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Connecting it all up

Why are there so many sorts of connecting cables? Find out with this quick guide.

Why are there so many sorts of connecting cables?  Find out wit
published on UK Free TV

Why are there so many sorts of connecting cables? Find out with this quick guide.

The connectors on each cable are called plugs (and are also called male) and they will usually fit only into one sort of socket (or female connector).

Most cables you will come across are male to male. Occasionally you will find leads with a socket on one end and a plug on the other, and these are called "extension cables".

SCART



The SCART cable is used to connect a set-top box to a television set, or to a video recorder. This can only be a short cable. The SCART cable carries all of these types of signal:

  • analogue stereo sound
  • a single RGB television picture
  • a single composite video picture
  • a single S-Video video picture
  • widescreen picture signal


As stereo sound, RGB picture and widescreen signal is the best possible combination for digital television viewing, it is vital to use a SCART lead between any set-top box and the main television.

The composite video picture with stereo sound is the best combination for a VHS video recorder. If your set-top box has two SCART sockets, it is likely that the one marked TV will carry RGB picture information and the other will not.

If your television has more than one SCART input, you may need to choose a special one (marked RGB) if you want to use RGB from the SCART cable.

On most set-top boxes it is possible to turn the RGB output on and off. This can be used to test the RGB input function on the television ? the picture quality appears blurred when it is disabled.

If have a DVD player, rather than a VHS recorder, you can attach this to the set-top boxes second SCART connector. The signal from the set-top box will normally be overridden by the DVD player when it is on, usually in high-quality RGB.

Some very cheap SCART cables do not have all the pins connected. They may not provide RGB and widescreen picture signals. SCART cables are normally no more than three metres in length.

UHF lead



The UHF lead is a lead that you would traditionally associate with television signals. They can carry:

  • up to 45 (but normally only five) analogue television channels
  • a single picture from a set-top box
  • around 50 analogue cable TV channels
  • mono sound
  • NICAM stereo sound
  • Teletext services (for example, Ceefax)


You can't avoid these cables if you are going to use Freeview, as these cables are the only ones that you can use to distribute Freeview signals around the house.

Where you have an integrated digital television (an idTV) you just need to get the signal from the aerial to the television with one of these cables.

If you are using a Freeview set-top box, you will need to get the signal from the aerial to the set-top box using this aerial lead, but for best results connect the TV to the box with a SCART cable.

You can also use a UHF lead to connect a set-top box to a television somewhere in the house. Your set-top box will require a RF (radio frequency) modulator. Note that "RF passthough" is another way of saying there is no modulator. You will be able to "tune" the second television into the picture showing on the set-top box.

Some boxes (all Sky boxes) have the ability to connect a remote control receiver to the second TV end of the interconnecting cable, so you can change channels.

The set-top boxes, whilst providing a reasonable quality picture to the second TV, will always provide only mono sound via a UHF lead.

The step-change in picture quality obtained by switching to RGB on a SCART is far greater than any obtained though spending any more on a gold-plated SCART cable.

Satellite or cable TV cable



These cables are usually very stiff, and have a very basic screw connector on the end. Usually they will provide an unbroken link to the satellite dish. At the dish end they plug into the device on the end of the arm, the LNB.

Don't try to disconnect these cables when the set-top box is on. Usually there is a small voltage that will cause dangerous sparks.

If the cable connects to a satellite dish, there is not much you can do with the cable. Each receiver in the set-top box needs it's own wire to the LNB. With a personal video recorder (such as Sky+), or a multi-room installations there are two cables to the four-output LNB on the dish. If you want more rooms, each will require it's own cable.

If the cable is providing cable TV, then it is possible to use inexpensive "Y connectors" to link the incoming signal to various set-top boxes, cable modems, or - via an adaptor - directly to the back of a TV.

Composite video cable



This is the most simple and basic video connection you can get. It carries:

  • a single picture from a set-top box


The picture will be in colour, and of comparable quality to a analogue broadcast station. However, there is no sound. For that reason this cable is often found joined to a stereo audio cable.

These signals are quite robust and can be carried for many metres. Often modern television sets have a single yellow photo input on their front input panel.

You also use an identical cable to carry digital stereo (SPDIF) sound.

Stereo audio cable





These cables carry the left and right channels of sound on two joined cables. They are usually required when a SCART cable is not being used, as the SCART cable already carries stereo sound.

If you are connecting your set-top box to an external stereo system, a separate stereo audio is used.

