How do I know if I need a converter box?
Greetings Mindy welcome to the Forum :welcome:
The information that Aaron has ask for will be very helpful, but...
I may have a suggestion on expediting the answer to your question.
Given that you've mentioned a Converter, may I assume that you presently have an Antenna available ? A roof mounted or Indoor (same room) type ?
IF that is the case, just disconnect any Cable from your Cable provider from your TV, and connect the Antenna Coaxial directly to it. Do a Scan, and if you see Channels listed, and can tune them in to watch, then you have a DTV.
IF, you know that the Antenna is working properly, and no channels are scanned, THEN you should look into getting a Converter Box.
One more thing...
You could be disconnecting from PTV Cable for any number of reasons, but those not withstanding, do you know what OTA (Free TV) you can get ?
If you don't know just what is available, then follow these directions for...
LookUp & Posting Instructions for your Free Local TV Channels.
Once you see, and if you wish to post your Chart, then "we" can see, if what you have available, is going to meet your viewing requirements.
Have a good Day !
S.W.
The information that Aaron has ask for will be very helpful, but...
I may have a suggestion on expediting the answer to your question.
Given that you've mentioned a Converter, may I assume that you presently have an Antenna available ? A roof mounted or Indoor (same room) type ?
IF that is the case, just disconnect any Cable from your Cable provider from your TV, and connect the Antenna Coaxial directly to it. Do a Scan, and if you see Channels listed, and can tune them in to watch, then you have a DTV.
IF, you know that the Antenna is working properly, and no channels are scanned, THEN you should look into getting a Converter Box.
One more thing...
You could be disconnecting from PTV Cable for any number of reasons, but those not withstanding, do you know what OTA (Free TV) you can get ?
If you don't know just what is available, then follow these directions for...
LookUp & Posting Instructions for your Free Local TV Channels.
Once you see, and if you wish to post your Chart, then "we" can see, if what you have available, is going to meet your viewing requirements.
Have a good Day !
S.W.
Greetings Mindy welcome to the Forum :welcome:
The information that Aaron has ask for will be very helpful, but...
I may have a suggestion on expediting the answer to your question.
Given that you've mentioned a Converter, may I assume that you presently have an Antenna available ? A roof mounted or Indoor (same room) type ?
IF that is the case, just disconnect any Cable from your Cable provider from your TV, and connect the Antenna Coaxial directly to it. Do a Scan, and if you see Channels listed, and can tune them in to watch, then you have a DTV.
IF, you know that the Antenna is working properly, and no channels are scanned, THEN you should look into getting a Converter Box.
One more thing...
You could be disconnecting from PTV Cable for any number of reasons, but those not withstanding, do you know what OTA (Free TV) you can get ?
If you don't know just what is available, then follow these directions for...
LookUp & Posting Instructions for your Free Local TV Channels.
Once you see, and if you wish to post your Chart, then "we" can see, if what you have available, is going to meet your viewing requirements.
Have a good Day !
S.W.
The information that Aaron has ask for will be very helpful, but...
I may have a suggestion on expediting the answer to your question.
Given that you've mentioned a Converter, may I assume that you presently have an Antenna available ? A roof mounted or Indoor (same room) type ?
IF that is the case, just disconnect any Cable from your Cable provider from your TV, and connect the Antenna Coaxial directly to it. Do a Scan, and if you see Channels listed, and can tune them in to watch, then you have a DTV.
IF, you know that the Antenna is working properly, and no channels are scanned, THEN you should look into getting a Converter Box.
One more thing...
You could be disconnecting from PTV Cable for any number of reasons, but those not withstanding, do you know what OTA (Free TV) you can get ?
If you don't know just what is available, then follow these directions for...
LookUp & Posting Instructions for your Free Local TV Channels.
Once you see, and if you wish to post your Chart, then "we" can see, if what you have available, is going to meet your viewing requirements.
Have a good Day !
S.W.
I just wanted to add that you may need to scan for "Digital" channels or your TV may have an "Air" choice. Either choice will work as with scanning all channels. TVs are all somewhat different in how they present menu choices.
The reason that I added this is that often times, cable connected televisions are set on the cable channels. Digital broadcasting will arrive through "Air" or "Digital".
In addition to "Air," I've also seen or heard of menu choices such as "Antenna," "Terrestrial" and "Broadcast." Some newer menus also display an icon of a rooftop antenna or broadcast tower.
Another consideration: Most sets' tuners default to cable/satellite mode right out of the box because most people get their signals from subscription services. Over-the-air viewers need to locate and change this selection in most cases. This trips up a lot of DTV newbies, many of whom don't even glance at the setup instructions...
Another consideration: Most sets' tuners default to cable/satellite mode right out of the box because most people get their signals from subscription services. Over-the-air viewers need to locate and change this selection in most cases. This trips up a lot of DTV newbies, many of whom don't even glance at the setup instructions...
five year old tv is not digital.
if it is digital it will have these following icons:
HDTV
DTV TUNER
SDTV TUNER
HD TUNER
DTV-READY
if it has these only:
HD-MONITOR
HDTV READY
HDTV CAPABLE
it only uses HD as an input source but is not capable of digital tuning.
digital channels on an DTV will show up as '25.1, 10.1' instead of non-decimaled numbers such as '25, 10'
if it is digital it will have these following icons:
HDTV
DTV TUNER
SDTV TUNER
HD TUNER
DTV-READY
if it has these only:
HD-MONITOR
HDTV READY
HDTV CAPABLE
it only uses HD as an input source but is not capable of digital tuning.
digital channels on an DTV will show up as '25.1, 10.1' instead of non-decimaled numbers such as '25, 10'
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