Tune in VCR to Samsung TV

[1974darrenh]

How do I connect my old VCR onto my Samsung UE48NU7100K.

I've got the male to female coax lead. Female plugged into the TV socket on the VCR and the male end plugged into the TV aerial socket of the TV.

[Alwyn]

Don't use the RF cables, connect using the yellow composite video lead and the red and white audio leads from the back of your VCR to the TV. Pics of your TV are unclear, but it looks like on the back, there are RCA sockets for Video-in (and audio).

Once that is done, start your VCR playing, then choose one of the "AV" inputs on the TV. Your video should be visible. You'll be impressed how good it looks, I think.

[orsetto]

If possible, use your phone to take a closeup pic of the connection panel on the TV and post it here for us to examine.

Samsung makes a stupefying number of variations for each TV model series, so the model number alone makes it difficult to help because your specific example could have a completely different set of connections than that shown on common web pics of the model number.

One thing that probably applies to all of them at this point (assuming a recent model sold in the past five years) is what Alwyn said: the aerial connection is not the best way to connect a VCR, and in any case newer TVs disallow it. VCRs are analog devices, modern TV tuners are digital only: even tho you can physically connect an aerial lead between the two, the TV tuner is not capable of decoding the VCR's obsolete analog aerial signal.

Depending on the specific connection panel Samsung installed in your particular TV, there are three possibilities: direct composite connection as Alwyn suggested, composite connection using a special dedicated adapter cable Samsung may or may not have included with the TV, or the TV may have no connections whatsoever capable of taking input from an analog VCR source.

Usually (but not always), the larger Samsungs have a group of five round analog video / audio sockets. The three video sockets are grouped as COMPONENT, labeled Pr (red), Pb (blue) and Y (Green/yellow double color code). You would connect the yellow video lead from your VCR video output to the Samsung Y input (yellow/green label). The two red + white audio output leads of your VCR connect to the AUDIO L (white) + R (red) inputs of your Samsung. If your VCR is so old it doesn't have L + R stereo audio, only a single audio output, connect it to the Samsung L (white) audio input.

Put a tape in the VCR and press Play. Turn on the TV and use the Source menu to cycle thru the AV options until you see the picture from the VCR.

Some Samsung variations do not have the five standard AV sockets: instead they have just one pin socket (resembling the headphone jack on your phone). This requires a Samsung adapter cable with a single pin on one end for the TV, and the five color coded round standard sockets (red, blue, green/yellow, white, red/black) on the other end. Connect your VCR to the five adapter ports as described as above, then plug the adapter pin into the TV input socket.

A few Samsungs are HDMI-only: they have no analog inputs at all, only digital HDMI. Such models have no capability to play a VCR input. Amazon sells various analog video>HDMI adapters, but they tend to be junk that don't work well.

[johns0]

If your tv only has an hdmi input then you have to set the tv co-ax as your input in the mode selector and set your tv to either channel 3 or 4.

[DB83]

That aerial socket on the tv is most likely to be linked to a digital (freeview) tuner unless the tv pre-dates the analogue switch-off

[1974darrenh]

If I go to the TV tuner, it's asks, do I want to install dish or terrestrial, so I choose terrestrial. It the says digital or analogue, so I choose analogue. I then click search while playing a tape in the VCR but it finds nothing.

[johns0]

You have to set the channel to 3 or 4 depending on the vcr.

[DB83]

Methinks Channels 3 and 4 only applied to American vcrs.


UK vcrs transmitted over a frequency range of, if memory serves, channels 60 - 69 UHF. But these numbers mean nothing these days. Depending on location it was not unknown for a local transmitter to relay on the same frequency and then one had to alter the output from a dial at the back of the vcr.


And, as has been noted, unless you have an old CRT tv that accepted these channels the aerial socket will not be compatable with a vcr.

[johns0]

I checked and found that a scart would be needed to plug in the connectors on uk tvs from the vcr so unless you have composite connectors on your tv than you need to get an adaptor as mentioned by orsetto.

[orsetto]

If I go to the TV tuner, it's asks, do I want to install dish or terrestrial, so I choose terrestrial. It the says digital or analogue, so I choose analogue. I then click search while playing a tape in the VCR but it finds nothing.

Its astonishing to hear a TV this recent is still offering to tune analogue terrestrial broadcasts, considering there haven't been any such broadcasts for several years. You could try fiddling with this idea further, but as others have told you this is a really fussy path to take with a modern television. The tuner may indeed offer some analogue capability, but getting it to lock on to a VCR aerial connection is another story. Old analogue-only tuners of glass TVs picked up the VCR aerial signal easily, modern flat screen tuners may have trouble finding it. And if you do somehow get it to function, the picture is gonna be rather poor from a VHS tape using this connection (esp with a large-ish size screen).

Composite is usually a little clearer, but as described previously this connection will depend on whats available at the TV and what sockets your VCR offers. If the VCR only has SCART, you may as well throw your hands up and forget it: SCART to composite output adapters are funky crap that often cause even more frustration. I wouldn't bother with this unless the VCR has the old-style round composite video out jack and similar audio jacks. If you have a large VHS collection, it may be worthwhile to look for a more recent DVD/VHS combo deck that has modern component and/or HDMI connections for modern TVs.

I still use DVD recorders and VCRs quite often, but long ago discovered flat panel HDTVs don't play very well with analog composite connections. Theres almost a night and day difference between analog connection and HDMI: at least the image thru HDMI doesn't make my eyes hurt. So I connect my VCRs to the inputs of my DVD recorders, and the DVD recorder HDMI outputs to the TV (IOW, the DVD recorder converts the VCR analog leads to HDMI signal, which HDTV panels have a much easier time interpreting). Component connection to the HDTV works nearly as well but requires more wires. Composite is the last resort.

[Mr.Delusional]

I believe Orsetto is correct about your television using a specialized plug. I believe it uses a 3.5mm to rca & another 3.5mm for component input. Most likely the same plugs like from this thread from back in 2014 https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/361860-Mindbottling-DVD-Player-won-t-connect#post2298573 post #18. I don't know if they are the exact same ones.

@Orsetto, believe it or not the analog broadcast cutoff was only for full power stations. I recently just found this out. I found this out from a youtube channel I'm subscribed to. There is still at least one analog channel left in New York. But in July the plug is totally pulled. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgAxeluxYkY