Mindbottling DVD Player- won't connect

[HolidayFrenzy]

Let me just say that whomever can come up with a solution to this is going to be my new best friend ever, okay?

My family got a DVD player that is regionless this Christmas. I know, it's nearly February... I have been trying all that time to get it working! I'm frustrated and out about $50 with the different cords and connections I have been buying, and the sender and recipient are tired of waiting for me to figure it out. I am desperate for help and found this forum.

The DVD player is a Sony with a model # DVP-SR320 - to my chagrin the support page is only in Spanish so I am utterly lost there (http://esupport.sony.com/BR/p/model-home.pl?mdl=DVPSR320&LOC=3#/howtoTab). I cannot make heads or tails of it... Really wishing I had paid more attention to the year of Spanish that I learned!

I have already connected the player to a decade+ old television and it worked, so I know it is not defective. It has played region two and one, so the player is not the issue it's my television.

The problem is that the red, yellow, and white cables that leave the back of the DVD player to connect to the TV will not stay in the back panel on the smart TV I am trying to connect it to! They slide out!

I tried other ways to connect it. Given how many connection points are in the back panel I got creative with any cord I could get a hold of. I tried running it through a converter (HDMI to 3RCA Composite AV Converter, someone said that might work so I tried it, no luck) as well, thinking maybe that would help to avoid the connections that slide out, but no luck there either. Seems like no matter what I've tried, it will not connect to the TV! The television is only two years old and it was a pretty cool smartTV when we bought it, so I don't know why it would have a problem.

I'm barely technologically capable to be honest but I'm the best this family's got so they have no other solution. Any help to this Christmas present fiasco would be dearly appreciated because at this point I feel like my mind is trapped, like in a bottle (yeah Will Ferrell!).

[transporterfan]

Seems strange the connectors are not compatible. Have you tried a scart adapter?
I assume the TV has a scart. This one's switchable:

http://www.amazon.com/Docooler-Scart-Composite-S-Video-Adapter/dp/B00FMRWS4W/ref=sr_1_...s=rgb+to+scart

[jagabo]

The problem is that the red, yellow, and white cables that leave the back of the DVD player to connect to the TV will not stay in the back panel on the smart TV I am trying to connect it to! They slide out!

Just pinch (bend) the outer metal part of the connectors so that they grab more tightly onto the sockets.

[HolidayFrenzy]

Never heard of that adapter but I'm eager to try anything that might work, so I've included an image of the back panel on my TV (hope I did it right). Maybe that can help somewhat with the diagnosis, so to speak? The red & white connectors are in the wrong spot, that's just the last place I left them when I last tried messing around with it. They should actually be to the left of the thick gray cord.

I've pinched the metal to make it stay but it does not do much difference. Thanks for trying though. I wish it had worked.

[jagabo]

I've pinched the metal to make it stay but it does not do much difference.

Then pinch them more, with a pair of pliers.

There's one other possibility: I can't tell for sure looking at your picture, but sometimes the plastic shielding around the cable connector prevents it from seating all the way into the socket on the TV. If that's the case you can cut away some of the plastic. Or just get new cables without the plastic shielding over the metal parts of the connector.

plastic shielded:


Unshielded:

[usually_quiet]

Seems strange the connectors are not compatible. Have you tried a scart adapter?
I assume the TV has a scart. This one's switchable:

http://www.amazon.com/Docooler-Scart-Composite-S-Video-Adapter/dp/B00FMRWS4W/ref=sr_1_...s=rgb+to+scart

NY (the OP's location) is probably an abbreviation for New York, in the USA. TVs made for sale in N. America do not have a SCART connector.

[hech54]

Don't most TVs use a 1/8th stereo mini type plug to female RCA?
Both of mine do.

[rickydavao]

I think Jagobo's on to something there. Sounds to me like he's got a cable with the shielded plugs and they're just not seating all the way onto the TVs connectors. I've had that happen to me once or twice in the past, and switching to the unshielded connectors always fixed the problem. It's like the TV plugs are just a bit bigger than standard, and the plastic on the shielded cables don't allow the metal part of the connector to expand properly and fit over the plugs.

[usually_quiet]

Don't most TVs use a 1/8th stereo mini type plug to female RCA?
Both of mine do.

The only connections like that I have seen on a N. American TV are for the PC audio in found next to a VGA input, or TV audio out for headphones.

[jagabo]

It's like the TV plugs are just a bit bigger than standard, and the plastic on the shielded cables don't allow the metal part of the connector to expand properly and fit over the plugs.

I have at least one device where the RCA connectors are recessed into the plastic case, and the hole in the case isn't big enough for the plastic shielding on the cable connector. So the cable can't plug in far enough for the outer part of the RCA connector to contact and grip.

