DVD to TV through VCR flickering problem

[Les]

Hi I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me out with a technical problem I have regarding my DVD recorder.

I have a new LITE-ON 5005 DVD Recorder plugged into a 3-way RCA adapter, which in turn is plugged into my Samsung 435B VCR through the RCA plugs. There is also a Cable TV set-top box plugged into the adapter which works fine.

The VCR is plugged into the TV with two of the three RCA plugs (because it's monoraul, not stereo). It uses a coaxial cable to recieve transmision from an outdoor antenna.

Every time I try to watch a PAL Region-4 DVD it flickers and eventually loses the feed. NTSC region-free DVDs seem to work fine, which is odd, since I am in Australia which is a PAL region. The VCR and DVD recorder both support PAL, MESECAM and NTSC playback.

I have tried to connect a regular DVD player, with the same results. I have also used both a regular DVD player, and the LITE-ON DVD Recorder on two different (newer) TV's (also using a coaxial cable to connect to the antenna), plugging them straight into the RCA slots. This worked fine.

I have no idea why this happens. It might be because it's an old 1980's TV, or because it recieves transmission from an aerial or maybe it's some region-lockout thing, which I highly doubt. If anyone has ANY suggestions besides buying a new TV , I'd love to hear it!

[R-ay]

Not sure if I followed your connection, but as a general rule of thumb, every time the DVD video is processed- thru- a VCR >> TV, any form of copy protection on the DVD disc will be activated to prevent copying the material on to the tape----(no matter the real intentions)

Therefore the output of a standalone DVD player should never be processed thru any recording device or else the "copy protected" discs will look unstable & unwatchable. This is very common with older TV sets without any RCA inputs as you have eluded to.

I get calls all the time where folks try to use their perfectly good older sets. w/out direct inputs. Only exception is some of the combo (DVD/vcr) units which actually have a built-in RF modulator and can be hooked up just like a VCR.