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Only mono audio on s-video - composite adapter :(

post #1 of 11
5/3/12 at 7:37am
Thread Starter 
Hi guys,
I have a pinnacle pctv 110i tuner card that has a 7 pin s-video in port. My local cable operator has a set top box that has 3 pin composite out (red,yellow and white wire).

I have successfully connected the 3 wires at the back of the stb and i am using an s-video to component adapter

The problem is i get only mono audio. The audio is only on my right speaker and the left speaker goes dumb. Also the video frame is limited to 320 by 240 but if i m not wrong it should be atleast 640x 480.

What am i doing wrong ? All settings in the stb and the computer software are correct. I hv tried using vlc , christv and a couple more programs but same result with all.

Attached below are the pics. I know this is not an ideal adapter but i get clean video and this is the only one i hv at the moment.

Thanks!

The adapter.


Back of the stb


Current connection(RED to red, WHITE to blue, YELLOW to green)
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post #2 of 11
5/3/12 at 9:29am
Quote:


has a 7 pin s-video in port

No, it has a 7 pin DIN connector, S-video uses a 4 pin DIN connector.

Neither s-video or component carry audio.

You're plugging audio into a component to 7 pin din adaptor, when it is expecting component video.
Did that adaptor come with the video card?
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post #3 of 11
5/3/12 at 9:44am
Thread Starter 
Thank you for the reply. I am not sure if the adapter came with the tv tuner card or with my graphic card. I think it came with my nvidea 9600gt card.

But its working so well, i am getting good clean video , only problem is the audio is only coming in one channel - only on the right speaker.
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post #4 of 11
5/3/12 at 10:16am
Quote:


only problem is the audio is only coming in one channel - only on the right speaker.

That's because it's not the proper adapter.
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post #5 of 11
5/3/12 at 11:57am
Hi Techspark,

As Sam said, S-Video uses 4 pins. A 7-pin DIN is very common for multi-function video adapters, but different manufacturers implement it differently.

The first issue is that your cable-box is outputting composite video, but you are using a component video adapter. With composite, two of the three coaxes carry analog audio. With component, all three carry video. So I wouldn't expect that adapter to work. I'm surprised you got as far as you did with it.

As far as video resolution, you may be confusing composite video with component video. Although composite can be digitized at 640x480, it isn't capable of displaying that much clarity. 320x240 is more appropriate for digitizing composite video. Component video, on the otherhand, can go as high as 1920x1080, depending on the source.

The 7-pin DIN systems I have used only supported S/PDIF (digital) audio, but your Pinnacle must also support analog audio, or you wouldn't be hearing anything at all. So it should be just a matter of getting the correct composite adapter.
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post #6 of 11
5/3/12 at 7:32pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you MarkHotchkiss for the reply.


Quote:


Although composite can be digitized at 640x480, it isn't capable of displaying that much clarity. 320x240 is more appropriate for digitizing composite video. Component video, on the otherhand, can go as high as 1920x1080, depending on the source.

Thanks for mentioning this..I thought component and composite are more or less the same.

Quote:


So it should be just a matter of getting the correct composite adapter.

Yes, i don't mind getting a new adapter, but as you mentioned each manufacturer uses the 7 din pin differently, i m not sure which adapter to get.
I also think i should upgrade my stb and get the box which does component output so i can get better quality.
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post #7 of 11
5/3/12 at 7:37pm
Wrong adapter for what you are doing. You are trying to feed Video into the audio & the single video port. No wonder why it does not work. Component & Composite are two different critters, suggest you read up on them.
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post #8 of 11
5/4/12 at 4:08am
Quote:


suggest you read up on them.

Suggest you read the thread for a clue before commenting.
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post #9 of 11
5/4/12 at 4:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by techspark View Post

Thank you for the reply. I am not sure if the adapter came with the tv tuner card or with my graphic card. I think it came with my nvidea (sic) 9600gt card.

It may surprise you to hear that "Nvidia 9600GT" does not tell us much. Nvidia generally sells no consumer video cards. They sell chips to people who sell boards with Nvidia chips on them. How the board sellers implements the Nvidia chips and what they add is more or less up to them.

Quote:


But its working so well, i am getting good clean video , only problem is the audio is only coming in one channel - only on the right speaker.

There's your problem. You don't know where your pieces came from. As others have pointed out, a 7 pin mini-DIN connector is not a standardized connector. One vendor may think its just right for Component Video and another may think its a perfect conduit for video plus sound.

Since we really know nothing about the video card or the TV capture card it may have come from, we're all just shooting in the dark.

Based on your reports of having problems, it is pretty clear that you either have a broken video card or the wrong adaptor or the problem is something else.

Such a deal! Tell us more, we can say more.

Do your own homework based on the hints that you have received, and you may be able to fix your own problem.
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post #10 of 11
5/4/12 at 9:21am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your input.

Quote:
It may surprise you to hear that "Nvidia 9600GT" does not tell us much. Nvidia generally sells no consumer video cards. They sell chips to people who sell boards with Nvidia chips on them. How the board sellers implements the Nvidia chips and what they add is more or less up to them.

Its Nvidea 9600gt 1 Gb ddr3 manufactured by tag..does this help?

Quote:
There's your problem. You don't know where your pieces came from. As others have pointed out, a 7 pin mini-DIN connector is not a standardized connector. One vendor may think its just right for Component Video and another may think its a perfect conduit for video plus sound.

Since we really know nothing about the video card or the TV capture card it may have come from, we're all just shooting in the dark.

Based on your reports of having problems, it is pretty clear that you either have a broken video card or the wrong adaptor or the problem is something else.

I am pretty sure now it came with the graphic card coz i saw the box of my tv tuner card and it does not say the adapter comes with them. Anyways, i know now that i am using a wrong adapter and i cannot just expect it to work correctly somehow.

As for the video and tv tuner card, i am pretty sure nothing is wrong there.

I dont know what i should do. On one of the other forum, people mentioned that it will be very diffcult to get a correct adapter unless we know the configuration of each pin on the tv tuner card. The manual that came with the card is useless, it shows a picture of a 4pin s-video port whereas in reality its 7pin and on top of that no other information is provided.

I dont know what to do now - i cannot live with mono audio and if i get the audio thru the line in ports in my mobo, i heard there will be a/v lag.

Maybe its time to get a new tv tuner card.
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post #11 of 11
5/4/12 at 9:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by techspark View Post


I dont know what to do now - i cannot live with mono audio and if i get the audio thru the line in ports in my mobo, i heard there will be a/v lag.

Maybe its time to get a new tv tuner card.

I'd at least try using the Mobo sound and see what happens. If there's a lag, sometimes you can compensate for it in your AVR if you are using one.

I'd also try to get the required plug from the manufacturer of the card.
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