VCR,TV, and CAMCORDER CONNECTIONS: TAMING THE WIRE JUNGLE

230 VCR,TV, and CAMCORDER CONNECTIONS: TAMING THE WIRE JUNGLE Some quiet evening, listen for tribal drums. If the sound gets louder as you approach your video gear, it's a sign you've created a wire jungle. There was a day when video wiring was easy: the antenna connected to the TV. One vine and you were done. Now, after adding a VCR, TV, home entertainment center, another TV and VCR, maybe editing equipment with processing amplifiers and distribution amplifiers, you've created a tangle even Tarzan can't penetrate. Well, put the machete away, there is a logical way to link your gear together without opening a habitat for chimpanzees. First, let's start with a few general rules. Laws of the jungle - * Draw a diagram. I know it sounds wimpy, especially if you have only 3 or 4 pieces of equipment. Trust me, you'll eventually add more, so you might as well get into the habit. The pros do it, mostly because they don't like spending their evenings troubleshooting wire connections. You don't have to be an artist; just draw boxes and lines, labeling the inputs and outputs. Besides, drawing helps you think clearly. Also, the vines are straighter and simpler in your "paper jungle." * Label your wires at both ends. Again, another technique of the pros. After picking himself off the jungle floor, I'm sure Tarzan started making notes, "This vine not connected," or "This vine dumps you in the prickers." * Use the best vines, er wires. S is best. Use these cables whenever you can to connect VCRs, TVs, and special effects devices. S-VHS and Hi8 VCRs and camcorders have these connectors. So do the better TVs. These multiconductor wires (also called Y/C cables) keep the colors separate from the luminance (black and white brightness) in your picture, keeping your image sharper with purer color. Next best is separate audio and video cables. Audio would travel over the familiar "patch cords" you use to connect your CD player to your hi fi. Video cables may look nearly the same and have the same kind of connectors (RCA or phono) on the ends, but they are not the same. Video cables are a little fatter, stiffer, and have much better shielding than their less expensive audio brothers. You can use video cables to carry audio signals, and in a pinch, use audio cables to carry video, but if you want sharp, smooth interference-free pictures, use only video cables to carry video. They don't have to be gold plated, just designed for the job. The third best way to transport TV signals is via RF (radio frequency) over a single coax cable. It's okay that RF comes into your house from an antenna or the cable TV company. And it's okay to distribute that signal directly to TVs and VCRs in your house. But once your VCR has received the signal and tuned in a particular channel (say channel 13), you don't want your VCR remodulating that signal (usually into channel 3) and sending it to your TV or another VCR to demodulate again. I know RF is simpler and requires fewer wires, but all that demodulating (tuning in a channel), remodulating (making another channel), and demodulating fuzzes up the picture. It works, but it's not the greatest. Even Tarzan tried to limit the number of vines he needed to catch when swinging from tree to tree. Now let's explore some video hookups. A - Simplest VCR hookup to a TVOK for casual viewing, but RF is a little fuzzy. TV tunes in all channels when VCR not in use. When playing tape, tune TV to channel 3 or 4. B - Better hookup between VCR and TV

As before, TV can tune in any channel when VCR is idle. When VCR is playing, tune TV to AUX, or LINE, or VIDEO or maybe a special channel number to have it "listen" to its audio and video inputs (not channel 3, although that would work, but not as well). Note: Stereo audio involves connecting two wires (one for the left channel, one for the right.) To keep these diagrams simple, I'll only draw one wire for audio.C - Best hookup between VCR and TV

As in B, TV gets all channels when VCR is idle. When playing tapes, tune TV to "S" or "Y/C", or SUPER VIDEO, or INPUT 2, or whatever designation allows your TV (if so equipped) to "listen" to the Y/C input. The TV still automatically listens to the audio input. As in B, you could alternately tune your TV to channel 3 to "listen" to the VCR. Try it. Can you see any difference between Y/C and channel 3? Look closely at the edges of bright colors and also observe fine detail in pictures. D - Camcorder/VCR/TV simple hookups

