Sky/TV/DVR Connection help needed

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tayriver

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#13366 6-May-2007 20:44

Hello all,
Probably a really dumb question but I have been struggling with this so thought you may be able to help. Be gentle this is my first posting!!!

Problem.
1. Want to get stereo from my Sky decoder.
2. Want to get the best quality picture. Currently not great when recording/viewing through DVR.

Current set up.
TV - Samsung 40" LCD. Model LA40S71BX. Has HDMI connection along with red/white/yellow on rear and side, along with a whole host of other connections on rear.
DVD Recorder - Panasonic DMR-EH65. Has 2 x SCART connections plus blue/green/purple, red/white/yellow connections and HDMI connection.
Sky decoder - Model PACE DS230NNZ. 2 x SCART connections (I states TV SCART the other says VCR SCART).

Everything is connected via supplied RF cables. e.g. Aeriel and satellite into Sky box, RF from Sky to DVR, RF from DVR to TV. Also have AV cable (red, white, yellow) from DVR to TV.
I also have an HDMI cable (not yet connected) which I managed to get the salesman to throw in when buying the DVR.
Picture quality is about 9/10 on 1, 2, 3 and C4 (through aeriel) and on Sky, however when watching/recording on DVR drops to about 6.5-7/10, which is not ideal.
I know I need to get a SCARt to something?? to get stereo (it says so on the Sky website), but not really sure what.
I have found out this weekend that I, and most of the sales people in Dick Smith, Noel Leeming, Hill & Stewart, etc. are not really sure what the difference between component and composite is.

I need advice. Do I need 1, 2, multiple cables and what exactly should I be looking for?
Also do I need to keep my external RF aeriel plugged in? I want to be able to watch 1, 2, 3 or C4 when taping Sky (and vice versa).
I connected DVR and TV via the HDMI cable (and removed the RF cable between the 2) and I completely lost the picture. What did this happen?

Again I am sure this is really dumb and I apologise for the long post but I can't get to the bottom of this.

Thanks.

deliveryguy

42 posts

Geek

#69762 7-May-2007 02:31

I hope this helps
There are several cables need and I will explain as I go

Firstly -
Aerial goes into DVD recorder then into TV - Unless sky is being feed to other rooms dont pass the aerial signal through the sky decoder.

Sky to TV
you will need a scart to component cable - scart plug on one end and 5 or 6 rca connections on the other labeled "Pb Pr Y audio L audio R and possibly video, connect this cable from th TV out on sky to component 1 input on TV (you will also need to temporarily connect the rca labelled video to a spare av input on the tv.
Now select the av input on the TV and on the sky decoder enter the advanced setup menu choose scart settings and selec component from the available list, press the circle button and on the next screen select s-video for the vcr output.
you can now disconnect the video lead from the av input on the tv if you wish.

next dvd to tv use the hdmi cable.

next sky to dvd
you will need a scart to scart cable (ensure that all pins are wired as some cheap cables dont and wont work)
connect to the video out on the sky and connect to av2 on the dvd recorder.

Now you will need to go into the setup menu of the dvd and select connections and then AV2 input and change it from video to svhs.

(and before any jumps up and down yelling RGB the best input the new pana dvds will accept is svhs - which still looks a than composite especially when recording)

Also when recording avoid using LP or EP as the quality drops noticeably especially if there is a lot of movement in the picture

tayriver

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#69791 7-May-2007 10:43

Nice one. That certainly helps and makes sense.

Spoke with one of the retailers today and they said that I had to get a SCART cable with the 6 connections at the other end (as you described) and connect that from SKY to DVD then use the HDMI from DVD to TV.
They didn't say ANYTHING about changing options in my set-up.

It didn't logically make sense to me how that would work. Your explanation makes much more sense.

I'll check it out tonight.
Thanks again.

tayriver

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#69792 7-May-2007 10:47

Just to check. Do I connect ALL 6 plugs. The retailer said that I didn't have to connect the yellow plug as it carried the video signal and that was already coming through the other 3 (purple, blue, green) connectors.

Thanks.

deliveryguy

42 posts

Geek

#69844 7-May-2007 19:50

you need to connect the yellow (video) connection to a spare av on the tv so you can access the menus from sky to change the output to component - otherwise you cant see the menus - once it is all done then you can disconnect it.

Carl

cyril7

9058 posts

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#69862 7-May-2007 20:55

Dont connect the composite (yellow one) as well as component. Before you setup for component, use a composite connection to turn the component video option on, but once you have selected component I advise you only use the YCrCb (red, green, blue) cables. Some TV's get confused and have troubles if you have both the three component signals and the composite one connected. Some override and only give you the composite signal.

When you select Component on the SCART connector the composite video is also output. Therefore you can always gain access to the video to see the menu regardless. Also there is a independant composite video connection output on all STB's except the DS-230, so you can always revert to that if you loose contact with the STB.

Cyril

tayriver

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#69917 8-May-2007 13:31

Thanks for the updates. Didn't get a chance to try this all out last night.

I am armed with a SCART to 6 connector cable, a SCART to SCART cable and an HDMI cable.
Results to follow!!!

Is it just me or is this way too confusing? When I was in the store I saw high quality RF cables, are they any good? It still seems the simplest way to connect all this up

Thanks,
G

cyril7

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#69928 8-May-2007 14:48

Is it just me or is this way too confusing? When I was in the store I saw high quality RF cables, are they any good? It still seems the simplest way to connect all this up

The quality of the cable cannot fix the quality of the technology level that it is trying to convey. RF is the bottom of the heap, component the top (ignore HDMI for now it doesnt apply). You could have the cheapest component cable and the flashest RF cable, but in this instance the component connection will still be in a differnt league.

Cyril

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tayriver

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#69930 8-May-2007 15:00

Thanks Cyril.