Question Information request for converting a Scart to VGA, HDMI, Component or USB to a TV

[brymbo76]

Hello. I'm brand new to AV Forums,

I just bought a new TV which only has one "Mini" Scart socket but includes a converter lead to a standard Scart socket to connect your old equipment.

I have two items of equipment I used to connect up to my old TV through Scart and I thought I could consider using a Scart Switch I have got as I only have the one input but two items to connect but then I thought to save switching the inputs, I may as well make use of one of the unused inputs.

Looking on ebay, I thought a Scart to VGA adapter would be the simplest solution but am not sure if it will definitely work or not? I have read that it will be unable to transfer signals from VGA to Scart but will work from Scart to VGA, but does it carry audio signals as well or do I need a separate audio lead for it? This is about £4+

I alternatively could buy a Scart to HDMI, but that requires an extra power socket as the converter includes a power adapter. These seem to start at around £15

Or I could convert Scart to Component but these are more expensive again.

Or I could buy a Scart to USB but the adapter I have seen has a USB plug one end and 3 phono sockets the other end and this requires converting the phono sockets to phono plugs then the phono plugs to Scart plug and it just seems a little messy.

Please can anyone tell me whether the Scart to VGA will work or alternatively, which of the other alternatives would you recommend instead?

Hope you are able to advise me on this.
Thanks.

 

[brymbo76]

Can anyone help?
Thanks.

 

[andy1249]

Post the models of the two pieces of scart equipment to get specific advice.
Also post the TV model number.

Scart is a multi connector capable of various video signal types from composite to component RGB.

Its not possible to say what type of converters will work without knowing what type of signal each device can output.

In general though, scart is SD only, and regardless of which converter you use, these scart only SD sources are not going to look great on a new HDTV, and if its a newer UHD TV , its going to be worse again.

Try each source as is on the mini connector and see how it looks before doing anything else, because this will be as good as it gets, converters will only make things worse, so if its already bad, theres no point spending more money.

Scart is obsolete, in a lot of cases new sources are the best option.

 

[JayCee]

What are the two pieces of equipment you want to connect?

 

[brymbo76]

I have a Sky+ Box and a VCR/DVD Combi. Was Thinking of connecting the Sky box via the Scart to VGA lead and the Combi to the included Mini-Scart to Scart lead.
All I really want to know though is does VGA only carry Video or does it carry Audio as well?

Was going to use this if it works: SCART Cable to SVGA VGA 15 PIN HD PLUG Lead 1.5M UK

 

[brymbo76]

The reason why I ask as to if it carries Audio as well is that I once bought a VGA to VGA lead to connect my laptop to my TV and there was no sound and had to in addition use a 3.5mm plug to plug lead to have sound as well as picture through the VGA connection.

Hope someone can advise me.
Thanks.

 

[JayCee]

No need to do either, both of those will work connected to the TV with a single scart lead.
Connect the DVD/VCR Combi to the scart socket marked VCR Scart on the Sky+ box and connect the socket marked TV scart on it to the scart adaptor lead thence to the TV. Watch Sky then when you want to watch a DVD or Play a tape switch the Sky box to standby and the DVD/VCR will be routed through it to the TV.

 

[brymbo76]

I COULD do that, Jaycee but like I said, due to my configuration which I have explained earlier, I am unable to do that.
I just want to connect one up to one connector and the other up to another connector.

 

[noiseboy72]

Scart to VGA or Scart to USB is unlikely to work.

VGA uses different syncs to Scart and is also usually progressive, while Scart is usually interlaced. VGA does not carry audio.

Scart to USB will only work if you have a computer, as what you have seen is a capture device that requires specific drivers and software to work. Plugging it into a TV won't work, as the TV is looking for a storage device - or possibly a matched camera.

For my money, I would replace the Sky+ box with an Sky Plus HD, but failing that, get a Scart to HDMI, which should work and will provide audio as well.

 

[JayCee]

I COULD do that, Jaycee but like I said, due to my configuration which I have explained earlier, I am unable to do that

You ARE able to do that, it requires 1 scart lead to the TV and it is the simplest/cheapest solution and it WILL work.

