Connecting DVD, PS2, Gamecube, VCR to my TV...

[mojo2185]

Ok, I think I just purchased some B.S. from Best Buy. This "System Selector" is supposed to allow you to plug in all of your stuff to this "selector", and when you select your system, thats what shows up on the TV. The selector has five S-Video and RCA inputs (for 5 different systems) and one S-Video and RCA output that goes to the TV. Basically the connections go like so:

System1 ]
System2 ]
System3 ]----[selector]----{TV}
System4 ]
System5 ]

Here's where I get a problem. One of the connections is S-Video (DVD player), the others (vcr, ps2, gamecube) use the standard Yellow RCA cord. When its all hooked up, only the systems with S-Video will show up on the TV. So, when DVD is selected, everything is fine. There is picture, and audio. When VCR, PS2, Gamecube is selected, there is audio but no video. The only way to solve this (at least that I've found) is to unplug the S-Video from the back of the TV, then the Yellow RCA using devices will be displayed fine with video and audio... but then the DVD won't show up. Switching the cords behind the TV kind of defeats the purpose of this "system selector" which claims to work with "EVERY TV!". I know this is a little confusing, so I'll try to re-explain if necessary. If anyone has a fix for this, please let me know! I tried the "tech support" at the product website.... but my gut feeling tells me I won't get much help from them.

I didn't know exactly which forum this falls under, so I put it here (there is a DVD Player involved). Sorry if it's in the wrong place.

Thanks

[philly33flyers]

by default your tv automatically chooses the best format (in this case s-video). so on you TV if you only have 1 input. you should only connect one video source (the yellow composite cable, or the the svideo cable) if you connect both, then the TV automatically defaults to svideo since it's the source with better quality. A way around this is if you have more than 1 input on your tv you can hook up your svideo source to input 1 and your compsite sources to input 2 using your a/v switcher for that. get it? if not let me know and i'll try to explain it in a less confusing way.

[FulciLives]

Most selector boxes will not convert composite video (the RCA yellow jack) to S-Video or vice-versa.

Most do not do this. Some do.

Your selector does not.

So ...

The TV in question I am guessing has more than one input. So buy one selector for composite video only and hook it up to input 1 and then buy another selector for S-video only and hook it up to input 2 on the TV.

Also note that often times the input that has S-video also has a composite video input but that one input can only use one or the other.

So you have to have 2 FULL inputs. Only one needs to support S-video.

It sounds like the only S-video device you have is the DVD player so hook it up to the S-video input and hook everything else up via the selector to your second composite video input.

If you TV only has one real input (that shares composite and S-video) then you will have to buy a selector that will convert composite input to S-video output.

Either that or only use the composite video of the DVD player.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[mojo2185]

Yeah, you guys seem to have hit it right on the head.
My TV has only 1 input, and that input has a S-Video and a Yellow cord input as well. By default it selects the S-Video (as you guys mentioned). Ideally, I would like to keep my S-Video for DVD, so it looks like i need a separate converter (right?) for my composite video cord. How/where does this hook in for my setup? I'll try to talk this through... see if this is right:

{Systems} to [selector], [selector] splits to /S-Vid/ and /Composite vid/. /Composite vid/ to [converter] (which converts composite to S-Vid), join S-Vid and "converted S-Vid" into one cable, plug into single S-Vid input on TV.


This make sense? Where can i find that "composite to S-video converter"? Last question is, how do i join the S-Video and the "converted S-Video" into one cable to plug into my one svideo tv input? Is this done using a Y cable of some sort that will join the two into one cable?

Thanks guys, its starting to make sense.

[philly33flyers]

the best way to do it is just use composite all around. if you go with 2 switchers like FulciLives says then in the end your signal is still going to be composite because you'll be going from svideo on switcher one to svideo in on switcher 2 to composite out to the tv. if you get an adapter that converts to composite you're still only getting composite quality. so the only way around this is to keep unplugging the cables in the back and leave svideo in on your switcher. or just give in and use composite all around.

[mojo2185]

But isn't there a way to take a composite and turn it into a s-video? I realize the quality won't get any better, it'll still be at composite quality, but atleast it will "fit" into a svideo input. That way, I will just have to "join" both the converted composite and the original S-Video into one cable (using a Y cable, i'm guessing) and plug it in. Thus, not losing any quality on the original S-Video output (unless some quality is lost at the Y cable).
This possible?

[FulciLives]

Yes it does suck that your TV only has ONE TRUE INPUT that shares composite and S-video.

In this case the easiest thing to do would be to just use the composite out of the DVD player and forget S-video.

The only simple solution would be to get a selector box that will output ANY input through the S-video.

There are selector boxes that do this but most are expensive.

The cheapest one I can think of is around $100

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[mojo2185]

Yes it does suck that your TV only has ONE TRUE INPUT that shares composite and S-video.
In this case the easiest thing to do would be to just use the composite out of the DVD player
The only simple solution would be to get a selector box that will output ANY input through the S-video.r and forget S-video.
The cheapest one I can think of is around $100

Nuts, thats not good for business...