I promise I'm not sitting around making up odd problems--but I have another oddity for which I need help.

I won't go through the whole history of how I discovered this; I'll just describe it.

I have my old Sharp VCR hooked up to my 990 at Video 4 input--just the analog R and L audio and the single video cable. (There's no dgital or composite or S-video output from this old guy.)

Of course, to use the 990's on-screen menus, I have a hook-up to the TV via composite cables. Apparently that's the only way to watch anything that comes through the analog video inputs also, right? At least, to find a signal from the VCR at all, that's what I have to use. Okay--no problem.

When the power of the VCR is ON, I get the television CABLE signal that passes through the VCR just fine. AND I can also use the 990's on-screen menu function just fine--but with a TV image behind it. The latter is weird, but no biggie.

Now we start getting to the problem. If I turn the VCR power OFF and try to use the 990's on-screen menus, I get a horizontaly-split video screen, with the menu in the top half and nothing but noise in the bottom.

By experimenting, I've found that the screen is always split when the VCR power is off and I'm usng the 990's composite output. The 990's messages always show in the top half of the screen, and the bottom half is noise.

So this part of the problem MUST have something to do with the 990, since the VCR has no power when this happens. Something about having an analog input (the VCR) that's sending nothing to the 990's composite output, maybe?

Second part of the problem--or maybe a second problem: turn on the VCR, and I'm pleasantly watching the TV signal. But then I try to use the VCR to play a tape. When the tape first starts I get the "play" signal from the VCR displaying on the video screen just as it should; but then I either get (A) a horizontally-split screen with nothing but blue in the top and a noisy version of the TV signal in the bottom, or (B) I get a black screen with the "no signal" message. Almost always when A happens, in a few seconds, it switches to B. So I'm assuming that when B happens, this means that either the TV or the 990 has decided it can't decipher the conflicting signals in the two halves of the sreen and has shut down.

There seem to be two variables then: whether the VCR power is on or off, and whether I'm trying to play a tape or not. (1) If the VCR power is OFF, the video screen via the 990 composite output is always split. (2) If the VCR power is ON, the screen is fine UNLESS I try to play a tape, at which point it either splits or I get "no signal."

The problem is not in the VCR: I can watch it just fine through the coax cable that runs straight to the TV (not through the 990).

Anybody got any ideas? Thanks.

Actually, that single video cable is composite.
I assume you are using component video to the TV (three cables with red, blue, and green connectors). Is that correct?
This is all correct. The 990 can overlay its menus onto any composite or s-video input. If you have a component video input, it replaces the incoming video signal with a black screen and draws the menu on that.
Does this happen when any input is selected, or just when you have the 990 on Video4? If it's just when Video4 is selected, it's possible that the VCR's "off" state is a standby mode that is producing some sort of signal still and generating some confusion.

Also, what do you have "VIDEO" set to in Video4's setup menu? Is it set to "Composite"?

Another question: what other video sources are connected to the 990, and how do they behave?

Thanks for the reply.

This only happens with the VCR.

I have an OPPO DVD connected that does fine.

The video is defined as "composite" in the Video 4 input config.

How is the OPPO connected?

DVI input for video, optical input for audio

Oh--and yes, I'm using component video to the TV--three cables. Sorry to have had the terminology wrong before.

Here's a test that might be worth doing, since you have only one analog video input (the VCR): in place of the component video connection from the 990 to the TV, try using the composite video output from the 990 and see what happens with the VCR.

What'sthe rationale? I don't own another composite cable, and would be a bit reluctant to go buy one unless we know this experiemnt is likely to tell us something useful.

Alternately, would using the S-video output to the TV do? I have plenty of S-video cables.

Thanks.

The rationale is that I'm wondering if there might be something odd happening when composite gets transcoded to component, and since you have no other sources that start out as component there's no drawback to operating that way (it's actually a "purer" approach). If the behavior remains when you remove the composite-to-component transcoding process, that will suggest something odd about the composite output. S-video could also be used, but there is still a transcoding step involved so it's not as definitive a test.

There is no need to buy a cable - just use one of the three connectors from the component cable. It's the same kind of cable.

Got it--thanks.

I'll get to that later tonight or, more likely, tomorrow. I appreciate your continued attention.