Domestic Video / DVD problem

[Tom]

Bit of home help required please.

 

I have a VCR and a DVD player which I wish to attach to my TV using SCART cables. The TV only has one SCART socket, so I bought myself a 3 into 1 SCART connecter. However, when I plug it all up I get the following problems:

• Slight drop in picture quality(brightness) and sound level when playing DVDs.
  
• No sound from VCR
  

The other devise in each case is turned off. (i.e. when trying to watch DVD the VCR is turned off)

If I unplug the SCART lead of the other device, the problem goes away.

I've tried swapping the leads around but to no avail.

The VCR works fine if watched via the arial socket.

 

Any ideas anybody?

[kalmatthew]

Which type of scart splitter di you buy? Some of the cheaper ones can do soome odd things to a signal. It may be worth having the back off and checking the connections.

[Blame Jono]

The same sort of thing occurs when you have a playstation with your TV, however what happens in this situation is that when the playstation is on your normal channels are very fuzzy.

To solve this and possibly your problem, you could get a switchable 3 to 1 (a 3 to 1 with a switch to select the input you require). This isn't solving the problem, (as I don't know what it is,) more skirting round it. So my solution is no good if you have a TV built in to the wall, but basically what it does is to turn off the inputs other than the one that is selected. So if for example your VCR was selected it would turn off the DVD input, which would be equivalent to taking the DVD input out and hence solving the problem.

However it could be difficult to get hold of.

 

PS. As you're playing around with scarts you could do something quite interesting with your HIFI: Take a scart from your TV to your HIFI and, (presuming your HIFI is good enough,) you can select a function on your HIFI, (on mine it's VIDEO,) and you can play sound from your TV through your HIFI. Proper home cinema and music through one amp.

[Andrew C]

I'm going to have to be quick, as I'm told there's a cold beer waiting for me...

 

The copy protect on SOME DVD players gets upset by the presence of SOME "intelegent" SCART switch boxes, and SOME get upset by having a VCR anywhere in the chain.

 

This may not be the problem, but might give some clues.

 

Hope it helps.

[Pete Alcock]

Tom,

 

The problem is that the SCART plug/socket has inputs and outputs on the same connector. Although it prevents masses of separate audio and video connections between equipment (replacing them with very thick and unwieldy cables instead), in many people's opinion (mine included, FWIW) it's a very unsatisfactory means of interconnecting bits of AV equipment. A bit like the DIN plug was to audio equipment in the 70's really - no-one had a clue which was in or out and thankfully it was superceded. SCART though, is probably here to stay.

 

What I suspect you have is the audio and video outputs of your VCR and DVD being simply paralleled together then conncted to the TV. The audio and video is attenuated, and the symptoms you describe are classic.

 

The solution is to buy a audio/video switch box, that switches the outputs of either the DVD or VCR to the SCART of the TV (but not both together). You can get these quite cheaply from CPC (CPC SCART Switch box).

 

Where it gets even more complicated is when you want to record a DVD from the DVD to VCR whilst watching on the TV. You could break the whole lot (audio and video ins and outs) to phonos and patch it with a bunch of phono leads but that's up to you. There probably are boxes from CPC that allow you to do all that as well.

 

Good luck,

 

Pete.

[Tom]

Thanks Pete. Most helpful and informative.

 

And that switchable thing is cheaper than the non-switchable one I bought in the first place.

[TomLyall]

someone please tell me im not the only one who prefers RCA Phono type connections instead! ;)

[James]

someone please tell me im not the only one who prefers RCA Phono type connections instead! ;)

:P Personaly I think that SCART and phono are the worst connecters ever divised - and so a choice between them as to which is the worst is at best pointless.

 

Anyway - I've never seen a scart to RGB phono,

 

The last thing I would want to do is risk sticking PAL artifacts on top of MPEG artifacts from a DVD when they could easily be avoided.