Hope someone can advise......here's the problem
Just bought my mother in law (aaargh) a DVD player and a Freeview box. She has a Sony Tv with one scart socket and a VHS video hooked into th TV via scart.
How on earth can I get these three appliances to hook into a singl scart input TV whilst allowing her to use the VHS to recor TV/Freeview......I'm stumped...
Thanks for any help
Ale
-- alexbartman
Get her one of these from Argos.
The VHS will probably have a SCART input. Connect the FreeView box to that. Then select 'aux video input' on the VHS to pass it through to the TV.
Mind, trying to explain how to use it all is another matter...
Have a look at Maplin. They do various SCART switch boxes.
problem.
Homebase and other DIY stores sell SCART boxes which allow multiple SCART devices to plug into one TV socket. We've got a couple in different parts of the house.
Andrew
You have to daisy chain tehm all. The good news is that most DVD and video stiff has two scarts, and when switcghed to standby, will pass teh CARTY straught throiugh.
So antenna to freeview then scart to Video, scart fromn video to DVD and scart from DVD to TV.
You plug 'em in and switch to suit. They have pass-through which is also switchable to send playing signals, from whatever source, to the TV and to the VCR scart, which is a two-way link. Have you never used a scart switch box before?
Regards
Mark
If the Freeview and the DVD player have two scarts then try:
VCR FreeView DVD TV
To watch a source turn off the others.
To record freeview you need the freeview and VCR on with the VCR set to record from the relevant AV input.
If you have not got two scarts on the "middle boxes", they you will need a switcher. The remote control "Quintro" box being the top end of such beasties. See CPC for that.
A simple box won't do that, though. It'll just allow one or other input to connect to the TV. I doubt that Homebase (as you recommended) sell much else.
And there's really no need to descend to the rather insulting, condescending last sentence.
Maybe not, but the box from Argos that I recomended does.
It's Argos, not homebase. And besides, every switch box I've ever seen does do it. The only ones that don't are the three into one wired type connection rigs, not the switch boxes.
Hey, you're the one who asked for an explanation of a very, very basic scart switching box, not me.
Regards
Mark
As you've probably guessed, for a definitive answer, you'll have to tell us how many SCART sockets there are on the VCR, the DVD player, and the FreeView box.
If the DVD player has two SCARTs, then the whole thing becomes easy and flexible, but unfortunately very few modern DVD players do!
VCR > STB STB > DVD DVD > TV
allows pretty much any functionality.
If it's a standard 1 SCART DVD player, then
DVD > VCR VCR > STB STB > TV
is about the best you can do. The VCR should loop through the DVD when switched off. It may not loop through copy protected DVDs correctly when switched on. You can't watch a DVD while recording something else.
If the VCR only has one SCART, and no other input, then you're stuffed.
You can use a switch box, but to most non techy people they're just not worth the hassle. Most none techy folks would rather just have the DVD into the SCART, and the other equipment looped through RF (in which case I hope that FreeView STB has an RF modulator - rather than just an RF pass through like most modern ones). The quality is lower (no stereo sound either), but convenience is more important that quality for most.
For the price of a fully automatic 4-way SCART switcher with RGB capability, you could replace one of the other units with one that has sufficient SCARTs to solve the problem anyway. Cheaper composite only (non-RGB) automatic switchers could be your best bet.
Hope this helps. If it confuses, well, ask before buying in future!
Finally, the DTG have a good guide to all this - it's the first publication on this page...
OK, you're staying at that level. I give up.
So that's a 'I refuse to comment, on the grounds that I'm wrong', then?
Regards
Mark
Take a look here for some fully automatic switchers from Lektropacks:
Regards
Mark
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.