Calling all TV/ Set Top Box Experts

[stevo68]

G'day All,

Couldnt find an appropriate section to put this in, so have wacked it in General. Ok, I have a Plasma TV and I did have a Sony HD Set Top box, it crapped itself sometime ago so have been using a SD box. Now have to have another telly in the bedroom for SWMBO for watching her programs and feeding bub, so bought another HD Set top box.

Now with the previous 2 boxes it worked on Video 1, menu would come up etc. When setting it up, menu wouldnt come up, read instructions said switch to AV/ HD, so pushed the HD button for the plasma and up it came. Tuned in the stations, picture came up, was watching the Tiger program, but tigger and mates were green. Switched to Video 1 where I normally watch the free to air, programs were all there....but no menu. Went back to HD, went through the menu for the TV and noticed on the HD menu it had Tint..Red one end.....Green the other....ie push button and the doovalack moves along changing said picture. Went back to Video 1, hit menu for setting up colour etc....no TINT.

Now the pic on normal is still great...but no menu features. The pic on pressing HD is a very clear picture, you get the menu, but the colours are all messed up. Does this make sense to anyone, are you still reading, have I given you a headache :D? If anyone can help as I love my TV. Also other possible helpful info is that it all runs through an amp as have full surround sound plus austar and DVD recorder, plus the DVD player that came with the surround sound system which is where you choose the options ie SAT, DVD, Radio, CD, TV, VIDEO, though our Free to Air plays through SAT and Austar through VIDEO. Thanks in advance,

Regards

Stevo

[Shepp]

DVD SAT CD HD VID1 and a partridge in a pear tree. God Stevo sounds like you have too much equipment. Ever heard of buying a TV with HD Tuner built in? Much easier.
I'm pretty good with this stuff so will chat to you about it at next meeting till then I recommend unplugging everything and start again Forget the amp and just see if it works with the set top box plugged into the TV that way you know the set top box isn't faulty.
Good luck. Shepp. :eek2:

[stevo68]

Thanks mate, will catch up on Thursday. I bought the plasma 3 odd years ago before they had HD built in. As for unplugging it all, well theres more cabling than you can poke a stick at. Ultimately may have to get an expert over to work it out.

Regards

Stevo

[dullbird]

Why you selecting tv, radio etc through your DVD player? Or have I just red that wrong that should be selected through the amp.
also what have you got he set top box wired up with? Component or composite
have you checked that they are wired in to the correct colour coordinated ports on the back of your amp?
have you tried running the box direct to the tv? To see if it makes a difference.
have you also tried selecting the diferent view screens on you tv I.e cinema, dynamic, game (sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs) just trying to think of what I can.

[simonr23]

stevo68, this was my proffession until last year. your question has me a little confused, but i think i know the answer :)

on the back/side of ur tv, does the input that uve used have red,blue,green,another red, and white plugs that arent being used?

if so, i think u'll find that it's a "component input". on the back of ur new set-top box, there should be the corresponding coloured plugs too. if i'm right, i'm assuming that u have the regular red,white and yellow cable plugging the two items together?

if so, get another one of those cables and rearrange them slightly, so that the 2 audio plugs(red and white-marked r and l speakers) of one cable are hooked up to the tv for audio inputs, then use the left over yellow cable into the green plugs(tv and STB ). get ur second cable(even a stereo rca is ok-red/white) and connect it to the blue and red plugs on the tv and STB. obviously whichever colour u use on one end needs to match up with its corresponding colour at the other end.

hope that makes sense and fixes ur problems.

another simpler way, is by using the menu of the STB to change its video setting from component/RGB/YPbPr to composite/YUV(i think thats right)

[slug_burner]

sounds like the composite signal is driving the green component line.

You will have to check that you have both the s/b and tv set to the same settings, there is the yellow plug that is video composite, the the RGB and the Y,Cb,Cr, and I can't remember the other bits, which one you get to use comes down to the connectors on the S/b and tv and the cable set that you have. You should be using the HDMI or DVI.

Read the instructions that came with the box.

[stevo68]

Thanks for the feedback, will print off and have a crack tomorrow,

Regards

Stevo

[George130]

With the spagetti cable issue. I have learn't with our setup to re wire it all each time I get a new component.
I have now wittled it down to DVD recorder, Austar, LCD screen, AV amp
Wireles router, Media player, games console, 2 1TB HDD and a laptop. Still spagetti junction back there.
I also run multiple inputs so I don't have to use the AV amp all the time.

[stevo68]

Thanks again for the feedback, got it sorted tonight. Printed off the directions from the thread, unplugged all the cables from the STB, wrote down all the references and traced back the cables to either the plasma or AMP. AMP was all good, issue lied with the Plasma. Now unless the old STB worked irrespective, the cable for PR was in another point on the plasma. Changed it over, replugged all in and good as gold :D:D:D. No more horrid tinting on the HD selection, so now have crystal clear pic and the menu capabilities.

Regards

Stevo