 

[brymbo76]

I AM NOT able to do that.
I include a diagram of how my system was connected to my LG TV I previously connected my AV equipment to.
And according to this "Television" leaflet I have kept for many years the VGA connector (known as a "D-Type" in this leaflet, it does show both video and audio connections.

And as for as the £3.97 lead from ebay goes, it does say "Mainly used to connect devices such as dvd players to projectors", therefore surely it must have audio signals that can pass through it as why would you connect a DVD player to it but only be able to connect the video signal to it and not be able to pass through the audio signal down it, considering it has a scart on one end that connects to a TV and a Scart has audio connections and according to the leaflet the VGA/D connector has too.

The diagram shows things like '3PDT' and '4PDT' which stand for 3 and 4 Pole Double Throw switches. 3P4T is a 3-Pole 4-position rotary Throw switch to be able to switch 1 input to 4 possible outputs. The 3-Poles being Audio (Left), Audio (Right) and Video (Composite). The 4th Pole being Scart pin 8 Source Switching.

The scarts are my own home-made leads to enable signals to go both into and out of the L1, AV1 and AV2 scart sockets and out of the L2 scart socket. So the L1, AV1 and AV2 sockets, I have wired 2 separate video cables into the scart plugs, one for input and one for output. So that is why I can't "Connect the DVD/VCR Combi to the scart socket marked VCR Scart on the Sky+ box and connect the socket marked TV scart on it to the scart adaptor lead thence to the TV".

The dotted line around the switches denote that these switches are in my own home-made enclosure boxes bought from Maplin. 'PAN' refers to my Combi, 'SHARP', refers to another recorder. So I can't connect either of the DVD/VCR Combi outputs to my Sky+ box, as one output connects to the 2nd of the 3 switches switch box and the other output connects to the L1 input of the Sharp recorder.

 

[JayCee]

You asked for advice.
The way I suggested does work, my day-to-day work involves finding ways to input/output video and audio from TV's and associated equipment.
I've used this method to connect equipment to TV's with only one scart socket many times over the years I've been in the Electronics service trade.
I'm outta here, good luck with your home-brewed contraption.

 

[brymbo76]

I'm not saying it doesn't work.
I do know it works as I have tried that method myself when I owned different equipment and had a different set-up and wiring configuration.
But because of my

home-brewed contraption

then your suggestion will not work for me this time purely down to how everything is currently wired.

 

[brymbo76]

And like I said, the leaflet clearly shows audio signals connecting both In and Out of this type of connector.
I think it's worth buying just to try but if not, I can get my money back, even if it's not going to be as much as I would have to pay for return postage.

 

[noiseboy72]

I should chuck that leaflet in the bin, in 20 years of installing projectors, TVs and other AV kit, I have never found either a TV or projector VGA input that would accept audio! This is a specialised use of the connector, not a standard or compliant pin out. This is:

Some projectors can accept interlaced component or RGB video on the VGA. Hitachi did this as a space saving. Most TVs do NOT have this capability. You will also usually find a 3.5mm stereo mini jack labelled PC audio as well.

It all sounds over complex to me, but whatever floats your boat.

 

[JayCee]

It all sounds over complex to me, but whatever floats your boat.

My thoughts exactly, the OP seems to be hell-bent on using this contraption when it's not needed.

 

[andy1249]

And according to this "Television" leaflet I have kept for many years the VGA connector (known as a "D-Type" in this leaflet, it does show both video and audio connections.

And as for as the £3.97 lead from ebay goes, it does say "Mainly used to connect devices such as dvd players to projectors", therefore surely it must have audio signals that can pass through it as why would you connect a DVD player to it but only be able to connect the video signal to it and not be able to pass through the audio signal down it, considering it has a scart on one end that connects to a TV and a Scart has audio connections and according to the leaflet the VGA/D connector has too.

There is a key difference here, 15 pin d connectors can be used for many custom and proprietary interfaces, but that does not make them "VGA" interfaces.

