Posts by blaisebarrette

Quote from fane

thank you for inspiration!

Oh! That’s nice!!!

Wonder why they intentionally disable CEC ?

There must be a reason?

Oh! Ok! Now I see how you used your two modules! Very clever!

It is in deed a great workaround for any one not comfortable with soldering.

Very easy!

All you need is a soldering iron with a fine tip and maybe a magnifying glas.

This is the link to the grabber on AliExpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003604965409.html

It has 4K HDMI loop through and HDCP 2.2 support.

Be warned though, it generates colour bars (rainbow signal) when there is no signal from HDMI.

You can easily fixe the colour bar problem by activating "Signal detection" in Hyperion so it's not really a big deal.

The big problem with this HDMI grabber is that the CEC signal is broken. No CEC is a dealbreaker for me but fortunately, it can be very easily fixed.

What is HDMI CEC ?

"HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) is a function of the HDMI standard that allows connected devices to talk with each other. The aim of this feature is to allow you to control multiple devices connected to a display with one remote, increasing convenience."

HDMI connectors have 20 pins and the CEC signal use pin 13 and pin 17.

In the case of this HDMI grabber the trace for pin 17 already has continuity on the PCB between the HDMI IN and HDMI OUT.

Pin 13 however doesn't have continuity. The trace is on the PCB but for some unknown reason, they left a small gap intentionally breaking the CEC signal.

It is a very small gap easy to bridge with a steady hand, a soldering iron with a small tip and a magnifier.

Look for a missing resistor (R12) shown by a red arrow in the next picture:

And here is a closer view:

In these pictures I have already fixed the gap.

I have been using the grabber for about two weeks in my setup and it's been rock steady!

Hopefully this helps someone!

- Blaise

I found a grabber that can be easily fixed. Pin 17 has already continuity and pin 13 has the trace on the PCB, but they intentionally left a gap on the trace to disable CEC. I don’t know why they would do that but the gap is very easy to bridge.

I show all the details with photos on a different post: Four types of hdmi grabber tests (hdmi-cec, rainbow signal)

P.S. For some reason, I could not post that message from my iPad?! Tried three times! I had to use the computer.

BuzzBazz, I am unclear, how you used these modules in your setup. They let the signal go through while allowing to tap on any pin to test the signal with an oscilloscope.

On my grabber, pin 17 was already connected, only pin 13 trace was broken. Be warned though, it has the rainbow signal.

Hi all

I made a cool discovery that relates to this post.

I bought this grabber on AliExpress : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003604965409.html

First thing I did is open the case and check for continuity on pin 13. Unfortunately, pin 13 is not connected so I placed the PCB under the microscope and followed the pin 13 trace. I found out that the trace is complete but they intentionally left the circuit open.

Look for the missing resistor (R12) shown by the red arrow.

Here is a closer view:

I don't know why they two this but it's very easily fixed. Simply bridge the gap with a short wire and you're good to go!

You now have a grabber with CEC, HDMY loop out and HDCP 2.2 !!!

Hope that helps!

- Blaise