There is no real practicable limit to the length of these cables, but excessive length will degrade the quality of the signal.

S-video cable



The S-video standard is not well supported by most UK digital TV boxes, and very few have a S-video socket. If you need one for a particular analogue camcorder, use it, but avoid S-video with digital television. If you are using what appears to be a monochrome picture from a SCART lead, it will certainly by an incomplete S-Video signal and you should change to the RGB input.

VGA cable



This is the cable you will use to connect a computer to a old style monitor, and some modern LCD screen too. Most modern LCD TVs will have a VGA input too.

If you want to connect a set-top box to a LCD monitor, you can buy a conversion box from around 60. However this will not result in a better picture than using an existing SCART socket if there is one.

The only way to get higher than normal television resolution is to use a VGA in conjunction with a personal computer or modern games console.

DVI cable



If you want to get the very best out of a television or monitor use a digital video interconnect (DVI) cable.

This will be the only way for most televisions and monitors to receive high-definition pictures from a computer, and some set-top boxes.

If you can use either a VGA cable or a DVI cable, choose the DVI option.

HDMI cable



If you want to get the very best out of a television use a HDMI cable.

This will be the only way for most televisions to receive high-definition pictures from set-top boxes.

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Comments
Friday, 7 December 2012
G
Geoff Stone
8:25 PM

Can I replace my Sky+ box with a Freeview+ box and still receive a signal from my satelite dish.
I know Freesat will work but Freeview boxes are cheaper.

link to this comment
Geoff Stone's 1 post GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:44 PM

Geoff Stone: No.

Freeview uses a terrestrial aerial and Freesat uses a satellite dish.

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
V
vance
9:09 PM

HELP!im 68 witha bit of patience left in me. paid everthing up front for tv, installationandwarrantyfrom a sony centreshop in Lichfield.
have sony KDL-32W5810 freesat tv.5yr warranty
with sony contractors (birmingham spaeciised services)problems since feb2012 unable to get freesat.
engineer have been,put new main board.new dish (paid£69)and new lnb in march2012. still keep loosng signal. engineeer says need a new dish again will have to pay for it.nearly 12 monthsto sort out.
also have a panasonic freesat twin recorder connected to the same dish.that works perfectly.

link to this comment
vance's 1 post GB flag
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

12:22 AM

vance: What I cant quite understand is, if you have a Panasonic dual tuner Freesat recorder that you report as working perfectly OK then why was a new dish fitted? as the fault was obviously with either the TV or the feed from the dish to it.

Also, as you are using three of the four outlets on the dishes LNB (on assumption that a quad block is being used) i.e: two for the recorder and one for the Freesat TV then this leaves a spare outlet on the LNB that can be used for test purposes, so has it?

Finally, if the Panasonic Freesat recorder is indeed working perfectly OK on the dish, then for a test you should temporarily transfer the recorders LNB1 input connector over to the TV and check if this link operates OK.

link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Thursday, 20 December 2012
A
albert.treece
1:23 PM

ihave a sky hd box with only one scart soaket how do i connect to a panasonic recorder dmr-ez49veb and a lg plasma tv

link to this comment
albert.treece's 1 post GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

7:22 PM

albert.treece: The connections used between the three devices are dependant on the TV's input facilities and especially the number of HDMI inputs it offers, and so maybe you could give an update regarding this aspect.

It would also be of assistance if you could provide the model number of the TV in question.

link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Saturday, 26 January 2013
M
Michael
4:28 PM
Belfast

I have analog aerial signal coming into house and into a amplifier splitter and then going to two separate freeview boxes, no more than 30 feet apart in adjoining rooms, yet i can only watch one at a time. When we switch on the one closest to the amplifier the signal at the other box drops out completely. Any reason why this might be ocurring?

link to this comment
Michael's 1 post GB flag
Michael's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

4:39 PM

Michael: On the basis that you are so close to Divis, the signals could perhaps be on the high or excessive side, perhaps pushed higher by the amplifier.

See:

Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | Digital switchover | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice

I think that it's likely that you can run both rooms using an unpowered splitter.

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

6:27 PM

Michael: I should add that, as such, I'm wondering if your signal level being on the high/excessive side could be the cause.

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Monday, 4 February 2013
P
peter
3:11 PM

i have a sagem digital recorder a panasonic viera t.v. virgin t.v. apart from the freeview programmes is it possible to record the virgin programmes ?

link to this comment
peter's 1 post GB flag
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