Paging tv experts

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

I recently bought a large CRT Philips tv from eBay for next to nothing.

Attached to it is a Sky box, a VCR, and a Philips home cinema. I sometimes have an aerial feed from a new Freeview aerial going to the back of the tv in case of Sky outages, but that's hardly ever plugged in as it causes ghosting. I should say that everything which is plugged into the Philips tv was plugged into the previous tv which didn't have the following problem:

When I got the tv to search for terrestrial channels, and then left the menu, the picture from the Sky box was perfectly clear, but after a while (didn't notice what set it off - being switched off perhaps?) the picture went very grainy. If I get the tv to search for channels again, even for just a few seconds, then quit out of the menu, the picture's perfect again!

Wossat then?

Si

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

I recently bought a large CRT Philips tv from eBay for next to nothing.

Attached to it is a Sky box, a VCR, and a Philips home cinema. I sometimes have an aerial feed from a new Freeview aerial going to the back of the tv in case of Sky outages, but that's hardly ever plugged in as it causes ghosting. I should say that everything which is plugged into the Philips tv was plugged into the previous tv which didn't have the following problem:

When I got the tv to search for terrestrial channels, and then left the menu, the picture from the Sky box was perfectly clear, but after a while (didn't notice what set it off - being switched off perhaps?) the picture went very grainy. If I get the tv to search for channels again, even for just a few seconds, then quit out of the menu, I need to press the AV button to get the Sky picture up. When I do this there is a small 'doing!' from the tv and the perfectly clear picture appears.

Wossat then?

Si

[Lurch]

On Mon, 9 Jul 2007 12:14:20 +0100, "Mungo \"Two Sheds\" Toadfoot" mused:

Knackered.

Probably why it was cheap and on eBay.

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

Blimey, I wasn't expecting that answer.

It's not *that* grainy, especially from a distance, just noticeable when you get close to it.

Still, thanks for sparing your precious time.

Si

[David Hansen]

On Mon, 9 Jul 2007 12:10:29 +0100 someone who may be "Mungo \"Two Sheds\" Toadfoot" wrote this:-

Does it have a built-in (digital) freeview tuner?

Does the latter have a digital tuner built-in?

Is the aerial pointing in the right direction?

Why did you install a new aerial when, because you talk of ghosting, you are looking at analogue stations?

Except for the aerial, presumably?

The picture is coming from which bit of equipment?

Analogue or digital channels?

The picture from the television tuner or the Sky gadget?

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

No.

No.

Yes.

We have Sky in the living room and Freeview boxes in two bedrooms. The aerial was put in the loft, through a booster, just for the Freeview boxes upstairs, which work perfectly, but there was an existing RF cable running from the same booster to the tv downstairs which used to be used for switching to the analogue signal when Sky was playing up, and is still in place, but usually unplugged.

When it *is* plugged in to the tv there *is* ghosting though. It was the same on the other tv we had, which now lives upstairs. I never found out why and didn't care to because it was rarely used anyway and it was easier just to unplug it!

No, that was there for Sky outages, as explained above, but hardly ever actually used anyway.

Sky satellite dish. There's no other input plugged in. The DVD and VCR pictures are always perfect.

I can see why this is a little confusing :)

One evening when Sky was particularly bad I was just letting the tv search for any channels it could find. It didn't find any, of course, because I forgot that the aerial wasn't plugged in to it (!) but I did notice that when I AV'd back to the Sky signal there was the small "Doingggg!" sound and the picture was perfectly clear again.

Sky.

Perhaps there is just something wrong with the tv. I can't think of anything which is different from when the other tv was in place. It's just odd that the picture *can* be perfectly clear if I faff with it.

Ta,

Si

[Lurch]

On Mon, 9 Jul 2007 14:26:45 +0100, "Mungo \"Two Sheds\" Toadfoot" mused:

Any time. Glad we sorted it. :)

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

Silly arse :)

Si

[David Hansen]

On Mon, 9 Jul 2007 14:52:41 +0100 someone who may be "Mungo \"Two Sheds\" Toadfoot" wrote this:-

Ghosting implies receiving an analogue signal and the aerial is either not pointing in the right direction, or the signal strength is low.

Ghosting on the picture from the Sky box, or when watching the analogue picture?

How is the Sky box connected to the television?

That contradicts what you said earlier and which I have quoted above.

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

That's what I thought.

With a SCART lead. I've tried to remember how everything's connected together, and whether there are any RF leads in there but it's really hard to get to the backs of all the boxes! :)

Sky. The ghosting is only relevant when the aerial's plugged in though; it's not a, or 'the', problem.

I noticed that after I sent it. I meant there's only the Sky signal coming in, not the aerial.

Si

[Adrian C]

Your TV set probably is sending out in the direction of the Sky Box, the output of it's own internal analogue tuner, and the many possibly unshielded (or overall screened) wires inside your SCART cable are allowing the electrons to cross-couple and have a party over the top of your Sky Box output.

The TV may have a setup menu option to shut this nonsense up (look for tuner out settings), or you might try a better screened SCART cable (nothing expensive - £3 max for a good one around these parts), or snip wires inside the SCART plug to knobble the output path.

Google "scart crosstalk tuner"

-- Adrian C

[Graham]

Thatt last bit is a bit vague for someone who admits he is no expert.

Cut Pin 17 at TV end of cable. (and 1&3 if there is crosstalk on sound)

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

That all sounds likely. Thanks chaps - I'll have a play wiv me remote, and then the wire cutters.

Si

[David Hansen]

On Mon, 9 Jul 2007 18:28:40 +0100 someone who may be "Mungo \"Two Sheds\" Toadfoot" wrote this:-

So, when you are watching a picture from the Sky box plugging in the aerial lead causes the picture from the Sky box to ghost.

Find someone to repair the television, or dispose of it.