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Connecting it all up

Why are there so many sorts of connecting cables? Find out with this quick guide.

Why are there so many sorts of connecting cables?  Find out wit
published on UK Free TV

Why are there so many sorts of connecting cables? Find out with this quick guide.

The connectors on each cable are called plugs (and are also called male) and they will usually fit only into one sort of socket (or female connector).

Most cables you will come across are male to male. Occasionally you will find leads with a socket on one end and a plug on the other, and these are called "extension cables".

SCART



The SCART cable is used to connect a set-top box to a television set, or to a video recorder. This can only be a short cable. The SCART cable carries all of these types of signal:

  • analogue stereo sound
  • a single RGB television picture
  • a single composite video picture
  • a single S-Video video picture
  • widescreen picture signal


As stereo sound, RGB picture and widescreen signal is the best possible combination for digital television viewing, it is vital to use a SCART lead between any set-top box and the main television.

The composite video picture with stereo sound is the best combination for a VHS video recorder. If your set-top box has two SCART sockets, it is likely that the one marked TV will carry RGB picture information and the other will not.

If your television has more than one SCART input, you may need to choose a special one (marked RGB) if you want to use RGB from the SCART cable.

On most set-top boxes it is possible to turn the RGB output on and off. This can be used to test the RGB input function on the television ? the picture quality appears blurred when it is disabled.

If have a DVD player, rather than a VHS recorder, you can attach this to the set-top boxes second SCART connector. The signal from the set-top box will normally be overridden by the DVD player when it is on, usually in high-quality RGB.

Some very cheap SCART cables do not have all the pins connected. They may not provide RGB and widescreen picture signals. SCART cables are normally no more than three metres in length.

UHF lead



The UHF lead is a lead that you would traditionally associate with television signals. They can carry:

  • up to 45 (but normally only five) analogue television channels
  • a single picture from a set-top box
  • around 50 analogue cable TV channels
  • mono sound
  • NICAM stereo sound
  • Teletext services (for example, Ceefax)


You can't avoid these cables if you are going to use Freeview, as these cables are the only ones that you can use to distribute Freeview signals around the house.

Where you have an integrated digital television (an idTV) you just need to get the signal from the aerial to the television with one of these cables.

If you are using a Freeview set-top box, you will need to get the signal from the aerial to the set-top box using this aerial lead, but for best results connect the TV to the box with a SCART cable.

You can also use a UHF lead to connect a set-top box to a television somewhere in the house. Your set-top box will require a RF (radio frequency) modulator. Note that "RF passthough" is another way of saying there is no modulator. You will be able to "tune" the second television into the picture showing on the set-top box.

Some boxes (all Sky boxes) have the ability to connect a remote control receiver to the second TV end of the interconnecting cable, so you can change channels.

The set-top boxes, whilst providing a reasonable quality picture to the second TV, will always provide only mono sound via a UHF lead.

The step-change in picture quality obtained by switching to RGB on a SCART is far greater than any obtained though spending any more on a gold-plated SCART cable.

Satellite or cable TV cable



These cables are usually very stiff, and have a very basic screw connector on the end. Usually they will provide an unbroken link to the satellite dish. At the dish end they plug into the device on the end of the arm, the LNB.

Don't try to disconnect these cables when the set-top box is on. Usually there is a small voltage that will cause dangerous sparks.

If the cable connects to a satellite dish, there is not much you can do with the cable. Each receiver in the set-top box needs it's own wire to the LNB. With a personal video recorder (such as Sky+), or a multi-room installations there are two cables to the four-output LNB on the dish. If you want more rooms, each will require it's own cable.

If the cable is providing cable TV, then it is possible to use inexpensive "Y connectors" to link the incoming signal to various set-top boxes, cable modems, or - via an adaptor - directly to the back of a TV.

Composite video cable



This is the most simple and basic video connection you can get. It carries:

  • a single picture from a set-top box


The picture will be in colour, and of comparable quality to a analogue broadcast station. However, there is no sound. For that reason this cable is often found joined to a stereo audio cable.

These signals are quite robust and can be carried for many metres. Often modern television sets have a single yellow photo input on their front input panel.

You also use an identical cable to carry digital stereo (SPDIF) sound.

Stereo audio cable





These cables carry the left and right channels of sound on two joined cables. They are usually required when a SCART cable is not being used, as the SCART cable already carries stereo sound.

If you are connecting your set-top box to an external stereo system, a separate stereo audio is used.

There is no real practicable limit to the length of these cables, but excessive length will degrade the quality of the signal.

S-video cable



The S-video standard is not well supported by most UK digital TV boxes, and very few have a S-video socket. If you need one for a particular analogue camcorder, use it, but avoid S-video with digital television. If you are using what appears to be a monochrome picture from a SCART lead, it will certainly by an incomplete S-Video signal and you should change to the RGB input.

VGA cable



This is the cable you will use to connect a computer to a old style monitor, and some modern LCD screen too. Most modern LCD TVs will have a VGA input too.

If you want to connect a set-top box to a LCD monitor, you can buy a conversion box from around 60. However this will not result in a better picture than using an existing SCART socket if there is one.

The only way to get higher than normal television resolution is to use a VGA in conjunction with a personal computer or modern games console.

DVI cable



If you want to get the very best out of a television or monitor use a digital video interconnect (DVI) cable.

This will be the only way for most televisions and monitors to receive high-definition pictures from a computer, and some set-top boxes.

If you can use either a VGA cable or a DVI cable, choose the DVI option.

