Digi Box / VCR compatability?

[a lower gear]

The digi box died a few days ago. Upon installing a new one we found that the VCR refuses to play - the remote control for the VCR works and the VCR switches on and off and the tapes move but no signal seems to reach the TV. The cables have not been changed at all, just the digi box replaced. I've checked that all the connections are correct. The VCR worked fine until immediately prior to installing the new digi box as, with the digi box not working, the children had to watch videos rather than live TV. I'm mystified! 

The cable diagram in the instruction box for the new digi box naturally shows a DVD recorder rather than a VCR, being a new digi box. However I assume that routing the signal via the VCR rather than via a DVD recorder ought to make no difference? Surely any recording device could be placed in this position because the input and output signals will be unchanged?

In summary, the connections are:

Aerial lead -> digi box RF input socket -> digi box RF output socket -> RF lead -> VCR RF input socket -> VCR Rf output socket -> RF lead -> TV RF input socket.

Digi box TV scart output socket -> scart lead -> TV scart input socket.

Digi box VCR scart output socket -> scart lead -> VCR scart input socket.

DVD/CD player scart AV output socket -> scart lead -> TV AV input socket.

Each of the TV, digi box, VCR and DVD player are seperately mains connected.

The new digi box is a Goodmans GD11FVS2.
The old digibox was a Phillips DTR 220/05.
The VCR is a Panasonic NV-HV60EB.
The DVD/CD player is a Panasonic DVD-S27.
The TV is a Panasonic TX-24DX1.

Surely new digi boxes work with either a VCR or a DVD recorder? Or has technology subtly changed leaving our VCR incompatible in some way?

I'd be very grateful for any advice!     

 

[Kim]

To clarify: what are you actually seeing on the screen when the VCR plays, and what are you doing regarding the selection of inputs?

Are you looking at a blank screen on the VCR input, or is it just failing to switch in the usual way?  (RF channels can clash and SCART switching is unintuitive and prone to poor implementations.)

Does the VCR have a bi-directional SCART socket?  (The way it's supposed to work is that the digibox will pass through the VCR's output to the telly while the digibox is in standby and/or the VCR is playing a tape, meanwhile the digibox's output is made available to the VCR for recording on the same cable.)

[Russell]

Is it that the new DigiBox is HD and therefore does not output composite video?  SCARTs can carry component and composite signals but maybe the box does not support old fashioned composite analogue signal.  Digital TV is component so making an analogue version of it is easy??

Dunno really, I'm guessing!

R

[Kim]

Nahh.  SCART doing RGB is still only an SD thing, and the composite line is still needed for sync.  You're not going to get RGB without composite on a SCART socket, unless there's a fault.  If it's doing that moderately hackish S-Video-over-SCART thing, you'll get a working B&W picture from where composite would normally be.

"Component video" as used for HD (usually on a set of phono plugs) is a totally different badger to RGB as found on SCART.

[Biggsy]

To clarify: when you say "the cables have not been changed at all", does this mean not even swapped around by accident?  You didn't take everything off the shelves to dust and unplug everything?  Not all SCART cables have all pins connected.  Or you just pulled the plug from the old digibox and stuck it in the new?

If trying to watch the VCR via RF instead of SCART, and the new digibox has an RF generator (most don't), then perhaps there's a clash of channels.  You'd need to retune one thing.

[a lower gear]

Thank you for your thoughts!

To clarify: what are you actually seeing on the screen when the VCR plays, and what are you doing regarding the selection of inputs?

Are you looking at a blank screen on the VCR input, or is it just failing to switch in the usual way?  (RF channels can clash and SCART switching is unintuitive and prone to poor implementations.)

What we are seeing is:

On AV1 (red): a black, blank screen with 'VCR' in the corner when the VCR is playing. We did not use this channel for videos with the old digibox. The TV signal now comes through this channel with the new digibox - it used to come through AV2/5 with the old digibox.

On AV2/5 (green): an extremely grainy colour image of the video when the VCR is playing. With the old digibox this was the channel via which we played videos, and had a good colour image. The TV signal used to come through this channel with the old digibox but now comes through AV1.

Does the VCR have a bi-directional SCART socket?  (The way it's supposed to work is that the digibox will pass through the VCR's output to the telly while the digibox is in standby and/or the VCR is playing a tape, meanwhile the digibox's output is made available to the VCR for recording on the same cable.)

No idea if the VCR has a bi-directional scart socket. I'd assumed that the signal would pass through in the manner that you outline; it certainly seemed to when the old digibox was connected.

Is it that the new DigiBox is HD and therefore does not output composite video?  SCARTs can carry component and composite signals but maybe the box does not support old fashioned composite analogue signal.  Digital TV is component so making an analogue version of it is easy??

Dunno really, I'm guessing!

No mention of HD in the model number or title of the new digibox so I presume that it isn't HD.

To clarify: when you say "the cables have not been changed at all", does this mean not even swapped around by accident?  You didn't take everything off the shelves to dust and unplug everything?  Not all SCART cables have all pins connected.  Or you just pulled the plug from the old digibox and stuck it in the new?

Nope, not even swopped around by accident - I've checked them all multiple times over the last few frustrating evenings. We were slovenly and didn't dust and didn't unplug everything. I've checked that all the plugs are fully home.

Any further suggestions anyone?