connect lidl sarellite system to laptop?

mkennedy

hi.
i have the lidl satellite system and a laptop (with an external analog tv tuner).

i was wondering is there any good way to connect the two to watch tv on my laptop.

the tv tuner has composite and s-video inputs. the satellite receiver has scart output.

what do i need to connect the two? i bought a scart/composite adapter but i keep on losing the picture with this.

is there such a thing as a scart to s-video adapter?
also, i see the satellite receiver has other outputs on it as well, do i need to use one of these outputs instead of the scart?

any help would be great. thanks.

L1011

The Lidl units genrally have S Video outputs. An S Video lead will do fine here.

I don't know if they can output S Video over SCART - it is definately possible but not all units support it. "Convertors" exist for SCART->S Video but they require S Video output on the SCART socket. Maplin stock these.

Richard

MYOB wrote:

The Lidl units genrally have S Video outputs. An S Video lead will do fine here.

I don't know if they can output S Video over SCART - it is definately possible but not all units support it. "Convertors" exist for SCART->S Video but they require S Video output on the SCART socket. Maplin stock these.

If this doesn't work, you can get a SCART to composite converter - these are sometimes marketed at people connecting laptops to their TVs to watch DVDs.

mkennedy

MYOB wrote:

The Lidl units genrally have S Video outputs. An S Video lead will do fine here.

I don't know if they can output S Video over SCART - it is definately possible but not all units support it. "Convertors" exist for SCART->S Video but they require S Video output on the SCART socket. Maplin stock these.

thanks for the reply.
unfortunately i don't have an s-video output on the satellite receiver (i actually have the silvercrest system from lidl from last may).

btw, the other outputs on the back of my satellite receiver are S/PDIF and RS 232. would these be of any use to me?

there's also an IF output on it but i don't think this is any use. also, the scart connections are euroscart if that's any help.

so basically i suppose i want to connect either a scart, S/PDIF or RS232 output to either a composite or s-video input.

anyone with any suggestions.

L1011

The SL-65? That was last year, and I'm using one with an S video lead out SL-65-2 that was in the camping kit however does not even do RGB let alone S video if my memory is correct, would have to ask my dad though - he uses it as a radio.

S/PDIF is digital audio output, RS232 is for software updates. IF output to is to feed an analogue box, Euroscart is just another name for SCART.

If you can borrow a full SCART adapter and an SVideo lead to give it a go, do. Look in the menus to see if theres an SVideo output option for the SCART.

mkennedy

Richard wrote:

If this doesn't work, you can get a SCART to composite converter - these are sometimes marketed at people connecting laptops to their TVs to watch DVDs.

hi.
i have actually tried a scart to composite adaptor. i got a good picture with this initially for a few weeks but for some strange reason more recently the picture keeps on breaking up with it. it seems that any movement at all of the adaptor cable causes the picture to break up.

do you know why this might be?

mkennedy

MYOB wrote:

The SL-65? That was last year, and I'm using one with an S video lead out SL-65-2 that was in the camping kit however does not even do RGB let alone S video if my memory is correct, would have to ask my dad though - he uses it as a radio.

S/PDIF is digital audio output, RS232 is for software updates. IF output to is to feed an analogue box, Euroscart is just another name for SCART.

If you can borrow a full SCART adapter and an SVideo lead to give it a go, do. Look in the menus to see if theres an SVideo output option for the SCART.

sorry did i say last year, i meant last may.
so my receiver is the sl 65-12.

but anyway none of those other outputs are any use, right?

i might try a scart to s-video and s-video cable combination (if that's possible).
thanks.

mkennedy

Richard wrote:

If this doesn't work, you can get a SCART to composite converter - these are sometimes marketed at people connecting laptops to their TVs to watch DVDs.

hi.
i have actually tried a scart to composite adaptor. i got a good picture with this initially for a few weeks but for some strange reason more recently the picture keeps on breaking up with it. it seems that any movement at all of the adaptor cable causes the picture to break up.

do you know why this might be?

zilog_jones

SCART sockets/plugs are often dodgy - make sure you jam them in well

Check the configuration menu and see if the output mode can be changed (composite may be called "CVBS" or just "PAL", s-video may be called "Y/C").

Also, is it one of the receivers with 2 SCART sockets (the Lidl ones from last year were)? If so, it's likely only one output does s-video if it can do it at all.

mkennedy

zilog_jones wrote:

SCART sockets/plugs are often dodgy - make sure you jam them in well

Check the configuration menu and see if the output mode can be changed (composite may be called "CVBS" or just "PAL", s-video may be called "Y/C").

