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Post by chris on Oct 22, 2014 9:00:04 GMT -5
I took my Mom's tv for my bedroom (although it is much larger than needed for my bedroom) I only have one cable running to my own tv and there is nothing in the bedroom for cable connection. My intentions were to just plug it in and watch local (if possible) using an antenae or rabbit ears. If I just plug it in to electrical outlet when it turns on it keeps saying DTV but no signal getting picked up. So does anyone know if I can do what I want or must it be hooked up to a cable. If that is the case then have to see about connecting the existing cable to the new tv.
Any advise (direction) appreciated. Thank you.
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Post by Clipper on Oct 22, 2014 10:31:27 GMT -5
I would hazard a guess that you need to buy one of those new style antennas to receive the digital signal. With one of those antennas you should be able to access the signal from quite a few stations in a city the size of Rochester. Maybe Clarence or Dave can give you a better answer
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Post by chris on Oct 22, 2014 11:18:11 GMT -5
Thanks Clipper..nothing is as simple as I think it will be. I thought I could just plug and play.  |
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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 22, 2014 12:04:47 GMT -5
Long distance trouble shooting can be an interesting challenge but nothing is lost by trying. First question: is there a manual available? Clipper is correct that you will need an antenna. In the Rochester area a set top model should get several stations. The last one I bought was about 10 years ago for my mother-in-law in the St. Paul MN area. To the best of my memory it got about 10-12 stations and cost $20-25.
Most modern TVs have some means of setting the input and an automatic set up routine to scan for available channels. the trick is to get to the routine. Most sets now have multiple inputs, the one in my family room has 4 which is not an extreme number. It has a cable plugged into # 1, a DVD player on #2 and a Chromecast on #4. Take a photo of the connection area of the TV when you shop for an antenna and the salesperson may be able to offer suggestion. (Of course some salespeople's knowledge seem to be limited to the location of the time clock and rest room.) Don't get talked into some super antenna, you're not trying to pick up stations from Syracuse and Buffalo. On the other hand you make get a lousy signal in an apartment building make sure you can return it.
Set up. Your remote may have a button which reads "source." Pushing that button should bring up a display on the screen which allows you to select which input to play from. It may also allow you to designate if that source is cable or antenna. If so you may have to highlight what you want and select it.
Next. The remote may have a button "menu." (I remember one TV which had that button on the set.) The menu should offer some choice like "set up." Your choice for antenna or TV could be there as well. You will be looking for a set up menu choice which tells the TV to scan through its range of channels looking for one with signals. It will set those channels and discard the rest so when you do channel up/down on the remote you only get working channels.
One bad thought occurs, my mother-in-law's set was so old it wouldn't receive digital signals and needed a converter box. That was a pain. I still think I would have been better off going to Wallmart and buying a set.
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Post by dave on Oct 22, 2014 13:11:14 GMT -5
Chris, you really need to consult the manual that came with the TV. I'm no expert, but the few I've fooled with all seem different. Just a cursory thought as to your problem: sounds to me like you want to switch the Mode from Cable TV to straight Television, whatever they might call that for your particular TV. If you don't have the manual that came with the TV, if you can give us the TV brand name and model number, we can look for a manual on line.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 22, 2014 14:36:04 GMT -5
Chris, you really need to consult the manual that came with the TV. I'm no expert, but the few I've fooled with all seem different. Just a cursory thought as to your problem: sounds to me like you want to switch the Mode from Cable TV to straight Television, whatever they might call that for your particular TV. If you don't have the manual that came with the TV, if you can give us the TV brand name and model number, we can look for a manual on line. Good point. |
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Post by dave on Oct 22, 2014 16:49:26 GMT -5
Clipper, re digital antennas ... I remember only a basic smattering of physics and know even less about modern (past 30 years) television systems, but my basic physics makes me think talk we hear about a "digital antenna" is baloney. An antenna, if cut to the right size for its type and frequency, couldn't care less how the incoming signal is modulated, i.e., whether it's FM, AM, etc., or whether it contains Digital or Analog encoding. The system that the antenna feeds cares, of course, but not the antenna itself.
But please, anyone, correct me if I'm that far out of date. Now, if digital programming is only on a certain band of frequencies or channels, AND by digital antenna they mean an antenna sized to received those frequencies, then I'd say there IS a difference, but calling such an antenna "digital" is misleading.
