Adding DVD recorder into Sky +???

John Russell wrote:

Did you set the DVD Recorder Scart output to RGB? By default it is probably
s-video, and this will produce a kind of greenish monochrome if connected to
a RGB scart. RGB Passthrough should work even if the dvd recorder scart
output is set to s-video, so you wouldn't see a problem with the SKY+ using
passthrough

Ho John,

Yup, looking at the on screen menu right now, and Scart Output of DVDR
is showing Video Output - Scart RGB.

As you say,when the DVDR is powered off then the regular Sky+ feed into
the TV shows just fine, no colour problems at all. Any idea what then
might be causing this?

Thanks again, I really appreciate your time here.
--
Dave Jennings

Dave Jennings wrote:
John Russell wrote:
Just remember to connect to the TV using it's RGB scart, and set up
the DVD Recorder to use RGB on it's scart input/output sockets.
Recordings using RGB will be a lot better than those using
Composite. Also "passthrough" should still work even when the DVD
Recorder is making timer recordings, it should only be disabled when
the DVD Recorder is "on".

Righto, all seems tickety-boo with one problem. When the DVDR is on,
the screen has a very green hue - so I assume that it has something to
do with the RGB capability.

The unit ( Liteon DD-A110 ) does support RGB, but almost certainly
this hue is down to some configuration or, more likely, "operator
error" ( i.e. me being a twonk ! )

Any suggestions on how I might address this?

If I can jump in here - earlier this year I researched Liteons and found
that most of them do not actually *record* RGB. It's very irritating because
this is not clear from their documentation, but most of them can certainly
pass through an RGB signal but only record composite.

I brought this up on the Liteon users forum and they ended up itemising all
the known models and detailing the inputs to avoid confusion! The A110 isn't
on the forum at the moment because I think it's a recent release (via Tesco)
but the model is basically the A100, but without the ability to record dual
layer discs (or stereo sound). The A100 definitely only records composite
(but it passes through RGB).

Therefore, once the Liteon is switched on it would stop passing through the
Sky box's RGB signal and revert to composite in. If the Sky box is sending
an RGB signal to the Liteon this would cause the hue problem.

I apologise if I'm wrong about this, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Maybe you're lucky and your A110 does record RGB, in which case it might be
a SCART setup problem.

If I'm right, and you only bought the Liteon recently, I'd suggest returning
it for a refund - Tesco are great for refunds and don't quibble.

I believe you would have paid 68.00 for that model - if you pay another
32.00 you would be able to afford the Panasonic ES10 from Richer Sounds - a
vastly superior machine that definitely records RGB signals. You can also
get other good RGB handling DVD recorders for under 100.00, eg. Toshiba
DR160 (around 90.00)

Panasonic ES10:
http://www.kelkoo.richersounds.com/s...ANA-DMRES10-R2
Toshiba DR160: http://www.beyondtelevision.co.uk/th...uct.asp?ID=733

but without the ability to record dual
layer discs (or stereo sound).
************************************************** *******

So does that mean that the item will only record on mono? Surely not?

By the way would it not be consideraby easier if quoted parts from previous
posts were at the BOTTOM of the messages instead of the top? Just think, no
having to scroll down to read a single line extra!


--
Robert

On 2 Dec 2006 16:39:26 -0800, "Dave Jennings"
wrote:

John Russell wrote:

Did you set the DVD Recorder Scart output to RGB? By default it is probably
s-video, and this will produce a kind of greenish monochrome if connected to
a RGB scart. RGB Passthrough should work even if the dvd recorder scart
output is set to s-video, so you wouldn't see a problem with the SKY+ using
passthrough

Ho John,

Yup, looking at the on screen menu right now, and Scart Output of DVDR
is showing Video Output - Scart RGB.

As you say,when the DVDR is powered off then the regular Sky+ feed into
the TV shows just fine, no colour problems at all. Any idea what then
might be causing this?

Can your DVDR play back a recording while it is still being made?
(i.e. "chase-play"). If so, give this a try.

Everything is connected via fully-wired SCART in my system, but my
HDD/DVD recorders for some reason only output composite and not RGB
while they are recording. But I can get a proper RGB picture just by
selecting playback, and if I want to see the programme in real-time,
pressing fast-forward will make it catch up with its recording, drop
back into playback mode, and continue to show the recording a second
or so after it has been put on disc.

It looks as though pass-through on some recorders give a different
signal during recording, composite in my case, though perhaps S-video
in your case. Even if a TV is set to receive RGB on a SCART input, it
may switch to composite (as mine does) if that is the only signal
available, which is why you still see something, even though it's
wrong, instead of a blank screen.

