Sony RdR-hxd870 Picture Help

Joined
Apr 17, 2007
Messages
7,831
Reaction score
729
Points
1,722
Location
Staffordshire
right guys finally decided to get the above machine and it is brilliant buy i have got a slight problem

if i go in to system menu/title list or while watching sky via it i can see faint bars scrolling across the screen left to right

anyone know what this is and how i can cure it
 
might be the scart , so try a good quality one with individually screened wires

and make sure all the settings are correct too
 
right guys finally decided to get the above machine and it is brilliant buy i have got a slight problem

if i go in to system menu/title list or while watching sky via it i can see faint bars scrolling across the screen left to right

anyone know what this is and how i can cure it
What happens if you pull the aerial connector out of your TV?

If it goes away, it's undoubtedly an off-air TV signal from your TV's internal tuner being sent out of the same SCART socket that's carrying your DVD recorder's pictures into your TV. This can crosstalk in the wires in the SCART lead, especially if it's poor quality. Unless you specifically need this facility, the simplest solution is to open up the SCART plug at the TV end of the lead and snip the wire going to pin 19. Diagram here:

http://www.diyha.co.uk/electronics/scart.html

This isolates the video output of the TV from the SCART cable, thus it can't crosstalk into the incoming video. Be aware that pin 21 isn't actually a pin, it's the metal screen case around the SCART plug.

Steve
 
that was my train of thought but I could not remember the exact checks to be done to prove it , and wasnt sure which pin could be cut to stop it

but I too think that is the problem and so your post encapsulated what I would want to say had I known what to say , lol :)

thanks for that
 
I know what it is because it has happened to me. You have a signal set as composite somewhere, and if you change it to RGB it will give you a perfect picture. :smashin:

So maybe you have 2 scart sockets from sky, and one is composite, or you have a composite setting in sky.
 
What happens if you pull the aerial connector out of your TV?

If it goes away, it's undoubtedly an off-air TV signal from your TV's internal tuner being sent out of the same SCART socket that's carrying your DVD recorder's pictures into your TV. This can crosstalk in the wires in the SCART lead, especially if it's poor quality. Unless you specifically need this facility, the simplest solution is to open up the SCART plug at the TV end of the lead and snip the wire going to pin 19. Diagram here:

http://www.diyha.co.uk/electronics/scart.html

This isolates the video output of the TV from the SCART cable, thus it can't crosstalk into the incoming video. Be aware that pin 21 isn't actually a pin, it's the metal screen case around the SCART plug.

Steve

i dont have a Tv aerial Everything i watch is via Sky
 
I know what it is because it has happened to me. You have a signal set as composite somewhere, and if you change it to RGB it will give you a perfect picture. :smashin:

So maybe you have 2 scart sockets from sky, and one is composite, or you have a composite setting in sky.

hi ill have a look but i think in the recorder it says at the moment

line 1 Rgb
line 3 Rgb

the sky scart socket (tv one on the back of the sky box) and in the settings i think i set it to Rgb but i will check
 
right checked the sky setup and it is set as RGB

so ive got the following

line 1 Rgb
line 2 Rgb
Sky Rgb

but still have the problem
 
time to change the scart leads for a fully shielded ones then

and have you got an aerial lead from the actual sky box to the recorder at all ? yes or no ?

does it still happen in the menu if you disconnect line 1 scart ?
 
time to change the scart lead for a fully shielded one then

and have you got an aerial lead from the actual sky box to the recorder at all ? yes or no ?

does it still happen in the menu if you disconnect line 1 scart ?

no to question 1 mate and 2nd question i dont know havent tested it ill try it and let you know

also mate where can i get a fully shieled scart cable from mate
 
well my bro got some off the "bay" and that cured his similar problems , but any decent electronics shops should have them in stock , or try google search etc

I am suspecting your are using cheap unshielded scarts ( or even faulty ones ) and this may be your problem

also make sure you are using fully wired ones and not half populated scarts

I did mention all this in post 3 to you
 
What type of TV...CRT, Plasma or LCD?...and make/model no?
 
as mentioned above its likely to be interference from your tv as told to you in post 4

so cutting or desoldering the wire on pin 19 on the tv scart may solve your problem , as mentioned to you in post 4
 
it is a Toshiba lcd model number 32c3031d mate

An quick way to check if it's interference from the composite video output on pin 19 of the scart socket on the TV is to disconnect it and connect via HDMI.
 
