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I just got my pi in the mail, and went to hook it up to my tv with an HDMI cable. I plugged in the cable (known to work with my cable box), a keyboard, and then my power. A light comes on the Raspberry Pi, but no picture. Is there something special I need to do first? I have the OS on a flash card already and it's inserted.

EDIT: I found a TV with RCA In, that I was able to hook it up with. I know the OS is fine, and went through the configuration wizard. Unfortunately, I don't see anything on the HDMI side yet

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Only one LED lights up, or more? – ikku Dec 26 '12 at 21:22
try connecting the cable on both sides before you start the raspberry pi. Also turn on tne tv and select the right source before starting. There are also some settings in the config.txt file in the root directory regarding hdmi, maybe you need to change something here to get it to work with your tv. good luck. – HectorLector Jan 26 at 17:11
@HectorLector I saw that help page that Zéychin posted, but I just haven't had a chance to do so yet :( Work has been taking over. That is my next try though – Luke Jan 26 at 19:26

3 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

I had a similar problem with my Pi, when I connected it first time to my tv (a Samsung D5000): the tv did not understand an HDMI device was connected. I have raspbmc as the os.

There are a couple of instructions you can add to /boot/config.txt to tell your Pi to activate the hdmi output when you connect a cable, and to force hdmi output mode instead of dvi. I added these lines, rebooted Pi, and began seeing my raspberry on screen :)

config_hdmi_boost=4
hdmi_force_hotplug=1
hdmi_drive=2

Reference: How do I force the Raspberry Pi to turn on HDMI?

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up vote 0 down vote

I think that's DVI not HDMI. I know that in datasheet it says HDMI. I'm using an HDMI to DVI cable to get the image on the screen.

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Hdmi is dvi with sound. The quality is the same, and I doubt it uses hdcp – Luke Dec 26 '12 at 23:02
up vote 0 down vote

Ensure that the connections are all secure.

Carefully, but surely, do this. First-time connections can be difficult. If you push too hard, you may damage the unit. If you don't push hard enough, you may not have a good connection.

Ensure the SD Card is not placed upside-down. (It happens.)

Try re-flashing the operating system to the SD Card.

Good luck and let us know of any updates.

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Connections are secure. Tried unplugging and plugging it in. No change. The SD card is inserted properly (it boots and I see video on RCA) – Luke Dec 27 '12 at 7:23
Hm. The HDMI-output could be bad. Are you definitely on the correct HDMI input on your TV? (Always good to check; you may have several on your TV.) – Zéychin Dec 27 '12 at 7:32
Beyond that, try upgrading your OS to the latest version, in case there are bugfixes: sudo apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade && apt-get upgrade. – Zéychin Dec 27 '12 at 7:34
The HDMI on the TV works, and is labelled as HDMI 1. I removed the cable from my cable box, and plugged it into the RP – Luke Dec 27 '12 at 7:39
Try following the directions listed here: elinux.org/R-Pi_Troubleshooting#No_HDMI_output_at_all – Zéychin Dec 27 '12 at 7:40
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