The U.S. government mandated that all television stations broadcast in digital by the summer of 2009. Digital signals take up less space on the spectrum than older analog signals, which frees that space for use by emergency services. Most cable and satellite stations provide digital conversion, and digital TV sets are set up to receive the signal as well. Those with older analog sets and no cable or satellite service can purchase a TV converter box, which transforms the digital signal from television stations into signals that can be read by an older analog TV. They are extremely easy to install.
Instructions
1. Disconnect the antenna from the coaxial outlet in the back of your television set. The cable likely either leads to an aerial antenna on your roof or a set of rabbit ears on top of your TV. Any kind of coaxial antenna will work for the TV converter box.
2. Check the back of your converter box. You should see a pair of coaxial outlets, similar to the one in back of your TV. One should be labeled "In" or "In From Antenna" and the other should be labeled "Out" or "Out To TV."
3. Connect the antenna cable to the "In From Antenna" outlet in the converter box.
4. Connect one end of a coaxial cable to the "Out To TV" outlet in the converter box and the other end to the single coaxial outlet in your TV. Most converter boxes come with their own coaxial cable and you can also buy one for a few dollars at any Radio Shack.
5. If you have a VCR or DVD player, connect them to the converter box using a set of RCA cables (three linked cables color coded yellow, red and white). One end goes into the "Out" or "Out to TV" jacks in the back of the VCR or DVD and the other goes into the RCA input jacks on the converter box. (RCA jacks are all color coded to match the RCA cables themselves.)
6. Turn on the TV, the converter box and the VCR or DVD player if you have one. Set the TV to Channel 3 or 4 and the DVD player or VCR to "Input" or "Line In" (whichever setting tunes it to the RCA "Out To TV" jacks). Press the set-up button on the converter box's remote. It will immediately begin scanning for digital channels in your area. When it is finished, you should be able to watch TV, DVDs and video tapes as normal.
Tags: back your, older analog, cable satellite, coaxial cable, coaxial outlet