TV changing from colour to black and white

troll35

Hi, just wondering if anyone can offer any insight into a problem my son is having with the TV in his room. It has started with picture problems. When he is using the TV as a TV the picture has gone black and white, but when he has the TV linked up to his Xbox or computer the picture is in colour. He thought it was a problem with the aerial but the same problem occurs when the TV is connected to the roof aerial as with a small portable aerial.
Thanks

Im_just_careful

It sounds like he has some sort of digital set top box with an aerial output and he is watching the TV via that whereas the Xbox or computer are connected via the appropriate sockets (scart/vga etc.).

When a TV goes "off tune" or the signal level drops often the colour reception is the first thing to go.

Is there a spare SCART or CVBS/RGB input on the TV ?

st999

He's not watching an old black and white film is he?

troll35

Thankyou Im just careful for your sensible answer.
His TV is a 19" Alba LCD with built in freeview. There is a spare unused scart socket on the back. To be honest I've no idea what a CVBS/RGB socket looks like to say whether there is one of them or not. There are however the yellow/white/red AV sockets on the side of the TV.
He has his XBox connected via a HDMI socket and his computer via a different socket (VGA?)
The TV usually receives the signal via the house TV aerial and he has only had the problem the last two days. He's saying he wants a new TV, whilst I'm saying lets look to see if there's a solution first. He has tried retuning the TV but it hasn't made any difference.
Hope the above helps with any suggestions, thanks.

st999

He's saying he wants a new TV

That's the problem then.

My wife wanted a new microwave, I say nothing wrong with it, 2 weeks later it doesn't work.

Same with washing machine, tumble dryer and cooker.

kwikbreaks

Seems strange to me and something worth investigating in the TV menus. It may be that you can make different picture settings by input type although I've never seen that. I too am suspicious that this is more settings than fault.

As it's only the inbuilt tuner that is playing up if you can't fix it then a Freeview box costs a lot less than a new TV and could go into either the spare scart or the red/white/yellow audio+composite connectors.

LucianH

I have difficulty in seeing how a faulty digital freeview tuner can produce a B&W picture (but in the days of analogue PAL it was common for poor reception etc to affect the colour).

Can I suggest you go into the settings and perform a reset back to Factory Conditions and then re-tune.

paddyrg

It's almost certainly down to the analogue adaptors for the signals - if you try shunting composite in via a a bodge piece or other kit expecting s-video, only the luma (not chroma) information makes it through.

Play about with all the connectors at the back - start by removing any x-boxes or any other stuff and see if the TV can show colour in a 'pure' state. If not, then have a stab at the menues, see if the saturation has 'accidentally' turned itself down.

Finally, what's wrong with a mono TV? Even snooker still works just about. Then if he wants a colour one, best start saving ;-)

almillar

It's almost certainly down to the analogue adaptors for the signals - if you try shunting composite in via a a bodge piece or other kit expecting s-video, only the luma (not chroma) information makes it through.

Not if the Freeview tuner is built into the TV it's not, and that's the impression I'm getting!
RGB/CVBS are signal types, that run down SCART cables, NOT actual connectors.
If it is a Freeview tuner inside, and the colour isn't turned way down, the tuner's faulty. Solution? Buy a Freeview set top box for £20 or less and it'll plug into the SCART socket.

paddyrg

...unless there's something in the scart socket (xbox/adapter/whatever) which is causing it even with a built-in freeview. People often use cheapo scart/etc leads which aren't always fully wired and lead to odd artifacts. Worth trying removing anything plugged into the set for the sake of 2 mins and a few hundred quid I reckon ;-)

Im_just_careful

Very odd.

The built in Freeview decoder puts a whole different perspective on the problem.

Given that it is made by Alba it is possible that the Freeview decoder has a PAL output and the TV colour decoder is faulty but it seems very unlikely.

If you have or can borrow a spare Freeview box you could plug it into the SCART or the yellow/white/red AV sockets on the side of the TV.

(The yellow one is a CVBS socket and does the picture, the white & red do the sound).

What really puzzles me is it going black & white not green or another colour if there is some faulty connection between the decoder and the display part of the TV.

As others have pointed out, a Freeview box is much cheaper than a new TV. Particularly to experiment with a second had box is what you want. If you ask around someone you know might have a spare one.

I recently gave one away which I don't need now all the TVs have Freeview built in. I expect someone you know has a spare one just waiting for a good home.