TataSky + Samsung LED TV (US Make) - video has turned black and white !

philipreji

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Friends,

I have a Tatasky connection (Dish + "Digicomp" Set Top Box) using which I have been watching TV channels in an old Panasonic TV (CRT, 21", 10 years old) without any issues so far.

Today I connected the STB output (composite video) to a 46" LED Samsung HD SmartTV brought from the US recently, but the resulting picture was in black and white..no trace of colour. To troubleshoot I replaced the non-HD TataSky STB with an HD STB (Free-To-Air, "Solid" make, MPEG-4, I use this with a separate dish for watching Doordarshan channels). At first the output was again in black and white but when the "video resolution" of the STB was adjusted the picture changed to colour. I could see the menu listings only (since this FTA STB cannot tune to the locked tatasky channels), but the jump from B&W to colour was obvious. Composite video was used in both cases.

When I connect a Sony Blu-Ray player (which is also bought from the US) to the HD TV, the picture is in colour. Another Philips DVD player (Indian) which has an HD upscale option also worked fine.

Unfortunately my tatasky STB is the basic model. It has only composite video out, and doesn't seem to have any provision to adjust "video resolution". What would be a possible way out ? If I change to Tatasky HD STB, will
I get colour in the HD TV ? And lastly, why do I get colour in the old CRT TV but not in the new HD LED Samsung ?

Any help will be much appreciated ! Thanks in advance..

Reji
 
If you have bought the TV from the US, it supports only NTSC and Indian DTHs and cable operators transmit in PAL mode. I think you need to get a converter which converts NTSC to PAL.
 
Thanks Gopichand. After posting my query I found couple of posts discussing the same issue. Was wondering, if I go for TataSky HD set top box then I can use its HDMI port to connect the video to the TV. HDMI being a digital standard, I won't have a PAL/NTSC conflict issue. Am I right or did I miss something here ?
 
Thanks Gopichand. After posting my query I found couple of posts discussing the same issue. Was wondering, if I go for TataSky HD set top box then I can use its HDMI port to connect the video to the TV. HDMI being a digital standard, I won't have a PAL/NTSC conflict issue. Am I right or did I miss something here ?

No, HDMI connetion does not solve the basic problem of NTSC TV.
You will still need a PAL to NTSC converter.
Check the below thread in this forum
http://www.hifivision.com/television/25321-tv-usa-pal-ntsc-converter-2.html
 
Last edited:
@Jagdish: Thanks for pointing me on to that useful thread! My understanding is now better.

@Kittu: Ok, so if I take a Videocon HD D2H subscription and set the video upscale option in the STB to 1080i, I can use my NTSC TV without the NTSC-PAL converter ? In fact this turns out to be cheaper than the converter, and D2H has more HD channels as well (compared to tataSky)..
 
@Jagdish: Thanks for pointing me on to that useful thread! My understanding is now better.

@Kittu: Ok, so if I take a Videocon HD D2H subscription and set the video upscale option in the STB to 1080i, I can use my NTSC TV without the NTSC-PAL converter ? In fact this turns out to be cheaper than the converter, and D2H has more HD channels as well (compared to tataSky)..

Yes! You can read further more here.

NTSC TV and HD DVR - Videocon D2H, Tata Sky, Dish TV, Airtel/Reliance Digital, Sun DTH, DD Direct Plus help and discussion forums
 
@Jagdish: Thanks for pointing me on to that useful thread! My understanding is now better.

@Kittu: Ok, so if I take a Videocon HD D2H subscription and set the video upscale option in the STB to 1080i, I can use my NTSC TV without the NTSC-PAL converter ? In fact this turns out to be cheaper than the converter, and D2H has more HD channels as well (compared to tataSky)..
You might as well invest in a PAL--> NTSC converter. This will solve many issues. I can forsee a lot of unforseen problems.
 
