What is Scart?

A scart is the socket that looks like this on the back of most TVs, Video, Sky and other AV equipment

Its used to connect up AV equipment such as SKy to Video, DVD to TV, Video to TV etc. One of the nice features is that by sending 12v signals through to your TV your Video can tell your TV its on and your TV will automatically switch to the Video.

It can also tell your TV other things. For example if Sky sends 12v through pin 8 it invites the TV or Video to see it. If it sends 6v it tells your TV it is a wide screen broadcast

If you have two, or more pieces of equipment on at the same time, they will compete for attention. If you get this problem then you have three choices:

How is a Scart wired

Here is a list of the pins used in a fully wired scart lead

1 Audio out RH 3 Audio out LH 5 Blue earth 7 Blue 9 Green earth 11 Green 13 Red earth 15 Red 17 Video out earth 19 Video out 21 Earth (shield)	2 Audio in RH 4 Audio earth 6 Audio in LH 8 Status - 0v = internal bypass - 12v = select external 10 undesignated (status) 12 undesignated (status) 14 undesignated (status) 16 RGB status 18 Video in earth or undesignated 20 Video in
If you are wiring up a plasma you may want to hide the scart cable in the wall or use a scart outlet plug

Cheap vs Quality

Something to watch out for is that some cheaper scart leads are not fully wired. This means that not all of the pins are wired up. For most applications this works OK but if you have a more demanding use e.g. a Plasma TV, RGB setup or Stereo TV it can limit the use. WE advise always getting a fully wired system. Both leads below are fully wired. However, if you have a quality set up we suggest the more expensive lead on the right

Trouble shooting

DVD player is always on - Whilst your DVD player is on it will be sending a 12v signal through pin 8 which will switch over your TV. If you don't want this to happen disconnect pin 8 and use your TV remove to select which AV channel to use.

Video interference - Another problem which arises is that there can be signals or interference on your TV. Scart pin 19 (at the TV end) is likely to be the cause The remedy is simple - snip the wires to pin 19 (at the TV end) an that should fix it. On most scart leads plugs you can use a sharp point (like a compass of needle) to depress the tiny tag on the scart pin which will let you push it inside the Scart plug.