SIMPLINK - Definitive answer needed, Is it just a load of [email protected]?


Standard Member
Question - Am I wasting my time trying to use LG Simplink? :facepalm:

Equipment: TV - 32LG5700 (32" 1080p LCD)
DVD / 5.1 'all in one' - HT503 (connected to HMDI 1 on rear)
Sky HD Box (connected to HDMI 2 on rear)
Xbox 360 Elite (connected to HDMI 3 on side)

I have had the TV and DVD combo for over a year and tried Simplink straight away but it didn't work. I only had a supermarket £3.99 HDMI cable at the time and read the Simplink required a v1.3 HDMI cable so I disabled it and managed without.

I now have a good quality v1.3b HDMI cable so want to get Simplink working.

With everything turned off, if I use the DVD/HT remote to turn on, it will power up, display 'reading' for a moment and then when it loads the disc menu it finally switches the TV on. Great, apart from the TV is on the wrong HDMI input. (HDMI 2 - Sky Box).

I tried switching the inputs around and it just does the same the same thing but the other way around. It refuses to switch to the input the DVD/HT is actually using!

Ok, so I try to manually switch the input to the correct one using the TV remote. This causes the DVD to pause then exit to the DVD 'desktop' screen. Pressing play on the DVD remote re-starts the disc but again switches the TV to the wrong HDMI input.

This is ridiculous. It's supposed to make things more 'simple'. I have searched the internet for answers and can find various problems, some similar to mine but no answers other than to turn Simplink off which is just not acceptable for a feature i have paid for! :thumbsdow

I am looking for a short answer, is it A or B.
a) I am doing something wrong
b) There are issues / faults with Simplink and it does not do what it says on the tin.

If b) - are LG aware of this and will they do anything about it, i.e fix, upgrade firmware, replace the equipment? :lease:


Well-known Member
HDMI-CEC in general (Simplink is LGs trade name for theirs, Samsung's is Anynet, Panasonic's is Viera Link etc.) I find to be an incredibly flawed system, in that if you particular set-up isn't set up exactly how the particular CEC system you're trying to using expects, then it will not work correctly.

When this happens, is the Sky box on or in standby? Does that have any effect? The only other idea I have is that you should set it up via the TV. That is to say, turn on the television, you should then be able to select the DVD system and have the TV turn that on. This does tend to work more reliably where CEC systems are concerned. If not, then I have no idea what could fix it, and you probably are far better off not using it. Also, HDMI cables don't technically have versions and any HDMI cable should be able to support CEC, so that wasn't a problem anyway.

The only way to guarantee one remote to work well with the entire setup is to buy a Logitech Harmony.


Standard Member
The sky box and dvd are off usually, but if they are already on it makes no difference. Also, I do this all from the TV already.

I'm sure that CEC may work well from other manufacturers but all I can say is as far as LG are concerned, it really does NOT work at all. It's not specific to my set up either because my parents have an LG tv and DVD and thiers does all sorts of crazy things too including switching to the wrong input.

thanks for the reply, I'll give up on it and think about a nice fancy remote!
Top Bottom