[UoTegne]

I was hoping to be the proud owner of this particular unit but am somewhat dismayed that when I connected it up anything I watch on SKY looks overbright and washed out.

All the internal setup menus and any DVD's I watch through it are crystal clear but as soon as I switch it to any SKY channel things get messy with the over bright problem occurring.

Any recordings the unit makes are equally washed out.

There's a button on the remote control labelled TV/DVD which when pressed makes the colours look normal but the edge to all text becomes horribly fuzzy and any recordings are still washed out.

I can't find any menus to allow me to adjust the colour settings.

Everything is connected via SCART.

Anyone able to offer any advice?

TIA

[solidamber]

Switch the sky "video output" via the services menu to Pal If as I suspect This makes the colours OK, then there is some problem with the RGB signal somewhere along the line.

[JayCee]

Originally Posted by UoTegne

Everything is connected via SCART.

Yes, but how are the scart leads connected?...which scart goes where on the TV, DVDR and digibox?
Do you know if the LG has RGB input and output?

[UoTegne]

Thanks for the fast responses. I have an update.

After a bit of messing around I think I discovered what the problem was (even though I don't fully understand what's going on)

There's 2 SCART outputs on my SKY box.

The one labelled (TV) when connected to the DVD player causes the washed out colours. When I changed it to the one labelled (VCR) everything looks as it should. There is a tiny bit of distortion to the edges of fine fonts but that may be due to the cheap cables or the already mentioned output mode.

This 'fix' has highlighted another oddity though!

The DVD manual says that the DVD player does not need to be switched on to be able to watch SKY through my TV it merely needs to be in standby mode.

This is the case when the SCART is connected to the socket labelled TV (Washed out colours) but when it's connected to the one marked (VCR) as soon as I put the DVD into standby I get no TV signal.

Why are things never simple!

[solidamber]

This is because the scart marked TV is RGB enabled the scart marked VCR is composite only, and leads me back to my original post that the problem lies with the RGB curcuit that is why the edges are blurred as you now are on low picture quality ,

[UoTegne]

Originally Posted by solidamber

This is because the scart marked TV is RGB enabled the scart marked VCR is composite only, and leads me back to my original post that the problem lies with the RGB curcuit

And you'd be right! Thank you very much!

After reconnecting to the TV socket and setting the output on SKY to PAL the colours came back.. unfortunately this brought along a lot more distortion, particularly noticable when viewing text.

So the question now is... Is the problem due to cruddy SCART cables or something else.

I found an option to set the expected input format. It was on auto. I set it to RGB and set the SKY box back to RGB output but the colour problem persists.

[solidamber]

Have you got a DVD payer or other component with RGB out? if so connect that to the LG, If the problem persists you can rule out the Skybox,

The blurred text is normally seen on composite output and not a scart fault in its self, Though its worth trying another scart, just to rule it of the equation.

[UoTegne]

Originally Posted by solidamber

Have you got a DVD payer or other component with RGB out? if so connect that to the LG, If the problem persists you can rule out the Skybox,

The blurred text is normally seen on composite output and not a scart fault in its self, Though its worth trying another scart, just to rule it of the equation.

I connected my old Dying DVD player to my new recorder.. With S-Video out (through SCART) the colours are spot-on. When I configure the DVD player to output in RGB the setup menu becomes washed out. This is with 2 different RGB cables. It's gotta be something with the LG.

I've made 2 calls to their helpdesk and got a call back asking for 'more information' - unfortunately the person who called back didn't actually know what 'more information' actually meant. I supplied her with everything i've tried and await a response. otherwise It's back to the store with it.

[solidamber]

Yes and maybe upgrade to a panasonic or pioneer.

Bythe way you have tried a RGB source directly into your TV haven't you.

[UoTegne]

Originally Posted by solidamber

Yes and maybe upgrade to a panasonic or pioneer.

Bythe way you have tried a RGB source directly into your TV haven't you.

Yep. It's how it was originally connected before I got the LG. Picture was spot-on. Probably taking it back tonight if LG don't come up with an answer.

If it wasn't for this it'd be quite a nice unit. HDMI out, HD Upscaling, DVD-RAM live-tv pause and the all-importand DIVX playback. Not sure what other units are out there with all this for such a reasonable price.

[earwax]

Originally Posted by UoTegne

Thanks for the fast responses. I have an update.

After a bit of messing around I think I discovered what the problem was (even though I don't fully understand what's going on)

There's 2 SCART outputs on my SKY box.

The one labelled (TV) when connected to the DVD player causes the washed out colours. When I changed it to the one labelled (VCR) everything looks as it should. There is a tiny bit of distortion to the edges of fine fonts but that may be due to the cheap cables or the already mentioned output mode.

This 'fix' has highlighted another oddity though!

The DVD manual says that the DVD player does not need to be switched on to be able to watch SKY through my TV it merely needs to be in standby mode.

This is the case when the SCART is connected to the socket labelled TV (Washed out colours) but when it's connected to the one marked (VCR) as soon as I put the DVD into standby I get no TV signal.

Why are things never simple!

Apologies if not relevant but I found same. To get signal I had to manually switch AV source on my TV remote. My trcorder is a LG RH188S

Hi, I would keep that LG if I were you, It's a super unit for the money, I have already tried some of the other brands and NONE worked as well in ALL departments as well as the LG, i.e.: recording formats/quality especially SP & LP Mode, Divx playback, Hdmi Upscaling, wma/mp3 and other features.
Forget even the latest Samsungs, they are too unreliable and didn't even play Divx properly. The Pannys are superb but as yet no divx.
I connect my SkyHD box from TV-out to av input 2 on the LG, and LG to TV with HDMI Socket. I have seen the problem you mention but it records fine, and as I don’t watch my Sky through it all the time I don't care about it. The Playback quality is certainly not the best around; but for a cheap do-it-all recorder is plenty good enough on my 37" PannyPX70, and a LOT BETTER than a standard DVD Player without upscaling. Only niggle is it keeps switching back to 575p from 1080i and I have to reset it occasionally.

I have the same DVD recorder and had the same problem with the overly bright washed out colours. I managed to sort out the problem by changing the sequence I had the DVD player and Sky in. Instead of Sky > DVD > TV I changed it to DVD > Sky > TV. One scart coming from the DVD to the sky box into the VCR connection then a scart from the sky to the TV.

Although I do seem to get I bit of feed back when watching TV when the DVD player is on (a faint line tracking across the screen).

[kebamo]

Is anyone able to confirm that this unit will play divx over the usb?
It's the last thing i need to check before buying
Thanks

Why would you want to play divx with a crummy usb key? when you can get about 6 films on a dvd R or re-writable 10 times quicker than writing one film to a usb key. Although it will play pictures, and audio (mp3&wma) it won't play divx from the usb key as there is no option with the current firmware.

The comments about that LG DVD recorder are interesting because I have an LG TV and experienced what sounds like similar washed out but over-bright colours. By lowering the colour and switching from warm to cold I was able to correct the visuals to a degree but am still not completely satisfied. I think this over-bright washed out thing might be a general LG problem.