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Post by mrsphyllistorgo on May 21, 2011 14:21:32 GMT -5
Last week, my trusty old workhorse of a Magnavox TV committed abrupt and irreversable seppuku. We bought a new one online, had it delivered, and all should be well, right?
Noooot quite.
See, our new, factory-refurbished Coby tv will not talk to my ancient, 6.99 Value Village purchased VCR. The tech's just not compatible. And I have some episodes that I still possess only on tape.
The obvious solution is to get DVDs of the episodes, but they're all older Rhino ones (Eegah, I Accuse My Parents, Atomic Brain...) that are quite costly, and I just cannot afford to replace more than one or two of them.
So, has anyone had any luck getting a snotty new TV to talk to an old workhorse of a VCR? If so, please let me know some tricks!
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Post by Skyroniter on May 21, 2011 16:29:54 GMT -5
Are you unable to physically connect the VCR to the TV? If it only has RCA out there are adapters you can buy.
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Post by Afgncaap5 on May 21, 2011 19:03:38 GMT -5
Yeah, before we can diagnose we need to know what kind of output the VCR has and what kind of input the TV has.
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Post by Mitchell on May 25, 2011 21:43:06 GMT -5
Yeah, without knowing the input and outputs it's tough to make a call on this. I'm assuming your VCR has only a coax jack on the back. It is a threaded barrel about 3/8 inch in diameter filled with a nylon insulator and a pinhole for a wire to fit into it. I'm further assuming the TV is a bit more modern and only has RCA component jacks. Those are about 1/4 inch in diameter, not threaded and with a much larger hole in the middle. These are color coded, usually red and white for stereo and yellow for video. If that's the case, you probably need something called an RF modulator. This is what one looks like. You may be able to find one at a thrift store, craigslist, or garage sale cheap.  BUT you're probably better off going to a thrift store and getting a VCR there that has jacks that your TV will accept. It'll probably be cheaper and less hassle in the long run. |
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Post by siamesesin on May 26, 2011 8:04:35 GMT -5
VCRs are pretty cheap these days. Even one that can handle the new tv won't set you back much. Heck, you can get a vcr/dvd combo player for about $100.
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Post by mrsphyllistorgo on May 26, 2011 16:38:10 GMT -5
Okay, here's the setup.
Coby TFT LCD widescreen television
Samsung DVD player
Panasonic VCR
Radioshack signal booster.
How they're set up:
Gold/brass cable connects TV to VCR.
Silver ended cable connects TV to signal booster.
3 color plugs (yellow white red) connects DVD to booster.
Booster connected to Xfinity TV cable box.
Cable connected to cable box.
The VCR has 2 cable connectors, both in use in this setup, and nothing else.
I went to Radio Shack yesterday, and the guy suggested unplugging the DVD player, saying the TV might be trying to sort out the two signals. I tried that, but it didn't work.
So it looks like it's a new VCR for me--secondhand. What kind of connections should I be looking for?
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Post by Skyroniter on May 26, 2011 18:39:20 GMT -5
Too tired to sort out the cables now but I've had good luck with a used VCR on eBay. Paid $80 for one that retailed for $2,500 back in the day. Damn thing weighs a ton and works like a champ. VCRs these days are disposable.
Why do you need the booster?
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Post by BJ on May 26, 2011 19:02:22 GMT -5
Like Mitchell said, this is tough to diagnose online, but there's a couple things I can think of right now.
1. The VCR cables are switched, with the VCR out not going to the TV in.
2. The TV isn't set to the correct channel or input setting.
These may sound obvious, almost to the point of "is it plugged in?", but it'll help everyone else troubleshoot if we know the simple stuff is ok. I really can't think of any reason why a functioning vcr wouldn't work on your tv.
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Post by mrsphyllistorgo on May 26, 2011 22:02:15 GMT -5
Why do you need the booster?
I actually got it when we got our new DVD player. My old TV kept showing a really bleached out picture until I got the booster. The new ones are more compatible but we've kept everything connected the way it was before since except for the VCR it works fine. God, I hate the whole Twister aspect of trying to get your equipment to speak to each other.
All the equipment is set for channel 3, including the cable box.
I tried switching the wires between VCR and TV (gold connectors) and VCR and Booster (silver) but it didn't seem to help.
Sigh.....
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Post by Frameous on May 26, 2011 22:44:03 GMT -5
Holy buckets this thread makes me want to scream. Best of luck.
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Post by Mitchell on May 27, 2011 4:44:06 GMT -5
The cables aren't going to help us. We need to know the type of plugs the cables go into on the back of the TV and VCR. Photos might be best.
But if I read your post correctly, you have RCA Component jacks on the TV (yellow/red/white) but only Coax (black, somewhat thick cable) out of the VCR.
You'll either need the RF modulator, above, or a VCR with component jacks. As a last thought, have you tried running the Cable cable from the wall to the VCR, then out from the VCR to the cable box?
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Post by mrsphyllistorgo on Jun 2, 2011 12:55:25 GMT -5
Well, I tried a new (used) VCR with component jacks, but nothing. I may try the RF modulator but I'll have to wait as rent is due.
But it looks like it's DVDs from Rhino and Sky for me. I know it's just as well since the tapes were coming to the end of their lives anyway, but man, what a pain.
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Post by mylungswereaching on Jun 3, 2011 23:07:22 GMT -5
So your coax cable screws on the TV and on the TV connection on the back of the VCR.
Make sure the TV and the VCR are switched to 3. There may be a switch on the VCR that says 3,4. You can try 4 if 3 doesn't work.
Try attaching the vcr to the tv, start playing a tape and then run the find channels section on your TV. The VCR is putting out an analog signal and if your local cable only has a digital signal for channel 3 the TV would not have found analog 3 on it original search because the vcr wasn't sending it an analog signal at the time.
Analog 3 and digital 3 are two different channels.
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Post by mrsphyllistorgo on Jun 4, 2011 10:01:58 GMT -5
Excellent advice! I'll have to figure out how to do that running the find channels thing, but I'll give it a go. Also, a freind may be coming to town next week who's gifted in hearing technology's little voices, so he may be able to take a look.
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Post by mylungswereaching on Jun 4, 2011 13:42:07 GMT -5
Let me know if it works. I had to do that with a couple of new digital TVs over the last few months. Sometimes, you've got to run the find new channels a few times to pick up all of the channels, especially if their coming from different sources, like cable, over the air for channels your local cable company doesn't pick up and vcrs.
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