently, some smart tvs dont recognize the device as HDCP (covering the one hole on hdmi prevents the error).

...What are your thoughts?

Thanks!

Hello, I don't understand how covering the hole, would change anything in the relationships between the cable and connected devices. The contacts are inside, top and bottom(the "little fingers"). I can't see from the photo, but have you wrapped the tape on into the connector to cover the "little finger"?

Regarding the outlet, they generally come with the receptacles tied together. A small removable tab between each receptacle ties them together, so only one source of A/C(single circuit) is needed for both. The one that was replaced, had this small tab removed. That allowed each receptacle to be powered by a different circuit(A/C source). In your case, one to the switched circuit, one to the other(always on?), they were independent.
I don't see how that could have damaged your TV, as it would be like plugging or unplugging the wall wart(A/C adapter, power supply, etc). Unless someone stood there and cycled the switch on and off repeatedly(like kids will do sometimes with light switches). I don't think it would hurt your equipment.
I would be inclined to accept, the apparently, "well defined" life expectancy of the TV's light source. I do not know the MTBF of your TV's LED light source/circuit. Have you found anything on the net to backup what the tech said about 5 years?
As far as testing the HDMI output port. I have yet to find a cheap "port tester" device to do that, though I have not spent much time on it.
I am no HDMI or TV expert, not even close. But I cannot imagine a scenario where the HDMI output port of your Android TV box would cause the problem you had. I could understand TV port damage or damage to the TV's HDMI transceiver or HDMI switch. I would think the screen's light source, would be all but completely isolated, from the HDMI port and related circuitry.
As far as your TV boxes working or not? I don't know, but I wouldn't think they would damage your Sharp, at least not in the way yours failed.
I hope the TV repair bill did not set you back too far.
Good luck.
-RISCy Dude

[ddzc]

Hello, I don't understand how covering the hole, would change anything in the relationships between the cable and connected devices. The contacts are inside, top and bottom(the "little fingers"). I can't see from the photo, but have you wrapped the tape on into the connector to cover the "little finger"?

Regarding the outlet, they generally come with the receptacles tied together. A small removable tab between each receptacle ties them together, so only one source of A/C(single circuit) is needed for both. The one that was replaced, had this small tab removed. That allowed each receptacle to be powered by a different circuit(A/C source). In your case, one to the switched circuit, one to the other(always on?), they were independent.
I don't see how that could have damaged your TV, as it would be like plugging or unplugging the wall wart(A/C adapter, power supply, etc). Unless someone stood there and cycled the switch on and off repeatedly(like kids will do sometimes with light switches). I don't think it would hurt your equipment.
I would be inclined to accept, the apparently, "well defined" life expectancy of the TV's light source. I do not know the MTBF of your TV's LED light source/circuit. Have you found anything on the net to backup what the tech said about 5 years?
As far as testing the HDMI output port. I have yet to find a cheap "port tester" device to do that, though I have not spent much time on it.
I am no HDMI or TV expert, not even close. But I cannot imagine a scenario where the HDMI output port of your Android TV box would cause the problem you had. I could understand TV port damage or damage to the TV's HDMI transceiver or HDMI switch. I would think the screen's light source, would be all but completely isolated, from the HDMI port and related circuitry.
As far as your TV boxes working or not? I don't know, but I wouldn't think they would damage your Sharp, at least not in the way yours failed.
I hope the TV repair bill did not set you back too far.
Good luck.
-RISCy Dude

Thanks bud, appreciate the response.

I'm going to assume the same, the LED fried based on it's life expectancy. I found a couple others with similar issues online but not a slew of people. I still don't know why it doesn't work on the Samsung but I'm travelling for work again so I wont be able to test it with the new boxes. The TV bill was 280, decent I suppose considering I got many other quotes over 400.

That image and the details were taken from someone else who advised of the "solution". I haven't tested it personally by plugging that hole for the HDCP.