No sound with dtv converter box -- help please!

Hi vicra! I'm going to request a thread move to the http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=186 (Coupon Eligible Converter Box (CECB) section) so you may want to subscribe to this thread to find it later of it gets moved.

For some basic troubleshooting some things to check are:

Check your connections. When using the RF connection check to make sure it's secure (and look at the pin in the center to make sure it's not bent).

When using the yellow and red and white cables make sure each one matches on each end from the box to the TV.

Make sure the volume on the converter box is turned up (not just the TV volume).

And check the menu on the converter box to see if you need to change anything audio-wise depending on what kind of connection you have.

Hope this helps!

okay, next try *just* the yellow cable (unplug the red and white on both ends), check to make sure you're on the right tv input and see if you get a picture.

When you use the yellow video, red white audio cables, do you switch the TV to 'look' at that input?

For the RF cable, you need to be on channel 3 or 4. The CECB's have a selectable RF output, if 3 doesn't work try 4.

For video audio cables, you need to be on that specific input, usually called something like 'Video 1' or Input.

Try different cables.

The reason you get no picture (but you do get sound) is because the CECB has no S-Video output, so there is no input to the TV on the S-Video connection. Like I said above, there must be a way to switch the TV to the input for the yellow video cable, also known as composite video. It may be called Input, or Video, or it could be on channel 95 or 99; but if you have a yellow connector on the TV, there must be a way to switch to it. Also look for an input or source button on the front of the TV.

The red and white audio inputs on the TV will work with either S-Video (which you don't have) or yellow composite video.




Like I said above, switch the CECB output to channel 4 and switch the TV to channel 4. That may work.

You can try channel 4 with the CECB and your TV, but I'd be surprised if that worked.

Addressing the round RF cable to TV part of your test.
If your TV has a button for S-VHS, then it most likely has MTS stereo sound decoding as well. Part of that stereo over RF format is something called SAP for secondary audio programing. It will default to main channel english if no SAP is present. But it can cause you to loose sound if a piece of equipment sends what it thinks is a second audio stream. Poke around your sound menu for Mono/Stereo/SAP/Auto (Or similar). This is the ony thing I am aware of that would let you hear the audio momentarily, then cut out (Heard commercials, lost sound when show programming resumed).

On the White/Red/Yellow topic. What ken was indicating is that that button sounds like your TV also has a round 4-Pin S-Video jack for video as well as a Yellow RCA baseband video jack. The round S-Video jack uses the White and Red for audio for both the Yellow RCA and the S-Video, and would be why you can hear but not see from the Yellow wire. Look for a button that says A/V or L1, or similar. Another method of accessing the Yellow video jack is to type "00" on the remote. There is no channel zero, so sometimes manufactures use that to access line inputs.

Hope this helps.
But personally, if these steps fail too, I'd swap that box for a new one.

Another thing that would help us help you would be to tell us the make and model# the TV is so we can get a PDF manual online and be more specific about connections and buttons.

The PDF may also have photos that will allow us to mark them so that you can understand what is being presented.

What is your make and model of television? Maybe we can help you if we look at an online manual for it.