Hi Folks,

Interesting to come across this thread just as I was about to write one very similar myself. At least I am not alone!

(This is actually my second attempt, as I just spent half an hour writing it out, then lost the lot when I clicked on preview and it asked me to log in again. Seems I will never learn never to trust these thigs:rolleyes:!)

Anyhow, we have a Virgin basic account/Samsung cable box, and a RDR-HXD870 as per this thread. They are plugged side by side into the dual scart sockets of out oldish Hitachi hire TV.

I have been puzzled for some time by this vertical travelling wave phenomenon, and by the fact that the cable box line direct to the TV gives a sharp and dense picture with a good solid black and a bright sound; whereas viewing the same thing via the DVDR gives a rather diffuse snowy black, a less solid picture, and a rather muffled sound.

I've spent a long time trying numerous cabling arrangements and internal settings, but all I have managed to do is to reverse the direction of the waves: to the left with DVDR/Cable at the TV sockets, to the right with Cable/DVDR...

Otherwise, the best that I have been able to do is to use a scart to video converter to feed the cable box output into the front Line2 in of the recorder. This gives a less wavy picture but it is still not perfect, and not as good as the direct feed to the TV from the cable box.

Would I be right in assuming that the 'IN/Out' switch on this converter lead acts to cut off your the 'Pin 19' discussed here?

If so, is there a 'normal' scart lead that incorporates such a switch, so that I don't have a lead that might cause confusion later on if I start cutting pins out?

If I do try cutting pin 19, I presume this means I won't be able to record direct from the TV any more?
Are there any other things I might miss if I do cut this pin?

It does sound like the ideas discussed here might help me sort this problem, as I did at first think it was a stray signal effect (we used to get similar things on our old VCR when it happened to have its carrier signal tuned a tad too close to Channel5).

However, when I unplug the aerial feed to the DVDR or the cable's direct scart to TV, the problem persists.

Also when I tried using the scart-video converter lead, from the DVDR output to the front video sockets on the TV the waves are instantly produced as the white plug makes contact. This seems to imply it is a signal from the DVDR itself which is causing the problem.

And, if this is a feedback problem from the tv itself, why is only the Cable source affected: the normal output from the DVDR's internal tuners is fine?

The normal output from the DVDR's internal tuners is fine so it seems to be the Samsung box or Virgin cable itself, and DVDR that donÂ’t get on, but possibly I have missed something.


All a tad confusing to me, but I am no technician!:confused:


Any further thoughts anyone?

Cheers
S
 
if you have an 870 than as it already has its own internal tuners then you have no need to record from the tv

and ideally you should be using good quality shielded scarts as mentioned several times in this post

the front sockets are composite so require a composite feed , but line 1 is an rgb input so requires an rgb feed

so what you should do is connect the tv out scart from the cable box to line 1 input on the 870 with a good quality fully wired scart and set the cable box to rgb , and the sony too , and connect the line 3 scart output to av1 on your tv to get rgb all the way through ( again with a good quality scart lead ), set everything to rgb and 16:9 widescreen if you have a w/s tv

now if you have the aerial lead feeding through the cable box it will possibly pick up an rf channel and take it to the tv , so this may need altering to a free rf channel between 21 and 69 for your area , one that isnt in use or have interference on it , this can be routed through the analogue of the 870 if you want to tune it in

now take the vcr scart from the cable box and use av2 on the tv , which is usually composite and this gives you an alternative cable viewing lead when not using av1 through the 870

now if you get interference you would be advised to desolder pin 19 on the tv scart to prevent signals back from the tv down to the 870 causing problems


you should now be able to watch and record cable from line 1 , and on analogue ch6 , and freeview on dtv if you have it in your area

so any aerial feed would go like this

outside aerial to digital sony in , sony digital out to cable box in , cable box out to sony analogue in , sony analogue out to tv

this gives 6 rf channels on the sony 870 and on the tv , and freeview on the recorder and the tv , assuming you get everything in your area


your scart to phono converter has an in/out switch to reverse the direction of travel and has no effect on pin 19 and definitely does not cut it , its just a way of making the lead an in or an out
 
(Good grief: it's done it again: waits for me to write my message then tells me I'm not logged in when I hit send, and deletes my effort!)