A/B switch (available at Radio Shack and other electronics stores) selects whether the VCR "sees" the antenna (or cable TV) or "sees" the camcorder output. When A/B switch is on "ANTENNA", the TV can view any channel if VCR is idle, and can view the tape on channel 3 when VCR is playing. VCR can record any channel. When switch is on "CAMCORDER", VCR and TV can receive camcorder's output (as it records or plays). VCR can record camcorder's picture and sound on channel 3, perhaps copying a tape from the camcorder. The VCR could just as well be making a second "original" tape while the camcorder made a recording. The signal could be monitored on the TV. This is one way to play tapes from an 8mm, Hi8, or VHS-C camcorder into your TV for everyone to view, or make VHS copies of the above tapes. E - Another simple camcorder/VCR/TV hookup

This method avoids the A/B switch and requires a TV with 2 ANTENNA inputs. However you can't dub to the VCR. Examples D and E used RF to transport the signals, not the strongest vine in the jungle. It's better to use separate audio and video cables or better yet, audio and Y/C. In the following examples, we'll show setups using audio and video. Substitute Y/C for video whenever you can. F - Better Camcorder/VCR/TV hookup.

TV gets all channels when VCR is off. Switch TV to AUX or VIDEO (or whatever) when playing a tape in the VCR (although the signal is also available on channel 3). To play tape from the camcorder, the VCR must first "listen" to its AUX or VIDEO inputs. Sometimes plugging in the cables automatically switches the VCR to those inputs; sometimes you tune the VCR to an AUX channel (maybe channel zero). The signal passes through the VCR to the TV, which must be tuned to AUX to "listen" to the VCR. The above plan allows you to monitor the camcorder as it records or plays, and if you wish, copy the results on your VCR. Some TVs have 2 AUX inputs, allowing you to connect two VCRs or a camcorder and VCR directly to the set. This is a less cumbersome hookup, but doesn't allow the VCR to duplicate the camcorder's tapes. If you have two VCRs, you can always substitute one VCR for the camcorder in examples D, E, and F. G - Multi TV/VCR/radio connections

Many cable TV companies provide radio signals along with TV. The signals are usually strong enough to split up to three times (the above is a 3-way splitter, but they come in 2- and 4-way varieties) with minimal degradation. (For more splits, use an amplified splitter to boost the signals as it divides them). For cable TV, make sure the splitter is rated for up to 400 MHz, higher if you get 41+ channels. Check with your cable TV company whether they charge you for splitting the signal. The above RF wiring can be used simultaneously with any other of the examples. H - Amplifier/VCR combinations

A Y adapter allows you to split the VCR's audio signal (causing minimal degradation), sending half to the TV and half to your hi fi amplifier or home entertainment system. Some hi fi's even have an input labeled "video." Any input will work except "phono" (may sound too bassy) and "mic" (input too sensitive). This way you can fill your living room with bone-jarring laser blasts, or make Sprint's pin drop sound like barbells landing on an aircraft deck. Hi fi audio recorded on videotape (ie. rental movies) sounds especially good. Broadcast TV sound is rather mediocre, and a hi fi VCR won't improve it any. Your hi fi's $200 speakers will nevertheless sound better than your TV's $3 speakers. Some VCRs have two audio outputs (actually 2 pair for stereo) making the Y adapter unnecessary. I - Complex, do everything VCR/hi fi/audiocassette/CD setup