[Nelson37]

It looks like the player has HDMI, and possibly also component connections. I would highly recommend either of these over the single composite connector,
the yellow cable. This is the worst of the possible connection methods.

As for the cable slipping off, I agree with others, the plastic outer covering is likely not allowing the cable to seat firmly.

HDMI or component should give better quality, and probably allow for upscaling and/or progressive display. Composite won't.

[usually_quiet]

It looks like the player has HDMI, and possibly also component connections. I would highly recommend either of these over the single composite connector,
the yellow cable. This is the worst of the possible connection methods.

As for the cable slipping off, I agree with others, the plastic outer covering is likely not allowing the cable to seat firmly.

HDMI or component should give better quality, and probably allow for upscaling and/or progressive display. Composite won't.

I thought the same thing, but when I looked up the specs for the player I found that it had only a composite video connection.

[Edit]You may be right though. I just looked at the specs for the player on a different website because it seems odd that it would have only one video connection and found a listing that mentioned component video, but not composite. It seems strange that the documentation I'm finding is incomplete or contradictory.

[HolidayFrenzy]

Sorry for not responding sooner! I went and got some unshielded cables and tried those over the weekend but to no avail. It never shows up/registers, although it's turned on and running a dvd. I'm so confused why this won't work - is there another way to get those cables connected (like an adapter that'll connect to another plug)?

After following the discussion here I checked my TV and there is input for a composite plug-in - would that kind of thing be the way to go?

[hech54]

Sorry for not responding sooner! I went and got some unshielded cables and tried those over the weekend but to no avail. It never shows up/registers, although it's turned on and running a dvd. I'm so confused why this won't work - is there another way to get those cables connected (like an adapter that'll connect to another plug)?

After following the discussion here I checked my TV and there is input for a composite plug-in - would that kind of thing be the way to go?

We still do not know exactly what kind of connection is on the back of that TV.....nor do we know the make and model of the TV.
No information? - no help. You get guesses.....not answers. Put up a better picture or tell us the make and model # of the TV so we can look it up online. You could be sticking those RCA cables into an AUDIO OUT connection for all we know.

[jagabo]

After following the discussion here I checked my TV and there is input for a composite plug-in - would that kind of thing be the way to go?

Composite is what you've been using -- the yellow RCA cable.

[TBoneit]

Please Post the make and Model of the TV set, Then You can receive the best advice.

Thank You

[HolidayFrenzy]

Sorry I did not realize that was necessary. I figured all smart TVs are pretty much the same. My bad! Not exactly a high tech person (hence coming here).

It's made by Samsung and the model # is UN55D6000SF (if you take out the 'SF' from the end it says that is the 'type' number as well, not sure if that's important). I just took a flashlight to the back of it to get that but there were other numbers there as well so if I got the wrong one I'll try posting others

[Mr.Delusional]

It appears that your missing your "Component Adapters" that should have been included with your Tv. Maybe you misplaced them?

And you might want to read your manual. I hope you haven't damaged the inputs. here's your manual. http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/EM/201103/20110323085318469/%5BUD6000_6050-Z...02Eng-0221.pdf

[usually_quiet]

Yes. Sometimes it pays to keep the quick set up guide, manual, and any accessories provided with TVs or other consumer electronics handy in case they are needed later.

[TBoneit]

Hopefully You can find those cables and as was mentioned haven't damaged anything.

I had a suspicion You were not plugging into the proper ports on the TV.
For future reference The connectors are usually standard, Your TV being one of the exceptions however where they are placed on Electronics, TV sets, BluRay Players, Amplifiers, etc. are up to the maker as there is no standard for location.

Good Luck

[HolidayFrenzy]

Thank you all so much!! I just put in an order for that cable using the name you provided. It'll take a few days. If there was ever one it was lost by the old folks in this house. Doesn't matter though, it was only $10. I'm way too excited to wait for it to ship here, it's like a dance party in my heart just thinking about it.

[orsetto]

As ridiculous as this adapter cable nonsense is, its actually a functional improvement over earlier Samsungs. My 40" LED, along with most other Samsungs, has a combo composite/component set of input jacks that force you to choose either composite or component but not both, limiting you to a single analog source device. This UN55D6000SF will allow two analog input sources if you employ both adapter cables. Although I'd hate to try and replace that component adapter at some future date: five RCA plugs filtered thru a circa-1972 cassette recorder two-prong mini-microphone plug? Good luck finding that in 2017, even from Samsung. Talk about a one-off design...

[HolidayFrenzy]

I love you guys

The piece arrived in the mail today and it all worked! I wish I had filmed my victory dance, it was like 2 months of frustration just evaporated. The DVD started playing and I just spazzed, it was amazing!

THANK YOU GUYS!!!