Apologies if this is answered elsewhere, I did do a search but perhaps not for the right thing!

I recently bought my Mum a Samsung UE32ES5500KXXU so she can enjoy the built in Freeview and HD rather than mess around with a set top box.

However, with only one scart point (in use for DVD player) it means I need to find another way to connect her old Humax Freeview (non HD) recorder - purely so she can record and watch programmes on the odd occasion.

I either need a Scart to Composite or Scart to Component lead....just not sure which?

If someone could point me the right way I'd be grateful.

It's composite but assuming the Freeview pvr has a TV scart socket and VCR scart socket, why not connect the DVD player to the pvr vcr scart. ?

The source button on the pvr remote will switch the TV picture from pvr to dvd.

Thanks for that.

I'll look into using the socket on the pvr although I'm trying to make everything as simple as possible - she hardly uses it now.

I just wanted to have it connected on the off chance she needed to record something.

Any technical problems lead to a phone call as I'm miles away!

Don't some non HD freeview recorders have a HDMI socket?

Why don't you buy your mum a cheap £50 Blu Ray player to replace the DVD one and use it's HDMI socket!

Does the Freeview PVR have 2 Scart sockets? If so just daisy chain.

Try this connection wizard just put 1 scart and tick appropriate boxes
http://www.dtg.org.uk/consumer/connection_wizard.html

Alt Connection Wizard

http://www.which.co.uk/static/flash/...n_jslocal.html

Daisy chain only works on some PVRs if it is left in Standby, and who wants to spend £££ on Standby?

That's meant to be a rhetorical question, by the by.

All that means is that the PVR has to be in standby (or on) when you want to watch a DVD, apart from that the PVR can be switched off. The standby power of the PVR will be irrelevant when compared to the power of the TV and DVD player operating.

The PVR does not necessarily have to be in standby to allow the pass-through signal from the DVD to be sent to the TV. There will be a button on the remote control to switch between the Freeview signal and the pass-through signal, possibly marked AV.

Not much point in having a pvr if you turn it off

How's it going to record anything ?

There may be such a button on some PVRs there isn't such a button on any of my PVRs, they will however allow pass through whether in standby or switched on.

I have never used a PVR which did not have such a button.

Maybe I've just missed it then or we just have different PVRs. I can't see anything like that on my Sky+ nor my Digifusion and I've certainly never used it, everything all works pretty automatically with the Scart input taking over when needed.

Obviously all DVD recorders have this but we are talking PVRs not DVDRs. What PVR do you have?

Every Humax and Topfield pvr with twin scarts and every vcr I ever owned had a source button (variously labelled). Sky boxes appear to be the odd one out.

I don't know if you like delving into techy stuff, but by the sound of the model, it looks like there is actually the ability to record via usb, but for some reason its disabled in one of the menus.
You could try using this software. I've done it myself on my UE32D5520, and it works, even after several firmware upgrades.
http://wiki.samygo.tv/index.php5/Act...g_PVR_on_D5500
This will allow her to bypass the Humax altogether, and simply use the Samsung TV guide to record or pause TV, with an external HDD or very fast USB stick plugged in.

And the irony of it is that standby on a Sky box does little in the way of power saving so they may as well label the ON/OFF button as AV.

Plus my Digifusion doesn't (obviously VCRs do for the same reason as DVDRs do). So some do and some don't so my original "there may be such a button on some PVRs was correct", I never said no PVRs had this just that mine didn't (and that it wasn't needed, I would never have used it as long as it had auto switching).

It spins down the hard disk so is not useless but as you say doesn't save anything like as much as it should. I'm surprised you've never used a Sky+, I thought most people had used one even if they've never owned one.

Nope. At the most I have occasionally used an old non-PVR Sky box to change channel (what a faff that is) or to turn it off. Why should that surprise you? Sky does not have as big a market penetration as people like to make out, but that is a debate for another thread.