I have the DHD4000 which I've had since July & v happy with it.

Recently I bought the Evesham 32" LCD which is hooked up with the scart provided with the Thomson (at least I think thats where the scart came from).

Hoping to get an even better picture I bought a scart lead from Lidl (see here) http://www.lidl.co.uk/uk/home.nsf/pa...RT_Cable_.ar10
but when I swapped over picture quality seemed worse & I got what I can only describe as a "shimmer" in the colours.

Changed back & all ok.

The thing I noticed though is that the existing scart has 2 pins missing from the middle of one row on both ends. Is this normal & the reason why the difference occured?

Also using the new scart I was also getting 2 lots of sound, the second quieter source seeming to be slightly ahead of the first!!

Any advice?

If you are getting sound delayed or breaking through, or if the picture is worse, this indicates that the new lead is not fit for its purpose.

A quality scart lead will have a noticably thicker diameter than the 'thing' that came with the set-top box, or that which the cheapy supermarkets sell.

You should also look for all pins being present, and all pins connected. This is because SCART sockets are designed to receive and emit various signals, e.g, RGB, composite, widescreen switching, audio, S-Video, etc.

Goldplated pins give better contact. Oxygen Free Copper (OFC) is supposed to conduct the signals with better clarity.

You should also check that individual conductors are separately shielded (this is what makes the cable a thicker diameter). A skinny cable denotes poor internal shield, and this can cause 'crosstalk', i.e. sound coming through from another source.

Ignore those that cost £5. You should be thinking of ones that cost between £15 - £20. (No need to spend extortionate amounts). Visit your local independent audio/visual dealer; you seem to get a better class of service in these places.

Don't buy excessively long cables: they can compound your problems.

Seems like the new scart lead is faulty; return it for replacement. Sorted.

Freeview sound lags a little behind analogue, so you're probably getting some analogue breakthrough from the tv analogue tuner. I'd suspect faulty screening, particularly with the poor video as well.

I've just checked my original lead, still in the box unused, and pins 10 and 12 are missing each end. Never noticed that. These are for serial data lines, not used in the Thomson, so it shouldn't make a difference. Doesn't on mine anyway.

Thanks trilobite but although the new cable was cheap (£5) it is:
a) noticably thicker
b) multiple shielded
c) pins are 24k gold plated
d)99.99% oxygen free copper

So on the face of it, it does seem to be the type of lead you recommend but still not better than my original!

Might be at PTD suggests and new lead faulty??

It might be worth trying a change to the 'scart' setting in the 'tv setup' menu to see what happens in your instance.

My scart setting is currently "RGB" & with the new scart I did try changing to "CVBS" (although I dont know what this is).

It did get rid of the "shimmer" but picture didn't seem as sharp.

Oh well, worth a try.

"CVBS" is another name for Composite.

I've noticed with ordinary CRT televisions, that invariably, RGB gives a softer, darker picture. And since equipment doesn't always support S-Video, you basically have to use Composite to get a decent picture.

And I don't care what anybody says, RGB connection is not the "be all and end all".

My advice is experiment, and see what suits YOURSELF best.

Good luck!