[Dave Blows]

How I envy you guys (and gals - don't want to be sexist) who grasp the intricacies of scart whatsits, rgb diddleums, component thingummy and the like.

I've just bought a rather nice-looking Panasonic E55 DVD recorder. Do I understand the instruction book? Is Thierry Henry a French carthorse? HELP!

At the mo' I've got a 36inch Panny TV with acuity and something else flash. Very nice. And a Sky+ box (couldn't live without it). Plus a video recorder that's Q-linked (?). Anyway, don't know how I got it working, but it does, with the aerial(s) going through the Sky box and Sky and TV operated by the Sky gadget, which is just the way I like it. All done with Scart leads. Turn on the telly and up comes "normal" terrestrial; switch on Sky and up comes Sky. Start the video and the video comes on. I mostly watch Sky, so it's just perfect.

Now the questions begin...
1) How on earth do I connect the DVD player (the video comes out, by the way) and still retain majority control through the Sky box?
2) And still make it easy to record?
3) What's Q link, progressive, rgb, component etc all about? I just want it to work...
4) And when it's working (!) I've got a TDK DVD-RW for repeat recording - is this right? And TDK DVD-R for keeping stuff on (such as old videos; I assume you can connect a video player and download stuff - and watch it on the telly while you do so? how?)
5) Should I take a degree in understanding manuals before going any further?

I appreciate these (and other questions that will no doubt follow when I cock-up) have probably been asked before, but as a middle-ground technophobe, I wasn't even sure where to start searching on the forums.

If any of you kind souls has an hour to spare (IN WRITING! I DIDN'T MEAN TALKING ME THROUGH IT, HONEST!!) to give me an idiot's (and I do mean idiot's) guide to getting it right and using the right gear and best recording techniques, blah blah, I'd be eternally grateful and might even persuade my even more technophobic wife to bake one of her splendid chocolate cakes for the most helpful respondent.

Thanks in anticipation of avoiding paying someone £150 to come and do it for me.......

Dave Blows
4)

[Dave Blows]

Anyone? I was hoping for a quick reply - the plan was to have it set up in time for Christmas (that's Xmas 2006....).

Hi, hope I can help from OZ.
A DVD is an input device only so you need a spare input socket on your TV or if you have an amplifier and sound system you can connect to it. Check if you have any spare input sockets on your TV. Select a similar output socket on your DVD. Component (Y,,Pr,Pb) or s-video. Your instruction book will detail the types of inputs you have on TV and DVD.
Once connected your remote wil be used to select input on TV.
It should be that simple to make DVD work. Don't try to connect to VCR as you will get interference from copy protect system on DVD.
Best of luck for Christmas- we are expecting 30C.

Have got it working yet? If not let us know, I'll try to help you.

[Dave Blows]

Hi mdinch

nope - I haven't had the idiot's guide. I suppose I could simply disconnect the video and connect the DVD the same way? I just don't know if that's the optimum set up. Should all aerials go in to the Sky+ box and connect to the TV and DVD, or aerials into the DVD as the handbook suggests?

And which connections? AV1, 2, 3, 4 and S derivates for which item connected? Does Qlink matter; does it affect which AV line/number? And all this before I get on to rgb, component, s-video and the like, all of which is alien to me.

And have I got the right DVD discs for repeat recording and for one stop saving? Maybe I should hire someone, if there is such a someone..........