What is described in your leaflet is not a VGA connector.

VGA is a standard, it uses a 15 pin D connector as part of the standard, but does not have audio capabilities.
See here for standard VGA pin functions...

VGA connector - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 15 pin d connector on your new TV is a standard VGA interface, it does not do audio, and your bespoke wiring solution is not compatible with it or with any other TV you can buy today.

You should not attempt to use mechanical switches on the AV inputs of any modern TV, there is a very high likelihood of damaging or destroying the input circuitry, which these days are almost all direct inputs to custom IC,s that will not fare well with the electrical chatter of a mechanical switch.

Todays equivalent of your switching solution would use compatible integrated circuitry or electronic auto switching.

Its time to retire your wiring solution and start from scratch.

 

[brymbo76]

Do you have any evidence or anything to support your statement:

You should not attempt to use mechanical switches on the AV inputs of any modern TV, there is a very high likelihood of damaging or destroying the input circuitry, which these days are almost all direct inputs to custom IC,s that will not fare well with the electrical chatter of a mechanical switch.

 

[andy1249]

Its common knowledge, here is an example paper containing the problem and some up to date solutions.

Switch Bounce and Other Dirty Little Secrets - Application Note - Maxim

Google "switch bounce" yourself to see plenty of examples, problems caused, and solutions.

 

[brymbo76]

Well I have definitely got the message about the VGA thing now.

As I have said in my other recent post, I have decided to cut my losses with this TV and am having it collected tomorrow and will be exchanging it for a Sony Bravia KDL40W705CBU model instead.

Using the 'Lindy HDMI CEC Less adapter' you can find on Amazon I was suggested to try, it made no difference to stopping my TV going into Standby at random moments trying to watch BT Vision on it through the HDMI input.

By replacing the Panasonic for the Sony, It may mean sacrificing losing the 4K feature for picture quality but due to my current funds and job situation, am uncomfortable to spend too much on a TV right now such as by spending over £400 on one of 40" in size (my previous one being an LG 32" LCD without Freeview HD) but a HD picture to me is good enough for now and at least I'll (hopefully) be able to control the volume on this TV from my Sky remote, BT Vision remote and my DVD/VCR combi remote and also hopefully the Sony TV won't keep going into Standby like the Panasonic did when trying to watch programmes on it through the HDMI lead connected to it from my BT Vision box.

If I had kept that Panasonic TV, I would never have been able to programme those remotes to use the TV volume functions and would have to watch BT Vision either through the Scart or hope that a Scart to HDMI converter adapter will work and give a good enough quality of picture because through the Scart connection the picture was noticeably worse than directly through HDMI (which you could see when the TV wasn't turning off!).

Also, I thought it was silly that there is no direct Scart socket or Composite Video connection on the Panasonic. It features a "Mini-Scart" socket and a 3.5mm 4-pole socket and includes a Mini-Scart plug to Scart socket adapter and a 3.5mm 4-pole plug to Composite Video & Audio Phono sockets adapter.

Also, due to how far apart the legs are from each other that fit to the TV that make up the TV stand, it would've meant buying a new wider stand to place the TV and all my other AV equipment onto.

Just hope the Sony doesn't suffer from the same standby and remote control code programming problems!

 

[noiseboy72]

Scart will always look a lot worse than HDMI, as it is standard definition compared to 1080p or better. Some equipment with Scart sockets does not even support RGB or component, so you are watching composite TV, which is so much worse again.

Most of us use some sort of programmable remote to control all our gadgets. I use a One for All 6, which is fully programmable and also supports a few macros as well. Harmony Remotes add next level capability for complex systems requiring more macros and programming options. The only other remote I use is the "wand" that comes with the TV, as this is easiest for the on screen keyboard and browsing the net.

 

[Joe Fernand]

SCART is pretty much a 'dead' connector - why waste millions of $$$ installing SCART sockets which will never be used on HD Displays.

We have an ever growing pile of 'culled' SCART cables removed from installs - one day we will figure out what to do with them!

Joe