hi,

i just got a sony vph1031qm from a friend, it seems to be in perfect working order, apart from the blue tube being a little blurry, with one big exception... it only outputs black and white! i havent seen this problem anywhere else online.

i can adjust all the colors, i even fiddled with the controls your not suppsosed to touch unless your a technician and i can adjust the color levels they all work fine, but the picture is greyscale. it seems just like the projector is converting the color signal to monochrome because all 3 tubes are working well and all outputting the same picture at the same intensity.

any idea whats going on? its driving me insane!

thanks!

What are you using for an input signal ?
You cannot use component into that projector. Try RGB into it and see what happens. Sounds like your video board isn't set properly, maybe its set for PAL/SECAM and you're using an NTSC signal to it ?

http://www.eboyztoyz.com/article.php?ncat=00132
I dont know these well but is the switch in the normal position? None74 is probably right.

And just in case you are using a VPR-722S you can not use the S-video input and run it into the 1031. Ok wait let me put that another way:

You can use the S-Video port on the VPR-722S controller but you will NOT get a color picture. Only B/W will come through. The input port on the 1031 isn't wired to accept the chroma part. Only the luma part. Or is it the other way around? Who cares? The upshot is the picture you get will only be B/W.

Of course if you are not using that to input the signal forget I said anything. With the exception of welcome to the CRT forum.

im using the vpr 722s

I'v tried using both composite video ports on the 722 with an ntsc xbox, a pal ps2, a ntsc ps3 and a pal handheld mortal kombat game, i can see the picture quaility varies from one to another but they all are still black and white. iv also tried the svideo on the 722 with the ntsc xbox, thanks for the info on it not accepting svideo, whats the point of it then? or is the 722 for other projectors as well. its set to normal, not secam.

i cant yet plug anything into the projector itself because it only has SCART and a video in, but it resembles the kind of plug used for cable tv and stuff, the high quality one with the single pin in the middle. il try to find a composite or component cable to scart or that single pin connector today and see if it works...

any other ideas?

While I am batting 1000 from a prediction standpoint I should quit while I'm ahead.

But Nooooooo,,,,,,,,,

You can get a BNC to RCA adaptor at any Radio Shack. That will allow you to run a straight composite signal and (at least) verify that the PJ is displaying a color signal when one is fed to it.

The VPR-722S was designed to work with the VPH-1001 and other later 10xx series PJ's. Since the VPR-722s didn't even exist when the VPH-1031Q was around there was no provision to accommodate the S-video signal. If you get a schematic for the 14 pin input port on various VPH-10xx PJ's you will see the ones that are wired to accept the signal.

I seem to remember having a similar issue with my setup (When I was using the VPR-722s) but for the life of me my mind won't let me remember the "magic" switch I had to set to make the colors come alive.

If I get a minute over the next few days I will dig through my notes and see if I come across what I did.

If you could provide all the switch settings on your setup that would be helpful.

And by the by, click on the link that Doug provided. That will also give you all the info you need for your PJ.

that would be fantastic, its like getting a brand new car that cant go past 20 miles an hour.

yeah the guy i got it form said hed had this problem like this before, but wasnt sure how he fixed it he said he just fiddles with the yellow capacitors or soemthing. im not willing to touch the ones that arent labled unless i know what they are :-).

il go and get an adaptor to plug directly into the projector, im hoping thats all it is.

also, is it possible to get a component video to scart adapter, and if so does it work?

and with the 9 pin computer input, is it possible to buy an adpater to 15 pin vga or do i have to make one?

I think you need a manual.
AFAIK, the 1031 doesn't have a "scart" input, nor does it have any 9 pin input.
I think you only have video, and Sony proprietory 25 pin RGB input.
You need a manual for the pinout for the 25 pin RGB input so you can make a gender bender with the Sony input on one end, and either BNC or VGA on the other.
Or are you in Europe with a Euro spec input set ??

