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Why is my TV black and white now? (1 Viewer)

ScottH

Senior HTF Member
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Scott Hanson
The other day I brought my VCR (non S-Video) down to my home theater because someone wanted me to tape something for them. I hooked everything up but I noticed that if I tried to watch TV (Directv) with my Elite PRO-710, it was in black and white (with the VCR off). It didn't bother me that much because I was only gonna have it hooked up temporarily. Well I just disconnected it and I am STILL having the problem. It's only in S-Video mode. I have no idea why and it's driving me crazy. Any ideas?
 

Inspector Hammer!

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Mar 15, 1999
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John Williamson
Reading your description of the problem, I recognized it immediatly. My friend had the same problem with his dvd player hooked up with s-video. I knew the problem was with his s-video cable, and when I checked it out, BINGO, one of the pins inside his s-video cable, the one that delivers the chrominance(color) parts of the picture, was broken off.
In case you don't know, inside the end of an s-video cable there are 4 pins, and it's very easy to break one off if your not careful. Check both ends of your cable, and make sure all 4 pins are i place on both ends. But i'm willing to bet that that's your problem. Of course, if one of those pins has broken off inside the hole of your input jack, you've got real problems.
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The Multi Channel Animal's truly, madly, deeply in love with Estella Warren!
[Edited last by John Williamson on July 27, 2001 at 11:42 PM]
[Edited last by John Williamson on July 27, 2001 at 11:45 PM]
 

Tim Markley

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Jun 12, 1999
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I guarantee that's what the problem is. I've had the same thing happen to me before. Those pins break off very easily.
 

Mark Dubbelboer

Screenwriter
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Oct 6, 1999
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Make sure when inserting or taking out an s-video cable you pull directly out. If you turn it even the slightest bit the pin can get bent. Then when you insert the cable after the slightly bent pin will get bent badly out of shape and may even snap off.
The first time this happened to me I was luckily able to get a refund (S-video was pretty new stuff and the store clerk obviously had no idea why it was only showing black and white). Ever since I've been very very careful
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Bring Degrassi out on DVD!!
 

Reginald Trent

Screenwriter
Joined
Feb 18, 2000
Messages
1,313
Yeah, if the s-cable pins are not broken then they are definately not making proper contact with the connection. MaKE sure the connection is snug if snugness is not the reason replace the S-cable.
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ScottH

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2001
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Scott Hanson
Thanks for all of your input. The pins were all there, but there was definitely something wrong with the cable. I tried another one and it worked fine. I guess that's what I get for buying Monster Cable. My new MIT works great.
 

Ken Seeber

Supporting Actor
Joined
Nov 5, 1999
Messages
787
Don't just pitch the Monster Cable. They do stand behind their lifetime warranty.
I had a Monster S-video cable where the rubber finger grip started to deteriorate. It was really just a cosmetic thing, but I e-mailed them. They had me mail the bad cable to them, which was cheap to do. I had a new cable within 10 days.
 

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