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Written by Shane Sentelle Updated 04/08/2024
Shane Sentelle is a content writer with more than six years of experience producing content about home services. A main area of focus is the moving industry, but Shane has also written for home inspectors and published articles to inform readers about pest control, lawn care, and gutter services…
Connecting a cable box or set-top box to your TV is a simple process you can do on your own if you switch cable providers or upgrade your TV in your home theater. You can connect your TV to a cable box using one of three different inputs: a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) cable, coaxial cable, or Separate Video (S-Video) cable. We’ll explain these separate connections and how to set up cable for each below.
TOP PICK Best Service Offerings Best Overall Full-Service Mover Worldwide Availability Best Overall Moving Labor Best Overall Moving Labor Experienced Crews Binding Estimates Price-Matching Policy Most Reliable Pricing Most Reliable Pricing 30 Days Free Storage Long-Distance Moves $1,000,000 Insurance PolicyHDMI is the standard cable connection for most modern TVs because it displays high-quality images. This digital cable type has a single cable line for audio and video. You can find it near the standard or Type-A port on the back of most smart TVs. HDMI ports look like trapezoidal plugs compared to the more rectangular Type-A ports.
Follow the steps below to connect your cable box to your TV using an HDMI cable:Turn off your TV and cable box.
Make sure the wall cable connects to the cable box.
Connect the HDMI cable to the cable box port.
Attach the cable’s other end to the HDMI port on the back of your TV.
A coaxial cable, or coax cable, transmits a signal through a thread at the wire’s center. It provides a clear display, but the picture quality is lower than what HDMI offers. You can use these traditional TV cables with smart TVs, analog TVs, and satellite dishes.
Cable boxes and routers have a coaxial outlet; although most TVs have one, some may not. Check the instructional manual that came with your TV if you have trouble identifying the coaxial port on the back of your device.
It’s also common for a coaxial cable to connect from your wall to your cable box and an HDMI to connect from the box to the TV.
