Print
May 15, 2008 11:41 am US/Central
How To Hook Up Your Digital TV Converter Box
(CBS)
-
-
A digital to analog converter box can be used to allow an older television to recieve new, digital TV signals
CBS
OK, so you have your Digital TV converter box. Now what? Connecting your box depends on several factors.
1: Does your TV set have only a tuner (coaxial connection) or does it also have video and audio input connections (yellow, red, and white). If so, how many sets of these connections are there?
2: Do you have a mono or stereo TV set?
3: Do you have a stereo HI-FI VCR or a mono audio VCR?
If your TV is mono audio with only a tuner, and your VCR is mono: You would hook your antenna to the new converter box antenna input, then hook up the RF (coaxial) output to the VCR's antenna input, and the VCR's "TV or RF Out" jack to the TV set's RF antenna input.
You would then make sure the TV and the VCR stay on channel 3 to either watch or record programs.
Your DVD player would have to go through an RF modulator, and it would be connected in line between the VCR and the TV set.
If your VCR and TV are stereo: YOU MUST hook up the new converter box to the video and audio input jacks on both the VCR and TV set in order to both hear AND record stereo audio.
If you have these jacks, you may already have the DVD player connected there.
This can get complicated if the TV set has only one video/audio input (one set of jacks.) You may need to buy another device, called a video/audio switcher.
Click here for information on a two input switcher. Click here for information on a five input "auto switcher".If you have two or three sets of video/audio inputs on your set, you should be OK.
Most of the converters only have one set of video/audio OUTPUTS so in order to feed both the VCR and TV set, you essentially LOOP the video/audio through the VCR. That means you MUST leave the VCR on all the time and make sure it stays on its external video/audio input in order for the TV to get the signal from the box.
As long as you are not planning on recording a different channel than the one you are watching, this is not a problem. If you want to record one channel and watch another, you will need TWO converters. One for the VCR and one for the TV.
If the TV is stereo, but the VCR is mono:You would hook the video/audio connections from the new converter to the TV's video/audio input jacks If you only have one set of jacks you will need a video/audio switcher. (See links above.)
Your DVD player would hook to the second input (or switcher).
Your mono VCR would be hooked to and record from the RF (Channel 3) output of the converter.
Finally, another simple (but pricier) solution is to buy one of the newer DVD and or VCR recorders that has a built in ATSC Digital tuner. They allow you to either record or just tune the new digital signal through them without any external converter.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
