Cable to VCR to TV wiring question


  #1  
Old 11-05-05, 04:04 PM
M
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,631
Received 7 Upvotes on 6 Posts
Cable to VCR to TV wiring question

Right now, I have coaxial from cable to VCR to TV.

Is this the best arrangement?

Will it improve if I go from coaxial between cable feed and VCR, then composite video and audio from VCR to TV?

Can I still watch cable this way on TV? I think so right but may be only with VCR player turned on, and may be only with the TV set to channel 3 right?

Will the video quality improve if I watch cable TV this way?

Will the video quality improve if I watch VHS tapes this way?

Thanks,

MC
 
  #2  
Old 11-05-05, 05:23 PM
J
Member
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: welland ontario
Posts: 8,038
Received 515 Upvotes on 420 Posts
I would split the cable and feed the VCR and TV separately.
Then use the AV outputs from the VCR to the the TV AV inputs.
 
  #3  
Old 11-05-05, 06:21 PM
M
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,631
Received 7 Upvotes on 6 Posts
Joed:

I was told that the coaxial signal should be only splitted once. In other words, if I need to split it into 4 I need to do it in one place. Right now in the attic I have a 1->4 splitter feeding the kitchen, the master BR, the living room and the den. The new TV is in the master BR. If I split it there it will be splitting a signal that was already splitted. Will this cause too much degradation?

Another option is to exchange the 1->4 splitter with a 1->6 one and run another line. Will be quite a bit more work for me so I would like to know if it's worth the effort.

Thanks,

MC
 
  #4  
Old 11-06-05, 01:18 AM
B
Member
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: United States
Posts: 2,484
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Is there a cable box? If yes, use the best video cables supported by both the cable box and the vcr. This is usually composite (yellow-coded).

If no cable box, run coax from wall to vcr, then composite to tv. No need to split the signal unless you want to be able to watch one channel while taping another. The vcr does not need to be on to watch cable. VCRs have a built-in tuner. When on and set to "vcr" you will use the vcr's tuner to change the channels. If the vcr is off or set to "tv", you bypass the vcr's tuner and use the tv tuner to change the channels.

Video quality should improve. Composite provides a better signal. Part of the equation is the quality of the tape and the recording.
 
  #5  
Old 11-06-05, 07:11 AM
J
Member
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: welland ontario
Posts: 8,038
Received 515 Upvotes on 420 Posts
Splitting cable signal once is best. However for your setup I don't think you will have a problem. You will know right away as soon as you hook up the TV and VCR.
 
  #6  
Old 11-06-05, 06:46 PM
OpsShark
Visiting Guest
Posts: n/a
your in luck i happen to be a.........CABLE GUY. the best setup would be if you have the colored plugs from the vcr to the tv and the cable tv pluged in to the tv's coaxial post that way there is no db lose. oh and its best not to split any cable but if u have to try to only split with a 2 way. most drops from the service tap at the road start with a db level of around 15 to 20 some lower in different areas, so u got 15 running in on 1 line then u split it with a 2-way thats a loss of 3.5 db now u have 2 lines running at 12.5 u split them agian with another 2 way thats another 3.5 db loss, as u can tell the db loss would be pretty bad the more splitters u have. oh and for a tidbit splitters have different db loss ratings, generally 2-ways are 3.5, 3-ways are 5.5, 4-ways are 7.5, so u have to know what u start out with to start splitting lines really. hope this helps
 
  #7  
Old 11-07-05, 08:10 PM
M
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,631
Received 7 Upvotes on 6 Posts
Thanks but what choices do I have if I have to feed four TVs? I have to split it into 4. So given that is there any suggestion? Should I get a signal booster before the split? If so what kind is good? Also is there a good quality splitter that may minimize the loss?

MC
 
  #8  
Old 11-08-05, 10:44 AM
J
Member
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: welland ontario
Posts: 8,038
Received 515 Upvotes on 420 Posts
Just try my original suggestion. If it doesn't work then you can look at getting an amp. I think it will work just fine.
 
  #9  
Old 11-08-05, 08:31 PM
M
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,631
Received 7 Upvotes on 6 Posts
Thanks Joed I will try that.

MC
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description: