TV Pro Box Flickering Picture- HDMI Unsupported Format

[JohnPF]

At the end of Feb 2023 I renewed my TV contract and was sent a TV Pro Box which started flickering on the second day. Having done all the normal fixes, including replacing all the cables, partial and the full factory reset, the problem remained on an annoyingly intermitted basis. I was sent a second box which had the same problem and after an engineers visit (he said it was a firmware problem) I  was sent a third box which had the same problem. The TV is working fine and if you watch it using the TV tuner there is no problem. A second engineer listen to my sad story and immediately went to the settings  'HDMI Display' which showed 'Unsupported Format' . He changed this to 1080p and the flickering stopped and he said if it reoccurred to change it to 720. It did reoccur after a couple of hours and so I changed it to 720 which of course is only HD not Full HD.

After a further discussion with Dan at BT support, who I must say is providing first class service,  I asked for the pervious version box to be sent and I received this yesterday. This box started flickering straight away and when I check the HDMI setting it said   'Unsupported Format' and would only work without flickering on 720.

There would appear to be a software issue which is driving me to distraction. is anyone else experiencing similar issue?

PS I had no problems with my previous BT TV box

[NigelB72]

What is the make and model of your tv? And have you checked to see if it can handle 1080p upwards??

If it's an older HDTV, it may only support 1080i or 720p...

[JohnPF]

It's a Samsung UE48H8000 LED HD1080p 

[ozsat · Accepted solution]

If you've replace the cables and tried a different HDMI port - then it is most likely a HDCP issue with the tv - and being that it is now that the tv is a 10-year old model it is unlucky to be fixed.

Could be something in the tv settings to help - but nothing on the BT box.

HDCP issues usually show up as an intermittant on/off image/audio.

Seems like the Box Pro is not getting the required info back from the tv.

[JohnPF]

Thanks for that which is very helpful.
I will try and borrow another TV to try and confirm or eliminate the TV as the problem.

[DavidM]

Hi @JohnPF and thanks for posting.

I'd be very interested to know how this goes so please keep us updated on the progress.

Cheers

David

[JohnPF]

I am going to try a HDMI splitter which I understand might deal with the HDCP issue.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[JohnPF]

Thank you Ozsat for identifying my flickering picture problem as an HDCP issue. Your description of the  fault was spot on and so following a bit more research, I have fitted an HDMI splitter which appears to have resolved the problem. 

I understand that this issue can affect 'older' TV's and fitting a relative inexpensive HDMI splitter has saved me replacing my perfectly ok 10 year old Samsung TV.

The splitter I fitted was an 'eSynic 2way 4K HDMI Splitter' costing £16.95  from Amazon. There are cheaper ones available.

This problem problem started 2 months ago and I can only think that it has been caused by some form of software update to BT TV boxes and I hope that BT Customer Services, who I have found to be very helpful indeed, can be made aware of the issue to avoid  engineer call outs and customers replacing their older TV's unnecessarily.

[NeilO]

Hi @JohnPF Thanks for sharing your solution, I'm glad the splitter has worked. I've highlighted your thread to the BT TV team to make them aware of the problems you encountered.

Thanks

Neil