AV TOOLBOX 8710 Shows B&W Test Pattern

[rocko]

Another Roadblock! After getting Win XP machine,AIW 9600 XT,and Sound Blaster Working,And using 42inch LCD as Monitor,I hooked up the AVTool between D-VHS Player and AIW Card,and got only black&white video on MMC preview screen!!(Playing tape or just AVT test pattern). When I connect AVT direct to LCD,Great color and picture,VCR on or off,is all color! And I learned from tech support that AVT does not like Hot Plugging,and there is a sequence when powering up connected gear too!!!...If not done correctly, AVT mis-behaives with wierd dots and lines and stuff!!! (Make all connections with power off,all equipment!!!)...So after getting a great picture from D-VHS-AV Tool-LCD, I Turned all off,Plugged AVT into AIW,Fired up cmputer and MMC Capture.....No Color,No matter what power up sequece I tried,and with VCR on or off.(MMC set to NTSC,and AVT set on auto detect-NTSC. Any suggestions??(I Purchased AVT March 2010 from B&H) It seems that AVT Doesn't like my AIW or computer or something???? (All S-Video connections)...Any Ideas or HELP??

[admin]

What happens with composite connections?

You're not doing any "crossover" signal work, are you? That's where you'd insert composite or s-video into the TBC, and then output the opposite wire type. (For example, s-video in, composite out. Or composite in, s-video out.) Those sorts of connections are known to lose the chroma channels, as well as butcher the luma gain/stability. S-video in should be s-video out. Composite in should be composite out. Few devices can handle a "crossover" very well.

Are your s-video cables possibly bad?

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And I learned from tech support that AVT does not like Hot Plugging,and there is a sequence when powering up connected gear too!!!

Nah, I think that's hogwash from tech support. I swap gear all the time, and have for a decade now. Sometimes the AVT-8710 will "blitz out", but all you have to do is unplug it and re-plug it in again.

It may be an issue with clean power (or rather, a lack thereof, meaning you're not on a UPS), or the power supply could be giving out. There's a chance it's an issue related to under-powering the TBC, due to faulty AC adapter. It's slim, but possible. I've seen this in the past with proc amps, speakers and VCRs.

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AVT set on auto detect-NTSC

Don't do this. Manually set it to NTSC. That could be the problem, too. << TRY THIS FIRST.

Try some of that, and then report back.

[rocko]

ALL CONNECTING CABLES ARE VERY HIGH GRADE S_VHS ONLY!!!! wait a min..Thank you for answering, I Will check the cable connnections and cables for defects,But I think the AIW card might need a little nudging ,or tweaking from the great beyond!!!He-Heeee?????TANKX

[rocko]

#2...Will also try your reccomendatoins,AVTool power supply is plugged into small power strip,which is in turn is plugged into the NON BATTERY side of APC UPS unit, The VCR,Computer,and LCD TV are Plugged into the BATTERY side of UPS (APC XS-1000)....The power strip is there so I can turn off power supply to AVTool,and external hard drive when not in use....But I will try plugging AVTool power directly into UPS w/o power strip,after trying Manual NTSC setting on AVToolbox....I assume that the fault lays with the AVToolbox and Not the Computer or ATI card or software settings???...Are there any known issues with AVToolbox and AIW 9600XT???

[rocko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bakenvids

ALL CONNECTING CABLES ARE VERY HIGH GRADE S_VHS ONLY!!!! wait a min..Thank you for answering, I Will check the cable connnections and cables for defects,But I think the AIW card might need a little nudging ,or tweaking from the great beyond!!!He-Heeee?????TANKX

WELL,Turns out I was in "HIGH-GRADE CABLE DENIAL"!!
I tried the composite connection between AVTool and ATI Block... and whalah!! It showed COLOR!!,Found out that Two wires were completly un-soldered from thier terminals(Cable ends are threaded covers,not molded)On the "premium" S-vhs PHILMORE ,But the confusion came when the same cable showed color on my LCD! Now I'm using some lesser quality,But molded end cables,....Now on to testing

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

ALL CONNECTING CABLES ARE VERY HIGH GRADE S_VHS ONLY!!!! wait a min..Thank you for answering, I Will check the cable connnections and cables for defects,

A lot of people run to the most expensive cables in the store, such as Monster. The truth is, however, that all that gold shielding does nothing for you aside from waste dollars to pay for it, and then straight copper cables often have better signal quality. Even the generic silver alloys can be better for conductivity of the audio/video signals.

A generic low-cost Philips cable from a hardware store (Lowe's, Home Depot) or a big-box store (Walmart, Target, Best Buy) can be superior to the Monster brand. I miss the days of Radio Shack carrying their own brands of cables, because some of those were quite good. Tandy Corp has fallen so far that they now stock the same overpriced junk as other geek chic stores -- overpriced Monster, mostly.

So that high grade cable may not actually be high grade.

Quote:

#2...Will also try your reccomendatoins,AVTool power supply is plugged into small power strip,which is in turn is plugged into the NON BATTERY side of APC UPS unit, The VCR,Computer,and LCD TV are Plugged into the BATTERY side of UPS (APC XS-1000)....The power strip is there so I can turn off power supply to AVTool,and external hard drive when not in use....But I will try plugging AVTool power directly into UPS w/o power strip,after trying Manual NTSC setting on AVToolbox....I assume that the fault lays with the AVToolbox and Not the Computer or ATI card or software settings???...Are there any known issues with AVToolbox and AIW 9600XT???

I would try to put the TBC on the batter, if you can. If it does not fit, go to Walmart and buy some of those plug extenders. Be warned that many of them glow orange when plugged in -- some sort of geeky thing (I don't get it either). And then also at Walmart, you'll find plug switches. If your device doesn't have a power switch, this adds a switch after the power plug. It's over by the light bulbs and extension cords.

This is the switch: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B002DNGAZ6

These are the plug extenders: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Woods-8-16...e-3pk/16489603
Also shown here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B0010OHED6

Quote:

WELL,Turns out I was in "HIGH-GRADE CABLE DENIAL"!! I tried the composite connection between AVTool and ATI Block... and whalah!! It showed COLOR!!,Found out that Two wires were completly un-soldered from thier terminals(Cable ends are threaded covers,not molded)On the "premium" S-vhs PHILMORE ,But the confusion came when the same cable showed color on my LCD! Now I'm using some lesser quality,But molded end cables,....Now on to testing

I would try to use s-video as much as possible.