the ins and outs of scart sockets

[davee b]

hello

i've just bought the sony slvse710 video recorder to replace a panny vid of similar spec. it records great video but it has bu*****d my home system which comprises a second video also of similar spec, a cable digi box and a video disc recorder, all connected to a bog standard 2 scart 28 inch tv.
my question is this. should scart#2 output a signal as well as input it. i know this socket is usually reserved for decoder/video input, but both my hitachi and panny vcrs will output video to the tv from the vcr scart#2, however the sony will not and it is this that i think is screwing my overall setup.
sorry this post is so long and convoluted, but any help would be gratefully appreciated.
thanks in anticipation.