How to Connect a DTV Converter Box to an Analog TV

You may not need to throw out that old TV after all

Analog television programming came to an end in June 2009, after which time all broadcasts were digital. If you have an analog TV and want to watch current digital content on it, you need a Digital TV Converter Box (DTV). These DTV boxes are relatively inexpensive and easy to find. Hooking them up is a breeze with this 4-step process. You'll be up and running in no time.

Analog televisions were made by a variety of manufacturers, such as Samsung and Sony.

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Disconnect Coaxial Cable

Disconnecting the output from the antenna

Go to the back of your TV and unplug the coaxial cable that's connected to the From Antenna port of the television. 

On the back of the DTV box, you'll see two connections. Look for the one that is labeled From Antenna. This is the one you want. Take the coaxial cable you just detached from the TV and attach it to the DTV converter box using the From Antenna input.

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Connect Output From DTV Converter

Choosing the output from the TV

Another connector on the back of the DTV converter box is labeled To TV (RF) or Out to TV composite or similar. Take either a coaxial or an RCA composite cable (your choice) and connect it to the Out to TV connector.

There is only one coaxial cable, but the RCA composite cable may have several connectors. The various cables are usually color-coded to match the ports.

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Connect DTV Converter Box to TV

Connecting DTV converter box to TV

Look on the back of the TV. You'll see either a From Antenna or Video 1/AUX input or a port with similar verbiage. Take the coaxial cable from the DTV box or the RCA composite cables and plug them into the corresponding ports here.

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Configure DTV Converter to Decode Antenna Signals

Configuring DTV Converter to Decode antenna signals

Plug in both the TV and DTV converter box and turn them both on. Follow the instructions that came with the converter box and turn your TV to channel 3 or 4. Follow the on-screen instructions to configure the DTV converter box to decode the antenna signals and enjoy your programming.