Anyone know anything about Home Entertainment Systems?

[Chiggy]

I shall start by explaining the components of the system. Please pardon my lack of knowledge and use of incorrect terminology.

 

1. TV with built in VCR (Has only only rear SCART socket, three phono sockets to front of set and one head phone socket > This plugs into my Amplifier > Two phono plugs at the end of the lead)

 

2. SKY Receiver

 

3. DVD Player (has one SCART, SVIDEO and Phono connectors)

 

4. External Amplifier connected to two speakers (Phono sockets ONLY with switches for TV/VCR. Phono etc)...........currently the Amp is switched to phono.

 

What I have above is a working system, minus the DVD player.......what I was trying to do was add the DVD player. To do this I bought a double adapter for the SCART socket on the back of the TV and plugged the SKY box and the DVD into this. To operate either the DVD player or SKY I must power one down.

 

I could not get any sound playback from the DVD player to the amp using just SCART so I have connected a phono lead directly from the DVD player into the Amp.

 

OK the problem I am having is this..........when I play cassetes on the VCR I am getting the LIVE sound from SKY......not the recorded sound from the cassete. I switched off the SKY box and now I dont get any audio playback from the cassette at all.

 

Has anyone got any ideas as to how I might be able to fix this problem?

 

Many thanks in advance.

[slug]

It sounds like you might be having some kind of override problems with your double scart coupler thing.

 

Some devices will automatically override any others that are using scart sockets and it is not really possible to regulate this.

 

You can probably solve your problem simply by plugging your DVD player into the front of your TV with the three phono shaped sockets and lose the scart splitter, which isn't really necessary and sounds like its more trouble than its worth. (I'm assuming you understand the yellow=video, red+white+L+R audio.) You can do this with scart to three part phono or direct phono (for video the correct term is'composite'

 

It's difficult to tell if you mean your DVD has composite video out or phono audio, three phono =video and audio. 2 phono =just audio.

 

If there are three phono outputs on your DVD player you can connect it to your TV at the front with a three part phono lead, or any old phono leads you have lying around, as long as reach part is connected.

 

If you can't set up your amp to get the right sound/picture combination after this, I'd recommend just running all the sound straight from the TV and not bothering to get it direct from DVD/sky to your amp. Amplifier enthusiasts will tell you this is an inferior method, but screw them, if it works, it works.

 

Finally, TV/video combis are notoriously a bit crappy, the better ones will allow you to tape one thing and watch another, hence having a seperate tuner for the video and live TV, this may also be causing some convoluting/override problems somehow.

 

EDIT)

 

IT also does sound like this may just be an amplifier setup problem, I don't know much about amps and you might want to run your questions past someone who does before you start going and getting new unnecessary leads.

 

EDIT AGAIN)

 

If the sound from your SKY box is running through your TV then its not an amp problem.For some bizarre reason your TV out sound is being overriden by the scart socket when in video playback mode. Fist check that you get the same problem through the amp as you do with the normal TV speakers with the amp unplugged. (It seems unlikely that there will be any difference.) If the sound is being overriden by the scart socket, it would seem to be irrespective of the dodgy scart coupler thing which I don't trust. You can eliminate the possibility that its a problem resulting from the TV being confused by the scart splitter by seeing if the problem persists when only the sky is plugged into the scart without the scart splitter plugged in at all.

 

It also sounds like it may be the result of the afforementioned business of the TV/video combi having the option to record one channel and watch another. The simplest thing to do is flick through all your TV channels and av channels whilst trying to play the videotape, it may all be a simple problem that you are watching the VCR on the wrong input setting. If this doesn't work try flicking through your TV's setup menu and experimenting with any audio or prioritising options it may have.

 

FINAL NOTE) okay, thinking about it, if everything worked fine with just the sky plugged into the scart then it is DEFINITELY a problem with using the scart splitter and you probably have no other option but to not use the scart splitter at all but instead run your DVD player through the front of the TV. It still might be worth experimenting as explained in the previous paragraph, just try not to change anything and forget how to change it back. Having the DVD run through the front would be better anyway, it avoids all the pissing about having to only have one thing switched on at a time.

[Chiggy]

Many thanks Slug you have been really helpful. I will try all of that tomorrow afternoon......I`ll let you know how I got on.

 

This system is actually a friends......I sold him the DVD player thinking this would be a simple job lol

 

Thanks again.

[slug]

Glad to be on the answering end for once!

[bones2097]

wot you need is a scart to phono lead.. this has the inputs & outputs for a scart plug...

 

use this, with the outputs connected to your amp (don't use the phono<- as in record player plug but use aux instead)..

 

 

on the input leads add youre sky box... which should have an extra scart socket which you plug in your dvd player!!!

[Chiggy]

I fixed it.

 

It would appear the guy whos full time job is installing SKY decided that it would be best to use the incorrect SCART socket on the back of the SKY box.....he connected the TV to the box using the VCR socket. I used the VCR socket for the DVD player and used the TV socket for the TV. Job done. When the DVD player is switched on it overides the SKY box.

 

I dont have SKY at home so I had no idea you could connect a DVD player through a SKY box.

 

Another forum victory.......thanks to everyone who helped out.