Video output

This page is about the players' video output. See also Video decoding and Audio pages.

Introduction

All players feature an HDMI connector (type A) for transmitting digital video and audio data to a compatible screen: digital television, computer monitor, video projector etc.

The HMP200, HMP130, HMP100 models have an additional VGA connector (DE-15) for analog video.
To connect the player to a DVI screen, you can use an HDMI / VGA to DVI adapter or cable.

The player's video output signal is progressive RGB 24-bit color depth at resolutions up to 4K on HMP400 and HMP400W players, respectively 1080p on older players. The resolution is configured from Control Center > Display settings page and custom video timings are also supported.

Note:

The content rendering is done using a 4:2:2 Y'CbCr chroma subsampling scheme on all SpinetiX players up to HMP350 and then converted to 4:4:4 at the output - this might result in chroma subsampling artifacts. This is not present on HMP400 and HMP400W players as the rendering is done at 4:4:4 (non-subsampled).

HDMI port

All players feature an HDMI connector (type A) for transmitting digital video and audio data to a compatible screen: digital television, computer monitor, video projector etc. HDMI is a digital replacement for analog video standards. The players adhere to the HDMI 1.3a version of the HDMI specification and support overscan (black edges around the picture). The player doesn't output High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) protected video signal, so no HDCP support is required on the screen. HDCP enabled displays or repeaters can be used.

For HMP350, HMP300, and DiVA players:

HDMI Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) protocol is supported and used for display power saving.
A screw whole is present on the player's case to accommodate HDMI connectors with screw-locking system.

VGA port

This section applies to HMP200, HMP130, and HMP100 devices.

These models have an additional VGA connector (DE-15) for analog video.

By default, the HMP turns on the VGA output signal only if a screen is detected using the Display Data Channel (DDC) signal and turns it off otherwise. That's because the VGA power consumption is up to 50% of the total power consumption of the player. This can be changed from HMP Control Center > Display Settings page > Power Save tab.

If the screen does not provide a DDC signal or the cable does not have the DDC pin connected (this is typical of some plasma screens with legacy support for analogue devices), the HMP will not output the VGA signal. In this case, the "VGA output enable" option must be set to "Always On".

Resolutions above 720p will show a considerable quality degradation when using VGA output port (this is a limitation of VGA) and it is recommended to use the HDMI output for any HD resolutions.

Some older LCD/Plasma screens, often without HDMI (like Samsung SyncMaster 242MP LCD TV), have a low-capability analogue-to-digital converter inside the display which cannot handle resolutions above 1024x768. You will not see an image on the screen when using the VGA connected with an HMP configured with a higher resolution. The solution is to buy an HDMI to DVI adapter.

Using both ports simultaneously

The HMP will output the same video signal to both VGA and HDMI ports, therefore it is possible to connect two displays to both output ports in the same time. However, this is not recommended for various reasons:

This will increase the operating temperature of the device, which is of particular importance with the HMP200 model.
The power consumption will increase considerably since VGA power consumption is up to 50% of the total power consumption of the player.
The display settings are identical for both displays (matching those entered on HMP Control Center > Display Settings page), thus you cannot use particular display settings if the other display doesn't support them.

Standard video modes

When selecting the advanced configuration under "Display settings" in Control Center, the player video output signal mode as can be selected as resolution@refresh_rate from the following standard video modes:

Resolution	Vertical refresh	Aspect ratio	Standard	Applies to	Common name
4096×2160	50, 60 Hz	≈19:10	HDMI	HMP400, HMP400W	DCI 4K
3840x2160	50, 60 Hz	16:9	HDMI	HMP400, HMP400W	4K UHD or 2160p
2560×1080	50, 60 Hz	21:9	HDMI	HMP400, HMP400W	1080p ultrawide or UW-FHD
1920x1080	50, 60 Hz	16:9	HDMI	HMP200 or later	1080p
1920x1080	24, 25, 30 Hz	16:9	HDMI	All	1080p
1680x1050	60 Hz	16:10	VESA, CVT-RB	HMP200 or later	WSXGA+
1400x1050	60 Hz	4:3	VESA, CVT-RB	HMP200 or later	SXGA+
1280x800	60 Hz	16:10	VESA, CVT-RB	All	WXGA
1280x720	50, 60 Hz	16:9	HDMI	All	720p
1024x768	60 Hz	4:3	VESA	All	XGA
1024x640	60 Hz	16:10	GTF	All	WSVGA
800x600	60 Hz	4:3	VESA	All	SVGA
800x500	60 Hz	16:10	GTF	All
768x480	60 Hz	16:10	GTF	All	WVGA
720x576	50 Hz	16:9, 4:3	HDMI	All	576p
720x480	60 Hz	16:9, 4:3	HDMI	All	480p
640x480	60 Hz	4:3	VESA, GTF, HDMI	All	VGA

Notes:

Not all the above modes can be selected on HMP300 and DiVA.
VESA standard actually refers to Display Monitor Timing (DMT) standard.
GTF stands for Generalized Timing Formula.
CVT-RB stands for Coordinated Video Timings (VESA-2003-9).
HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface.

Troubleshooting

No signal

If the screen doesn't detect the player's video output signal, make sure that the player is up and running - check the LED(s) activity for that. Otherwise, it could be that the screen doesn't support the selected video mode - in this case, change the player's display settings or reset the player to factory default settings.

In case of VGA connections, if the screen does not provide a DDC signal or the cable does not have the DDC pin connected (this is typical of some plasma screens with legacy support for analogue devices), the HMP will not output the VGA signal. In this case, the "VGA output enable" option (see above) must be set to "Always On".

Cable length limitations

The player is primarily designed to be local to the screen(s) it serves. If extension over long distances if required, note the limitations below and/or consider using a combined distribution system (such as those based on HDBase-T).

HDMI
Although no maximum length for an HDMI cable is specified, signal attenuation (dependent on the cable's construction quality and conducting materials) limits usable lengths in practice - see HMDI Cables page for more details. Running Long Cable Lengths requires a better quality of HDMI cable and / or HDMI extenders.
VGA
VGA cable length depends on a few factors, but as with HDMI the quality of the cable is the significant factor. However because VGA is an analogue signal, poor cable quality and/or over-extended cables will result in a progressive reduction in capability in terms of resolution and refresh rate.

If you experience the splash screen of the HMP being displayed, but then the screen staying blank, this is an example of the low 640x480 VGA resolution being displayed, but the higher resolution of the player with a higher effective bandwidth (e.g. 720p) not being displayed because of the signal loss being too great.

If long VGA cables are being used (e.g. 5m+) ensure they are high quality coaxial cable bundles. Alternatively use a booster or Cat5 balun (this will allow for sending up to 100 meters, depending on the Cat5 cable spec).