How to Install a DTV Digital Terrestrial Decoder with Antenna

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

As of 4 July 2012, all Italian televisions must be able to receive DTV digital television broadcast signals. Analogue televisions that do not receive DTV digital signals do not view most over-the-air channels without a boxed digital converter (decoder), which receives the digital signals and updates the system software through the DTV antenna system and converts them into analog signals, which can be viewed with an analog television. Set-top boxes are relatively inexpensive and easy to set up, but they require a separate antenna. They can also offer significantly better image quality, as well as some additional channels.

Steps

Set up a DTV Digital Converter Box and Antenna Step 1

Step 1. Put the decoder next to the TV, where there is space

The converter box must be close to the television to which it is connected with the supplied cables. In the kit there will also be a remote control, so the box must not be covered by an object that blocks the signal. In addition, the converter box must be powered by electricity, so it must be close to a power outlet or power strip.

Read the connection labels on the back of the box, so you will know where to connect the TV and the antenna

Set up a DTV Digital Converter Box and Antenna Step 2

Step 2. Turn off the TV and other connected devices

If you are using a power strip, turn that off as well.

Set up a DTV Digital Converter Box and Antenna Step 3

Step 3. Connect the converter box to an antenna with an RF coaxial cable

If you have an older antenna that doesn't plug directly into an RF coaxial connector, read the section for older TVs at the bottom of the Steps section. Any portable antenna can be used, but for best reception it is recommended that you use an antenna designed to pick up DTV signals. Cheap "rabbit ear" antennas are readily available on the market, as well as more powerful external and wall antennas.

When using a rabbit ear antenna, place it near the television. Connect one end of an RF (coaxial) cable to the ANTENNA RF IN connector on the converter box. Connect the other end of the cable to the TO TV connector on the decoder. It may be more convenient to connect the RF coaxial cable to the antenna first, or the RF coaxial cable may already be connected to the antenna if it was previously connected directly to the TV. The antenna may also have a CABLE IN cable which looks like the TO TV connector; make sure you don't connect your TV to this connector. If the antenna is powered, plug in the included power adapter, but leave the antenna turned off until all other components are connected.
If you are using an external or otherwise structured antenna, mount it and connect it to a securely placed object. If the antenna is external, the RF coaxial cable connecting the antenna to the TV will need to pass through your home, usually through a hole that will have been drilled in the wall. Connect the RF coaxial cable to the antenna and the other end of the cable to the ANTENNA RF IN connector on the decoder. If the antenna is powered, a segment of cable supplied with the antenna will need to be installed between the converter box and the antenna along the same RF coaxial cable that connects the decoder to the antenna. This length of cable will be connected directly to the ANTENNA RF IN connector of the decoder, and the RF coaxial cable that runs towards the external antenna will be connected to the other end of the powered segment. The latter will be connected to an adapter to be inserted into a wall socket.

Set up a DTV Digital Converter Box and Antenna Step 4

Step 4. Connect the decoder to the television

According to the supplied cables, the structure of the converter box and the design of the TV, there may be several ways to connect the decoder to the TV. Most of these boxes have a connector for an RF coaxial cable and several connections for composite cables. If you have an older TV that doesn't connect directly to an RF coaxial cable or composite cables, read the section for older TVs at the bottom of the Steps section. Composite cables consist of one yellow video cable and two audio cables. The audio cable for the right speaker is red, the cable for the left one is white.

