S-Video through SCART is B&W, so alternatives?

[KyleMac]

I've been messing with tv out on my laptop for ages now and always thought the B&W was caused by the output being NTSC rather than PAL. However last night I found it is in fact caused by the s-video going through a SCART adapter meaning I must use composite. A quick look around the laptop and no composite out. The tv has no s-video in so something is going to have to be done.

Can you get s-video to coax or s-video to composite converters? If so will these also cause the image to be B&W also?

 

[Lonyo]

I have a GF 4 Ti 4400 that has S-Video out, and its black and white, unless I go in the driver settings and set the output to composite (so I think it does composite through the S-Video cable), and its plugged into a SCART socket on my TV.
So check your settins for a composite/s-video setting.

 

[KyleMac]

No such settings. This is an old ATI Mobility M1.

 

[Mist]

You can get an adapter which plugs into the S-Video out and converts it into standard RCA plugs, which will do the trick.

Get it at Maplin in the UK or Radio Shack in the US.

Michael.

 

[KyleMac]

I need to add, the tv downstairs has no composite input either. So would s-video to composite to scart still cause B&W?

 

[DannyBoy]

Make sure you are outputting the correct signal

I had B&W on my TV out and was convinced it was broken.

Then i realised I was sending an NTSC signal to a PAL tv

Hopefully thats your problem

Dan

 

[KyleMac]

I said this in my initial post. For months I've thought it was just ATI drivers being ass and not letting me change from NTSC to PAL. Then my friend walks in and says "here you click this" and hey presto more settings. I set it to PAL and still no go.

I have 2 possibilites from ATI's site.

1 - The card was made in the US, these are apparently locked to NTSC whereas if it was made in Europe it can do NTSC and PAL. It's a Dell laptop bought in the UK so I'm going to assume the card can do PAL.

2 - ATI say that s-video going through scart causes B&W. This is what I want to pursue right now.

 

[Mist]

I have an ATI Rage Pro 32mb card in my PC, which has Video In/Video Out capabilities. On the back of the card there are standard composite RCA plugs, like you get on hi-fis and stuff. There's also the S-Video output which you're having problems with.

A while back, I decide to try the S-Video connection, so I ran the cable from the PC output into my Scart adapter, which has inputs for the composite cables and also S-Video.

The idea is that you plug in the cables onto the adapter and this the plugs into the Scart socket on your VCR.

So anyway, I tried it with just the S-Video cable and like you are experiencing, my picture was B & W. I messed around for ages and was totally at a loss as to why this should be the case and in fact, I still don't know why.

So, the only way that I could get it to work was by using the composite RCA plugs, you know, the Red, White and, Yellow ones and it works.

Try this link first which may help to show you how to fix your problem:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/module.asp?CartID=030325003856352&moduleno=28733&modulecode

Then have a look at this one to see the RCA to Scart adapter which I mentioned above:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/module.asp?CartID=030325003856352&moduleno=13372&modulecodeMaplin

Sorry, I'm new to posting links here, but give them a try anyway.

Michael.

 

[KyleMac]

So you people are saying s-video to composite to scart will work? Does anyone know specifically why s-video straight to scart screws up?

 

[Mist]

Well, I'm not saying that it'll definitely work for your system, but these adapters must be made because other people have encountered similar problems and they work.

Like I say, I have no idea why the S-Video thing doesn't work, I even tried an S-Video cable plugged directly into an S-Video input on a TV and it still didn't work.

Michael.

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: KyleMac
So you people are saying s-video to composite to scart will work? Does anyone know specifically why s-video straight to scart screws up?

Possibly because a signal being sent down a certain pin doesnt have the appropriate pin on the scart connector?

If you put the signal into composite its a straight forward signal instead of a split signal.

Dan

Oh btw, sorry i missed the NTSC & PAL part of your original thread

 

[thraxes]

The anatomy of a scart-plug:

___________________________________
| |
| 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 \
| \
| 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 \
|_____________________________________|

1: Audio Out R
3: Audio Out L
5: GND (blue)
7: Blue In
9: GND (green)
11: Green In
13: GND (red) or SVHS Luminance
15: Red In
17: GND
19: Composite or Y/C Chrominance Out

2: Audio In R
4: GND All Audio
6: Audio In L
8: Remote (12V switch impulse)
10: Data 2
12: Data1
14: GND (data)
16: RGB Sync
18: GND (rgb sync)
20: Composite or Y/C Chroma In

It would help to know what kind of a TV is connected, since in most cheaper or older models the Y/C components are not recognised. The thing is the S.VHS signal in a scart cable uses pins 19 (or 20 depending on In or Out) and 15 the RGB - red pin. 17 and 13 are used for GND. Not all TVs understand this and some have to be told in their menu system what to use. In some cases setting the VideoSystem to PAL60 in the Graphics Card helps to get the TV into SVHS mode. Otherwise use the direct SVHS input on the TV if you have one. If not use composite. If you like a challenge and are good with a soldering iron, look in google how to build a VGA -> Scart RGB converter for the highest quality possible with Scart TVs.

EDIT: Darn it ate my ASCI art