I am new to the form and there's a lot of great information here. I've been reviewing it to see if there is someone who already had my problem, but I could not find anyone. I have configured my system to accommodate a Samsung VR320 DVD/VCR Recorder Combo, A Mintek DVD Player (so I can copy DVDs), and a Panasonic VCR (so I can copy VCR tapes) as follows:
The incoming cable from the street goes to an Extreme 2 way Splitter. One of the those wires goes to "A" on an AB switch, the other wire from the splitter goes to the RF IN on the DVD Recorder. The "B" wire goes to the "To TV/VCR" on the cable box. If I switch to "A" I can record using the tuner in my television and if I switch to "B" I can record from the cable box. This allows me to record from basic cable without including it in my digital package. The "To TV" on the A/B Switch goes to "Antenna In" on the DVD recorder. The "Antenna Out to TV" from the DVD recorder goes to the Antenna In on the TV. I have Comcast digital cable with a Motorola digital cable box. The cable box only has a yellow/red/white OUT1, it does not have a yellow/red/white OUT2. So I have the yellow/red/white OUT 1 on the cable box going to the yellow/red/white AV IN/2 on the Samsung DVD recorder. This allows me to record on the DVD recorder. The Mintek DVD Player is connected to the DVD recorder with an S-Video connection and audio cables and the VCR recorder is also connected to the DVD recorder with component cables. I have separate groups of component cables going from the DVD recorder to the television set so that I can watch digital cable on television and I can watch the DVD recorder/player on television.
Periodically I get a tiling/picture break-up and going black every five minutes on all channels. If I unplug the box and allow it to update sometimes the problem clears up but only for a couple of days at most and then it starts all over again. I've lost track of how many times the cable guy has been out here over the past year and a half and its driving me crazy. He has replaced all the wiring going from the street into my house and then into my cable box. He also replaced the RadioShack A/B switch with a Comcast owned TVC A/B switch. In addition to these items he has replaced the cable box twice. Despite all the visits the television is continuing to tile and go black. If I unplug the cable box, plug it back in and disconnect everything except just going through the cable box and to the TV, the box updates and everything is fine. The cable guy thinks it might be a feedback problem from the DVD recorder. I'm not sure that's what it is; I'm wondering if it might be that I need an amplifier on the incoming cable before going into the two-way splitter and A/B switch? Any ideas? If you do think an amplifier would solve the problem can you tell me why and which one to get?
Thanks for your reply. If you could please be patient with me;because I am a newbie I may have misused some of the terms that you are familiar with. Let me try to make things more clear. I followed the setup procedure on the manual from my television set on how to connect incoming CATV for people who "subscribe to a cable service in which basic cable channels are unscrambled and premium channels require the use of a converter/descrambler box". The converter/descrambler box is what I am referring to when I say "the cable box". I am using a two-set signal splitter (sometimes called a "two-set-coupler") and an A/B switch box from the cable installer. With the switch in the "A" position I can directly tune any nonscrambled channels on my TV. With the switch in the "B" position I can tune my TV to the output of the converter/descrambler box (Channel 3) and use the box to tune the scrambled channels. There is also another feature on my television I am using. It is the feature that allows you to connect a DVD or VCR player with component video. That is why I am also using the component (yellow, red, white) connections. This is called the "ColorStream" feature on my TV and it enhances the picture quality and performance. There is a special note in the television manual about using this feature that reads as follows:
The ColorStream inputs on this TV are for use with devices that output 480i interfaced signals only. This TV will not accept or display 480p or 720p progressive scan signals or 1080i interfaced high-definition signals. If you connect a high-definition set-top receiver, 480p progressive scan DVD player, or other similar device to the TV's ColorStream inputs you must switch the device's output to 480i interlaced mode first. Failure to do this will cause a poor picture or no picture to display. (I am not using a high-definition cable converter box and I do not think my DVD player or DVD player/recorder has progressive scan).
To answer your second question I have three incoming hookups to my DVD recorder. (1) Antenna-In from the "B" position on the A/B switch. (2) "S" video in with audio component cables from the DVD player and (3) the component video or "ColorStream" AVin coming from the cable converter/descrambler box. I wish I could send you a diagram so that it would be more clear. If you have any more questions about how I am connecting things please let me know and I will do my best to answer them.
One small correction about my last post; when I explained connection (1) going into my DVD recorder it wasn't exactly right. The "Antenna in" hookup on my DVD recorder comes from the middle of the A/B switch that says "out to TV" not the "B" switch that I had previously stated.
What is confusing to me is that in your first post, you mention a splitter. One output you write is going to RF IN on DVD Recorder and one is going to the A/B Switch. This apparently isn't true. Since you now write that the output of the A/B switch is going to the DVD Recorder.
What is happening with that splitter than? Why is it there?
You are right, my first post was incorrect. The first splitter has one cable going to the A/B switch and the other cable going to the RF/IN on the converter/descrambler box. Then the "Out to TV" on the converter/descrambler box goes back to the A/B switch. The "out to TV" on the A/B switch goes into the "Antenna IN" on the DVD recorder. This is what I did to follow the connection diagram on the manual for the TV. I did this so that I could use the A/B switch on "A" to record the unscrambled channels directly from my TV and I could also use the A/B switch on "B" to record the scrambled channels through my converter box.
Thank you for thinking of this; you are wise and know how to figure these things out. I thought I needed and have been using the A/B switch because the Toshiba manual for my TV said I did. But the manual did not say that I could eliminate the A/B switch if I had the AV component cable signal from the cable box OUT to the DVD recorder IN. I re-configured to what you suggested and it works for now; hopefully it will stay that way and the tiling/blackouts won't return. I'm wondering; Could using the A/B switch be responsible for the periodic tiling/blackouts every 5 miutes? and can I still record one channel while watching another?
Hi Folks! I am a new user and have a problem. I have Comcast cable service and have serious "tiling," on several channels as well as on all "On Demand" movies. Does anyone know how to fix a cable service "tiling" problem? Thanks in advance! -George
I just fixed this problem last night on my cable box and for me, it was the crimp connector (F-Connect) that connected to the cable box itself. As strange as it may seem, the connector looked (upon inspection) like it was PERFECT and in-fact, it is. But for some reason, even if it were tightened down well on the cable box, I got tiling issues that seemed to come & go. The issue is that the positive wire in a Coax wire in an F-Connect scenario doesn't seat well in certain circumstances. My fix: I took a new short cable and I put that between the cable box and my main cable with a passive connector between them. The new 'pig-tail' seems to seat perfectly on the cable box and the old main-cable seats well on the passive connector, so everything is good now. Think of it like a headphone jack on your iPod ... tiny variances can make one pair of headphones seat well and make a good strong signal; while another set might not seat perfectly and it can make disturbing noises, crackles, etc. same deal only with your cable.