The most common way is to connect the decoder box and the television with an RF coaxial cable. This type of cable must be supplied with the converter box. Simply connect one end of the RF coaxial cable to the RF TV OUT connector on the decoder and then connect the other end of the RF cable to the similar connector on the cable on the TV. This connector on the TV should be labeled VHF / UHF.
Alternatively, the converter can also be connected to your television with a composite video cable and two audio cables, instead of the single RF coaxial cable, provided these connectors are present on your equipment (the converter box must be connected to an antenna with an RF coaxial cable). This option is particularly useful if you will be connecting a separate audio system or self-powered stereo speakers, as the video and audio signals pass through separate cables. The composite video cable connectors on the decoder and TV will be yellow, while the composite audio connectors will be red and white. The red cable is for the right exit, the white one is for the left exit. Connect the audio and video cable to the decoder, then plug the video cable with the yellow tip into the yellow VIDEO IN connector on the TV. Next, connect the red tipped audio cable to the red AUDIO IN RIGHT connector on your TV and connect the white tipped audio cable to the AUDIO IN LEFT connector.

Set up a DTV Digital Converter Box and Antenna Step 5

Step 5. Plug in the decoder

The box can be supplied with a power adapter or can have a permanent, standard power cord. If there is a power adapter, simply plug it into a wall socket or power strip and put the power adapter in the decoder. If you are using a power strip, plug the converter box into the unlit power strip, then turn it on.

Set up a DTV Digital Converter Box and Antenna Step 6

Step 6. Put the batteries in the remote control of the decoder

Batteries for the remote control may be supplied with the converter box.

Set up a DTV Digital Converter Box and Antenna Step 7

Step 7. Familiarize yourself with the remote control

It controls many functions of the TV and the decoder. If the included remote control is universal and programmable, you will be able to control all the functions of the TV after it has been set up manually.

Set up a DTV Digital Converter Box and Antenna Step 8

Step 8. Turn on the TV and set it to channel 3 or 4

This is not possible with the remote control of the decoder, but with the remote control of the TV or by switching on the TV manually (unless the remote control can be programmed to be used specifically for the TV). The converter will only send images to the screen when the TV is set to one of these channels. The decoder must be set to channel 3 or 4, whichever channel matches. This can be done manually using a switch on the decoder or using the menu that appears on the screen (see next point).

Set up a DTV Digital Converter Box and Antenna Step 9

Step 9. Turn on the decoder with its remote control or by pressing the power button on the box

If the converter can be set to channel 3 or 4 using the menu that appears on the screen, set it to the desired channel if necessary

Set up a DTV Digital Converter Box and Antenna Step 10

Step 10. Scan for channels

Go to the menu that appears on the screen to allow the decoder to automatically scan for channels. Auto scan will find available channels, excluding all others. If you don't receive many channels, you may need a better antenna, or you should place the antenna in a different area.

If you know that you should be able to receive some channels that were not stored during the auto scan, you can always add them using the menu on the screen, adjusting the antenna until you find them.
An additional scan can also be performed at any time by using the on-screen menu to search and add channels that were not found and stored during the initial scan.
Unwanted channels that are received and that have been added to the channel list can be removed using the on-screen menu, using the "Edit channels" function or similar.

Set up a DTV Digital Converter Box and Antenna Step 11

Step 11. Check the signal strength and reception

Poor reception via a decoder will have a "checkered" or "blocky" appearance. You may need to adjust the antenna or put it in a different position. Poor reception can also show up on the TV screen with a message such as "NO SIGNAL" or "NO PROGRAMMING", but this can also indicate that there is no channel to be received. To check the signal strength of a particular channel in real time, use the "Signal Strength" or similar option using the remote control. Adjust the antenna while using the "Signal Strength" option to see which antenna arrangement or position provides the best picture. If you use an antenna that is placed away from the TV, such as on the roof, one person can monitor the signal strength indicator on the TV, while the other moves or adjusts the antenna.

Set up a DTV Digital Converter Box and Antenna Step 12

Step 12. Set the desired "Aspect ratio" format of the image

The decoder can initially show TV images with the aspect ratio designed for the widescreen HDTV. Different sizes or aspect ratios of the images viewed on the TV will be available depending on the specific channel and / or show, and the aspect ratios can be adjusted via the decoder menu to match the 4: 3 standard of analog television screens.

Shows that are shown in widescreen format can fill the screen, the left and right sides, but not the top and bottom of the TV. Even if some of the top and bottom area of the screen is not used, this is still an acceptable format, because you can see a large part of the original movie image on the screen.

