[SapphicGrrl]

This sounds ridiculous, I know, but here are a few facts:-

[LIST=1][*]I watch TV via Sky because we have no local Freeview[*]I only want the BT Vision for Catch Up[*]The DVD/VCR player is only for playing, not recording[/LIST]
That's those questions answered (and no need for any fiddling about with aerials).

My TV only has two SCART sockets and I've been using one for Sky and one for BT, no problems (EXT 1 & 2 on the TV) - everything hooked up and working as you'd expect. However, today I thought I'd introduce a VCR/DVD player into the equation (as it was sitting gathering dust upstairs and not being used - also the DVD slot in the TV doesn't work, which is frustrating!). I found an extra SCART cable and an adapter block, and plugged the BT and the DVD SCARTs both into this (assuming that I could just switch from one to the other, depending on what I wanted to watch). It didn't want to know! So I started to fiddle, to see what I could get. Results - Sky & BT both plugged into block, both work (but neither very well). Sky and DVD both plugged into block work (ditto). So the ideal situation would be BT and the DVD - BT works fine, but the screen just stays blank when I switch it off. (I'm using the TV connection on all the devices.)

There must be a permutation I'm missing here? Can anyone spot it looking at my description? It may be that I should yank all cables out and start again (I'm going to be dreaming about SCARTS and black cable spaghetti tonight) - on the other hand, it might be something really really simple that I've missed - my head is spinning with this a bit!

Any ideas, anyone?

[chrisjr]

Does the Sky box have two SCART sockets? If so connect the DVD to the "VCR" SCART.

The SCART switching signal should tell the Sky box to route the DVD signals to the TV when you turn the DVD on. No extra bits needed.

The SCART adapter thingy you mention sounds like it might be a splitter. Which as the name suggests is used to take one SCART output and split it to feed two SCART inputs (eg one VCR to two TVs). It probably cannot be used in reverse (two outputs to one input) without screwing up both sources you connect to it.

[SapphicGrrl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

Does the Sky box have two SCART sockets? If so connect the DVD to the "VCR" SCART.

The SCART switching signal should tell the Sky box to route the DVD signals to the TV when you turn the DVD on. No extra bits needed.

The SCART adapter thingy you mention sounds like it might be a splitter. Which as the name suggests is used to take one SCART output and split it to feed two SCART inputs (eg one VCR to two TVs). It probably cannot be used in reverse (two outputs to one input) without screwing up both sources you connect to it.

Thanks VERY much. I did what you said and discovered that it worked, and that I could have Sky or the DVD on the same channel. Then I thought, 'Hang on!' and did the same into the BT box - success, exactly what I wanted! (One mistake I'd made was not turning everything off and on again - I tried to do all this while everything was switched on, which I think was the cause of the crummy quality.)

Thanks again!

[Winston_1]

How come you have no local Freeview in Surrey?

[SapphicGrrl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winston_1

How come you have no local Freeview in Surrey?

Ha, that's a very good question, isn't it?! We have no idea why (being such a heavily populated area), but we just don't have it yet (not in my area anyway)!

[Lidtop2013]

A VCR in 2014, whats one of them then hehehe!!

[mac2708]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lidtop2013

A VCR in 2014, whats one of them then hehehe!!

The OP has a DVD/VCR combo such as this
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...er/5338959.htm

[chrisjr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SapphicGrrl

Ha, that's a very good question, isn't it?! We have no idea why (being such a heavily populated area), but we just don't have it yet (not in my area anyway)!

Don't tell me. A Sky rep at some booth in a shopping mall told you that?

I would be very surprised if Surrey was devoid of Freeview coverage, not exactly some remote spot in the middle of the Scottish Highlands after all.

Poke your post code into here

http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/

tick the "Detailed View" box and then click GO. That will tell you what Freeview transmitters cover your area.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SapphicGrrl

Ha, that's a very good question, isn't it?! We have no idea why (being such a heavily populated area), but we just don't have it yet (not in my area anyway)!

That sounds EXTREMELY unlikely

There's certainly no 'yet' as DSO is long over and done with.

Try entering your postcode at:

http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?

Which will give you a reception prediction.

[SapphicGrrl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

Don't tell me. A Sky rep at some booth in a shopping mall told you that?

I would be very surprised if Surrey was devoid of Freeview coverage, not exactly some remote spot in the middle of the Scottish Highlands after all.

Poke your post code into here

http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/

tick the "Detailed View" box and then click GO. That will tell you what Freeview transmitters cover your area.

No, honestly, guys! We've been checking the Freeview page for years, we really have. (The latest news on there tells us that we 'may' get about 20 channels, but we've checked and we still can't. I was surprised actually - that information is brand new and wasn't there a few weeks ago. My neighbours tell me the same - our village is in a sort of Freeview 'blackspot', it's well known around here. And I've had Sky for about 20 years, so I don't bother talking to reps in shopping malls, lol.)

Putting my postcode into the Digital UK page gave this message:-

Optional retune in 2014.

This address is predicted to receive a variable terrestrial TV signal from the Hannington transmitter in the Meridian TV region. Your local BBC news service is South Today and Meridian Tonight for ITV.

Perhaps I should try a manual re-tune?

(To mac2708 - I have an old Digilogic VCRDVD2 - does the job!)

To Nigel - interested to see that the Wolfsbane page says that Guildford is up and running, because it wasn't for ages. That looks worth a try to me...........

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Last edited by SapphicGrrl : 12-02-2014 at 11:57. Reason: Extra bit of info