strange interference problem with Onkyo 600 (1 Viewer)

[Eric_M]

OK this is a pretty strange problem I noticed last night.
The video out of my DVD player is hooked up via composite outs to the video in of my VCR. YEs this is not the greatest but it is holding me up until I get my TV which will be very soon. The TV I have currently only has an input for cable, it's that old.
The audio outs are going into the DVD inputs on the back of the Onkyo 600.

I have a coax cable going from the DVD player to the Onkyo for DD, DTS etc.

Last night when watching a movie I noticed some interference bars on the screen. These are the kind that you get when you have a bad antenna or something. The bars scan acrosss the screen then go away then come back.

The thought came to me to disconnect the coax digital cable from the back of the reciever. Sure enough the problem went away. I put it back on and the problem started again. Does this sound like a problem with the reciever?

 

[ThomasL]

Eric, try another coax cable and/or make sure it is not up against the coax cable going from the vcr to the tv into the tv's RF input. It sounds like a crosstalk/cable interference problem. I had a similar problem when I first set up my dvd player. Whenever it was on and the coax cable for the digital audio was connected, I got interference on some of my cable channels.

good luck,


--tom

 

[Eric_M]

Thomas,

Thanks. Yeah when I moved the cable it helped slightly but not well enough. I seriously think it may be the way the DVD player is being hooked thru the VCR and then the VCR is connected via a regular coax cable to the TV. Hopefully I get a set this weekend and I shall see. I am also going to try a new cable today as you suggested. I could also buy a fiber optic cable and try that as that may cause less inteference

 

[JackS]

Erik- You diagnosed your problem correctly. You can't connect through your VCR. The result is a picture unwatchable due to MacroVision. Make all connections to your receiver or the video straight to the TV.

 

[Lee Petty]

eric,
at walmart or radioshack you can pick up a rf modulater, that will allow you to hook the coax from your tv, to the composite outputs of your dvd player and vcr. that should help your picture quality a bit.
btw, the modulator costs about $25-30.

 

[Eric_M]

Jack,

Thanks, however the problem is not within Macrovision since the picture is plenty watchable. I know what you mean about the Macrovision effect though. This problem is a different one as it seems to be more antenna like interference. As soon as I remove the coax cable from the DVD player to the reciever, the lines go away. I picked up a new coax cable and will try that today.

Lee,

Thanks. I should have picked up this box long ago. I am getting a TV very soon so hopefully this won't be an issue anymore but I will most likely still get one as this set will be going to someone else who will need that box.

 

[ThomasL]

Eric, it's also possible it's not that cable but another. As mentioned, I had a similar problem but in the end, now that I think of it, it actually was the cable coax cable from the vcr to the RF input on the tv causing the problem. It had bad shielding. The digital coax cable from the dvd player to the receiver was up against it in one location and that was the problem. Ironically, it was a more expensive cable! I switched back to a regular old Radio Shack patch cable and the interference disappeared. The moral of the story is that the more expensive a cable is, doesn't necessarily mean it's better.

good luck,


--tom