To view the shows in widescreen format (which fills the screen on the left and right sides), choose "Letterbox" or the equivalent aspect ratio option. The "Auto" option can also achieve the same result
Some shows will be shown in 4: 3 format, which will completely fill the screen. Shows shown in this format must completely fill the TV screen regardless of the aspect ratio that has been chosen.
Some shows will only fill half of the screen (there will be unused areas on the left and right, as well as at the top and bottom). These broadcasts can be viewed in 4: 3 zoomed out or widescreen zoomed out. These shows will need to be cropped to properly fill the screen.

To make sure the image always fills the TV screen well enough for all channels, adjust the "crop" aspect ratio using the on-screen menu

Set up a DTV Digital Converter Box and Antenna Step 13

Step 13. Spend a quiet day enjoying your TV

Old TVs

Older TVs and antennas that don't have RF coaxial connectors, but have screw terminals, use transformer adapters. These simple transformers are available in electrical stores for around five euros.

One type of transformer will screw the clamps into the TV VHF screw terminals and allow the RF coaxial cable to connect to the TV and the RF OUT connector of the decoder. Connect this transformer to your TV with a screwdriver, then insert the RF coaxial cable into the connected transformer and set top box.
A different type of transformer fits into the RF IN ANTENNA connection on the digital converter box and allows you to connect an antenna with two screw connectors to the decoder. Connect the antenna to the transformer with a screwdriver, then insert the transformer onto the decoder.

Advice

If you are using a DVD player, as well as a cable box, the DVD player and converter box must be connected to separate the TV connections. S-video, composite and component connections are commonly found on DVD players.
- DVD players often have different types of connections.
- If the decoder is connected to the TV with an RF coaxial cable, you can connect the DVD player to the TV with composite audio and video cables. You can also connect only the yellow composite video cable to the TV and connect the white and red audio cables to a separate stereo system, or to powered speakers.
- Many TVs have connections via component cables, which provide excellent picture quality. The three cables are used exclusively for video connection (unlike composite video, which requires only one video cable).
  - The cables video component type cables consist of a green (Y), a blue (PB) and a red (PR) cable. Be sure to Not connect the red component video (PR) cable to the red audio connector.
  - The cables video components are connected to the back of the DVD player and to the TV. Audio cables must also be connected for sound.
  - It is typical to clip white and red audio cables to component video cables, but other types of audio connections can be used with component video cables.
- Many DVD players and speaker systems have OPTICAL type audio connections that can be used in conjunction with composite or component video connections. This type of connection offers superior audio quality.
  - Setup when using an optical audio cable and component video cables.
  - Setup when using the optical audio cable and composite video cable.
- The cables can be connected to the TV in different configurations depending on how the TV is connected to the set top box, DVD player and a separate sound system (if used).
  - Configuration if the converter is connected to the TV with RF coaxial cable and if the DVD player is connected to the TV with composite audio and video cables.
  - Configuration if the converter is connected to the TV with RF coaxial cable and if the DVD player is connected to the TV with composite video cable. The audio from the DVD player is connected to the separate audio system (not shown).
  - Configuration if the converter is connected to the TV with RF coaxial cable and if the DVD player is connected to the TV with component video cable and red and white audio cables.
  - Configuration if the converter is connected to the TV with RF coaxial cable and if the DVD player is connected to the TV with video cables. The audio of the DVD player is connected to a separate audio system (not shown).
  - Configuration if the converter box is connected to the TV with composite audio and cables (the audio ones are red and white) and if the DVD player is connected to the TV with component video cable and with the white and red audio cables.
  Warnings
  - Only full-power TV stations need to switch to digital terrestrial. Many local and low-power televisions will continue to broadcast as an analog signal, which several DTV converters will be able to receive.
  - Electrical equipment, such as set-top boxes and antennas, can cause electric shock if not handled and installed correctly.