Trying to hook up bro in laws new surround sound…Can’t seem to get the dvd to play (gets sound but not video), surround sound machine has no screw in video jacks. Rf modulator has rca type input but only screw in type output jacks. I am about at wits end!! I even tried to hook it up through his vcr but then I only get stereo and not surround!!
Any suggestions??
BTW his setup is all sony…
Exactly what kind of “surround sound machine” do you have. A reciever with old style Dolby surround sound will connect to the DVD player with two RCA conectors for right and left audio and it will decode for the appropriate speakers. Digital surround sound can use a single digital connector, either an RCA connetor cable or fiberoptic. In any event junk the RF modulator as it will only give you mono sound through your TV and drastically reduce picture quality.
DVDs have composite, S-video, and RCA video out. Most new TVs have S-video or composite inputs for video and often still RCA video in. All TVs for the past 20 years have got coax antenna input.
There are a few options to getting video. The easiest is if both ends have S-video or composite plugs. If not, you can use your A/V receiver (surround sound box), VCR, or an RF modulator to get to a plug type that your TV understands. My crap TV only has the 75-ohm screw-type coax input, so I go video RCA plug out from the DVD to the A/V receiver and RCA video out from the A/V receiver to the VCR, which has RCA video in and 75-ohm coax out.
So the scheme is, cable from antenna to cable box with RCA video out to receiver (coaxial RCA for sound). DVD video in to receiver by RCA (optical for sound). Receiver out to VCR RCA video in. VCR coax in from the coax output of the cable box. VCR coax out to TV. If I want to watch DVDs, the VCR has to be on and tuned to the “A/V In” channel. I can watch cable with the VCR tuned to a channel 3 and tune by the cable box, or with the VCR off as the coax passes through. A wiring mess, but it works.
The way it worked before the receiver was coax cable through box to VCR antenna in. DVD RCA plugs into VCR video/audio in. Coax out from VCR into TV. To watch DVDs, VCR was on “A/V In.”
Let me just add in proof that an RF modulator would serve the purpose if you didn’t have a VCR with RCA inputs. Also let me add that it is very important that you use RCA digital coax or optical cabling to connect the sound of the DVD and any other digitally encoded equipment that you have to the receiver. If you just use the red and white L/R audio RCA plugs, you will get analog sound without encoding and no surround sound. Make sure the receiver is getting digital input – mine auto detects and there is a little box that lights up. It also auto detects encoding – DTS, Dolby digital 5.1/6.1, or Dolby ProLogic II.
"The way it worked before the receiver was coax cable through box to VCR antenna in. DVD RCA plugs into VCR video/audio in. Coax out from VCR into TV. To watch DVDs, VCR was on "A/V In."
If you hook up a DVD player in this fashion, some DVDS will exhibit an annoying continuous fluctuation in brightness level, which I understand it, has been included to thwart copying.
Consult with your local DVD copier for how to disable the copy protection feature.
Thanks guys!
I’ll rewire the thing… But I am still concerned about the rf adaptor… It only has video and audio in with rca plugs…no video out… If it had that I could wire it directly in to say video 3??
An RF adapter is for TVs without a video input, and you don’t need the RF adapter if the TV has a video in. So you shouldn’t expect the adapter to have a video out, and you shouldn’t use it if the TV has RCA audio and video ins.
Just connect the DVD player’s audio output straight to the stereo (surround amp). Don’t pass it through the RF adapter or anything else. You won’t be able to use the TV’s built-in speakers, but why would you need to if you have the surround speakers?
Also…make sure the video cord, the yellow one I believe, is plugged into the TV.