Sorry Ramjet,
Try again...

Thanks very much for getting back to me, and apologies for the delay in picking up the reply.

Your extra info on the various socket characters should help me to know at least if I'm in the right 'ball park'!

Think my leads are reasonable, as I have tried quite an assortment and they all seem to have no bearing on the effect.

Also feel I must have tried this arrangement in one of my numerous efforts, but it is possible I missed something, so will work carefully through your advice and get back to you with the results.

Not sure how to tell what the output from my cable box is - though I do recall seeing some setting screens when the man set it up, and may have made a note of the button sequence that calls up the screens somewhere...

The TV has a sequence of 'AV' settings which I am not clear on:
'AV1; RGB; SAV2; AV3; SAV3'

'RGB' looks horrible, with all the wrong colour tones, and colours blurring into each other, no matter what is viewed at that setting.

No idea what SAV is, but if selected, the view is grey and noisy.
What happened to 'AV2' I don't know!

Anyhow,
Will report back (soon I hope!)

Cheers,

S
 
Re the pin 19 issue:

Scart pins can be retracted by depressing the small retaining spade at the base of the pin where it enters the plug body.

They can be pushed back and left in their channel so that they do not make contact and do not float about in side the plug possibly causing shorting issues.

It has the advantage of being a reversible modification and is a useful technique for troubleshooting difficulties like the above.

The pin can be relocated if need be.

If you leave a pin retracted for any reason - then mark the plug in some way so that it does not catch you out in future.
 
The TV has a sequence of 'AV' settings which I am not clear on:
'AV1; RGB; SAV2; AV3; SAV3'

'RGB' looks horrible, with all the wrong colour tones, and colours blurring into each other, no matter what is viewed at that setting.

No idea what SAV is, but if selected, the view is grey and noisy.
What happened to 'AV2' I don't know!

I would make these interpretations of those options:


AV1 - probably composite only on AV1

RGB - probably RGB input again on AV1

SAV2 will mean S Video input on AV2 scart input - which means that any input will have to be either S-video or composite. RGB will not work into AV2.

AV3 - probably composite only on AV3

SAV3 - S input on AV3


RGB should be the best by far - but you need ensure that you are feeding RGB into it - ie that the source machine is sending it, and which can only be done with fully wired scarts.
 
Hi to anyone still following this.
Took a while to get time to experiment with the suggested settings while nobody was watching the set up.
See tabulated results in attached table.
Broadly:
Pin 19 appears to be essential for the Sony to communicate the picture to the TV!

And, after this experiment, the digital channels had been lost from the GuidePlus display.
The ‘Virgin that was NTL’ (no virgin at all now!) option had gone from the GuidePlus external receiver set up options, so that Line 1 could not be reassociated with the correct cable channels and had to ‘pretend to be a satellite’ to affect the cable box at all - just as had had to be done when the DVDR was first set up! This is despite the fact that the software versions are still listed as those of the update that I had thought was what cured this problem the first time around!

Any of this make sense to anyone?

Or was it pin 19 of the scart from TV to cable I was supposed to disconnect rather than the one from DVDR to TV?

Things had seemed reasonable (though the TV alone picture quality seems to have declined), with the suggested settings before I tried the PIN19 trick!

(One other point about just pushing the pin in: on my cable pin 19 is right next to the screen wire and contacts it when pushed in...)


Regards,

S
 

Attachments

  • Pin 19.doc
    51.5 KB · Views: 72

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom