DVD screen problem
 

hey all. I have a question about dvd players on old TVs. On my TV which is probably from the late 80s, my DVDs do something weird. The screen will get a little brighter, then a little darker, then a little brighter, then a little darker, then a little brighter, then a little darker (you get the picture). The intervals last for about 10 seconds, but it really REALLY bugs me. The weird part is that it doesn't happen with anything but dvds, and it can't the dvd player. I've tried it on a SONY dvd player, a PS2, and an XBOX. The same thing happens on each of them, and I'm pretty sure I've seen it on other TVs as well (so it may not be because my TV is from the 80s). It doesn't do it when I play games on the XBOX or PS2, or when I use the VCR on the sony (it's a DVD VCR combo). If anyone knows what causes this I would be much abliged if you would email me. Please help! Thank you very much.

You have your DVD player going through your VCR. Macrovision is doing what it was designed to do (preventing copying) and causing that problem.

You can either connect directly to your TV (if it has composite or s-video input) or get an RF modulator to input through the coax connection of your VCR or TV.

but it's a vcr/dvd combo so that shouldn't be the problem

Oh yeah, I got caught up in the PS2/XBOX part and missed that.

Well the symptom's the same and appears to have something to do with Macrovision but I don't have a clue how it's all wired.

Okay, here's how it's wired. It's really really basic actually. So, the VCR / DVD combo is hooked from the TV-out cable jack straight to the TV cable jack. I get good vision with the VCR and all other stuff through vcr, but when running the DVD player in the VCR/DVD combo, I get the brighter, darker thing (macrovision i guess you call it). That's how it's wired. The Ps2 and XBOX are hooked up to the composite jacks in the VCR/DVD combo.

Somehow either your TV or combo player is picking up/passing the Macrovision signal and you are seeing the result. Some older TVs are known to be sensitive and pick up the Macrovision signal when hooked up to a DVD player.
I assume you are sure you are not going through any other device.
And it certainly can be a poorly designed DVD/VHS combo player.
The litmus test would be to hook up player to another TV, play the same discs, and see if the problem migrates to the new set.