Posted by kj on 11/03/05 12:14

I just bought my first DVD player ever (until now I've been using
my laptop to play DVDs), but after hooking it up to my TV according
to the instructions (and every other way I could think of) I still
get no image or sound from it.

Normally at this point I'd call the retailer for help, or search
online for any scrap of information that may tell me what to do.

But I want to learn more about how an DVD equipment expert would
go about *diagnosing* the problem. This way I hope that next time
I may be more able to solve something like this on my own. So
here's the situation prior to the arrival of the new DVD player:

|
TV ----- VCR ----- Cable -----|
box |

The TV is connected to the VCR, which is connected to the cable
box, which is connected to the cable wall jack. All these three
connections are via what look to me like RG6 cables with threaded
F-connectors, all courtesy of the cable company. All this equipment
works fine. The TV set (a CRT-type display) and the VCR are at
least 5 years old. (I have no instructions manuals from any of
this equipment, since I inherited it all from a former roommate.)
The cable box is about 3 years old, and I got it from the cable
company, again, without any instruction booklet.

The cable that came with the DVD player has three RCA-type connectors
at either end, color-coded white+red (audio) and yellow (video).
Using this cable, I connected the DVD player to the TV, as described
in the instructions, but got no image or sound from the DVD player.
I confirmed that the TV is on (it flashes MUTE on the screen if I
press mute on the remote control), and that the DVD is actually
playing (it says so on the player's front panel). Somehow, the
signal from the DVD is not making it through to the TV. (Having
the cable box and/or the VCR on or off makes no difference as far
as the DVD signal goes.)

The instructions for the DVD player make no mention at all of what
to do in the presence of a cable box, but anyway I tried connecting
the DVD player to the cable box instead of the TV set, but still
no signal makes from the DVD to the TV. (The instruction booklet
explicitly says not to connect the DVD player to the VCR, so I
didn't.)

One further clue is that if I press the button labeled "All On" on
the mater remote control (also courtesy of the cable company), it
turns on (or off) the TV, the VCR, and the cable box, but it has
no effect on the DVD player. This is true whether the DVD player
is connected to the TV or to the cable box.

OK, given this scenario, how does an expert troubleshoot the
situation?

(I've been vague about the manufacturers of all this equipment,
because, as I said, my question is more about how one goes about
figuring out the problem, than about the specific problem I have
at the time.)

Thanks!

kj

--
NOTE: In my address everything before the first period is backwards;
and the last period, and everything after it, should be discarded.

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