Connecting DVD player to TV

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French Cricket
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Connecting DVD player to TV

Post by French Cricket »

Dumb techie question coming up.

I'm trying to connect combined hi-fi/DVD player (not a recorder) to TV via scart cable but can I do it? (No). Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Set up is digital (French) TV received via satellite (TNT par Sat) through a dedicated digibox. All has worked fine for 3 years, without DVD player: coax plugged into digibox, scart connecting digibox and TV. DVD etc player instructions tell me I can connect it to TV via scart cables and so do digibox instructions - scart 1 digibox to TV, plays on AV1, scart 2 DVD player to TV, plays on AV2.

Except it doesn't. The DVD player plays fine, on AV2, but there's nothing on AV1. When I unplug the DVD scart cable, AV1 comes back. Grrrrrrrr :evil:

Someone's lent me a different cable with 3 colours and 3 different bits to plug in - the yellow one is the video cable I think, then there's red and white - and if I use that for the DVD player and scart for the digibox everything works as it should. I could (and probably will have to) go out and buy 3 of these - I have 3 of these to set up - but I've already bought 3 scart cables and I resent having to shell out more cash, not to mention driving miles to find them.

I soooooo hate wires. Why are these things so complicated :roll: :roll: ?
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

There's a very faint tinkling bell in the depths of my unreliable memory about "fully wired" SCART leads. I know that in the past not all SCART leads had all the connections made, although I don't know how common that is now; IIRC there might be an issue with SCARTs that aren't fully wired (maybe something to do with telling the TV to switch sources - sorry, can't remember). Unless you have the means to test every pin end to end (like a multimeter) I really don't know how you'd determine if it was fully wired or not (unless you can open it up), or even if that would cause the issue anyway. So not very helpful, then.

Have you tried swapping the SCART leads - ie using the older one on the DVD and the new one on the digibox? Also checking any setup menus to see if they mention switching or RGB? Good luck!
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Post by French Cricket »

Greenbarn wrote: Have you tried swapping the SCART leads - ie using the older one on the DVD and the new one on the digibox? Also checking any setup menus to see if they mention switching or RGB? Good luck!
Thanks GB - I did try swapping the leads - nothing doing. But - and this shows how out of my depth I am here - I haven't got a clue what you're talking about when you mention switching and RGB (red green blue?). Sorry :oops:
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Moliere
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Re: Connecting DVD player to TV

Post by Moliere »

French Cricket wrote:I can connect it to TV via scart cables and so do digibox instructions - scart 1 digibox to TV, plays on AV1, scart 2 DVD player to TV, plays on AV2.

Except it doesn't. The DVD player plays fine, on AV2, but there's nothing on AV1. When I unplug the DVD scart cable, AV1 comes back. Grrrrrrrr :evil:
OK, when you go into the TV's menu and switch manually from AV1 to AV2 and vice-versa, do they all work then? If so try switching one off, and see if the TV switches automatically to the other.

You could also try plugging the SCART lead from the DVD into the SCART IN socket on the digibox - then whichever is switched on should work on the TV - it does for me anyway.

Mols
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French Cricket
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Post by French Cricket »

Just tried out both of those, Mols. Still no joy. But thanks anyway.

Now wondering if my scarts are, as GB ponders, not fully wired. Or maybe it's me that's not ..... :lol:
RichardHenshall
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Post by RichardHenshall »

Try selecting another 'mode' on the DVD/surround-sound system, other than DVD, so as to 'release' the TV from watching DVD.

There may be a menu option on the TV related to 'SCART control', which if selected correctly will mean that the TV displays the DVD when the digibox is off but digibox when it's on (or vice-versa) - giving priority to one over the other.

Alternatively, try swapping the AV1 & AV2 connections.

I have a similar problem/set-up at home with satellite and terrestrial digiboxes, DVD/surround-sound & (old) CRT TV. Sorry, I can't check connections until the weekend.
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Post by French Cricket »

Richard, thanks - will try those later - potager digging on the menu this morning!
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Post by French Cricket »

Belated response, sorry - I was losing the will to live with all this stuff and kept finding more interesting things to do!

But .... it's sorted :idea: Richard, thanks - you've pointed me in the right direction and one that I would never have thought of looking in. Hidden inside the TV's menu are options for the source of each channel - scart, s-video and so on - which have to be selected to match the actual source being used. Once I'd got the source for AV2 set for scart, we were home and dry.

Why oh why oh why don't things like that figure in either the TV or the DVD instructions though? Presumably if I were under 30 I'd be genetically hard-wired to know ....:evil:

Anyway, thanks again guys.
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Post by RichardHenshall »

TBH, I'd forgotten. At least I don't have to risk b*****ing it up just trying to find out what I did!
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