SIGNAL FLOW
Trouble Shooting Tips
& Tricks
Signal flow is the path any device
takes from point A to point B.
– Omar Colom
In our world of audio, visual and lighting,
signal flow is the single most important
element. It will make or break whether
your event is a success or not. If the signal
is routed incorrectly or cut short at any
point, it won’t make it to the last step in
the chain. Signal flow is an order of
operations for your signal path. To make
things simple, an input goes to an output,
or an output goes to an input. Over the
years, signal flow and they evolutions of
technology have enabled us to route our
signals into many different processors
before getting to the end result. These
days the most common device is a digital
interface which translates information, 0’s
and 1’s to electrical impulses.
Trouble shooti ng Technique’ are
important
Problem solving should be done systematically that
way trouble shooting becomes effective and Helps
pinpoint the root cause of the system with Proper
training, a foundational understanding of AV
technology and some hands on with the equipment
your using we can accomplish a simple functions check
Minimize Problem’s
Minimize problems before heading to the site or the decided upon room, by building and testing the
system and equipment in the shop you essentially are prequalifying all equipment being used to be in
working order and pinpointing possible equipment and/or programming failures ahead of time which
will allow you to easily avoid having problems on site or worse right before the start of a show. This
then in turn means once you have arrived on site and do get into any issue your most plausible
answer will only be cabling
related or operator error.
Best cause though you just
lost power and need to plug
the A/C back into the correct
outlet.
Troubleshooting Principles
1. Walk through the AV system step by step
Start at the display and step back to the source or Start at the
source and step to the display.
2 .Make one change at a time
Don’t change more than one variable at a time. If you change
more than one, you don’t know which change modified the behavior (for good, or bad)
3. Use the process of elimination
Substitute a device for testing purpose if possible
4. Did it work before
don’t assume that just rebooting the system will make it okay. The problem may go away for the
short-term, but it may return soon after.
5. What has changed
Don’t blindly assume that the switcher is the root cause of the issue. Employ methodical
troubleshooting to determine if the switcher itself is causing the issue, or if it is simply displaying a
failure symptom of the device it is connected to. For example, if you can’t switch media sources on
a display, is it the cable or the switcher?
Don’t assume a problem is fixed without vigorously exercising the system after corrective action have been
taken. You may have only reduced the occurrence of an issue, or perhaps have inadvertently introduced another
issue elsewhere..
Let’s go over an example of signal flow
Since most people are familiar with audio lets pretend
we’re recording your voice.
1. Your voice goes into the microphone and the signal
is transduced to an electrical current
2. That electrical current travels through the cable
into the mixing board
3. The mixing board sends audio to multitrack
recorder and a copy of the audio is saved
4. Upon playback, the multitrack recorder sends audio
back to the mixing board
5. Mixing board sends signal to speakers for you to
hear
Did that make sense?
Essentially you’re creating a chain of events that will allow your signal
to succeed in making it to the end result. Signal flow is a universal
concept that relates to all things audio, video and computer networking.
If there’s a break in any part of the chain, your signal will not be able to
get to the next step in the chain. Imagine setting up a new office desk
with a computer and speakers. You plug everything into a power strip
but computer and speakers are not turning on. You check the power
strip and it isn’t plugged into the wall outlet… That is an example of a
broken signal flow; the power strip is not receiving any power from the
main source to distribute electricity to your devices.
SO WHAT?
So how does understanding signal flow help you? Knowing signal flow enables you to quickly set up any system
and be able to get signal flowing from the input source A all the way to the output source B. Just remember
that every step in the signal flow chain has an input and an output. Including that DA that you will probably
have to trouble shoot again.
Once you begin to understand signal flow it will also make troubleshooting problems much easier.
Since you know that the system has to flow out of one piece of equipment and into another, anytime there is a
problem just check the signal flow for “leaks.” Are you getting signal from other microphones into the mixer
but not the lead vocal? Check each step of the signal flow (starting with making sure the mic is turned on), and
eliminate each possible leak until you find it. Perhaps the receiver for the mic accidentally got turned off, or
the mic cable plugging it into the mixer wiggled loose. Study each piece of equipment in your system and think
about how the signal is flowing through it. Begin to think of each input and output in terms of signal flow. And
when the presenter’s mic loses signal five minutes before the start of the show, you’ll know exactly where to
go to fix it.(start at one end and work your way to the other, eliminating components along the way. Work logically, make sure your setup is clear and you'll be back in business )
Congratulations!
You’ve graduated with a basic signal flow degree. Time to
walk the stage and collect your certificate! If any of this is
still confusing please reach me at Ocolom@[Link]
and we can continue the discussion.
Extra
Possible solutions
1. Change the advance setting of the
graphic card on the Mac or PC
2. Most switcher allow you to chance
there color space per input
3. The Converter (typical for us its a
Decimator) is sending the wrong
format in the controls sections.
4. The cable is bad.
Extra
Common EDID Issues
No Image is seen at all. Or if the source is a PC, The image seems
to be at a low resolution (1024x768) and appears fuzzy, stretched
or does not fill the screen.
1. Add a DA to post the signal for the EDID and the HPD line to
communicate correctly
2. Reacquire the Hot Sync by unplugging the source and
plugging it back again.
3. Change out the cable for a thicker gauge cable to eliminate
EMI/RFI interference. (or just swap out the TV)
Extra
This happens all the time! Best way
to avoid this is to sell our computers
and not allow clients to plug there
computers into our systems …
Extra
HDMI Audio Issues
Typical system scenario. A source, Such as a
PC or Blu-Ray Disc Player, is connected to a
sink over HDMI. The intention is to watch
video and listen to audio through the
speakers in the sink.
1. Check that the audio is set to HDMI and
not speaker or headphones.