Broken DVI port on TV -question

[Scott]

Guys, I have a Sony 36" and Direct TV HD box.  I connect the two with a DVI cable.

My 2-year old got behind the TV and must have yanked on the DVI cable.  I now still get a good picture but no sound.  

I have pretty much done all the testing and tried a new cable to figure out the problem.  It appears that one small pin on the DVI port on the Television may be damaged, and that is one that I assume carries the sound signal.

A) Does this sound correct? I can use the TV with the standard RGB cables, but it isn't as good as the DVI picture.  

B)Has this happened to anyone?  How expensive is it to get the DVI port repaired on the back of a Sony 36" tube set?

It seems to be one of those things that would be simple to fix, yet end up costing a ton.  Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help.

[Joseph S]

DVI doesn't carry sound. Unless you are using the HDMI connector which carries DVI+Audio the DVI is unrelated to your audio issue. If anything I might have assumed a pin in the DVI cable, but not the connector would have been damaged. I would recheck audio connections and mute options.

[Scott]

Would an HDMI cable be the same essentially as a DVI and plug into the same ports?  Are the ports on the TV and HD box one and the same?

My assumption is that my sound came through that DVI or HDMI port, because I have no other sound outputs from the HD receiver.   I figured both sound and video were carried in that cable.

I assumed that the port was the problem, since the sound works fine on the TV with other inputs (DVD, etc.), and more importantly, works fine when I send my audio and video feeds in from the standard and RGB jacks.  

The problem is when I use the port for input, thus I assume it is the DVI port.  I did try a new cable, and that did not solve the problem, so I thought I was able to rule out an issue with the cable being damaged.  But perhaps I used a DVI cable and not an HDMI cable?  I figured they were one and the same?

Thanks for your patience with a novice, and for the help.

[StarvingForHDTV]

Maybe the sound pin broke off inside the HDMI receptacle?  That seems pretty far fetched.  I have had pins bend on me, but I have never had one break off.  Bent pins can be straightened and the cable should be usable again after it's fixed.  Look at the pins on both the old and the new cable.  Do they have the same # of pins?  Is anything missing or bent?

I'm guessing you didn't buy the TV locally.

[Scott]

Good thought.

When you look at the inputs on the receptacle on the back of the TV, each "hole" seems to have two gold pins (one on each side of the hole)

I noticed that one of these holes have a pin bent, so that it touched the pin on the other side.  I carefully bent the "bent-pin" back to normal position, so they did not touch, and it matched the other pin holes.  The pin did not appear to break.

Nonetheless, this did not solve the problem.  Again, great picture, but no sound.  

I did buy the TV at Flanner's and was going to call them, I just know the collective knowledge on this board is outstanding, and might be able to help me with an easy solution.

Again, thanks for the ideas.

[jimbop99]

Hi. What model #'s are the TV and HD box. This may help us, help you.

[StarvingForHDTV]

Were you fixing the old or the new cable?  If it's the old one you fixed, I'm perplexed.  If it's the new one, please compare the number of pins between the old and the new cable.

[Gregg Lengling]

I think everyone is missing the point.  If he has DVI then there is no audio on the cable...only pure HDMI has the audio signal.  He must have either of the 3.....a optic connection, a digital wired connection or a stereo cable connection.  A DVI cable problem will not cause a loss of audio as there is no AUDIO on a DVI.

[Scott]

Guys, thank you ALL for your help.  My problem is now fixed in time for Thanksgiving Football.  I found out I do have a DVI, which with your help I learned does not carry sound.  (and a call to Flanners to confirm I don't have HDMI)

What happened was my two-year old son pulled out the two audio plugs from both the back of the TV AND the Receiver and hid the cord under some furniture.

So, when I turned on the TV and got no sound, I automatically figured my DVI carried audio as well, because I found NO standard audio jacks or cable plugged in anywhere or behind the TV.

And since I don't have a surround sound system, I really didn't pay attention to the audio cables issue ever.

I guess I didn't realize the little guy would be so thorough in his work behind the set.....

Thank you all again for your help.  This board is really a great resource.

[jimbop99]

Glad to hear you got everything working. God bless those little ones.