How to video?

Hopeful · 24-12-2004, 16:17

Hello,

I have got Telewest Cable and also a fine shiny new video, DVD and silver telly. The snag is, I cannot video anything - I can't even play back existing videos. It's hopeless. Can anyone help me?

I don't really understand how all the gubbins fits together but I know I've got Digital Cable and that only one TV channel works - channel 5 - and all the cable channels come through this.

Would love to be able to use the video again!

Thanks,
Hopeful.

Tricky · 24-12-2004, 18:51

Firstly Welcome to the site...

Are you using SCART cables (thick cable with a 21 pin connector on each end) - If so your TV will have one or two on the rear as will the video, DVD and TW Cable (hopefully!) - In my opinion have the AV1 from the Video going to the AV1 or AV2 on the TV and then the AV1 from the DVD to the other port on the TV. Your TW box hopefully has a SCART AV1 (OUT?) which should go into the AV2 (IN) on the Video.

To tape anything this way you would record channel AV2 (any signal going downt the scart would be recorded therefore the TW box controls the signal).

Alternatively, you'll be using COAX (standard TV wire with round plugs on each end - hopefully you have the right combination of male/female cos you aint going to get any now!)

From the aerial (outside) this should go into the TW box (UHF IN) you then need a cable from the TW UHF Out into the Video UHF IN. The final wire is the UHF Out from the Video into the back of the TV. Depending on the DVD player I doubt you have a UHF Cable/signal so this would still be SCART.

Good Luck! - I hope this makes sense?

Hopeful · 18-02-2005, 20:37

Hi again and thank you very much for your help. As you can see it's taken me a little while to try this out.

I still can't seem to get video pictures going. I have got

blue SCART cable leading from AVI Video to TV 1
blue SCART cable leading from AVI DVD to TV 2
white thin cable bringing signal in to TW box from outside
white thin round cable from TW out to Video in
black thin round cable from Video out to TV in

I can make various blue screens, screens with AV2, or Cable2 or Line2 appears and the video whirrs. But no pictures.

Could it be a tuning thing? I have worked Autotune on the TV and now have to press button 02 on the TV zapper and then I see all the cable channels through 02.

Tristan · 18-02-2005, 21:23

Have you got analogue cable, or digital?

If it's digital, then on the back of the box there will be two SCART sockets. One is labelled TV, and the other VCR. Connect these to the appropriate devices, and it all should work -- you should be able to record TW using the SCART input to the VCR, and also play video.

Some VCRs have more than one SCART socket for input, but only use one for output, so try both if playback doesn't work straight away.

The round cables (called coaxial) are really for use only on systems that don't have SCART sockets -- the picture and sound is generally inferior using these.

The DVD player should connect straight to the TV via a SCART connection.

Hopeful · 19-02-2005, 11:15

Thank you - I will go and try that.

Another snag is that I've been fiddling around with trying to tune things that I may not be properly tuned. Do you know how I tune the video to the right channel. I remember in the mists of time there being two black and white stripes that you used to look for?