weird VCR behaviour...

[VJ]

Hello,

I just got my Canopus ADVC110 (apparently, the ADVC100 is hard to find nowadays), and tried it with my VCR (Philips 820).

Capturing from a tape being played back works perfectly. However, when attempting to capture a TV channel, I got some very weird results. The config is as follows:
VCR connected via EXT1 (scart y/c) to my TV
VCR connected via EXT2 (scart cvbs) to ADVC110 input
ADVC110 connected to PC

• Capturing a videotape is no problem.
• TV powered off, VCR tuned to a station: the captured video signal scans the different preset channels in the VCR (each a few seconds).
• TV powered on (and showing the VCR), VCR tuned to a station: the captured video signal is the last station to which the TV was tuned (i.e. prior to the vcr output)

I'm not sure what other combinations give, but why isn't my VCR outputting the signal of the station to which it is tuned?


Could I perhaps work around this by using one of the scarts on the back of the TV? (the TV has 3 scarts, the VCR 2)



Jörg

[LvR]

Those SCART sockets have control signals designated on some of the pins. Possible your TV screws around with that.........

I would as a test unplug the TV Scart connector and see if it makes a difference ............

[VJ]

Will do that!

Yesterday, I tested another combination: TV powered on and tuned to a station => the captured signal matches this.

So it looks like the second SCART is trying to output what the TV gives. Only the scanning of the stations is weird though...
I wonder if the SCART on the TV might try to mimic what the VCR inputs on another SCART...

Will try it with the TV disconnected.


Jörg

[Brian Ellis]

I think you will find that one of the Scart plugs on your VCR is video in/out and the other one is video in only for daisy-chaining a digital Rx or DVD player. I may be wrong but on the TV, Scart plugs are usually AV1/2/3 for video in only. I know on mine there is no video out.

[VJ]

Originally posted by Brian Ellis
I think you will find that one of the Scart plugs on your VCR is video in/out and the other one is video in only for daisy-chaining a digital Rx or DVD player.

Both offer video out when a tape is playing, so this implies both offer video out. There is an option in the menu to assign a satellite receiver to one of the scarts, but I have chosen not to assign a satellite receiver (options are E1, E2, or none). Also, both offer video in.

I may be wrong but on the TV, Scart plugs are usually AV1/2/3 for video in only. I know on mine there is no video out.

I know on mine there are at least 2 that offer an output as well. So chances are the TV pulls off something like the VCR does; so it might output the signal that is inputted on another scart (which would be sufficiant for me). But I will have to check this.


Jörg

[Marshmallowman]

On my scart TV, you can choose the what to output, eg TV, av1,av2,s-video...etc

Do you have setting to change what signal is output?

Also RGB signals tend to overide any other source I may set. eg turn on my rgb gamecube and I get the no matter what output I select? been the same on 3 scart TV's I have seen.

[VJ]

Nope, my TV has no options to select this. But judging by the behaviour it had, its scarts as outputs aren't very useful.

Oh, if the scart of the TV is disconnected (on the VCR), the VCRs second output just gives black. Nevertheless, I can manage with the behaviour as it is... Just one more thing: if I use a scart-svideo to connect the VCR to the ADVC110, image quality of tapes being played back is slightly better, but the image quality of a TV station is much worse (compared to scart-cinch). The TV-station image via svideo looks 'dithered' (colours aren't smooth). Any idea if this can be helped?


I did notice something else that is weird: if I connect the output of the ADVD110 to the front input of the TV, the TV keeps swapping between front and ext2 (my vcr, which is powered on). The image displayed via front is black (which means there must be a signal: the TV reverts to blue when there is none).

I also never managed to get a video output from the ADVC110. For instance, when I connect its outputs to one of the scarts of my TV, the image stays black. Even when I send a captured avi file to the DV device. What is going wrong here? (I do see the colour bars when I set the ADVC110 to send a test signal)


Jörg