Black & White Picture from DVDs

[Larry1231]

this is not really a Verizon problem but I hope someonewould be willing to help a "low tech" old guy like.  When I play a DVD, all I get is a black and white picture, no color.  The DVD player was working fine the last time I used it, about 2 weeks ago. All of the cables are connected tightly and, yes, I tried several different discs. Same problem.  The color watching TV channels is fine - this is only when I'm watching a disc.  Is it possible that I accidentally pushed a wrong button on the FIOS remote or the DVD remote?

Help please and thank you!

Larry

(old guy in New York)

[SinCara]

What brand and model number dvd is it?

Need to see if its an option for your model or if the dvd player itself is failing.

[Larry1231]

Thank you for your offer to help.  It's a Zenith dvd player, model # ZDA 311.  I bought it about 13 years ago.  It's always worked perfectly and the last time I played a disc (about 2 weeks) the color was fine.  It seems weird that it should suddenly go to black and white. The cables are all connected tightly.  I have an HDMI betwen the dvd player and my TV.

Larry

(old guy in New York)

[SinCara]

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@Larry123 wrote:

Thank you for your offer to help.  It's a Zenith dvd player, model # ZDA 311.  I bought it about 13 years ago.  It's always worked perfectly and the last time I played a disc (about 2 weeks) the color was fine.  It seems weird that it should suddenly go to black and white. The cables are all connected tightly.  I have an HDMI betwen the dvd player and my TV.

Larry

(old guy in New York)

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There's a few things you can try.

Try unplugging and reseating the HDMI cable.

Sometimes settings get changed and we don't even realize it so check the settings on your dvd player. Some players have options to switch between NTSC and PAL. If you have this option make sure its set to NTSC.

Also if you have a setting to choose the type of output you are using see if its set to hdmi. If you don't have this option try the next option.

Try using component or composite cables if you can instead of the hdmi cable and see if you get color that way, if you do the hdmi cable is likely bad.

If none of this works its possible the dvd player is no longer good. 13 years is a good lifespan on a dvd player. 

[Larry1231]

Thank you for your kind reply. The HDMI cable is brand new and I did unplug it and re-plug with no improvement. The TV is definitely set to HDMI output which is why I can see the (black and white) video.  I will look for a PAL/NTSC switch but don't think this is the problem, otherwise I wouldn't get a picture at all.  Maybe it's time to buy a new player!

Thank you again for your help.

Larry

[SinCara]

Even brand new cables can fail, but yes I doubt that's the issue. Still worth a shot to try other cables to rule it out if you have them. As far as the NTSC/PAL goes yes the picture can still show and believe it or not that is the most common reason why it would playback in black and white which is why I mentioned it. A lot of your older players will play both discs and are region free. If you don't have the option somewhere in the players menu then yes I'd suggest a new player. As I said 13 yrs is a good lifespan of a DVD player.

[Larry1231]

Thank you again.  I will try all of those options tonight.   I hope it's NTSC/PAL -- I've had a hunch all along that I smply pushed a wrong button!

Larry

(old guy in New York)