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Sky Box and DVD recorder


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Can anyone help?

We bought a DVD recorder yesterday but can't get it to function with our Sky box.

It works fine as a stand alone with the TV but as soon as we connect it up to the digibox we lose picture but still have sound. We have tried various ways of connecting - Scart, RF etc. but without any luck. Coming to the conclusion that the DVD recorder is incompatible with the digibox.

Has anyone else had this problem and, if so, is there a solution?

 

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I've just done the same (connected up a DVD/HDD recorder)

I wired the Sky box into the DVD recorder using a scart cable and then the DVD recorder into the TV using HDMI (but you could easily use scart)...

...now to get the Sky box to work, you have to select the correct input (from Scart of the Sky box) on the DVD recorder first, and then the correct input (from the DVD recorder) on the TV.  The problem I found was that my DVD recorder does not work as a pass-through device, so I had to have the DVD recorder turned on before the Sky picture came up - if the DVD is turned off I get nothing.  So, now I've used both scart sockets on the back of the Sky box, one lead goes to the DVD recorder and the other to the TV directly, and I just select the apropriate input on the TV accordingly.

If you stick a pre-recorded DVD in and you get a picture on the TV, then my best bet would be that you haven't selected the correct input on the DVD recorder to allow the Sky input through.  The setup of the DVD recorders (at least mine) is pretty complicated, lots of options and settings in the menus, so might be worth going step by step through the manual to make sure it is set up properly.

I can't see why the Sky box would be incompatible, as far as the DVD recorder is concerned, it is just receiving a standard signal - it doesn't know what type of device it is.  Tho I'm pretty sure most all DVD recorders will accept an RGB signal via scart, you may want to check that setting on your Sky box (Services - 4 - 1 - Video Output - either RGB or PAL)

Matt

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Hi Matt,

Thanks for that - we've largely done all this but still have no picture.

If we connect via scart lead from the sky box then sound is OK but there is no picture although you can see ghost images on the screen. If we replace the scart cable with a scart to 3 phonos (2  audio plus composite video) and plug these into the back of the DVD recorder, select composite video source, then we get both sound and picture but the picture is very bright with little contrast.

We've also tried all the different set up options on the DVD recorder and the Sky box but this makes no difference [:(]

Lucinda 

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Picture but no sound or vice versa smacks of PSS (Pesky Scart Syndrome) or PPS (Pesky Peritele Syndrome) as it's known here, to me!  Wiggle the Scart leads about and press them home more firmly before you resort to more drastic action!

As a rule Signal (Sky box) via Peripherals (DVD recorders etc) to TV is the correct way to wire them up.

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Yeah, I'd agree with Coop - wiggle the leads or try and another!

Have you also checked that the input into the DVD recorder is set to accept (and perhaps transmit) a PAL signal, and not a SECAM / NTSC?  That can cause the picture to 'kind-of' appear a the encoding is wrong so the TV doesn't decode the signal properly.  Tho most equiment now can handle most types of signals.

Matt

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Just tried it on my Mum's set up - she has a French FTA decoder rather than a Sky box - and it doesn't work on that either. So I guess we may well be taking it back!!

It's a Trans-Continents DVR60 - and before you go "Oh Well............................." we've got several other Trans-Continents devices and they all work really well (and last!!!) [:)]

Lucinda

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I don't think I can be too much help for you, I'm afraid. I have been asked two or three times to help hook up digi boxes and DVD recorders. All these DVD recorders were bought in France and were not of a well known make. All of them suffered from the same problem - the two scarts on the rear were marked 'input' and 'output'. This meant that you could take one scart lead from the digi box (perhaps a Sky box) to feed to the input of the DVD recorder, but the path back, through the same lead, to send the signal back through the digi box to the TV is not there. To play back your recordings meant that you have to remove the lead from the recorder's input scart and plug it into the recorder's output scart - highly inconvenient. It seems, perhaps, from looking at the menus on these machines, they are designed primarily to work with external Canal plus decoders.

I don't think this is a problem with the more well known makes - I have a couple of Sonys and they also have two scart sockets, but one of them is both an input and output and work very well recording from digi boxes - as someone has mentioned, you have to select the external input, in my case L3.

I did eventually find a workround by using the RF output to feed a picture to the TV, and, fortunately, it suited the people I was trying to help and they were happy, but it wouldn't have done for me due to the reduction in picture quality and the lack of stereo sound.

So, as I said, I don't think I can be of any help, but perhaps someone else may have found a better way to get round this.

By the way, what make is the box you bought?

Regards - Tim

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Thanks Baz - I'll get OH to look at that!!

Tim, yes, what you're saying makes sense. This is a well known make (Trans Continents) but at the lower end of the market. We too could get a picture using the RF output but it's so appalling that it's not worth watching!

Ho Hum.................................[:(]

 

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  • 1 month later...

