Couplers to mate two female RCA jacks

Factual Questions
1

Last month I bought an RCA-to-HDMI adapter so that I could connect my VCR to the TV. I finally decided to hook it up, only to find… the output jacks on the VCR are female. The jacks on the HDMI adapter are female.

Before I place an order, are these couplers what I need? I’ve already ordered one wrong (five-jack component RCS-to-HDMI) adapter and I’m getting tired of messing around.

2

I think those will work, but you should be able to also use just regular male to male RCA cables, like you would have used to hook the VCR up to the TV. They show that in this drawing.

Here is a single cable made up of 3 cables, so audio (left and right) and composite video, but the bonded cable is just a convenience; you can use 2 or 3 separate cables if that’s what you have. I have no idea if these cables are any good, they were just the first that came up in my search. If you have an AV junk drawer, you probably have some of the right cable in there. If you were my neighbor, I’d happily give you some that I have.

3

I would just buy the correct cable. They are very cheap on eBay:

4

It’s been so long since I’ve used RCA jacks that the thought never occurred to me. I hooked everything up, and popped in Monty Python’s The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball. I have audio, but only a blue screen that says 720 HD not found.

I have the VCR connected to the coax input of the TV, but I don’t know how to access it. In the olden days, you’d turn the TV to channel 3. I don’t know how to do that. I did try the ‘123’ button on the remote, and entered 3, but it said ‘Channel not found.’

5

The TV is looking for a digital signal. When the FCC allowed the changeover from analog to digital, they gave out coupons for digital to analog converters. I still have one in a box somewhere, but I don’t think they convert analog to digital.

I don’t even know if modern TVs have analog tuners or not, I can’t see why they would.

Edit: Doh! I see that the box you have is an analog to digital converter.

6

I think there are a few things going on here, so I just want to make sure we are all talking about the same things.

I’m assuming your goal is to watch video tapes on you modern TV.

  • You bought an RCA composite to HDMI converter
    • Connect the VCR to the RCA inputs on the on the converter
      • Make sure that the video out (usually yellow) on the VCR is going to the video in on the converter
      • Make sure that the audios out on the VCR (usually red and white) are going to the audios in on the converter
      • The colors of the cables connecting the VCR to the converter don’t matter, just make sure that they do ultimately match up from the VCR to the converter
      • If your VCR only has a single audio out, then it is not stereo, so the converter might say something like “for mono, use right channel”, or it may say nothing at all, then just pick a channel
    • Once the VCR and converter are properly hooked together, the converter should be plugged into an HDMI input on the TV
    • Select the appropriate HDMI input on the TV, and hope it all works
  • Connect the VCR’s coax out to the coax (antenna) in on the TV
    • These are the threaded connectors, not the smooth RCA style ones
    • I think this is what you described trying, and as @Dag_Otto says, it won’t work
    • The VCR is outputting an analog signal on channel 3, the TV expects input from a digital antenna
    • This will not work unless you have a TV old enough to expect an analog signal
  • Your TV might have RCA style composite inputs
    • I’m guessing your TV does not have these inputs, which is why you bought the converter box.
    • If it does, then you should be able to connect the VCR directly to the TV over RCA cables
    • like for the converter box, get video out to video in, and audios out to audios in
    • Select the composite input for your TV

When you got things sort of working, was that using the converter box? If so, it sounds like you do not have the video portion connected properly. The VCR may have a RCA jacks for video/audio in as well as out. Make sure you are connected from the video out jack on the VCR to the video in jack on the converter.

Another thing to be careful of is the difference between composite and component. They all run over RCA style wires, but composite puts the whole video signal on one wire, while component splits the video signal across three wires. A high end VCR might have component out. If so, you’ll have to make sure and use the correct composite video out, and not the three component video out jacks. Just to be extra confusing, sometimes they share connectors, so using just one of the component outs might get you composite out.

Most VCRs did not have component out, that was usually only laser disk and DVD players.

Oh yeah, last thing, and probably not the issue, but details matter. The converter box needs to be connected to a phone charger or your TV over USB to get power.

7

Here’s a couple of things that probably won’t work, but won’t ruin anything or cost any money.

Your TV is trying to find a 720 HD signal, but your VCR is only outputting 480. is there anyway to set your TV to “video,” “camera” or some setting like that?

Using your TV remote, can you set the input to coax/antenna, and do a channel search to see if it will find the VCR?

8

That was the last thing I checked. Red first, then white, then yellow. I shone the flashlight on the yellow jack of the VCR to double-check.

The converter has a USB power cord. I plugged that into a USB port on the TV. It seems to be working, as before I knoew I needed to connect power I wasn’t getting a signal, and afterward I got the audio.

No idea.

I don’t know how to do a channel search, since that’s for OTA TVs, and I have cable. It never came up before this.