Project Difficulty:
Easy Estimated
Project Time: Under 15 minutes per project
Tools and Materials:
Cable service
Cable provided by cable company
Cable box, if required
Television set (cable-ready, as needed)
Cable-ready VCR, as needed
Hooking up cable to your television set and/or VCR can be confusing. Here are a few guidelines that may help. However, always follow the instructions from your cable service and the manufacturers of your TV and VCR.
1.
Cable Boxes and TV
To get cable TV, your local cable company must run a cable into your home--an antenna is not needed. Some cable companies do not scramble signals except for the "premium" channels. If this is the policy of the cable company servicing your area, and you do not subscribe to any of the premium channels, your need for accessories will be limited. Call the company to discuss your options from purchasing any cable TV accessories.
Once the 75 OHM coaxial cable has been brought in your home, it can be connected directly to your TV set (if your set is "cable ready"), cable box, or VCR. If you subscribe to one or more premium channels, or if your cable company scrambles all or some of the standard cable channels, you will require a cable box (essentially a device that unscrambles TV signals) supplied by the cable company.
To hook up a cable box to your TV, do the following:
1) Connect the 75 OHM lead to the cable box by screwing the "F" connector at the end of the cable into the VIDEO IN port of the box.
2) Connect another 75 OHM lead to the VIDEO OUT port of the box.
3) The other end of the lead in Step 2 should be connected to the ANTENNA connection on the back of your TV set.
4) The tuner on your TV must be turned to either channel 3 or 4 (whatever is specified in your area). All tuning is done through the cable box.
2.
Cable and VCRs
Today, many TVs and VCRs come "cable ready." This means that they can accommodate a large number of cable channels (usually 60 to 150 or more). If your local cable company does not scramble standard channels, your video equipment should be capable of tuning in to all the channels without a cable box. In this case, simply connect the 75 OHM lead directly to the 75 OHM VIDEO INPUT port on the back of your TV set. Your TV will automatically tune any non-scrambled channels.
To get cable reception through your VCR, do the following (Fig. 1):
1) Connect the 75 OHM lead coming into the house, into the 75 OHM VIDEO INPUT port on the back of your VCR.
2) Then connect a separate 75 OHM lead to the VIDEO OUTPUT port on the back of the VCR.
3) Connect the other end of the lead in Step 2 to the VIDEO IN port on the back of your TV set. Your VCR should be able to tune in to the same channels as those on your TV. All VCRs now come equipped with a built-in switching circuit that allows you to record one channel while watching another, without additional accessories. However, if your cable company scrambles its channels, or you subscribe to one or more premium channels, you will still need to have a cable box (TVs and VCRs do not have decoding capability).
To get reception through a cable box and a VCR (Fig. 2):
1) Connect the cable to the VIDEO INPUT port on the back of the cable box.
2) Connect another 75 OHM cable to the VIDEO OUTPUT port on the back of the cable box. Connect the other end of this cable to the VIDEO INPUT port on the back of the VCR.
3) Next, attach a cable to the VIDEO OUTPUT port of the VCR and the ANTENNA or VIDEO INPUT port on the back of the TV.
Tuning is done through the cable box with both the TV and VCR tuners permanently set on either channel 3 or 4, depending on your area. Because of the automatic switching circuits within the VCR, you will still be able to record one channel while viewing another without additional accessories.
