I’m trying to figure out how to help my tenant have tv in her room. In her room, there is a cable line. She doesn’t want cable, but wants just regular tv (ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS etc) so she plugged her tv into that cable and nothing happened. She is telling me (and i have some friends who have done this) that you should be able to use that cable line to get those channels, but its not working.

My question is, is that true? Is that how people get those channels? I was under the impression that people who did that were lucky that it worked, but it wasn’t a guaranteed way to get television.

If this is how its supposed to work, then I guess I need to find someone to figure out what the problem is with that cable wire, right?

If this is not the standard way to get these channels, what is? How can she get these channels?


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. it is not unheard of. Some people report that their cable transmits public channels in open format.
    You can check whether her cable is disconnected by taking your cable box and connecting to her cable. This will prove or disprove that her cable is connected.

  2. The channels will be displaced… 12 for ch 2 and so on.
    that is my experience.
    You can also use a regular roof antenna for OTA stuff and utilize the existing TWC cable for a feed.. You do not need a digital antenna, that is just plain misinformation.

  3. I have a digital antenna and it works well, though I don’t get all of the broadcast channels. I think I’m just missing CBS. But the advantage of a digital antenna is that the channels you do get are very clear. There’s a range of prices from roughly $25-$120, depending on whether it’s amplified or not.

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