It sounds like you need to go from 15 pin VGA to SCART. I think eBay item 150108679145 would work. I'd recommend running a line doubler or HTPC with the 1031Q. Just be sure you don't feed it more than 36KHz horiz. scan otherwise you'll turn it into a boat anchor. Running interlaced low-rez video on a 1031Q is silly. It's a data grade projector so take advantage of that fact!

actually it does have a scart input, i just connected one :-P unfortunatly it only shows the green channel but, in the correct amount!

also there is a 9 pin, the manual says its for a "sony microcomputer".

i do have a manual, doesnt help much tho.

i got a composite to BNC, no luck, just shows black and white.

the one connector i didnt get was the composite to scart, figured i didnt need it, but i think that might just do the trick. i have heard of problems with component to scart before.

although i will try doing my video card's component out into the scart, because i can change that from Pc Yr thingamijig to RGB.

I guarantee your Sony will not accept component to scart, unless you have some kind of transcoder that changes component to rgb video.
Component is a whole different animal when it comes to signal, not just a different set of connectors. Try this .pdf document for an explanation of the differences in signals: http://www.jaycar.com.au/images_uploaded/videosig.pdf look on page two.
VGA, RGB, Sony proprietary 25 pin connector, they are all just different connectors using the same signal, component is a different signal. You will only get a green image with component.
Where are you ?
I should have noticed the "qm" in your initial post, this identifies yours as the European model.
Check the first link provided by Doug, it gives you the pinout to make a converter to use the scart connector as an RGB input. That STILL doesn't mean you can put component video into it though, you'd STILL need a transcoder to change component video to RGB.
There are cheap progressive scan dvd players available here(North America) that have VGA outputs, which translate well to crt projectors which all use the VGA/RGB signal type.
If you're in Europe, you can likely get one that has scart out and just use a scart to scart cable which I would assume is quite common ?
That 9 pin connector is for control, not inputting a signal.

Also, if you're in a place whose video standard is PAL, you're completely out of luck putting plain video into your Sony, unless that video selector switch is different on the QM model and has PAL as a choice ?

Not knowing where you are severely hampers any efforts to help, btw...

im in aus.

actually i just connected component to my projector via scart, and it works :-p

most devices (game consoles, mediaplayers, dvd players...) let you select what you want to ouput over the 3 leads. im using a media player thats a bit hard to understand cause its poorly translated into english but the options for video out i have are:

component
YbPr....
VGA

if i select Ypbr only the green channel works properly.
if i select "component" (anyone knwo what this might actually be?) the red and green work properly, but not the blue.
if i select VGA... the colors are perfect! only thing is its not in focus, like its overscanning like crazy or something, for a few seconds after i turn it on it brings the picture on properly, but it looks like its REEEAAAALLLLY stuggling, if oyu know what i mean. like the image is being ripped off the wall lol. then it eventually goes crazy overscanning. the ouput signal is 480p.

im thinking mabye cause its getting old its havign difficulty with 480p so il try hooking up my computer and sending it 480i.

im going to try a composite to scart adapter tomorrow.

so, color problem solved, now scanning problem!

anyone have any idea on this? lol iv adjusted the scannign controls on the outside, cant find any labled inside, it comes more in focus but its like id need to turn the dial around liek 5 times to make it work....

i have ntsc and pal and component from pretty much all my sources, so that fine, but the projector can be switched between Normal/Secam/Test.

inside the PJ under the convergence board are some blue pots..
one of them is v.inter try to adjust that if you're using progressive PAL
high freq and low freq can help too but remember to mark the place where it was before you touch them...if something happens.

when you put the test screen on.. is the focus off there?

component video in wikipedia..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Component_video

but i think that component in your media player is composite or s-vhs

The VGA output you are using is outputting an RGB (RGBHV) signal not composite or component.

Maybe you have the horizontal (H) and vertical (V) sync wires the wrong way around.

Being a QM model and in Australia it will take PAL.