Hope someone can advise......here's the problem

Just bought my mother in law (aaargh) a DVD player and a Freeview box. She has a Sony Tv with one scart socket and a VHS video hooked into the TV via scart.

How on earth can I get these three appliances to hook into a single scart input TV whilst allowing her to use the VHS to record TV/Freeview......I'm stumped...

Thanks for any help

Alex

alexbartman wrote:

How on earth can I get these three appliances to hook into a single
scart input TV whilst allowing her to use the VHS to record
TV/Freeview......I'm stumped...


Get her one of these from Argos.

http://tinyurl.com/3pzsh

Regards

Mark

On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 13:06:27 UTC, alexbartman
wrote:


Hope someone can advise......here's the problem

Just bought my mother in law (aaargh) a DVD player and a Freeview box.
She has a Sony Tv with one scart socket and a VHS video hooked into the
TV via scart.

How on earth can I get these three appliances to hook into a single
scart input TV whilst allowing her to use the VHS to record
TV/Freeview......I'm stumped...

The VHS will probably have a SCART input. Connect the FreeView box to
that. Then select 'aux video input' on the VHS to pass it through to the
TV.

Mind, trying to explain how to use it all is another matter...

--
Bob Eager
begin a new life...dump Windows!

In article ,
alexbartman wrote:
Just bought my mother in law (aaargh) a DVD player and a Freeview box.
She has a Sony Tv with one scart socket and a VHS video hooked into the
TV via scart.

How on earth can I get these three appliances to hook into a single
scart input TV whilst allowing her to use the VHS to record
TV/Freeview......I'm stumped...

Have a look at Maplin. They do various SCART switch boxes.

--
*A bicycle can't stand alone because it's two tyred.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 17:00:31 UTC, Mark A
wrote:

alexbartman wrote:

How on earth can I get these three appliances to hook into a single
scart input TV whilst allowing her to use the VHS to record
TV/Freeview......I'm stumped...


Get her one of these from Argos.

http://tinyurl.com/3pzsh

Please explain how you wiuld connect this up to solve the stated
problem.
--
Bob Eager
begin a new life...dump Windows!

On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 13:06:27 +0000, alexbartman
wrote:

How on earth can I get these three appliances to hook into a single
scart input TV whilst allowing her to use the VHS to record
TV/Freeview......I'm stumped...

Homebase and other DIY stores sell SCART boxes which allow multiple
SCART devices to plug into one TV socket. We've got a couple in
different parts of the house.

Andrew

alexbartman wrote:

Hope someone can advise......here's the problem

Just bought my mother in law (aaargh) a DVD player and a Freeview box.
She has a Sony Tv with one scart socket and a VHS video hooked into the
TV via scart.

How on earth can I get these three appliances to hook into a single
scart input TV whilst allowing her to use the VHS to record
TV/Freeview......I'm stumped...

Thanks for any help

Alex


You have to daisy chain tehm all. The good news is that most DVD and
video stiff has two scarts, and when switcghed to standby, will pass teh
CARTY straught throiugh.

So antenna to freeview then scart to Video, scart fromn video to DVD and
scart from DVD to TV.

Bob Eager wrote:

Please explain how you wiuld connect this up to solve the stated
problem.

You plug 'em in and switch to suit. They have pass-through which is also
switchable to send playing signals, from whatever source, to the TV and
to the VCR scart, which is a two-way link. Have you never used a scart
switch box before?

Regards

Mark

alexbartman wrote:
Hope someone can advise......here's the problem

Just bought my mother in law (aaargh) a DVD player and a Freeview box.
She has a Sony Tv with one scart socket and a VHS video hooked into the
TV via scart.

If the Freeview and the DVD player have two scarts then try:

VCR --- FreeView --- DVD ---- TV

To watch a source turn off the others.

To record freeview you need the freeview and VCR on with the VCR set to
record from the relevant AV input.

If you have not got two scarts on the "middle boxes", they you will need
a switcher. The remote control "Quintro" box being the top end of such
beasties. See CPC for that.



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 22:13:51 UTC, Mark A
wrote:

Bob Eager wrote:

Please explain how you wiuld connect this up to solve the stated
problem.

