Help with set up required - thank you

ib2112 · 08-04-2009, 10:18

Sorry if this has been done many times but I would like some advice re my digital tv/dvd recorder set up.
I recently moved to a new flat, a basement flat, and there were brackets on the wall to hold an LCD tv so I made us of them and put the tv on there.
I have a Phillips DVD recorder.
Because of the tv being on the wall we have some trunking for cosmetic purposes to hide the wires and the DVD recorder sits in a built in cupboard.
So the distance from the back of the dvd player to the back of the tv, via the trunking and the small holes in the supboard is around 15 feet.
The holes in the cupboard are too small for a scart lead to go through so I had to rule out Scart connections.
I first of all tried using a hdmi cable to connect and this worked ok at first but the signal wasn't very good and channels kept dissappearing.
My current set up is using the three coloured (yellow, red and white) audio and video cables.
This has been better and I don't lose any channels.
Questions are:
Using this set up, I have to take the aerial lead (connecting the dvd player to the tv) out of the back of the dvd player to record things......with the aerial lead in i only get BBC channels when recording.....if I take it out all channels are there...why is this?
This also means I cannot record something (I use channel AV3 for the DVD recorder) and watch something on the TV at the sametime (as the aerial is out).
Secondly, I subscribe to Setanta and use a viewing card stored in the back of my digital tv....obviously I can view Setanta on the tv but I cannot record the station because it is a "scrambled channel"....even though I have the card in the TV.....I take it this set up will not allow me to record Setanta.

Many thanks for any help or advice.

Willie Wontie · 08-04-2009, 10:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by ib2112

Using this set up, I have to take the aerial lead (connecting the dvd player to the tv) out of the back of the dvd player to record things......with the aerial lead in i only get BBC channels when recording.....if I take it out all channels are there...why is this?

This makes no sense at all. Having an RF out from the DVD recorder to any other piece of kit will not stop the DVD recorder from being able to access all digital and analogue channels it could access before. And the bit about only being able to record BBC channels is even stranger. Does this include BBC radio channels, or only the four BBC TV stations? Can you select alternative digital channels on your DVDR if you aren't recording and the RF cable between the two pieces of kit is in place? Sounds like a faulty DVD recorder to me. What happens if you disconnect the RF cable at the TV end, rather than the DVDR end? Does that let you record channels other than the four BBC ones? If so, the problem is with your TV tuner confusing the DVDR rather than the DVDR itself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ib2112

Secondly, I subscribe to Setanta and use a viewing card stored in the back of my digital tv....obviously I can view Setanta on the tv but I cannot record the station because it is a "scrambled channel"....even though I have the card in the TV.....I take it this set up will not allow me to record Setanta.

Unless your Freeview DVD recorder has the ability to connect a CAM module (the card which allows you to receive Setanta) - and I haven't seen many DVDRs which do - then the only way you are going to be able to record Setanta is by sending the signal back from the TV's digital tuner to the DVDR via scart. And as you say that you can't use scart to connect DVDR to TV, I assume you also won't be able to use scart to connect TV to DVDR.

ib2112 · 08-04-2009, 11:10

Thanks for help.

Re your tip re Setanta....thats what I thought really.

Yes, the whole thing is very strange and really annoying.

When I select other channels on the DVDR when not recording and the ariel is in place all non bbc channels show "the signal cannot be received for this channel"....if I take the ariel out, perfect picture on all channels.

I haven't tried disconnecting the ariel at the TV end. Will try that soon.

ib2112 · 08-04-2009, 11:11

Funny thing is, before I moved into the new flat and had the tv up on the wall everything worked ok.
I had no issued with losing channels and could record no problem without taking wires in and out as you would expect.

08-04-2009, 10:18	#1
ib2112 Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 3	Help with set up required - thank you Sorry if this has been done many times but I would like some advice re my digital tv/dvd recorder set up. I recently moved to a new flat, a basement flat, and there were brackets on the wall to hold an LCD tv so I made us of them and put the tv on there. I have a Phillips DVD recorder. Because of the tv being on the wall we have some trunking for cosmetic purposes to hide the wires and the DVD recorder sits in a built in cupboard. So the distance from the back of the dvd player to the back of the tv, via the trunking and the small holes in the supboard is around 15 feet. The holes in the cupboard are too small for a scart lead to go through so I had to rule out Scart connections. I first of all tried using a hdmi cable to connect and this worked ok at first but the signal wasn't very good and channels kept dissappearing. My current set up is using the three coloured (yellow, red and white) audio and video cables. This has been better and I don't lose any channels. Questions are: Using this set up, I have to take the aerial lead (connecting the dvd player to the tv) out of the back of the dvd player to record things......with the aerial lead in i only get BBC channels when recording.....if I take it out all channels are there...why is this? This also means I cannot record something (I use channel AV3 for the DVD recorder) and watch something on the TV at the sametime (as the aerial is out). Secondly, I subscribe to Setanta and use a viewing card stored in the back of my digital tv....obviously I can view Setanta on the tv but I cannot record the station because it is a "scrambled channel"....even though I have the card in the TV.....I take it this set up will not allow me to record Setanta. Many thanks for any help or advice.

08-04-2009, 11:10	#3
ib2112 Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 3	Cheers Thanks for help. Re your tip re Setanta....thats what I thought really. Yes, the whole thing is very strange and really annoying. When I select other channels on the DVDR when not recording and the ariel is in place all non bbc channels show "the signal cannot be received for this channel"....if I take the ariel out, perfect picture on all channels. I haven't tried disconnecting the ariel at the TV end. Will try that soon.

08-04-2009, 11:11	#4
ib2112 Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 3	Cheers Funny thing is, before I moved into the new flat and had the tv up on the wall everything worked ok. I had no issued with losing channels and could record no problem without taking wires in and out as you would expect.

08-04-2009, 10:57	#2
Willie Wontie Inactive Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 2,847	Quote: Originally Posted by ib2112 Using this set up, I have to take the aerial lead (connecting the dvd player to the tv) out of the back of the dvd player to record things......with the aerial lead in i only get BBC channels when recording.....if I take it out all channels are there...why is this? This makes no sense at all. Having an RF out from the DVD recorder to any other piece of kit will not stop the DVD recorder from being able to access all digital and analogue channels it could access before. And the bit about only being able to record BBC channels is even stranger. Does this include BBC radio channels, or only the four BBC TV stations? Can you select alternative digital channels on your DVDR if you aren't recording and the RF cable between the two pieces of kit is in place? Sounds like a faulty DVD recorder to me. What happens if you disconnect the RF cable at the TV end, rather than the DVDR end? Does that let you record channels other than the four BBC ones? If so, the problem is with your TV tuner confusing the DVDR rather than the DVDR itself. Quote: Originally Posted by ib2112 Secondly, I subscribe to Setanta and use a viewing card stored in the back of my digital tv....obviously I can view Setanta on the tv but I cannot record the station because it is a "scrambled channel"....even though I have the card in the TV.....I take it this set up will not allow me to record Setanta. Unless your Freeview DVD recorder has the ability to connect a CAM module (the card which allows you to receive Setanta) - and I haven't seen many DVDRs which do - then the only way you are going to be able to record Setanta is by sending the signal back from the TV's digital tuner to the DVDR via scart. And as you say that you can't use scart to connect DVDR to TV, I assume you also won't be able to use scart to connect TV to DVDR.

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Help with set up required - thank you