Connecting to TV switcher - Clean HDMI feed needed from EOS Rebel T6i

[OldChicago]

When I connect my T6i to the EOS webcam software running on my laptop via a mini HDMI to usb b cable I get a "clean" video picture, i.e. there are no camera symbols like the white-lined box that helps focus on a face or other part of the picture that one sees in the viewfinder. When I connect the same camera using mini HDMI to regular HDMI to our school's TV switcher, I get the viewfinder image, not a "clean" one. What am I not setting correctly on the camera or what am I missing in the camera to switcher link? The switcher is an AVMatrix that is pretty bare boned.

[kvbarkley]

What the heck is an "HDMI to usb-b cable"?

Have you tried to hit "info" to change the display graphics?

WAG: There is definitely some two-way communication via HDMI, since the TV remote can be used to control the camera on "CEC" sets:

It could be that the switcher breaks this communication, so the camera displays the infographics.

[OldChicago]

I was wrong about the cable. It is mini hdmi to regular hdmi. Switcher also has usb ports and I was looking at the wrong place. I have never been able to totally remove the white box in the view finder when I hit all of the info options. The other info that also appears on the lcd screen goes away. Is there something I'm missing?

[kvbarkley]

On some cameras you need to set Manual focus.

[OldChicago]

Thanks for helping me on this. Students appreciate it, too. Tried that and it didn't work. I have been reading elsewhere about something called a "HDMI Video Capture" card. There is a large industry of using DSLRs like Canon to make social media videos, hooking up to cheap switchers like I've been given. Some say the camera feed needs a card like that to plug into other equipment. The card has a HDMI female on one side and male on the other. I'm also curious why the white box goes away in the EOS webcam software, from Canon, while it doesn't in the feed my switcher is getting. Is there something proprietary that Canon has that my switcher doesn't? Something that Canon sells? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[p4pictures]

The camera connects to the EOS Webcam software with a USB cable. Over USB and with the software the result is a clean output for video conferencing. 

When you connect the camera HDMI output to a tv switcher type unit using a HDMI cable the camera always overlays certain displays - it is not possible to get a completely clean feed from the HDMI connection. The camera was never designed to output clean HDMI, and now it's so old that Canon is unlikely to release a firmware update if it was even possible to provide clean HDMI for this model.

The closest you might get to clean HDMI is to use manual focus and press the INFO/DISP button to turn off the various overlaid elements on the live HDMI out.

[OldChicago]

That is what I suspected Rising Star and thank you for saving me countless hours of pounding my chest and screaming. And I've tried manual focus and the info/disp button as you suggested but I always get at least the white focus box with the various older Canon models we have. Our switcher also has two USB-B ports, but since it doesn't run the Canon software I suspect connecting a mini HDMI to USB to it won't make any difference.

Are you aware if any of the newest Canon DSLRs and mirrorless are up to the social media world we live in today and don't put the overlay on raw HDMI output? That may be our only solution unless I can find some video cameras with SDI output in our school. Our switcher also has those kinds of jacks. I'm thinking that may be our only solution.

Thanks again for helping out. Ain't technology fun?

[p4pictures]

Just to add that the list on the Canon website that was mentioned is not updated with the latest models, as all the R-series cameras are able to be set for clean HDMI. 

The terminology does change in the menu depending on the camera, but here's a few examples.

EOS R6EOS 7D Mark IIEOS 90DEOS M50 Mk IIEOS R

[kvbarkley]

At the bottom of this page there is a list of Canon cameras with "Clean HDMI"

https://www.usa.canon.com/cameras/eos-webcam-utility

And there is no such thing as an "HDMI to USB cable" . There are capture boxes of course, they would have to be USB-C.