You plug 'em in and switch to suit. They have pass-through which is also
switchable to send playing signals, from whatever source, to the TV and
to the VCR scart, which is a two-way link. Have you never used a scart
switch box before?

A simple box won't do that, though. It'll just allow one or other input
to connect to the TV. I doubt that Homebase (as you recommended) sell
much else.

And there's really no need to descend to the rather insulting,
condescending last sentence.
--
Bob Eager
begin a new life...dump Windows!

Bob Eager wrote:

A simple box won't do that, though.

Maybe not, but the box from Argos that I recomended does.

I doubt that Homebase (as you recommended) sell much else.

It's Argos, not homebase. And besides, every switch box I've ever seen
does do it. The only ones that don't are the three into one wired type
connection rigs, not the switch boxes.

And there's really no need to descend to the rather insulting,
condescending last sentence.

Hey, you're the one who asked for an explanation of a very, very basic
scart switching box, not me.

Regards

Mark

alexbartman wrote:
Hope someone can advise......here's the problem

Just bought my mother in law (aaargh) a DVD player and a Freeview
box.
She has a Sony Tv with one scart socket and a VHS video hooked into
the
TV via scart.

How on earth can I get these three appliances to hook into a single
scart input TV whilst allowing her to use the VHS to record
TV/Freeview......I'm stumped...

As you've probably guessed, for a definitive answer, you'll have to
tell us how many SCART sockets there are on the VCR, the DVD player,
and the FreeView box.

If the DVD player has two SCARTs, then the whole thing becomes easy and
flexible, but unfortunately very few modern DVD players do!

VCR STB
STB DVD
DVD TV

allows pretty much any functionality.

If it's a standard 1 SCART DVD player, then

DVD VCR
VCR STB
STB TV

is about the best you can do. The VCR should loop through the DVD when
switched off. It may not loop through copy protected DVDs correctly
when switched on. You can't watch a DVD while recording something else.

If the VCR only has one SCART, and no other input, then you're stuffed.

You can use a switch box, but to most non techy people they're just not
worth the hassle. Most none techy folks would rather just have the DVD
into the SCART, and the other equipment looped through RF (in which
case I hope that FreeView STB has an RF modulator - rather than just an
RF pass through like most modern ones). The quality is lower (no stereo
sound either), but convenience is more important that quality for most.

For the price of a fully automatic 4-way SCART switcher with RGB
capability, you could replace one of the other units with one that has
sufficient SCARTs to solve the problem anyway. Cheaper composite only
(non-RGB) automatic switchers could be your best bet.

Hope this helps. If it confuses, well, ask before buying in future!

Finally, the DTG have a good guide to all this - it's the first
publication on this page...

http://www.dtg.org.uk/retailer/publications.html

Cheers,
David.

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 09:10:59 UTC, Mark A
wrote:

Bob Eager wrote:

A simple box won't do that, though.

Maybe not, but the box from Argos that I recomended does.

I doubt that Homebase (as you recommended) sell much else.

It's Argos, not homebase. And besides, every switch box I've ever seen
does do it. The only ones that don't are the three into one wired type
connection rigs, not the switch boxes.

And there's really no need to descend to the rather insulting,
condescending last sentence.

Hey, you're the one who asked for an explanation of a very, very basic
scart switching box, not me.

OK, you're staying at that level. I give up.

--
Bob Eager
begin a new life...dump Windows!

In article .com,
wrote:
Finally, the DTG have a good guide to all this - it's the first
publication on this page...

http://www.dtg.org.uk/retailer/publications.html

First glance says it would confuse the hell out of a non technical person.

--
*Change is inevitable ... except from vending machines *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Bob Eager wrote:

OK, you're staying at that level. I give up.

So that's a 'I refuse to comment, on the grounds that I'm wrong', then?

Regards

Mark

alexbartman wrote:

How on earth can I get these three appliances to hook into a single
scart input TV whilst allowing her to use the VHS to record
TV/Freeview......I'm stumped...


Take a look here for some fully automatic switchers from Lektropacks:

http://www.lektropacks.co.uk/dept.asp?dept%5Fid=112

The TRILOGY 2 model seems particularly appropriate.

Regards

Mark