Need some technical support/advice with my TV (1 Viewer)

[nick.k]

Hi everybody,

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but here goes:

I have a Samsung LCD tv (an LN-R328). I have sucessfully hooked it up to my HD cablebox and my xbox using component cables.

Last night I tried to simply add a Samsung DVD player/recorder using regular red white and yellow cables and it isn't working. I get picture but no audio, and I definitely have the audio cords plugged in. The picture has grey bars on the sides and no sound.

So I tried something else: I had the RF cable to go into the cablebox, then an RF cable from the cablebox to the DVD player/recorder, then component cables from the DVD to the tv. This time, I just get a blank screen.

Is there a certain order I should be plugging the cords in to get my tv to recognize a new device? Do I need a splitter? I'm fairly confused right now, especially since I know this is a simple set up procedure and I'm scared something is wrong with my tv...

Also, on an unrelated note, is it normal for my tv to be emitting a low humming noise that gets louder as I turn up the volume?

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Chances are your DVD deck can't convert RF to component. Any reason you didn't use component cables to connect your cable box to your DVD recorder, and then go component to the TV? (BTW, if you plan to record off the cablebox I think you'd want to do that and use digital audio if possible, rather than by-pass it and go straight to the TV.)

Regards,

Joe

 

[nick.k]

First off, thanks for getting back to me so quickly Joe.

I was using regular red and white stereo cables to connect the audio. I absolutely checked and double checked the connections & ports. Can an audio port on a tv be defective? My tv is a Samsung LN-R328 LCD flat screen. The DVD/R player is also a Samsung DVD-R120 that came free with the tv.

The problem is that my DVD deck only has component outputs, not inputs. So that means I had to have the RF cable going from the cablebox to the DVD player and then connect component cables from the DVD to the TV. But that doesn't work--all I get is a blank picture.

Here's how I did it--I unplugged the output component wires leaving the cablebox and pugged them into the output on the DVD. Then I connected the RF out from the cablebox to the RF in on the DVD. And I get nothing.... Suggestions?

 

[nick.k]

Is there another way of setting this up that I'm missing?

 

[Bill Cowmeadow]

I think you have to select the stereo option in the dvd menu to bypas the digital out from the DVD player.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

This didn't quite register the first time I read through this, but you've got a mix of hi-def and standard def gear involved, which might make the connection you're trying to do impossible anyway.

Component does not "equal" hi-def and not all component connections can pass an HD signal. And the antenna input on the DVD recorder isn't designed to accept or read a digital HD signal, much less convert it to component.

You might try using the S-video connections. You'll still get an SD image, but it might work. Does your TV have a digital audio input? (I tried to find an owner's manual on-line, but don't get a match for the model number as you typed it. I did find your DVD recorder.) This might work: Connect the cable box directly to the TV using the digital input and component video. (Assuming HDMI and DVI are not an option.) Use video 1 on the TV for this connection. Simultaneously connect the cable box to your DVD-R using s-video and RCA audio cables. Then output from the DVD-R to the TV to video input 2. Try the component cables first, for video, then s-video. That should enable you to make an SD recording of whatever is coming out of your HD cable box with analog stereo or matrixed surround sound while watching it in HD and 5.1. (Or while you're out.) Then you can switch over to video 2 to play back the DVD.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Also: What make and model is your HD cable box?

Regards,

Joe

 

[nick.k]

My cablebox is a Scientific Atlanta I believe... The good news is that it does have an HDMI output, so I could use that. I'm just not sure if I want to spend all that cash on an HDMI cable. I'll give the S-video idea a shot shortly.

Anyway, what totally mystifies me is that I've tried connecting the DVD to the TV via a set of component cables and I get a black screen. The tv doesn't recognize that there's a new device. That makes absolutely no sense to me. And all I did was unhook the component output cables from my cablebox and plug them into the outputs from my DVD player...

Forget recording stuff from the tv, shouldn't I at least be able to hook up a progressive scan DVD player up to a HDTV and get a signal?

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Yes, but only from a DVD, not from the cable TV input. Have you tried playing a DVD or have you just tried watching TV? And have you made sure that the progressive output is activated on both the DVD player and the cable box. Again, some models require that you do this and will not have them active by default.

Which Scientific Atlanta cable box is it, by the way? Several of the sponsors on this site (RAM and Blue Jeans cable two name just two) will sell you a perfectly good HDMI cable for a lot less than the $100+ typically charged by retailers for Monster or AR cables, BTW.

Regards,

Joe