Question: I got rid of pay TV so I have an antenna instead of a set-top box. Before I changed I had audio cables going from the set-top box to my receiver to play TV sound through the stereo. Now I run the cables from the red and white outputs on front of the TV to the receiver inputs. Why can't get any sound from the sound system?

Answer: I commend you for connecting your TV to your sound system. Most people do not connect their TVs to any kind of audio system and have only heard TV sound through the tiny, underpowered, poor-quality TV speakers. They are missing beautiful sound and lots of sonic details.

First of all, are you sure the red and white RCA connections on the front of the TV are outputs and not inputs? It would be very unusual for a television to have outputs on the front of the set. Typically front connections are inputs and are used for connecting video games, camcorders, and digital cameras. The audio outputs are most likely on the back of the set.

Determine the proper outputs and connect them to the receiver. Test the system and if you still do not have sound, go into the TV's audio menu and look for the "TV speakers" setting and turn them off. Most televisions cannot have both the audio outputs and the speakers active at the same time. The TV's volume control often will change the volume of the audio outputs, so make sure it is set at least halfway to start so you are sending enough signal to the receiver.

If your TV does not have audio outputs, check and see if it has a headphone jack. You can connect the headphone jack to the receiver with a miniplug to RCA adapter. As with the audio outputs, if you connect the headphone jack it may cut off the sound from the TV's speakers.

Q: I've accumulated 50 or 60 Super VHS (S-VHS) tapes that I would like to convert to DVDs. I have found a number of combination VHS/DVD recorder players, but have not been able to locate one for S-VHS. It is my understanding that S-VHS has much better resolution than VHS, and I do not want to lose that resolution while making DVDs. If I pick one of the VHS DVD combinations will I in fact lose the resolution unless it is specifically made for super VHS?

-- Fred Reichelt,
Danville, Calif.

A: Not only would you lose resolution with regular VHS, there is a good chance the S-VHS tapes won't play at all on most VHS VCR/DVD units.

JVC makes an S-VHS/DVD recorder combo unit, the SR-MV45. It sells between $400 and $500. If you have an S-VHS VCR (and I imagine you do, since you have tapes) you could connect it to a DVD recorder with an S-Video input and record without using the VHS portion of the component. You could also use a video capture card with your computer and use your DVD burner. Just make sure it has an S-VHS input.

S-VHS resolution is almost as good as DVD. With a good transfer the resolution loss will be negligible, perhaps unnoticeable.