how does the vcr work?

most problems with tuning, recording, and/or playing a video game in the midst of a stack of vcrs, gaming consoles, satellite receivers and so on can be solved by learning how to use 1) the TV/VIDEO switch on your tv and 2) the TV/VCR switch on your VCR.

before you rip apart or put together your tv/video center, take a moment to think logically about the sequence in which your devices must be chained in order for the signal to get from the wall (or the box) to the screen, make sure all channel selectable devices like game consoles and satellite recievers are set to the correct channel, and learn how to switch your tv from television mode to simple video monitor.

in general, your tv only has to be in TV mode when you’re watching a broadcast. if you have cable, you’ll probably change channels with the tv tuner. if you have satellite, you will keep your tv on one channel and change what you watch through the satellite receiver.

a VCR also has a tuner - that’s how it records - the signal has to go through the VCR before it ever gets to the TV. the TV/VCR switch usually has to be set to VCR in order to watch a video tape, but remains on TV most of the rest of the time, so as not to block the received signal. usually the VCR-pass-thru feature that allows the signal to go through the vcr as if it were invisible requires that the TV/VCR switch be set to TV, but check your manual. if you’re recording from a satellite receiver, you generally have to tune the VCR just like the tv - to channel 3 or 4 - and use the satellite reciever to change the channel.

to view a dvd, play a video game, hook up a digital camera, web tv, or other device where your tv does nothing but SHOW a picture, you will probably use VIDEO mode on your television. in some cases, a tv will have VIDEO 1 and VIDEO 2 - this is so you can keep multiple video sources hoooked up without interfering with each other - you can put the DVD player on VID1 and the X-box on VID2 and they won’t clash.

if you can remember which entertainment center functions are actually “tuning in” a signal as opposed to simply displaying a picture, it’s easy to figure out which switches need to be where in order for you to see what you’re trying to see.

oh yeah, here’s the basic order i use for chaining my video devices:

satellite dish >to> sat receiver
sat receiver & DVD player & game console >to> a/v amp
audio/video amp >to> TV

my TV has three input selections - TV, VID1 and VID2 - the basic logic is that the TUNED signals (VCR, Satellite receiver) go to the TV input, while the DVD player and the game console can go to separate VID outputs so they don’t interefere with each other. if i only had one VIDEO input then i would have to turn off the game console to use the DVD player and vice versa.

*NOTE*
most VCRs have selectable inputs now - Line, Tuner, and Simultaneous. the VCR tv signal pass thru feature almost always only works if you have the VCR input set to TUNER, however, you can use the LINE input, which will take a signal from the RCA jacks in the back instead of the threaded coax connection, to run a video game console into a TV that doesn’t have RCA jacks of it’s own or a suitable adaptor… but that’s another topic altogether.