I have just performed a search and came up with this post and unfortunately haven't been able to come up with an answer. I have just bought a Samsung DVD recorder here in France, model R-150. But I can't get it to work with Sky. In fact I don't think I can get it to work without Sky. [:$]

I have tried all of the recommendations here on the thread. The DVD and TV are set on RCG, I have tried all combinations of the scart leads and I can only get as far as bringing up the menu. By the way, I am using a cheap TV bought at Carrefour (Blue Sky) until we finish renovating. When I try to auto set after a while it just says no channels were entered into the memory, check cable connections. [:(]

If anyone has any advice on how to get it to work, I would be most grateful.

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I have just performed a search and came up with this post and unfortunately haven't been able to come up with an answer. I have just bought a Samsung DVD recorder here in France, model R-150. But I can't get it to work with Sky. In fact I don't think I can get it to work without Sky. [:$]

I have tried all of the recommendations here on the thread. The DVD and TV are set on RCG, I have tried all combinations of the scart leads and I can only get as far as bringing up the menu. By the way, I am using a cheap TV bought at Carrefour (Blue Sky) until we finish renovating. When I try to auto set after a while it just says no channels were entered into the memory, check cable connections. [:(]

If anyone has any advice on how to get it to work, I would be most grateful.

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My dvd recorder was set up, out of the box, to use the second scart socket to link to a decoder, french style. I had to work through the menu system (which luckily had an English option) and change the function of the socket. OK after that.
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My dvd recorder was set up, out of the box, to use the second scart socket to link to a decoder, french style. I had to work through the menu system (which luckily had an English option) and change the function of the socket to in/out use. OK after that.
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My DVD player also has an English option but doesn't have an option on the menu to change the socket. After looking at this thread I have made sure that the RCG option was chosen and not PAL (however, I have chosen both just in case and neither works). [:(]

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[quote user="WJT"]

My DVD player also has an English option but doesn't have an option on the menu to change the socket. After looking at this thread I have made sure that the RCG option was chosen and not PAL (however, I have chosen both just in case and neither works). [:(]

[/quote]

Not sure what this RCG setting is you are talking about - I've heard of RGB but not that - anyway, can I assume that you have plugged, via scart, the DVD recoder into your TV set and that you can see some sort of menu on the screen. If that's the case from what you say next about the machine saying that you haven't entered any channels, I would ignore that, if you can, because under normal circumstances you will not have a channel to tune into Sky - this is because to be able to record from your digi box (Sky or other) you need to select an external source. If you look back through this post you will see that on my Sony machines it's called L3 (short for Line input 3), on a newer Sony I've just helped a neighbout get going it was L1, so for that reason I can't be more precise. On some machines the line input may be called E (for external) and a number if there are more than 1.

So, assuming you got the scart leads all hooked up correctly I would turn the TV on, select the TV's input to show the output of the DVD recoder (on a Sony you have a button marked TV/DVD for this, not sure what yours will be called) - then turn on the digi (Sky) box and try to select the line or external inputs until you see the programme from the digi box.

I'm assuming that your machine is telling you that you have no channels tuned in is because you don't have a TV aerial plugged in, by the way.

I'm just having a quick on the net to see if I can find out how you select your external input - if I do, I'll come back on here and let you know.

Regards - Tim

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[quote user="Timco"][quote user="WJT"]

My DVD player also has an English option but doesn't have an option on the menu to change the socket. After looking at this thread I have made sure that the RCG option was chosen and not PAL (however, I have chosen both just in case and neither works). [:(]

[/quote]

 

I'm just having a quick on the net to see if I can find out how you select your external input - if I do, I'll come back on here and let you know.

 

[/quote]

Right - I've had a look at the Samsung website site page and looked at a pdf file for for the manual - all 11.5 meg of it - and it would seem that there should be a button on the top right of the remote control marked 'Input Select'  - I would try that - I can't be 100% on this as the remote seems to work 2 models.

In addition, I should add, from the brief look I've taken it would appear that this machine will not work with DVD+ discs - before you dash out to get some.

Regards - Tim

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Tim, thank you so much, you are a star! It worked just as you said. I used the "Input Select" button on the remote control to choose AV1, the correct scart plug used on the TV and DVD. I was able to record then play a Sky program.

I must admit that I am a little disappointed that I can't record while watching another program on Sky at the same time which is the reason I bought it in the first place but at least it works because of you. After reading the manual several times, I have to say that I would have never figured that out. [:$]

Thank you very much again for being so kind to take the time to help me.

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[quote user="WJT"]

Tim, thank you so much, you are a star! It worked just as you said. I used the "Input Select" button on the remote control to choose AV1, the correct scart plug used on the TV and DVD. I was able to record then play a Sky program.

I must admit that I am a little disappointed that I can't record while watching another program on Sky at the same time which is the reason I bought it in the first place but at least it works because of you. After reading the manual several times, I have to say that I would have never figured that out. [:$]

Thank you very much again for being so kind to take the time to help me.

[/quote]

Thanks for letting me know and I'm glad it worked. To watch one programme whilst recording another you will need a 'twin lnb' for your dish and cable it up to a second digi box.

It's what I do here and it works well. If you need more info, come back on here and someone will be able to help.

Tim

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