Also, is it one of the receivers with 2 SCART sockets (the Lidl ones from last year were)? If so, it's likely only one output does s-video if it can do it at all.

thanks, i'll check the config menu for that.

yeah, i've got the receiver with 2 scart outputs at the back of it, one labelled tv, the other vcr.

as i mentioned though, the funny thing is when i connected the scart output to the composite input using the scart/composite adaptor originally it worked fine. but increasingly i have to carefully position the adaptor cable to get any picture. its like the more i use the adaptor the more unstable the feed becomes. does that sound like a faulty adapter.

also, would a scart to component adaptor be of any use? or is component totally different to composite?

zilog_jones

WRT the composite cable and adaptor - have you tried shaking around the SCART plug? I often find some of them pretty difficult to go into the socket properly. Don't be afraid of applying force on it! Either that or the adaptor is dodgy.

The term "component" in this sense technically can refer to any method of video transmission that separates the video signals into parts, e.g. s-video, RGB, YPbPr, etc. But usually people don't regard s-video as component, and the yanks generally only use YPbPr component video for analogue TV, so usually it only refers to YPbPr or YCbCr/YUV (digital equivalent).

SCART sockets only output composite and RGB (or occasionally s-video), so you'd need a converter. RGB -> YPbPr converters exist, but they usually cost a lot (€70+). And from what you've said your capture device only has composite and s-video inputs so it'd be no use to you.

mkennedy

zilog_jones wrote:

WRT the composite cable and adaptor - have you tried shaking around the SCART plug? I often find some of them pretty difficult to go into the socket properly. Don't be afraid of applying force on it! Either that or the adaptor is dodgy.

The term "component" in this sense technically can refer to any method of video transmission that separates the video signals into parts, e.g. s-video, RGB, YPbPr, etc. But usually people don't regard s-video as component, and the yanks generally only use YPbPr component video for analogue TV, so usually it only refers to YPbPr or YCbCr/YUV (digital equivalent).

SCART sockets only output composite and RGB (or occasionally s-video), so you'd need a converter. RGB -> YPbPr converters exist, but they usually cost a lot (€70+). And from what you've said your capture device only has composite and s-video inputs so it'd be no use to you.

thanks zilog [cool name btw ].
anyway, i'm fairly sure i've plugged the scart plug in as tightly as possible. i've checked this a few times.

interesting that you think the adaptor cable is dodgy.. so you don't think that degradation of the video feed over time is possible in a properly functioning scart to composite adaptor?

the other stuff you mentioned seemed a bit too technical for me tbh but i probably wouldn't need these anyway these given the inputs and outputs i have available.
btw what is rgb ?

the "component" input i mentioned before was actually an input i saw which seemed physically similar to the composite input (ie 3 separate plugs) on another adaptor i saw in a local store. the guy in the store was wondering to himself if that would be suitable but then said it wouldn't.
anyway, thanks for that.

zilog_jones

Technically it's not a SCART to composite adaptor as such - composite video is outputted through the SCART socket, and the adaptor is just for plugging in RCA (or "phono") cables into the socket, i.e. it is a SCART to RCA adaptor, and is literally just a box with some metal in it.

Since you say any movement causes the picture to break-up, it sounds very likely that either the adaptor's dodgy, or a connection somewhere else alog the line is dodgy. Try plugging something else into your laptop through the composite connection, e.g. VCR, DVD player, camcorder, games console and see what happens with them (if you have them), or even try connecting your TV up to one of these (or the sat receiver) with the same cables if you can.

What do you mean exactly by it degrading over time? Do you mean if it's been left on for a while, or just every time you use it (after plugging in/unplugging)? If it's the latter it's probably just a loose connection getting worse, but if it's the former it could be one of many other things.

RGB is the other common form of video signal sent through SCART plugs - one of the reasons why there's so many pins! (In the case of SCART) It separates video into red, green and blue components with a composite sync line. Most devices that aren't VHS VCRs will output RGB through SCART (if you have a fully wired cable and have set it up right), and it should give better picture quality than anything else analogue (composite, s-video, etc.). However, very few capture devices for PCs have this kind of RGB input.

The component input you saw was probably YPbPr - that's usually done through 3 RCA plugs (red, blue and green colour). With composite video it's only the yellow plug that does the video - the other two are for stereo sound.

mkennedy

Since you say any movement causes the picture to break-up, it sounds very likely that either the adaptor's dodgy, or a connection somewhere else alog the line is dodgy.
Try plugging something else into your laptop through the composite connection, e.g. VCR, DVD player, camcorder, games console and see what happens with them (if you have them), or even try connecting your TV up to one of these (or the sat receiver) with the same cables if you can.

i'll do that. i think i have digital camcorder somewhere that i might be able to hook up to the tv tuner.
and i'll try connecting the sat receiver to a tv with the problematic cable if i can.

What do you mean exactly by it degrading over time? Do you mean if it's been left on for a while, or just every time you use it (after plugging in/unplugging)? If it's the latter it's probably just a loose connection getting worse, but if it's the former it could be one of many other things.

what i mean is after repeated plugging/unplugging of the connector with several uses of it over the past few weeks.
thanks.

watty

If it degrades during use, then it is a performance problem / disk fragmentation issue.

mkennedy

watty wrote:

If it degrades during use, then it is a performance problem / disk fragmentation issue.

interestingly, i bought a new scart to rca (stereo phono and video) connector and it works fine again.