Good point about Rochester having numerous TV Stations. Don't know if they're all active, but wiki lists the following:
WHAM-TV
WHEC-TV
WROC-TV
WUHF
WXXI-TV
WBGT-CD
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Post by Clipper on Oct 22, 2014 17:34:15 GMT -5
Could Chris simply buy a splitter and run an additional length of coaxial cable to the extra set? I know for a long time we had expanded cable in the living room, but simply had straight coaxial cable with no set top box in the kitchen and we got all of the basic cable channels.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 22, 2014 18:44:30 GMT -5
Clipper, you are correct, a splitter can be an easy solution depending on the layout. Routing a cable through an apartment wall can be problematic.
Dave, you also are correct, converting to digital TV broadcasts did not create a new electromagnetic spectrum. The "new" channels are located in the band where channels 52-69 used to be. The digital transmission scheme allows a lower signal to noise ratio which allows more information to be transmitted per amount of bandwidth. Stations can use this to divide up a band to transmit multiple signals on what was previously a single channel. (I hope that makes sense, I'm kind of making it up as I go.) If I scan the TV in the kitchen (which is not on a box) WKTV is broadcasting channels 2.0, 2.1 & 2.2.
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Post by Ralph on Oct 23, 2014 1:43:07 GMT -5
A splitter will get the job done so long as they don't need a special box to unscramble the signals or some such BS. And looking at "source" or "input" on the remote should enable you to select cable, standard/antenna functions. Dave, You are correct in your assumption! An antenna is an antenna is an antenna.......period. I have two "old fashioned" antennas on the roof for the TV, after the first one when we dropped cable my wife was pretty set on the "digital antenna" idea. $40 later there sits the nifty "digital" antenna (The size of a cereal box) at the very top of the mast...........doing what I expected, nothing, not even en extra blink of a station. Then I added the largest standard antenna I could find and viola! Nothing works better than a huge hunk of properly cut antenna to grab what it can. For some things in life........bigger IS better.  |
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Post by chris on Oct 23, 2014 2:19:21 GMT -5
I have the manual and it is a 32" Samsung LED TV (flat screen) BN68-04027A-03 Samsung setup006.pdf (349.8 KB) I want to keep this as simple as possible. Maybe go to a store that sells what I need or maybe easiest is to do the splitter (and have someone explain to me how to do this)? Is this something I can do without a problem myself??? |
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Post by chris on Oct 23, 2014 2:24:56 GMT -5
Dave...yes all those channels are active.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 23, 2014 7:31:18 GMT -5
From the pdf the physical hookup looks straightforward. The antenna/cable connection is in the lower left. Position the connector on the end of the cable so the wire in the middle goes into the center of the input on the TV. Push gently until the threaded outside barrel on the connector is in contact with the input then twist the barrel clockwise until it is snug. It doesn't have to be tightened with a wrench or anything.
A splitter is fairly straightforward, typical is a rectangular can with a cable connection on one side and two connections on the other side. The one by itself is the input from the cable, the other two are outputs to the TV. Pre-made cables of various lengths are available from the same place as the splitter. You have to survey your setup and determine the routing and lengths you need. You might end up with a 2 foot cable to one TV and a 25 foot to another.In my home I'm not afraid of drilling a hole in a wall or ceiling to route a cable. In an apartment maybe not.
Don't get talked into buying the most expensive "low loss" cables in the house. In the days of audio and analog signals the case could be made in some cases. Digital signals are either sufficient or not, I have 50 foot runs in my attic which work just fine.
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Post by dave on Oct 23, 2014 9:57:46 GMT -5
"Position the connector on the end of the cable so the wire in the middle goes into the center of the input..." CB, you have the mind of an engineer and the heart of a technical writer! Don't get talked into buying the most expensive "low loss" cables in the house. In the days of audio and analog signals the case could be made in some cases. Digital signals are either sufficient or not, I have 50 foot runs in my attic which work just fine. True! Hell, I've got 25 foot USB cables running from radios to a PC. |
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Post by Clipper on Oct 23, 2014 10:43:33 GMT -5
Heck, our cable comes from a pole in the field across the road. It runs for well over 150 feet through trees and across a creek to a point where it is anchored to the eaves of our house. It drops from there to a box on the outside, comes through the bedroom wall to a box that splits it to phone, tv, and internet. I have run it from there to the kitchen, one of the bedrooms and even buried an ordinary coax in the ground years ago to have cable in my garage workshop back when I used to watch NASCAR. I simply ran it through a piece of cheap garden hose as a conduit. She should have NO problem with the length she would use in the apartment.
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