Amp interference w/ TV? (1 Viewer)

[JasonKZ]

I am still using an old television, so I have to connect my DVD player to my TV through my VCR, which I realize isn't ideal. I have noticed that when my amplifier is on (STRDE985), I get a wave type pattern flowing through my TV screen. I am using an entertainment center, so all my components are sitting right next to each other (i.e. the tv is separated from the other components by a cheap peice of press board).

I have tried turning on/off the other components as well as muting the speakers and have definitely isolated the source to my amplifier.

Is it typical that you cannot have this equipment close to each other or is there another way to reduce the intereference?

Thanks in advance for any advice!!

 

[KeithH]

Jason, I have a Sauder entertainment center that houses my Sony STR-V444ES receiver and TV and have never experienced interference. I don't know if the way you have the DVD player connected could cause a problem, but Radio Shack makes adapters that convert composite video to coaxial. You might want to try the more direct connection. Basically, you run a composite video cable from the DVD player into the Radio Shack box and then a coaxial cable from the box to the TV. You can still run a coaxial cable from the TV to the VCR, of course. These conversion boxes are relatively inexpensive and work well. I used one a couple of years because my old TV had no composite of S-video inputs.

 

[Matthew Speed]

It's called a modulator, it's made by RCA and it costs $40.
You got lucky, most people that have tried the DVD through the VCR trick get a picture that slowly cycles from a bright to a dark picture. This is due to the fact that DVD players modulate at a higher frequency than most VCRs.

 

[KeithH]

Matthew, you are right. More specifically, the item at Radio Shack is called an RF modulator. Any Radio Shack store should have it.

 

[JasonKZ]

I may think about the modulator - that is interesting. However, that really isn't my immediate problem because the distortion in my picture clearly goes away when I turn off my amp (of course, this doesn't work because that is the only location to output my sound since I have an old TV).

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Ken Garrison]

Some DVD and even VHS have a signal coded into the video called Macrovision. It's copy protection. If you run your DVD player through your VCR, which does NOT like that signal, then it will have a fit. I use my computer as a DVD player, and the TV out program has a macrovision blocker, so I can safely run it through my VCR. But, since you have a stand alone DVD player, get an RF modulator. They're 30 bucks at Wal Mart.