CABLE HOOKUP help needed! TV + DVD + VCR + 8mm VCR . . . on Digital Home Theatre

HOOKUP help! TV + DVD + VCR + 8mm VCR . . . on Digital Home Theatre

Hi everyone, I just got a new Cyberhome Progressive Scan DVD player
and I would greatly appreciate anyone helping me (a real dummy with
cables) help me get the most out of the HTh (Home Theatre) componentry
I have. I'm sorry this is somewhat long, but it will be a useful post
for others to read who might want similar setups.

BRIEFLY: 10 years ago (almost to the day) when I bought this Sony HTh
one of the greatest advantages was the abundance of jacks vis the
Picture-in-Picture (PIP) features + its Dolby Surround-Sound. That's
important to understand because I've had TWO VCRs hooked to those
jacks up to now, one recording to the other. There are 5 questions I
have —

1) Since there are no "Y/Pb-Cb/Pr-Cr" PROGRESSIVE SCAN jacks on the
back of my TV does this mean that I cannot use this feature of my
((New)) DVD player? I guess I can't complain since I paid $24.99
for it hee hee.

2) Would I add the ((New)) DVD player to my existing setup by the use
of a SPLITTER? a SWITCHBOX? or other? — and who gets split, if the
only two components capable of RECORDING are (still) the two VCRs?

3) Can I (Should I) make use, for the first time, of the S-VIDEO JACK
on my TV by hooking it to the S-Video on my ((New)) DVD player?
Will that produce the sharpest video from the DVDs I play?

4) If I decided to connect the S-Video on my TV to the S-Video on my
((New)) DVD player, would that disrupt the picture from the other
two VCRs which _don't_ have S-Video . . . given that that cable
will, nonetheless, be plugged into the TV? Am I "layering" this
video jack over the other video jack available to the ((New)) DVD
player . . . or does this SUBSTITUTE for its regular video jack,
and I use just the one? How would the presence of an S-Video cable
into my TV affect the other video connections which CANNOT read
an S-Video signal?

5) I don't have an amplifier connected to my HTh because (for my
taste) it's quite loud enough just having connected the TV to its
companion towers. But that's movies — now that I can play my
audio CD's through the ((New)) DVD player, will I be forced to
buy an amplifier to hear anything off of them? Will I have the
same quality of sound with my audio CD's that I do currently with
my TV shows and movies (through my existing setup) — or MUST
I buy an amplifier to hear anything from my audio CD's?

— and, of course, guidance on WHAT-JACK-WHERE and WHAT-ORDER (re
signal strength) to maintain the best recording options, including TV
programs, between the two VCRs?
— — — — — — — — — — — — — —
COMPONENTS SUMMARY:

OPTIMA 8mm STEREO VCR
MITSUBISHI VHS STEREO VCR
((New)) CYBERHOME DVD (Player only) w/S-Video jack
SONY 32" PIP w/S-Video jack
+
DOLBY SURROUND-SOUND Sony Speakers
— — — — — — — — — — — — — —
RECORDING SETUP

I prefer to record (er, things heh) to the 8mm VCR — as opposed to the
VHS — primarily because the little 8mm cassettes are so much smaller
than VHS, are quieter, and are just more pleasant to handle. I have a
ton of movies on my 8mm cassette library, not to mention TV programs.

My TV's PIP is cabled to select from one of _4_ sources, as follows:
TV
INPUT 1 8mm
INPUT 2 (not generally used, these are the jacks on the FRONT of the
TV)
INPUT 3 VHS

Summarized:
VIDEO OUT ("Input 3") on the VHS —> goes to VIDEO IN ("Input 1") on
the 8mm

•^• •^• •^• •^• •^• •^• •^• •^• •^•

I'll conclude there and hope that I've been precise enough <grin>.
Many thanks to anyone who would like to help me get this set up to
make the best use (not perfect, just best) of what I now have.

Angel

Curious Angel

Curious Angel wrote:

> HOOKUP help! TV + DVD + VCR + 8mm VCR . . . on Digital Home Theatre
<snip>
> 1) Since there are no "Y/Pb-Cb/Pr-Cr" PROGRESSIVE SCAN jacks on the
> back of my TV does this mean that I cannot use this feature of my
> ((New)) DVD player? I guess I can't complain since I paid $24.99
> for it hee hee.
>
Yes, you can not utilize this particular feature (not just because of
the jacks, but the TV has to be progressive capable as well).