This setup requires a hi fi amplifier with several inputs (most have them) and a TAPE MONITOR output (most have these too). TAPE MONITOR is an audio output that sends any selected signal to the TAPE MONITOR output (not to the speakers yet); from there it enters the audiocassette deck and gets recorded, and comes out of the audiocassette deck, back into the hi fi, and then to the speakers. You hear what your deck records. Watch what you can do with this feature: 1. Play a CD on your hi fi amplifier (Press the CD input selector on the hi fi) 2. Play an audiocassette on your hi fi. (Press TAPE MONITOR on your hi fi. Unpress this button when using other inputs). 3. Play your VCR sound through your hi fi. (Press VIDEO on your hi fi's input selector. 4. Record a CD on your audiocassette deck. On the amplifier: a) Select the CD input b) Press TAPE MONITOR c) Press RECORD/PLAY on the audiocassette recorder d) Adjust recording volume on your audiocassette deck. Adjust loudness- to-your-ears (as you monitor sound) with the amplifier's volume control. Note that you can switch your audiocassette deck to PLAY and hear the tape play without any additional button-pressing. 5. Record CDs on your VCR. This is a fantastic way to record 6 hours of music on a $4 videocassette with excellent fidelity, if you have a hi fi VCR. Hi fi VCRs rival CDs in recorded sound quality. It's like having a 12 CD changer. On the amplifier: a) Select the CD input b) Switch your VCR to listen to its AUX or AUDIO/VIDEO inputs (no video is necessary for this exercise). c) Press RECORD/PLAY on your VCR. d) Monitor your sound either: 1. With headphones connected to your VCR, or 2. On your TV set (switched to "listen" to your VCR) 6. Dub new sound tracks on your video tapes. Here, your VCR must have an AUDIO DUB feature. New sound will be recorded over (erasing) the old sound track (Some two channel editors allow you to record one track leaving the other untouched). On hi fi VCRs, the new sound doesn't touch the original hi fi sound, but is recorded on the linear audio tracks of your tape. You may have to press a button on your VCR to listen to the recordings made on your linear tracks. The procedure is much like #5 above. a) Select your sound source: microphone, CD, phono, or audiocassette deck (pressing TAPE MONITOR to hear the deck.) b) Switch your VCR to "listen" to its AUX or AUDIO/VIDEO inputs. c) Cue your videotape to where you want to replace the sound. d) Press AUDIO DUB/PAUSE on your VCR, making it ready to record but not moving yet. e) Cue up your music or pretaped narration or sound effects. As it plays, check the sound quality and volume. As the source plays, the VCR's level meters should register. Connecting headphones to the VCR would permit more precise sound monitoring. You could even monitor the VCR's sound on your TV set, tuning it to "listen" to your VCR. f) Play the music, UNPAUSE the VCR. g) Press STOP on the VCR when done, or PAUSE if you wish to set up another sound clip. Some VCRs employ an END EDIT button that more gracefully finishes the audio dub. 7. Quickly and efficiently record the songs you like off the radio. If you have a hi fi amplifier/receiver, try recording 6 hours of music off the air while away (substitute the FM input for CD in step "5a" above). Next, come back and play the tape, skipping the commercials and undesirable songs, and copying the good ones onto another tape (ie an audiocassette for your car). Around New Year's many radio stations play the year's top 100 songs, and you can easily skim through them, (with fidelity as good as your FM reception will allow) catching just your favorites. The next example describes how to transfer sound from your videotapes to audiocassettes. 8. Copy sound from videotapes onto audiocassettes. Note: You must use a hi fi-capable VCR. Non-hi fi models (or hi fi models in their NORMAL or LINEAR audio modes) will yield poor sound. a) On you hi fi amplifier, select the VIDEO or VCR input b) Press the hi fi's TAPE MONITOR c) On the VCR, press PLAY. Make sure your hi fi VCR is playing its hi fi soundtrack (not its LINEAR, lo fi track). d) On the audiocassette deck, press RECORD/PLAY. e) Monitor your sound with the amplifier's volume control f) Use PAUSE on your audiocassette deck to bypass unwanted songs or commercials. g) With your audio deck in PAUSE, fast scan your VCR through unwanted material. Watching your VCRs tape time counter (perhaps viewed on your TV screen, if displayed there) can help you fast scan through unwanted songs, many of which last three minutes. Once you build a rhythm, you can anticipate where the next song begins. The above techniques are great for: a) Skimming through radio music b) Copying a favorite song off a rental video tape c) Catching the sound track from an off-air show. d) Copying the sound track from one of your home video recordings

Digital video-

So far, we've discussed analog video techniques. Working with digital video involves connecting digital IEEE 1394 connectors or USB2.0 connectors between your equipment. The digital connection can carry the signals in both directions so each port is an input/output. Audio is usually carried along with the video. Even the connections to a digital TV can be digital, often HDMI. The advantage of using digital signals is that there is no generational degradation. A copy looks as good as an original. The disadvantage is sometimes compatibility issues with the signals. Both sender and receiver of the data have to be using the same set of standards for the data, codecs, compression, etc. The examples shown can be combined for super-complex connections of VCRs, camcorders, home entertainment centers, and TVs. In many situations you can substitute a camcorder for the VCR in the diagram. The neat thing about the more complex setups is that they do so much without additional disconecting and rerouting of wires. The less you have to monkey around in the jungle, the less your vines get tangled. The keys to success are: 1. Draw the plan first. 2. Label your wires The key to failure is: swinging through the jungle on poison ivy vines.

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