BTTV colours going odd (grey green and pink hues) power down and restart needed. Box on the way

[Midnight_Voice]

@stevetucknott 

Like @Peter_W , my first instinct would be to try another HDMI cable.

[stevetucknott]

@Midnight_Voice 

Can I ask you then the same questions? If the cable works perfectly fine in all circumstances OTHER than when a live broadcast moves to adverts and back and if the cable also works fine when the issue is addressed by 'changing' the TV display settings.

Is the data stream modified when moving to/from ad breaks, specifically for live broadcasts?

[DarrenDev]

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Is the data stream modified when moving to/from ad breaks, specifically for live broadcasts?

Yes.

You've nothing to lose by trying another cable.  Also worth trying a different HDMI port.  It's also possible that your TV just doesn't like the format switching.

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[stevetucknott]

@DarrenDev 

OK - maybe it's me but doesn't it strike you as odd that the same issue appears to other users at the same point with the same effect - and to those who tried my suggestion also resolved the issue by resetting the display settings - with the same cable in place. We'd all have to have dodgy cables or dodgy ports that just happened to manifest their 'dodginess' in the same way. Isn't it more likely that there's a single reason rather than 10s of individual dodgy cables - that all have the same intermittent fault?

[DarrenDev]

Let me spin that the other way round:
Doesn't it strike you as odd that the other tens of thousands of viewers aren't reporting this issue every week?

My guess (though this isn't my area of expertise):
There are many different HDMI standards, supporting different features. I'm not sure what spec is required to switch colour space (as is happening at the ad breaks), but for example HDMI 2.1a added something called QMS - "Quick media switching". This allows a display to fast switch between different frame rates - without it, the TV would be required to black out the screen to switch. If the box is using a feature that the cable or TV cannot reliably support (e.g. a missing signal, or insufficient bandwidth), then the behaviour could be unpredictable. Changing the display settings (or rebooting the box) is forcing the TV to reset the displayed pictured from a black screen, which would be why that clears it.

[stevetucknott]

@DarrenDev 

OK - so are you saying that it's not a fault in the cable, but a cable of the wrong spec? Would I be right in assuming that the STB is provided with the correct 'spec' cable? What is that spec or else I may simply replace a wrong cable with another wrong cable (and presumably that is what the people did on the other pages of this topic who reported the same issue and replaced the cables and tried different porst with no joy).

[DarrenDev]

The STB came with a suitable cable. I'm saying there are a number of possibilities though.

If I were you, I'd check the model of your TV and confirm the spec of each HDMI port - it's not uncommon for different ports to have different capabilities.
If you've confirmed you're in the best port and the issue still persists, then try another cable - e.g. buy one from Amazon, and return it if it doesn't fix the issue.

[stevetucknott]

@DarrenDev 

'...

The STB came with a suitable cable. I'm saying there are a number of possibilities though.

...'

OK - so what is the spec of that cable?

'...

If I were you, I'd check the model of your TV and confirm the spec of each HDMI port - it's not uncommon for different ports to have different capabilities.

...'

What capabilities do I need for a YouView box then? Are you saying that Youview doesn't work with all TVs with HDMI ports?

'...
If you've confirmed you're in the best port and the issue still persists, then try another cable - e.g. buy one from Amazon, and return it if it doesn't fix the issue.

...'

What is 'the best port'?

If my Youview box works perfectly with Youview on BBC iplayer (even their Beta 4k), with Now Cinema, with Netflix with.... all via Youview and HDMI - and I think works with all terrestrial type outside broadcasts (I'll double check with the England game tonight on ITV) - what specific port spec do I need to support BT TNT / Sky Sports live broadcasts? - as they seem to be the only streams affected - AND only when moving from/to ad breaks. I can watch an outside/live broadcast from BT TNT and SKY before/after an ad break (and if I reset the TV if an ad break does change the colour) (without changing the cable) perfectly ok.

[john_curry]

Seems this has been going on for years. Definitely not HDMI cable asi tried many different ones years ago. I upgraded to a BT PRO box 18 months ago with the same cables and not had the problem once.

I still believe it's some issue with the old boxes and some signal when transitioning from adverts to live feed as that's when it occurred on the old units.

Funny how 3 years on from the original report BT still say they have not heard of this...

[stevetucknott]

...and I have changed my cable - BUT going by what was being said, I have no clue as to whether the replacement cable (which still has the same issues) was the 'right spec'. I didn't change ports on my TV though.

I can't believe that everyone who has this experience has the wrong cable OR a cable with a fault that manifests in the same way. Earlier posts show that others have changed the cable, changed the STB - and still the problem persists.