Is it possible for a standard definition DVD player to refuse to display to an Interlaced TV?

I'm not sure the brand and model matter, but I have an RJTech DVD player (the 800DVX) I've been happily using for over two years. It worked fine with my old TV (a 2003 Toshiba 480i set) and works fine with my current TV (a 2007 Panny 720p plasma).

I lent this player to a friend recently, and he could NOT get it to display to his cheap Zenith CRT set (the B32A24Z from 2001). Whether over Composite or S-Video, no picture is ever displayed on the Zenith. Audio over RCA cables is fine, but no video signal is detected by the Zenith set. His old laserdisc player and relatively new Sylvania DVD/VCR combo unit display just fine on his TV.

My RJTech player (based on the MTK1308 chipset) is advertised as a progressive player. But I've always assumed that it's progressive only over its component output. I've been thinking all along that once it's configured to output over S-Video, its composite and S-Video outputs are standard interlaced signals. After all, it worked fine with my old Toshiba set which was pure 480i with no 480p capability.

So can anyone think of what else there could be about the player that would not be compatible with a 6-year-old CRT? Is there such a thing as a progressive signal output over a composite video cable? Could there be some kind of scan rate issue that would make the player's output incompatible with the TV? Any other possibilities?

I'm completely baffled at this point, and I'd like to entertain all possibilities before I go over to my friend's to verify he's not messing up the connections somehow.

Thanks for any words of advice.

1.Make sure the player is set to interlaced(480i)
2.Make sure the player is set to NTSC.
If that doesn't help then it must be your friends tv or the cable.

Thanks for your reply.

1.Make sure the player is set to interlaced(480i)
2.Make sure the player is set to NTSC.
There's an explicit setting for (2), and I know the player is set to NTSC.

The issue is with (1). There is no explicit setting for 480i or interlaced. The output choices are simply between:

a) S-Video
b) YPbPr
c) RGB
d) VGA

I've been assuming that choice a) implies 480i. Doesn't it? I know that when it's selected, I was able to connect (via both composite and S-Video) to my old 480i Toshiba set. But at this point, I'm wondering if that Toshiba set (and my current Panny plasma) have some kind of special ability to negotiate the signal being output by my player that my friend's Zenith set does not have. But I have no idea what this special ability could be. It's not 480p, since my old Toshiba (the 27AF43) was officially 480i only.

If that doesn't help then it must be your friends tv or the cable.
I verified that both the S-Video cable and the composite video cable were working fine before I gave them to him.

So I'm still clueless.

Thanks for your reply.


There's an explicit setting for (2), and I know the player is set to NTSC.

The issue is with (1). There is no explicit setting for 480i or interlaced. The output choices are simply between:

a) S-Video
b) YPbPr
c) RGB
d) VGA

I've been assuming that choice a) implies 480i. Doesn't it? I know that when it's selected, I was able to connect (via both composite and S-Video) to my old 480i Toshiba set. But at this point, I'm wondering if that Toshiba set (and my current Panny plasma) have some kind of special ability to negotiate the signal being output by my player that my friend's Zenith set does not have. But I have no idea what this special ability could be. It's not 480p, since my old Toshiba (the 27AF43) was officially 480i only.


I verified that both the S-Video cable and the composite video cable were working fine before I gave them to him.

So I'm still clueless.

Composite and s-video are limited to 480i for NTSC and 576i for PAL. I suspect operator error by your friend. His CRT probably has an input select function he is not using properly.

-Bill

His CRT probably has an input select function he is not using properly.

Thanks for the suggestion.

He does hear the audio, so I'm thinking he has the correct input selected. His TV is very low-end, so I doubt it has independent audio/video inputs.

I also had him connect my DVD player as an input to his DVD/VCR which is in turn connected to his TV via 75-ohm RF. Again, he reports audio but no video.

My friend is no tech wiz, but I'm having a hard time believing he could be muffing something so simple. That's why I'm stuck wondering if my RJTech might not placing some sort of weird demand on his TV's display...

You will not get video if you connect a DVD player to VCR because of Macrovision.
The connection HAS to be from the player to the TV.

You will not get video if you connect a DVD player to VCR because of Macrovision.
The connection HAS to be from the player to the TV.
Yes, but only when playing commercial DVDs.

However, this DVD player also plays DivX files, which have no Macrovision issue. Also, the player has a splash screen that shows up when there are no DVDs inside. My friend can't see anything at all.