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Posted by Gary A. Edelstein on 11/03/05 19:08
On Thu, 3 Nov 2005 12:14:28 +0000 (UTC), kj <socyl@987jk.com.invalid>
wrote:
>
>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.)
>
If you hooked it up to the TV with the A/V cable and the TV has A/V
inputs (are they inputs or outputs?), then you need to switch in that
input with the TV remote or switch on the TV. Normally, that's a
TV/Video button or similar or you need to tune in a special station
number. Do you have your TV manual? If not, which TV make and model
number?
If the TV only has an output, then you need an RF modulator. They are
$20-30 and available at places like Best Buy and Radio Shack.
I'd doubt the DVD player is defective and you just need to hook it up
and switch it in correctly.
Gary E
--
|Gary A. Edelstein
|edelsgNO@SPAMyahoo.com.invalid (remove NO SPAM and .invalid to reply)
|"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Walt Kelly's Pogo
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