I'd look again at the settings for your DVDR, and try the effect of
changing the output signal that is fed to your TV, to see if you can
find one that results in a more pleasing picture during recording,
though you might end up with the same workaround that I use, which is
simply to go into playback as described above.

Rod.

Rob wrote:
By the way would it not be consideraby easier if quoted parts from
previous posts were at the BOTTOM of the messages instead of the top?

No.

"Dave Jennings" wrote in message
ups.com...
John Russell wrote:

Did you set the DVD Recorder Scart output to RGB? By default it is
probably
s-video, and this will produce a kind of greenish monochrome if connected
to
a RGB scart. RGB Passthrough should work even if the dvd recorder scart
output is set to s-video, so you wouldn't see a problem with the SKY+
using
passthrough

Ho John,

Yup, looking at the on screen menu right now, and Scart Output of DVDR
is showing Video Output - Scart RGB.

As you say,when the DVDR is powered off then the regular Sky+ feed into
the TV shows just fine, no colour problems at all. Any idea what then
might be causing this?

Thanks again, I really appreciate your time here.
--
Dave Jennings


I have read the other posters, and managed to download the manual, which
states the scart input can be composite or decoder, i.e. it doesn't imply it
can record RGB, or even output RGB other than using bypass.

It doesn't make much sense connecting the SKY RGB to the TV via the recorder
if it only records composite.

In which case I would connect the SKY+ RGB scart directly to the TV, connect
the SKY+ VCR scart to the Input Scart on the DVD recorder. Then connect the
DVD Recorder output scart to the TV's S-video scart, and set up that scart
output to s-video, providing your TV has an s-video scart!

A higher quality solution would be to use the DVD's descrete component
outputs rather than the output scart, but you would need component inputs on
the TV.

Rob wrote:
but without the ability to record dual
layer discs (or stereo sound).
************************************************** *******

So does that mean that the item will only record on mono? Surely not?

By the way would it not be consideraby easier if quoted parts from
previous posts were at the BOTTOM of the messages instead of the top?
Just think, no having to scroll down to read a single line extra!

The cheaper Liteons will only record mono from their onboard tuners. I think
most can record stereo from an external source but I wouldn't guarantee all.
Liteon's range is ridiculously convoluted and they seem to release new
models just to incorporate one minor change in spec.

Regarding your other comment - I can't believe you said it to be honest! How
long have you been using Usenet? I agree that people should trim quoted
posts in their replies, especially if they only have one line to add, but
the established and very sensible convention is to have threads and posts
read from top to bottom in chronological order. Perhaps if you thought about
it you'd understand why.

On Sun, 3 Dec 2006 12:08:12 -0000, "John Russell"
wrote:

A higher quality solution would be to use the DVD's descrete component
outputs rather than the output scart, but you would need component inputs on
the TV.

RGB signals from a SCART connector *are* discrete components. They're
different components from the YUV ones you'd get from phono sockets,
but conversion between the two types is done by resistive mixing only,
so there is no difference at all in quality if it is properly done.

I'd be astonished if any digital receiver or recording device fitted
with an output SCART could not be made to produce RGB signals, so as
long as your TV has a SCART input that can accept them, there should
be a way of seeing the full quality of which the equipment is capable.

Rod.

Roderick Stewart wrote:
On Sun, 3 Dec 2006 12:08:12 -0000, "John Russell"
wrote:

A higher quality solution would be to use the DVD's descrete
component outputs rather than the output scart, but you would need
component inputs on the TV.

RGB signals from a SCART connector *are* discrete components. They're
different components from the YUV ones you'd get from phono sockets,
but conversion between the two types is done by resistive mixing only,
so there is no difference at all in quality if it is properly done.

One thing that puzzles me about this - why do manufacturers provide an RGB
SCART output and a separate component output? Is it just to cover the bases
in case the TV doesn't have a spare SCART socket?

Vaughan wrote:
Roderick Stewart wrote:
On Sun, 3 Dec 2006 12:08:12 -0000, "John Russell"
wrote:

A higher quality solution would be to use the DVD's descrete
component outputs rather than the output scart, but you would need
component inputs on the TV.

RGB signals from a SCART connector *are* discrete components. They're
different components from the YUV ones you'd get from phono sockets,
but conversion between the two types is done by resistive mixing
only, so there is no difference at all in quality if it is properly
done.

One thing that puzzles me about this - why do manufacturers provide
an RGB SCART output and a separate component output? Is it just to
cover the bases in case the TV doesn't have a spare SCART socket?

Progressive scan is only available on component outputs. Also the component
output is in some sense 'purer' than the RGB output, since it is derived
directly from the stored format. It still has to be converted to RGB in
order to drive the display of course, but purists tend to prefer the
conversion to take place inside the display. And of course component doesn't
use the horrible SCART connector...