Virgin cable TV and rooftop digital aerial

[Junior Oeuf]

Hello - just registered as I decided I cannot afford to pay someone to sort out my TV every time I have a problem!!

I have virgin cable TV, telephone and internet.

I also have a rooftop digital aerial.

I have a digital TV(2 scart sockets), a digital dvd recorder and a samsung / ntl set top box.

How should it be wired so that I can record on virgin while watching via digital aerial (or vice-versa)?

Will I also be able to record one virgin digital channel while watching another virgin digital channel?

At the moment I lose all access to virgin cable TV, whenever I switch the DVD recorder on. When I tried the "connection wizard" on the public information site it said I could not have a digital TV, digital dvd recorder and a set top box at the same time....

If anyone can help it would be much appreciated. Every time I look at the current-set up it scares the life out of me!!

[joglynne]

Hi Junior Oeuf, welcome to the forum. The following should work for you.

To be able to view and record Analogue signal, or digital if you have a freeveiw TV. :-
Main Coaxial lead into the set top box. Then another coaxial lead from STB to your DVD recorder. Finally another lead ( I think you could use either coaxial or scart) from the DVD recorder to your TV

To veiw and record cable without a V+ box. :-
2 Scart cables. One from your STB to TV and a second cable from your STB to DVD recorder.

[nodrogd]

You need three fully wired Scart cables. Connect one from the TV output of the STB to the AV2 socket of the DVD. You will probably already have a scart connecting the DVD to the TV and this should be left as it is. Connect the third scart from the VCR output of the STB to the remaining socket on the TV. The aerial coax does not need to connect to the STB as: 1) The picture quality is poor compared to scart and only provides mono sound. 2) It will reduce the quality of the freview signal and may give reception issues.

Switch the STB to RGB output from the settings menu and the DVD to receive RGB from the AV2 socket (need to look at the manual to find how to do this). You can then record cable from the scart while watching a freeview channel or record a freeview channel while watching a cable channel.

You can only record two cable channels if you have V+.

[Junior Oeuf]

Joglynne & Nodrogd - Thanks to you both for the quick responses!!

I currently have a white cable from the digital aerial (I believe this is a coaxial) which has a screw-on attachment on the wall and then goes into the traditional aerial socket in the back of the TV.

I also have the coaxial lead for the virgin cable going into the back of the STB. Does that sound right?

As you can tell - I am a bit of a buffoon when it comes to such matters. I have obviously reached that stage in life when all forms of technology start to baffle me. I remember seeing it in my parents when I was a youngster!!

I will have a look tonight.

I think I currently only have 2 scart leads, so I will get another and give it a go. Hopefully that means I will not need to speak to the independent aerial guy I used to put it in in the first place because I think he just works by "trial and error"!!

Thanks again.

[joglynne]

As you wish to record the digital channels you need to move the white cable to the appropriate 'in' socket on your DVD recorder and then have a further coaxial or scart cable linking the recorder to your TV. This will allow you to either watch Freeview or record it whilst you watch VM. As you have the digital feed set up now you would only be able to record what you have showing on your TV screen ie Freeview or VM.

Nodgrod says you do not need to have the digital feed going into the STB so the above is all you need to do on the digital side.

Try setting everything up and come back on to this thread if you have a problem and we can talk you through it.

[Matth]

Agree pretty much with all before.

The Roof aerial needs to go to the DVD recorder, then another antenna flylead from DVD recorder ANT-OUT to TV ANT-IN - that should give you the Freeview channels available to DVD and TV, regardless of what the box is doing.

Then the TV SCART on the STB goes to one of the TV SCART inputs, the VCR SCART on the STB goes to the DVD SCART IN.
The DVD SCART OUT goes to the other SCART on the TV (you could also substitute HDMI if the DVD recorder/Player is an upscaling one and both it and the TV have HDMI, or component video if they both support that format).

The ordinary STB only does one channel at a time, so you could watch and record the same VM channel, watch VM and record from freeview, or watch freeview and record from VM - or use 2x freeview


One other thing, of the two SCART inputs to the TV, one will normally demand attention when active, normally this would be used for the recorder/player type of device, so that it can take over the display automatically when put into play.
You generally can switch back to something else, but it's better to have the automatic attention working in a way that makes sense, rather than working against you.

