The company of Dish Network is one of the major satellite television service providers in the United States of America. Normally, dish programming and channels, that are available on TV, require a satellite receiver. But there are some hidden tricks to hook your Dish service to your TV without the satellite box receiver. Although it is only useful in a very limited way, this at least allows a view of Dish programming without having to rent additional equipment.
What You'll Need
Here's what you'll need before getting started:
- Special requirements: Current Dish Network subscription; correctly oriented and aligned satellite dish that points toward the Dish satellites
- Coaxial cable long enough to run from your satellite dish to the position where the TV is going to be placed
- A new HDTV that has a built-in QAM tuner, which is standard for almost all modern TVs released in the last decade.
- Option to go to your TV input settings page to scan inputs for the channels
Understanding QAM Tuners
A QAM stands for quadrature amplitude modulation which is a type of signal that facilitates transmission of digital cable channels through a coaxial cable line. New model TVs have inbuilt QAM tuners, which make it easy to tune into digital cable channels that are not encrypted from the cable line without having to use the cable box.
Same as this, you can also get some basic and unencrypted programming from satellite providers like DISH without using a satellite receiver. But in this case, it lacks the channel offerings in general; at least it offers a means to extend Dish programming to more TVs than renting more satellite boxes at a cheaper price.
How To Connect
Follow these steps to connect your Dish Network service to a TV without a satellite box:
- Your Dish Network satellite should be already already on and functional, the coaxial cable from the satellite dish should be connected to some part inside the house, preferably in the basement.
- This particular coaxial cable is the one that connects the satellite dish service to the Dish Network satellite receiver box. This cable needs to be unplugged from the back of the receiver to separate from the receiver.
- Screw a coaxial splitter onto the other end of the end of the loose coaxial cable that was just disconnected. One of the ends of the splitter will accommodate the cable through a male while the other end has two female connectors through which the signal is passed on to two other paths.
- Copper core: Using a new section of coaxial cable, connect a female output on the splitter. This should be connected directly to your TV location for better reception of Audio/Video signals.
- Twist the new coaxial cable into the coaxial input port in the back of the TV until it is tight. This port should have an identification label which is either “Antenna” or “RF”.
- Switch on the television and then adjust the video input to that which corresponds to the coaxial input you used. It may be called “Tuner” or the channel that is identified by a number, for instance, “3” or “4”. If you are not sure, refer to your television manual for instructions.
- Turn your television on and navigate to the settings menu to locate the option that will let you make a digital tuner scan. This may be shown as ‘Channel Scan’, ‘Auto Tuning’, or ‘Channel Search’.
- Begin the scanning process now and let your television look for any channels operating on the coaxial cable now connected to the Dish satellite service. The scan usually takes only a few minutes, after which the results are displayed.
- After scanning is complete, you should now be able to view a few dozen or so of these clear QAM-locked channels directly from your TV’s QAM Tuner without the need for a satellite box receiver. Major networks, usually popular ones such as ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and PBS are part of normal channel offerings.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, channel selection is somewhat restricted in this case, but to watch Dish satellite programming on other TVs without paying monthly Dish receiver fees, you can hook up a TV to free QAM channels from your Dish service. Just remember, though, that all the options you get will be significantly less than what is offered by your regular Dish. But for secondary TVs, it gives free licenses to the basics.
Ready to upgrade your TV experience? Call us now at (877) 471-4808 to find the perfect Dish Network plan for you! Don’t miss out on great entertainment—our team is here to help you choose the best package and get you started today.