How do I hook up basic cable to my LCD TV?

Question

I'm using the Sony Bravia KLV-32U100M LCD and it doesn't seem to have the basic port that regular televisions use. On this ' http://www.hdtvsolutions.com/Sony-Bravia_KLV-32U100M-dealers.htm ' site it says that I need a seperate cable or an off-air tuner. Could someone tell me what cable I need or what exactly an OFF-air tuner does.
Thank You in advance

Answer 1

GOOD QUESTION!

You bought a "monitor" - by definition, this is a video display without an RF (antenna signal) tuner built in. It is this exact internal part (and accompanying RF connector) that distinguishes a "TV" from a "monitor"...

Your solutions are pretty straightforward (and they all involve purchasing something - anywhere from $5 to $500)

FIRST SOLUTION: Let's start with the $5 option. Find a non-working (yes, you read correctly, non-working) HI-FI stereo VCR at a garage sale or wherever, a local TV repair place (if you can even locate one any more) will gladly sell you a VCR like this for cheap. ALL YOU WILL NEED FROM IT is the ability to plug you basic cable line into it and use the video and audio outputs from it (the yellow, red and white jacks).

SECOND SOLUTION: Subscribe to Digital Cable service, preferrably with HD. You wil get a leased cable "box" - this "box" will have all of the outputs you need, depending on the level of service...if you spring for the HD service, you will be able to use either the "R/G/B" or HDMI outputs from this "box" and be done with it.

The same applies if you subscribe to any satellite (dish-based) service. If you do, some of their HD receivers allow the use of a local antenna input - and in this way you can receive local HD broadcasts for free.

NEXT SOLUTION: Get an HD TiVo box, this will allow you to plug in your basic cable line AND a local HD (free!) broadcast
antenna for recording and viewing of free HD off the local airwaves in your area (if any).

Each of these has been an incrementally higher costing option. You may also find a "terrestrial HD tuner set-top box" on eBay or Craigslist if you look hard enough. Don't spend more than $100 on this type of thing. Samsung made some early (now relatively obsolete) DirecTV HD tuners that allowed attachemtn of a local rabbit ears antenna for tuning in local HD boradcasts. You can find these used, too, and you don't have to subscribe to the DirecTV service in order to use the terrestrial (local) HD broadcast tuner to WATCH HD ON YOUR MONITOR!

Good luck and please let me know how it goes.

Answer 2

The TV is designed for digital cable or satellite, both of which have their own box. The government has mandated that all television broadcasts will be in digital format as of 2009. This means that the analog signal you are trying to use will no longer work for you or anybody else in the country.

TV techman must have forgotten about old analog without the box! My computer has a TV tuner, with no cable box whatsoever, and I'm expecting to lose it soon!

The digital signal will still run through your home on coaxial cable, but you will need digital cable boxes to put a picture onto your screen. At this time, however, cable boxes wil be available in retail stores rather than only by lease from the cable company.

Because your LCD is high definition, Sony doesn't bother putting a coaxial connection on the TV because it isn't capable of carying a high quality signal, and will very soon be entirely obsolete.

You have a couple of options until this takes effect. There are adapters that split a coaxial cable to RCA connections, but they are iffy hard to come by. There are also converter boxes that work well, but are very expensive. Both of these could be found on the internet if you search hard enough.

Your best option would be to use an old VCR, with a remote. Run the coaxial cable into the VCR, just like you would to send it a signal to record. Then use the RCA outputs to connect the VCR to your TV. depending on the VCR, you may have to always leave it on, or always leave it off. You'll need to put your TV to 3 or 4 and use the VCR remote to change channels, unfortunately. Just remember that it is a temporary solution.

Good Luck

Answer 3

How To Connect Basic Cable

Answer 4

BASIC CABLE....you can connect the cable directly into your CABLE BOX and use it's video outputs.
Use the source/input button on your TV and select your cable box. If you have low def Cable box, you use the OLD yellow white red connections on the box and the TV.
If it's an HD box, you use either the HDMI or the Component's Red, green, blue and audio red/white....

Low def boxes will give you channels 2 to 125, (and digital low def from 100 to 200) but no HD signals...those require the Cable's HD set top box and an HDMI or COMPONENT cable to deliver the HD signal to your TV set....

An OFF AIR tuner is designed to operate like the Cable Box....but it gets the HD signals from your local TV stations.
It can do low def Cable from channel 2 to 125, but no HD cable.

I didn't forget about OLD ANALOG....I looked at the TYPE OF TV YOU HAVE and gave you the CHOICES THAT WORK IN YOUR SITUATION.

Answer 5

it basically means you need a cable box or external tv tuner(you cant go straight from your wall to your tv) and you need to use a differnt kind of cable...ones that are compatible with your tv(either s-video, composite, or hdmi) and you need to run that from ur cable box to your tv to get cable tv.