I can do bikes, and Mac’s but AV stuff just has me flummoxed.

I’ve bought Toby a set-top box for his telly in his room as they’re switching us off Analogue soon. We have a sky thing downstairs.

Right. I plug this set top box into the aeriel off the room, one lead to the ariel socket on the telly, and a scart lead into the back.

There then appears on the telly the sort of blue panel which has various things on it I’m meant to do, except it’s slightly out of focus, to one side, messed and keeps scrolling up the screen and back on the bottom again.

It feels like I need to tune something in, but I can’t find what to tune what in to.

Any pointers?

You should only need the aerial in to the back of the set-top box and a scart out of the back of the set-top box and into the scart ‘in’ on the telly.

And switch to the AV channel. No tuning of the TV required – although the set-top box may need tuning.

I think having the aerial out of the set-top box into the telly is confusing things.

Don’t forget there will no longer be channels on the TV remote (01, 02, 03 etc), they will all come via the set-top remote on the AV channel.

Dodgy scart lead. Try a different one

you only need an aerial cable going into your set top box then the scart lead into the tv.

Are you absolutely sure that you’re looking at the correct AV channel on the TV? Quite often a single Scart socket on a TV can support a couple of different inputs (s-video, composite etc) and each of these has a separate AV channel on the TV. So make sure that you cycle through ALL the AV channels to find the correct one.

what mastiles and then wors said:

wall socket -> AF lead -> set-top box -> scart lead -> TV

TV set to AV input that the scart lead’s plugged into. that’s it.

what wors said:

which was wot I said before wors did!

you must have misread my post!

OK – so I pulled the lead out of the ariel socket of the telly, just leaving the scart lead connected from the STB to the TV. No difference. At all.

It’s like it’s just “off” tune. Gah!

plan b then, read the instructions.

put your scart cable in properly.

wot ourkid sam said. Check the scart lead is seated properly.

Quite often a single Scart socket on a TV can support a couple of different inputs (s-video, composite etc) and each of these has a separate AV channel on the TV.

I think you are overestimating the spec of toby’s telly…

i’ll tell you what brant, i’m up your way this weekend.

i’ll sort it out for you in exchange for that ragley ti frame. deal?

try the set top box on another telly and see if it has the same problem.

try the set top box on another telly and see if it has the same problem.

This is the 2nd set top box, as the one I got yesterday did exactly the same thing.

So it’s clearly me, not the set top box. It’s from Morrisons. Real classy stuff.

setup help

Have you tried a different scart lead?

you must have misread my post!

Sorry! DOH!

Have you used the same lead (as mentioned above) it could be that which is faulty. Or the input socket on the telly has a fault.

Or could you try a DVD player or something(which you know to work) as a process of elimination.

I assume you have definitely got the scart out of the set-top and the scart in on the telly and that you have unplugged the AF output of the set-top?

Just let the boy sort it out.

You don’t get the stress and he’ll probably sort it in two minutes and if not he’s occupied for hours – result either way.

aren’t SCART leads directional? Have you tried it the other way around? Or am I just talking nonsense?

Or am I just talking nonsense?

You are talking nonsense.

Have you tried the suggestion from earlier re: cycling through all the AV inputs via the TV remote?

Other than that …
I suspect a badly fitting Scart plug or a bent pin in one of the ends

Without knowing which TV it is – it it also possible that you need to configure [via the TVs menu] the Scart socket to be composite video [CVBS] or RGB

You are talking nonsense.

Not the first time. 🙁

You are talking nonsense.

No he’s not. Granted not all Scart leads are directional but some are.

Never heard of one directional scart lead in my time – happy to be proved wrong but how could that be unless there were diodes on the lead to stop current running in the other direction??? And why would they do that??? Pardon if my electrical knowledge is useless but I am thinking from memory of science lessons some 28 years ago.

Unless you mean switchable (directional) devices which are very different – they just send the signal to a different destination.

EDIT – there seems to be some that are ‘directional’ in that not all pins are connected so you need to check the output type is correct (ie RGB).

I’ve never seen a directional Scart lead other than a Scart to 3 phonos where you can select whether or not the Scart end is in or out

Still no joy.
I might buy a scart to RF thingy.

Brant did you try the STB on a different telly as wwaswas suggested?

my offer still stands, brant!

Does the scart have a switch on it? Some have a little switch on the side near the pins to change output type.

Brant, I’m half a mile from you and we don’t get freeview till 2011.
Don’t mean to sound daft, but have you checked the coverage?

Any pointers?

Yes
kids are not meant to have a TV in their room…

Don’t mean to sound daft, but have you checked the coverage?

No – that can’t be. Can it? 🙂

whether or not there’s a signal being picked up, though, the menu screens etc. of the box itself should still be clearly visible if the TV’s on the correct AV input.

wot flatboy said – the problem is the comms between the box and the tv – the menu should work regardless of whether there’s a digital signal or not.

does the stb work on another tv or the tv witht he sky box and see what happens.

Good point flatboy

thanks. you got it sorted yet Mr R?

No. [blush]. And. Er. Apparently, I don’t need to do it before 2011, and it doesn’t work on our transmitter yet anyhow.

“I don’t need to do it before 2011”

that’s less than 6 hours you know…

igmc.