Can't get a DVD signal on Freesat/Sky setup

Penners

Hi

We've recently bought a new LCD TV to replace our ageing CRT model, and it has so many input/output sockets that I'm getting thoroughly confused about incorporating a DVD player into my twin receiver setup. I hope you can help please.

Here's my system: Samsung 37" LCD TV; Sky dish with quad LNB; 2 feeds to Humax Foxsat Freesat PVR; 1 feed to standard Sky box; 1 feed spare.

The Freesat box connects to the TV via an HDMI cable. The Sky box connects to the TV via a SCART cable, entering the TV through a SCART socket labelled Ext1(RGB). These both work satisfactorily - if I'm watching Freesat and switch on the Sky box, it replaces the Freesat programme, and vice versa. No change of selected input is needed. That's all fine.

The Freesat box and the Sky box both have SCART sockets labelled VCR. I have tried connecting my DVD player cable to both of these, on the assumption that - when switched on and played - the DVD signal will break through on to the screen (which is what used to happen on the old CRT TV). Wrong! Nothing happens.

I've also tried connecting the DVD player directly to the TV, into a SCART socket labelled EXT2(AV). Still nothing.

I'm pretty confident that there's nothing wrong with the DVD player. But I'm not at all confident that (a) I have set up the correct combination of connections, or (b) that I understand the system for selecting the the correct TV input.

Bearing in mind my ignorance about all this, please could you recommend the best setup for all these connections into the TV, and which input selection to make for watching each one successfully?

Many thanks for any advice.

Analoguesat

What happens if you plug the DVD into the Ext 2 socket and manually select Ext 2 on the tv remote.

Analoguesat's message to the world Analogue forever!

HB13DISH

It would help if you can give us the exact model numbers and attach the manuals for:

1 - DVD Player
2 - Samsung LCD TV
3 - Humax Foxsat Freesat PVR
4 - Sky box (people living outside UK like myself are not familiar with it)

If your DVD is indeed a player (not a recorder), then you need to connect it directly to the TV, provided you have enough inputs there.

The way I see it, your system has four video and audio sources, and you should be able to connect them all to the TV, if it has at least four inputs:

1 from DVD player
1 from Sky box
2 from Freesat box (as it has two LNB inputs, then it should also have two AV outputs. Not sure why you are using only the HDMI cable (if this is for only one output, then what about the second?)

You may have to get into the TV menus and enable all inputs. That is why I need the manuals.

BTW, the VCR connectors of the boxes are OUTPUT signals to connect to VCR or DVD recorders, not INPUT sockets, so you shouldn't connect the DVD output to them. This is not advisable, even if as you say, it worked before.

Most modern TV sets have a video input at the front, usually hidden under a flap, so you'd better check for this, if you haven't noticed it before.

rolfw

Yes, as Analoguesat says, you can manually select the DVD player using the Source button on your Samsung remote. You're right, the DVD player if looped through the digibox, should command the scart connection from the Sky digibox to TV, but may only do it when a DVD is played. If your DVD player has two scart sockets, only one of the scart sockets may send the command signal, try both of them.

@ HB, the Freesat twin tuner PVR only has a single AV stream output, as do most PVRs, so only need to have the HDMI cable connected.

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Penners

Well many thanks to all of you for those helpful ideas. I'll try and run through and try them tomorrow, and report back.

HB - as rolfw says, the Freesat PVR has two cable feeds - one for the recorder, and one for watching live. So only one HDMI needed to the TV.

HB13DISH

OK. Thanks. Not what I expected actually.
How can you watch either the current channel or the one that is being recorded?

Penners

Actually you can permutate the way that you use the two LNB feeds. You can watch one channel while recording another, or record two channels simultaneously.

Penners

OK, problem solved!

I tried plugging the DVD direct into the TV's EXT2 SCART port and then manually selecting that input. No joy.

But then I dug out a different SCART cable that I had in the back of a cupboard, and...whoopee! Success!

I should have thought of a dodgy cable before bothering you all with my problems, shouldn't I?

Anyway, many thanks to you all, once again. You help is much appreciated.