and I thought I was doing so well (being a girl and all) HELP!

[lauralil]

Hey all!

I'm hoping that there may be some technical whizzkids on here who can point me in the right direction of a solution.

So I have just installed my plasma into the wall (a very scary moment as its the first time I've used wall anchor bolts) and lifting the damn tv onto the wall was mission enough.) I swore the last time I moved it onto a cabinet I would never move it again but I'm now working from home so desperately needed to make some space...

anyhow I am rambling aren't I!

I have my Sky HD connected, and I quite stupidly thought I could run my DVD/surround through the Sky HD box. But I have since learnt (when I switched it on) that I can't do this and I have already chased and plastered the wires in! ARGHHHH!! The paint is almost dry now too.

How on earth am I going to run my dvd player now?

The surround works fine as its connected to the SKY HD box, but I stupidly presumed that I could run the DVD player through the VCR scart on the back. Am I right in my thinking now that this is output only?

I'm pretty gutted now...I thought I was doing SO SO well. My red feature wall looks fab but now I can only watch Sky!!



a very sad and mildly defeated Laura

[kdc]

You didnt say what cabling you have buried in the wall but....

If you have your sky box connected via HDMI all you need is a HDMI switch box, connect your Sky HD to the switch box, connect your DVD player with HDMI to the switch box and use the cable that goes to your TV as the output from the switcher.

something like this form maplin would do

2-Way HDMI Switch Box > Maplin

(out of stock at the moment but you get the idea)

did that make any sense?

[davepuma]

Sorry to hear about your woes but as the above poster has said, all is not lost.

Does your DVD player have HDMI output? If it does, simply buy a HDMI switch. I use an Oppo HM31 which has 3 in, 1 out, is v1.3 compliant and can pass 1080p etc. and has IR control but as it is fully automatic, you don't need to use the remote to change inputs. Highly recommended and available from crtprojectors.co.uk at around £65.

If it isn't, your best bet is to relegate the player elsewhere and upgrade to a shiny new one (Philips make cheap HDMI players that are apparently quite good or see DVD forum) that does use HDMI (plus switch) or even a bluray player! Obviously if you fancies upgrading the audio as well, you could use a suitable AV receiver to switch/convert video sources and get surround sound too but that's another issue.

[loz]

Or if you don't have HDMI output on your DVD player, buy one of the many AV receivers that convert analogue inputs to HDMI outputs.

(or just buy a new cheap DVD player with HDMI output... and use an HDMI switch)

[toshpetock]

SCART Audio/Video Sender Kit > Maplin

[lauralil]

hey all!

I got it sussed now...well a temporary solution anyways.

I am using my macbook as a dvd player connected to my tv with dvi-d to hdmi cable.

my dvd/surround is scart (can't afford to upgrade yet) so i have used a twin phono to stereo jack for the audio for my macbook.

I have connected a hdmi splitter so running macbook and sky hd off 1 cable...

wooohoooo job done till i get a hd dvd player

thanks for all the advice!