[Junior Oeuf]

Thanks Matth,

I think the telly and the dvd player are both HD, so I will check that out. THat would mean I need one less SCART lead?

The only other thing I need is an aerial extension lead (antenna flylead?) to connect the DVD to the telly?

Not sure I understand the last bit of your comment about "demand attention", but I am sure I'll work it out.

Thanks again.

Mark.

[nodrogd]

I'm assuming you have a standard STB and not a V+. If you have the HDMI connected DVD to TV you will still require a scart lead between the two to set up as per my previous post.
The reason being that the DVD can record the RGB signal from the STB so your recordings have no loss in quality, unlike Matth's setup which only gives quality of a standard required by a VCR.
The HDMI lead will only pass a signal to the TV from the DVD when the DVD is on, so to view cable with the DVD in standby requires a scart between the DVD & TV as well.

Hope this is making sense !

[Matth]

Ok, I'll pull noddrogd's layout around a little further, assuming the DVD and TV can do HDMI.

To take full advantage of RGB from the set top box, I'd be inclined to use a SCART splitter on the SCART to TV output.
Then one SCART lead feeds the RGB enabled "full SCART" on the TV, the other one from the splitter feeds the DVD SCART in.
The DVD then runs to the TV by HDMI.

With the triangle completed - STB -> TV, STB -> DVD, DVD -> TV, it should not be relying on standby passthrough, since the STB has a direct connection to the TV.

[Junior Oeuf]

Right,

The TV has HDMI socket, DVD does not, so that ends that problem!

I have changed the Virgin setting to RGB output.

On the DVD I only have TV Line 1 and Line 3 scart sockets, so I have put the scart lead from the STB to the Line 3 socket.

On the DVD settings it is currently on:

Line 1 output - Video
Line 3 input - Video / RGB
Line 3 output - Video

Do I need to change that?

Thanks again. I feel like a have learnt alot in the last few days!!

Junior Oeuf.

[nodrogd]

Right,

The TV has HDMI socket, DVD does not, so that ends that problem!

I have changed the Virgin setting to RGB output.

On the DVD I only have TV Line 1 and Line 3 scart sockets, so I have put the scart lead from the STB to the Line 3 socket.

On the DVD settings it is currently on:

Line 1 output - Video
Line 3 input - Video / RGB
Line 3 output - Video

Do I need to change that?

Thanks again. I feel like a have learnt alot in the last few days!!

Junior Oeuf.

The line 3 input setting is correct, but not sure about line 1. If this is the scart that feeds the TV it should be set to RGB. The TV will detect an RGB signal automatically, so you should see something like AV1/RGB or EC1/RGB briefly on the screen when you play back a DVD.

[moiraf100]

My DVD recorder was the worst thing I ever bought. (It's sitting in the loft collecting dust)
V+ suits my needs fully now

[Junior Oeuf]

Thanks to everyone for your help and sorry for taking an age to send a message back!

That definitely seems to be the right set-up.

However, my digital aerial reception seems to be a bit dodgey - I keep getting a pixellated picture in the front room. Think this might be because it is split to 3 other rooms!

It is strange because the digital telly in the kitchen seems to be fine most of the time - just goes a bit pixillated every now and then, which is probably par for the course.

The one in the living room struggles to pick up a decent signal on any channel.

However - that is probably down to the dodgey "so and so" who put it up and has now disappeared off the face of the earth.

[nodrogd]

Do you have an amplifier where the signal splits? If not you quite possibly need one. The longer the cable run the more loss, so the longest run from the splitter will get the weakest signal. To make matters worse, sensitivity wise no two Freeview tuners are the same.

[Junior Oeuf]

Okay - I will try to get an amplifier.

THe strange thing is - the living room TV is on the shortest run. I think it might be a bit of a dodgey connection. Some of the wires that the aerial guy has connected look a bit frayed, so I will just have to have a fiddle around with it.

Thanks again.

Mark.