VHS video to Pioneer DVR-420H connections query

[shd1970]

Hi there,

I'm looking to copy some family videos onto DVD for safety and prosperity for my dad.
I have an old Matsui VHS player and a Pioneer DVR-420H dvd recorder (it has an internal hard drive also), both in good working order

1. Can anyone confirm how i hook them up please as the video recorder only has a single scart ?
2. Do i need a scart to composite cable (red/white/yellow) ?

I have attached a photo showing the front and rear of both devices (see below)

thanks in advance

 

[Lucid]

1. Can anyone confirm how i hook them up please as the video recorder only has a single scart ?
2. Do i need a scart to composite cable (red/white/yellow) ?

Great photos. Thanks for takig the time to do that.

Either a SCART to composite + audio cable as per your point 2, or a SCART to SCART lead going from the VCR to the DVR AV2 input socket. Either will do the same job.

VHS only uses composite video and stereo audio. SCART carries that in either of the cable forms above.

 

[shd1970]

Thanks for confirming Lucid I’ll give it a twirl !

 

[shd1970]

Either a SCART to composite + audio cable as per your point 2, or a SCART to SCART lead going from the VCR to the DVR AV2 input socket. Either will do the same job.

I forgot to ask Lucid…..I assume I can use AV1 scart and hook it up to a TV so I can see what’s playing, yes ?

 

[Lucid]

I forgot to ask Lucid…..I assume I can use AV1 scart and hook it up to a TV so I can see what’s playing, yes ?

Yes, AV1 is an Out-only SCART connection designed to be connected to a TV. The only thing to be aware of is that a SCART like this can carry composite and RGB versions of the signal for displaying on a TV. The selection is made by a software choice in the recorder's menus. In the days of CRT TVs and flatscreen TVs with SCART sockets then the TV could be changed to match the signal output, and so if you didn't get a picture on the TV screen then flipping over to the alternative choice between composite video and RGB would fix it.

Modern tellies don't have SCART sockets that much any more. That means they don't have a video RGB input, and so there's no easy way to display the RGB signal if the socket on the recorder is already set to RGB output. You might have to resort to using an older flatscreen portable with a SCART input in order to see the menus before making the recorder video output change to composite video.

[edit for typos and clarity]

 

[Nozzle]

Make sure that the cable from the VHS to the recorder is a fully occupied SCART cable. The really thin cables are usually only composite. If you're lucky, the VHS will actually output RGB, but there's a chance it might be composite only.

http://hardwarebook.info/SCART You can usually open up a scart connector by unscrewing the collar/cable grip. It's full RGB if you have wires to pins 7, 11, 15.

Next best solution is S-video, slightly better quality than Composite.

The cable from the recorder to the TV is just for your viewing convenience and won't (shouldn't) have any impact on the recording quality. The recording process would still work if there was no connection here at all (save for the fact you can't see the menus).

Nozzle

 

[RandomGrinch]

Make sure that the cable from the VHS to the recorder is a fully occupied SCART cable. The really thin cables are usually only composite. If you're lucky, the VHS will actually output RGB, but there's a chance it might be composite only.

Sorry! As @Lucid already said,

VHS only uses composite video and stereo audio. SCART carries that in either of the cable forms above.

A fully populated cable won't matter.
IIRC, there may have been some expensive Pro recorders back in the day that could output RGB; but I think the picture was a bit naff, as the RGB conversion just exacerbated the flaws in the VHS!

 

[Nozzle]

Be that as it may - I can say from my work duplicating VHS to DVD (liteon) that the is much less ghosting and fringing when using a fully occupied SCART rather than a Composite only.

Nozzle

 

[winston1]

Be that as it may - I can say from my work duplicating VHS to DVD (liteon) that the is much less ghosting and fringing when using a fully occupied SCART rather than a Composite only.

Nozzle

That is nothing to do with being fully occupied. Ghosting and fringing was caused by scart cables not being individually screened

 

[Lucid]

That is nothing to do with being fully occupied. Ghosting and fringing was caused by scart cables not being individually screened

^ This

 

[Nozzle]

Right - OP advised to get a screened cable then!

Nozzle