HDMI cable



If you want to get the very best out of a television use a HDMI cable.

This will be the only way for most televisions to receive high-definition pictures from set-top boxes.

Help with Television sets?
Why are all TVs on sale not digital?1
Do I still have to pay for a TV licence?2
I had perfect channel 5 reception - until I got a digital TV box!3
I Have a Pocket Tv For taking out so I can keep up with news and sport. Will thi4
The pictures from my digital box are all green!5
In this section
Loft aerials1
Do I need to buy a booster?2
How to receive Freeview on your PC3
Indoor aerials4
Whole house digital TV5
Now and Next6

Comments
Saturday, 7 January 2012
K
kath
10:49 PM
Buxton

kath: the ROSS system may not be Freesat, it is definatly SD


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kath's 6 posts GB flag
kath's: mapK's Freeview map terrainK's terrain plot wavesK's frequency data K's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:51 PM

kath: My suspicion here (can one of the experts on here confirm whether I might be barking up the right tree here?) is that the Ross box doesn't put the signal on the scart lead using RGB and that the Hitachi TV only receives RGB on the scart (not composite video).

If this is the case, then you could probably feed the output of the Ross box composite video from its scart socket to the phono inputs on the side of the TV (using a suitable lead).

The manual for the Ross set-top box is here:

http://www.ross.co.uk/res….pdf

Specification for the Hitachi TV and a link to the manual is here:

English : Hitachi Digital Media Group

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Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:08 PM

kath: I've looked again at the manual for the Ross and I see that the rear panel has phono sockets for the output (composite and left and right sound). There is no scart out.

Furthermore, the instructions say that there is a scart adaptor supplied to allow you to connect the box to a TV which has a scart socket. I guess that you're using it.

Remove the scart adaptor and plug the three phono plugs into the three phono sockets on the side of the TV. If you refer to page 8 of the Hitachi's manual, you will see the connectors on the side. Number 4 is the composite video input (yellow) and below it is left and right sound. It is these connectors that you need to feed in the video and sound from the Ross box.

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Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
K
kath
11:22 PM
Buxton

kath: tried that, putting them in at side and trying ALL source, aerial , scart, video/side AV etc but it wouldnt pick up. page 16/17 seem to be about these connections, will play tommorow. TV comes with a 3-1 connector, 1 is green, the 3 are blue/green/red would this be used ?

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kath's 6 posts GB flag
kath's: mapK's Freeview map terrainK's terrain plot wavesK's frequency data K's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:34 PM

kath: No, green, blue and red (probably marked Y, PB/CB and PR/CR, respectively) are a different type of input known as Component Video.

The ones you want, according to the diagram shown in the manual are below the component ones. Below them is a USB socket and below those are the ones you want.

The top one should be yellow, then white and then red. These are the three connectors that you should put the lead from the Ross into.

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Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Sunday, 8 January 2012
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

9:04 AM

kath: I think the issue is getting over complicated as basically what Dave Lindsay had said right from the start is correct.

The point is, that if you connected the Ross box up to your old TV via a scart then you "must" have been using the A/V lead supplied with the box plugged into the scart adaptor, then it (the adaptor) was connected into the old TV.

The problem with using an adaptor on these type of leads being that a TV (any) will not automatically switch to its scart input as leads of that type have no auto-switching connection, this meaning that you "must" have had to press the A/V button on your old TV's remote control to be able to view the Ross box as it would not switch to it itself.

What you require to do is have everything connected "exactly" as you did with your old TV, then as was said by DL, press the "source" button (under options at top of remote) until you see the Ross boxes menu shown.

When you had originally tried to get it to work and seen "no signal" on the screen this could have been due to either (1) the Ross box connected perfectly OK but not receiving any signal from its dish, or (2) the Hitachi scart input not having been selected properly whereby it (the Hitachi) was indicating that it was not receiving a signal via its aerial, depending on what channel it was sitting on.

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

9:11 AM

kath: Although its rather obvious, but just to clarify, when I said press the "source" button I am referring to on the Hitachi's remote control.

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
K
kath
3:10 PM
Buxton

kath: hi guys, tried again. i have now connected the Ross box to the TV - using the scart adapter, when i put tv onto source and SCART it pick up from the Ross dish, and works using Ross remote control. the tv remote doesnt work channel change etc. If i reconnected the old aerial would that work EPG / channel change etc ? is it possible to have them both connected and change from aerial to dish by using the SOURCE button on the tv remote

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kath's 6 posts GB flag
kath's: mapK's Freeview map terrainK's terrain plot wavesK's frequency data K's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

4:50 PM

kath: Basically yes! as you have to adopt the attitude that you have two totally different systems with the only link between them being a scart connection, so when you selected the Ross sat box via the source button the TV is just acting like a monitor with the only thing you can control as far as the Ross box is concerned being its volume, with everything else concerning satellite reception having to be controlled via the Ross boxes own remote control.

On the other hand when you press the source button on the Hitachi again you can de-select the Ross box whereby the Hitachi will respond as though the Ross box wasn't there, and you can then view Freeview or anything else, so just couple your Freeview aerial back in again.

By the way, when on the Ross box I would leave its volume permanently advanced to about 80% and control the volume using the Hitachi's remote control.

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
K
kath
6:57 PM
Buxton

thank you for all your assistance, the system seems to be working, not how i would have envisaged it doing but it is working thanks Kath

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kath's 6 posts GB flag
kath's: mapK's Freeview map terrainK's terrain plot wavesK's frequency data K's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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