@Kittu: Thanks for the clarification and the links !
@just4kix: first I'll try Videocon HD D2H which might solve the problem. If I happen to add more stuff to my NTSC electronics in future, I may need the NTSC-PAL converter suggested by Kittu.

Unfortunately recently my wife had paid online three months advance amount to TataSky (she wanted to escape monthly recharges), that money is now lost :sad: Wives shouldn't be so lazy :D
 
A quick update guys..

Requested a call on Videocon DTH website yesterday evening at 5.25 pm, and received the call from Delhi at 5.31 pm..the CC agent suggested I buy online, which was done in a few minutes (Rs.2490 for HD equipment + installation + two months' South Platinum HD package). She promised me installation within 24 Hrs.

Received a call today morning around 10.00 am from a local dealer/installer, asking for my location. He came within 15 minutes and the work was done in an hour: I was watching the HD channels by 11.15 am..pretty quick that was.

As mentioned in this forum before, the Videocon HD STB has provision for choosing video resolution. My NTSC TV works fine in colour over HDMI when 1080i/60 Hz is chosen :clapping:. The HD channels are very good. SD channels are as good as, or a tad better, than TataSky. Am yet to try out the 5.1 audio output thru' the S/PDIF output.

When the STB is connected to my PAL CRT TV (over composite video) the picture can be seen in colour at all video resolutions but there is an annoying flicker if 60 Hz is chosen. The picture becomes steady if 50 Hz is chosen instead. However I noticed that there is no flicker if I choose 480i/60 Hz, which is also acceptable by the NTSC TV (to watch SD channels). I guess this is because 480i/60Hz is equivalent to the PAL compatible 576i/50Hz (the mathematical genius in me found that 480x60=576x50=28800 :D)

There are a large number of channels in the videocon connection and my wife is very happy that now we get 8 or 9 Malayalam channels (TataSky was giving only a measly 4).

One point to note is that Videocon equipment is on Rental - they don't sell it to the customer like others (e.g. tatasky) do..

Thank you guys for your valuable suggestions which were very useful..I'll get back later with a short review of the 5.1 audio which I'll hear in a few days...

cheers
 
i doubt is there any option with 1080p in tata sky HD STB??? the 1080 i doesnt support my us made samsung led tv.........why????everything is fine with colours except when i connect to the STB..what to do..tried every possible ways...cudnt get any solution..the videos are being played..so i dnt think i need a seperate PAL converter rite...plz some one help me with this issue...my email is is [email protected]
 
Hi Whazup,

It seems there is general consensus here that TatSky HD STB is not compatible with NTSC only TVs like yours. You can use either a PAL to NTSC converter, or go for a DTH service like Videocon D2h HD, the STB of which is compatible with NTSC TVs.

cheers
Reji
 
Working setup- TataSky + HD STB with Vizio LED TV (US Make)

Tata Sky + HD STB with Vizio TV.
Video Connection - HDMI cable output from Tata SKy+ HD STB to HDMI1 input of Vizio TV
Audio Connection - Optical output from from Tata SKy+ HD STB to DVD optical input of Yamaha receiver

It works
 
Hi ThtPro,

Your Vizio LED TV is very probably multisystem compatible (NTSC/SECAM/PAL); that's why your setup works without issues :)
 
I Recently bought a Lg 42 LED TV from USA that does not support PAL in India.

This TV however Works perfectly with an HDMI input from the TATA Sky HD+ Box.

1080i 50Hz - Working Wonderfully. No Issues:yahoo:
 
i purchased Samsung led 22 inch, but my set top box is videcon d2h .
problem is picture display as whitish, engineer said u r set top box is not supported to led because its not a hd

what should i do??
 
I have bought Samsung UN46D8000 tv which has 120hz refresh TV and tried to connect with Airtel DTH which has only 1080i with 50HZH but showing message as "Mode not supported and please change the resolution"
And tried with PAL to NTSC converter but tv is working with bad quality picture...any one could suggest me the best way to get good clarity ?
My mail I'd :[email protected]
 
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