Analogue expert needed

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Rikkitic

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#206077 8-Dec-2016 18:38

I have a cheap HDMI to S-video/composite converter I bought off Aliexpress. I need to be able to record from an HDMI source to an old Panasonic DVR, which only has S-video input. This does not involve HDCP. The HDMI source is not copy protected and I am not running it through a stripper, although I did try that briefly just to see if it made any difference. It didn't.

When I plug into the DVR, the picture quality is terrible, almost no colour at all except for a little faded blue, and there are interference lines running through it. Yet if I plug straight into the TV, or via the amp, the picture is fine, with strong colours.

Clearly something in the DVR is interfering with the input signal. I get the same result with both s-video and composite. I don't know if this has to do with copy protection or something else, but the source signal is definitely not HDCP and when I test with a computer HDMI, I get the same result. Picture quality is fine as long as it doesn't go through the DVR.

Does anyone know what is getting in the way here? Is there a fix for this? I'm not looking for solutions that involve other approaches. I need a way to get this specific thing to work, HDMI to S-video to DVR. Why does it work without the DVR, but not with it? Any information would be most welcome.

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MadEngineer

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#1684839 8-Dec-2016 18:47

I know you've said that the source isn't copy protected but what is it?

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

Rikkitic

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#1684840 8-Dec-2016 19:09

For testing it is just the desktop of an ordinary PC with HDMI out. Just to be sure, I also tried it with an HDCP stripper but it didn't make any difference.

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richms

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#1684841 8-Dec-2016 19:10

I have had that on some recieving devices for composite. I bought an adapter to put my NVR out to a modulator so I could see it on all the TVs in the house after retiring the old analog camera system.

Some of the TVs did weird stuff like that even directly off the output of it. Got a different one and all was fine.

Richard rich.ms

Rikkitic

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#1684863 8-Dec-2016 19:34

Typical that the DVR is the only device that doesn't work while it's the only device that needs to. It is like one of the colour signals is missing. I have had pictures from broken connectors that were very similar in appearance. But I have tried plugging into different inputs of the DVR with the same result, and also tried running the signal through the amp, which has s-video inputs and outputs. From the amp to the TV looks fine, as soon as it goes through the DVR it turns to crap.

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richms

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#1684869 8-Dec-2016 19:41

well the quality control for $6 isnt going to be that great I guess.

Richard rich.ms

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#1684873 8-Dec-2016 19:52

Not a pal/ntsc issue is it? I remember when I had a panasonic DVD recorder it was stupid and I had to manually change it in the menu between the 2, as the geniuses that invented DVD made it so that you had to choose one format for the entire disk which gave me hell when I was moving old music videos off VHS to DVD, and it was similar issues when it was set wrong for what was on the tape.

Richard rich.ms

Rikkitic

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#1684887 8-Dec-2016 20:06

That is not a dumb idea at all. It does look very much like when I tried to play NTSC tapes on PAL (or maybe it was the other way around). I can't check it tonight but I will definitely look at it tomorrow.

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richms

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#1684889 8-Dec-2016 20:08

one of my converters has an ntsc/pal switc that does nothing, it switches depending if you give it 50 of 60Hz on the HDMI. Another has it mis labeled, so pal is ntsc and ntsc is pal, and it will very poorly convert the framerate in a manner that causes serious interlacing artifacts and judder.

Richard rich.ms

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#1684960 8-Dec-2016 21:55

Rikkitic:

That is not a dumb idea at all. It does look very much like when I tried to play NTSC tapes on PAL (or maybe it was the other way around). I can't check it tonight but I will definitely look at it tomorrow.

Check the Display settings on the PC graphics. It may be that they're acceptable to the TV but not the DVR?

Rikkitic

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#1684965 8-Dec-2016 22:04

I also tried it with a Blu-Ray, which was my only other available HDMI source. That has HDCP but that doesn't seem to affect the converter. In any case, the result was exactly the same. No difference at all.

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Rikkitic

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#1685135 9-Dec-2016 10:29

richms:

one of my converters has an ntsc/pal switc that does nothing, it switches depending if you give it 50 of 60Hz on the HDMI. Another has it mis labeled, so pal is ntsc and ntsc is pal, and it will very poorly convert the framerate in a manner that causes serious interlacing artifacts and judder.

That was absolutely spot-on! I went to hook up the converter this morning and decided to take a really close look at it. Sure enough, there is a tiny, miniscule, all-but-invisible pinhole button flush with the surface and the same colour of which there is no mention whatsoever anywhere on the packaging, the site, device details or anywhere else. Those wonderful Chinese!

Anyway, the device was indeed on NTSC and the button switches between that and every PAL variant in the world. The picture is actually pretty good for S-video (upscaled by the DVR back to HDMI). Thank you so much for that @richms. You made my day.

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