Using a TV as a monitor for the DVX

Mariano Nante · August 26, 2006

Hi,

I am having a problem with the DVX. Maybe there a very simple solution to it. When I plug the camera to my TV with a S-video cable, I get a Black and White image. Does anybody know how to change this? Could it be the settings of the TV?

I live in a NTSC country and the camera is PAL, but I don't think this may be an issue, because I've played PAL DVD's without a problem.

Sorry if it's a stupid question!

Thanks,

August 30, 2006

That is exactly the issue... does your TV do pal/ntsc?

ash =o)

Mariano Nante · August 30, 2006

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it does... if not, when playing a PAL DVD or VHS it wouldn't look right, and it does.

Mariano Nante · September 3, 2006

I checked the settings out again today... my TV set does PAL / NTSC. There is an option in the menu to switch from one to the other. But nothing happens!!! In PAL - N and PAL - M it looks nicer, with more detail..... but it is still Black and White!

Any ideas?

I don't have the money to rent a monitor, so your help is needed badly.

Thx

Freya Black · September 3, 2006

I checked the settings out again today... my TV set does PAL / NTSC. There is an option in the menu to switch from one to the other. But nothing happens!!! In PAL - N and PAL - M it looks nicer, with more detail..... but it is still Black and White!
Any ideas?

I don't have the money to rent a monitor, so your help is needed badly.

Thx

Maybe your SVideo cable is broken, or maybe your tv will only take a composite input?

It sounds like your tv is not getting the colour information, which in SVideo cables is sent seperately to the image down a seperate wire.

Does it work if you feed the tv a composite image?

love

Freya

Matthew Parnell · September 3, 2006

Check your pins on your SVideo cable for a missing or bent pin. Also could be the cable itself. Try a different SVideo and your straight composite cable.

Mariano Nante · September 3, 2006

I thought it could be the S-Video Cable, but sadly it isn't.

I've checked the cable, it works fine with other devices. And it does the same when using the yellow cable (I don't know what do you call that :unsure:)

Freya, I don't know what a composite image is... but I'm almost sure I don't have the cable for it... :D

Well, thanks for your answers anyway!

Daniel Sheehy · September 4, 2006

And it does the same when using the yellow cable (I don't know what do you call that :unsure:)

Freya, I don't know what a composite image is... but I'm almost sure I don't have the cable for it... :D

Well, thanks for your answers anyway!

A composite video image is one where all the video information (luma, chroma, sync etc..) is composited into a single signal. Your yellow video lead is for a composite signal. ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composite_video

Alessandro Machi · September 4, 2006

Hi,

I am having a problem with the DVX. Maybe there a very simple solution to it. When I plug the camera to my TV with a S-video cable, I get a Black and White image. Does anybody know how to change this? Could it be the settings of the TV?

I live in a NTSC country and the camera is PAL, but I don't think this may be an issue, because I've played PAL DVD's without a problem.

Sorry if it's a stupid question!

Thanks,

When you say you've played PAL DVD's without a problem, do you mean you played a PAL DVD from a DVD machine onto the television in question, or do you mean you have a DVD combo machine and your PAL DVD's play on the DVD combo screen?

From the rest of the thread I would say I'm on the wrong path.

One other option to consider is perhaps the output of the camera is somehow set wrong. You shot your footage in PAL but maybe it's being converted to NTSC when you play back the image from the camera. Since the camera probably doesn't do conversions you are only getting a black and white signal. Check the menu on the DVX to see what type of output you have selected. Usually the camera automatically senses what the signal is and should output the proper signal but maybe the DVX has a menu override feature for playback?

As others have already stasted, a bad S-Video cable can also cause the image to be black and white but you said you used the "yellow cable" which I interpret to mean a composite RCA cable, which then ruins my final theory that you have a crack on the DVX board and only the luminence channel is being outputted, thus the black and white signal.

Another test would be to hook up to a different TV to see if you get a different result.