> 2) Would I add the ((New)) DVD player to my existing setup by the use
> of a SPLITTER? a SWITCHBOX? or other? — and who gets split, if the
> only two components capable of RECORDING are (still) the two VCRs?
>
Use the S-Video jack from the DVD player for superior quality playback
compared to composite (what your VCR's are connected to).
> 3) Can I (Should I) make use, for the first time, of the S-VIDEO JACK
> on my TV by hooking it to the S-Video on my ((New)) DVD player?
> Will that produce the sharpest video from the DVDs I play?
>
Yes, see above.
> 4) If I decided to connect the S-Video on my TV to the S-Video on my
> ((New)) DVD player, would that disrupt the picture from the other
> two VCRs which _don't_ have S-Video . . . given that that cable
> will, nonetheless, be plugged into the TV? Am I "layering" this
> video jack over the other video jack available to the ((New)) DVD
> player . . . or does this SUBSTITUTE for its regular video jack,
> and I use just the one? How would the presence of an S-Video cable
> into my TV affect the other video connections which CANNOT read
> an S-Video signal?
>
Depends on the TV. If your TV only has two Video Inputs (1 Composite
only, 1 S-Video or Composite) you might have to switch between S-Video
and whatever is plugged into the yellow composite jack.
> 5) I don't have an amplifier connected to my HTh because (for my
> taste) it's quite loud enough just having connected the TV to its
> companion towers. But that's movies — now that I can play my
> audio CD's through the ((New)) DVD player, will I be forced to
> buy an amplifier to hear anything off of them? Will I have the
> same quality of sound with my audio CD's that I do currently with
> my TV shows and movies (through my existing setup) — or MUST
> I buy an amplifier to hear anything from my audio CD's?
>
I presume it will ply audio CD's just fine without any additional
devices. If your stereo has digital audio input (either optical or
coaxial), connect the digital audio out of your DVD player to it for
DD5.1 (or possibly DTS) sound.
> — and, of course, guidance on WHAT-JACK-WHERE and WHAT-ORDER (re
> signal strength) to maintain the best recording options, including TV
> programs, between the two VCRs?
> — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
> COMPONENTS SUMMARY:
>
> OPTIMA 8mm STEREO VCR
> MITSUBISHI VHS STEREO VCR
> ((New)) CYBERHOME DVD (Player only) w/S-Video jack
> SONY 32" PIP w/S-Video jack
> +
> DOLBY SURROUND-SOUND Sony Speakers
> — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
> RECORDING SETUP
>
> I prefer to record (er, things heh) to the 8mm VCR — as opposed to the
> VHS — primarily because the little 8mm cassettes are so much smaller
> than VHS, are quieter, and are just more pleasant to handle. I have a
> ton of movies on my 8mm cassette library, not to mention TV programs.
>
> My TV's PIP is cabled to select from one of _4_ sources, as follows:
> TV
> INPUT 1 8mm
> INPUT 2 (not generally used, these are the jacks on the FRONT of the
> TV)
> INPUT 3 VHS
>
> Summarized:
> VIDEO OUT ("Input 3") on the VHS —> goes to VIDEO IN ("Input 1") on
> the 8mm
>
> •^• •^• •^• •^• •^• •^• •^• •^• •^•
>
> I'll conclude there and hope that I've been precise enough <grin>.
> Many thanks to anyone who would like to help me get this set up to
> make the best use (not perfect, just best) of what I now have.
>

Adios,
~Nick

Nicholas Andrade

> 1) Since there are no "Y/Pb-Cb/Pr-Cr" PROGRESSIVE SCAN jacks on the
> back of my TV does this mean that I cannot use this feature of my
> ((New)) DVD player? I guess I can't complain since I paid $24.99
> for it hee hee.

Correct



> 3) Can I (Should I) make use, for the first time, of the S-VIDEO JACK
> on my TV by hooking it to the S-Video on my ((New)) DVD player?
> Will that produce the sharpest video from the DVDs I play?

Yes deffinitly. S-video is only video though, so you will need to use red
and white composite rca cables for the sound still. The s-video would just
replace the yellow composite rca cable.

> 4) If I decided to connect the S-Video on my TV to the S-Video on my
> ((New)) DVD player, would that disrupt the picture from the other
> two VCRs which _don't_ have S-Video . . . given that that cable
> will, nonetheless, be plugged into the TV?

No they should all work together fine. The only exception would be if the
s-video was listed on the same input as one of the composite inputs you are
using for your vcr. For example: video1 has one vcr connected via composite
rca, video2 has one vcr connected via composite rca, video2 also has the
only s-video input.

> 5) I don't have an amplifier connected to my HTh because (for my
> taste) it's quite loud enough just having connected the TV to its
> companion towers. But that's movies - now that I can play my
> audio CD's through the ((New)) DVD player, will I be forced to
> buy an amplifier to hear anything off of them? Will I have the
> same quality of sound with my audio CD's that I do currently with
> my TV shows and movies (through my existing setup) - or MUST
> I buy an amplifier to hear anything from my audio CD's?

Cds played on your dvd player will play on whatever you have the audio lines
hooked up to. Your tv will play them through its speakers if thats what you
want.

I'm not gonna go over your actuall configuration, cause it was a bit
confusing to me. I didn't see on your tv description what input the s-video
is on, but you should be able to plug into that and leave your current
configuration alone.

josh