tv video Front Row problem

[Simon Clark]

Help!
I have my set-top box connected to a large tv video.
I have tried several times to watch Front Row movies but each time they're wrecked by intermittent blank blue screens.
Finally an engineer came out and blamed it on the tv video, saying I'd need to get a new tv to watch Front Row!
I don't even use the video part (it hasn't worked for years!) so does anybody know how to disable the video bit so it doesn't send signals to the set-top box (apparently it's done to stop people trying to record Front Row movies)?
Many thanks for your help on this.

[handyman]

is there a different scart socket in the back or does it just use the one?

[Lord Nikon]

depends on how brave you are with a screwdriver lol

The video section is normally a standard VCR plugged in inside the TV case, so if you open the back (Carefully!!! the Line Output Transformer carries one hell of a kick) you SHOULD be able to disconnect it internally (and remove the VCR to send it for repair to your local TV shop)

[dr wadd]

This sounds like it could be an issue with something like Macrovision. You can buy external "cleaners" through which you could route the signal, assuming this is the problem, but there is unlikely anything that you`ll be able to do by tinkering with the kit you have. Do you have a DVD player to hand? The Macrovision here will kick in if you attempt to route the signal through a VCR (most VCRs anyway), so if you could try a DVD player on the same SCART socket, and if you get a similar effect, this would go some way towards confirming that it is a Macrovision issue.

[lynx2oo2]

True, the macrovision protection will screw up your movie, but you can stop it, you can buy macrovision removers such as -


http://www.gamesoft.org.uk/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/284

or

http://www.techtrix.co.uk/products.asp?type=13&title=Audio%20and%20Video

good luck

[trebor]

I have not noticed NTL advertising there service with small print saying not compatible with all tv's (I may be wrong)
so wouldn't that make it NTL's problem to get it working.

apart from that what happens if you plug a working vcr into the stb and the tv into the vcr ? or does it work using a standard tv coax cable and forget about the scart ? I have had a tv with a bad scart socket on it, some of the connections had come off the circuit board inside the tv.

and one last thought borrow a friends tv just to try it and make sure it is your kit at fault and not NTL's.

[Dooby]

if a movie ( or anything ) is protected with macrovision then connecting it up via a vcr ( i.e STB > VCR > TV ) will cause intermittant picture loss etc, and that is intended, its to stop you videoing things. to watch a macrovision protected program you need to connect the STB directly to the tv.

I believe that if you use the 'RGB' out on the STB it may work ( afaik macrovision cant be put on an RGB signal ) but it depends if the vcr supports that as an input.

[Chris]

Originally posted by lynx2oo2
True, the macrovision protection will screw up your movie, but you can stop it, you can buy macrovision removers such as -


http://www.gamesoft.org.uk/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/284

or

http://www.techtrix.co.uk/products.asp?type=13&title=Audio%20and%20Video

good luck

If you want to record your DVD movies to VHS tapes or just want to improve the picture quality of your DVD playback, then we have got the solution for you. This DVD Decoder removes the MacroVision protection from your DVD output.

LOL ... Isn't that a bit like selling speed trap detectors as handy devices that make you more aware of your speed and hence a better driver ....

I must get me one of these;)

[Alanmelon]

Just wondered how a macrovision remover improves image quality?

[Chris]

Originally posted by Alanmelon
Just wondered how a macrovision remover improves image quality?

On the largest home cinema screens the distortion in the picture signal caused by the macrovision signal can cause picture distortion, similar to the copy-protection signal on some CDs that prevents them being played (and copied) on a PC but can add noise to the sound. I think you probably need to be an uber-nerd to notice it, although I admit I've never seen it for myself. Still, it provides a legal reason for selling a product whose intended use is potentially rather dodgy...

[Dooby]

macrovision works by placing an error in some of the picture signal, the first version just put an error in the timecode/timebase ( the bit that tells the tv when a frame starts ) althought the newer versions fdo more they relly on the same principle. this isnt a problem when it goes straight into a tv cos it is still within its 'tolerance' range. the problem is that when it goes into a video, the pass through circuit ALSO introduces an error ( or something like that ) so that the two errors together are too much for the tv to cope with. The 'image correcter/stabiliser' removes the original 'error' and so effectively removes the macrovision ( however it can also be used to help clean up old video tape copies etc, hence the legitimate use )