Simple connecting a DVD player to your Dish Network satellite TV system will let you play DVDs on the television without using many inputs. Here is a detailed walk-through on connecting a DVD player to Dish Network:
What You Need
Make sure you have the following before tying in your DVD player:
- A Dish Network satellite receiver might be a standalone Dish Network receiver, a Dish Hopper, Dish Joey, or Dish Wally.
- DVD player: For this use any simple DVD player with RCA audio/video outputs will do. Blu-ray players follow the same connection as well.
- Three RCA audio-video cables will be needed, one for the video and the other two for left and right audio.
Connecting The DVD Player
Once you have all the necessary equipment, you can start connecting your devices:
- Ensure that the Dish receiver and DVD player are both off before making any connections.
- Find the input ports at the rear part of your Dish receiver. They should be named as ‘AV 1’, ‘AV 2’, or something in that regard. They come in various colors with the video connectors mainly being yellow color while the right audio and left audio connectors are mainly red and white color respectively.
- Plug RCA cables to the same colored terminals on both the DVD player and Dish receiver. The yellow cable plugs directly into the yellow video contacts while the red cable to the red right audio contacts and the white cable to the left white audio contacts.
- Also, if available, you can connect an S-Video cable from the S-Video output of your DVD player to the S-Video input of your Dish receiver. This will afford a better quality picture than that which is afforded by a composite RCA cable connection.
- Switch on the television set as well as the Dish receiver. Please ensure your television is set to the right input that will show the Dish screen.
Selecting The Input On Dish
Once connected, you need to tell your Dish receiver to switch over and show the DVD input:
- Using the Dish remote, press the button labeled “Input” or “TV/Video”. This is presented as a menu of input options.
- The input you connected your DVD player to is probably labeled “AV 1” – press the Select button on your remote while highlighting it.
- Switch on your DVD player. You will now be able to see the DVD player screen on your TV.
- If you want to go back to watching Dish TV channels, go back to the Input/TV option and select Satellite receiver.
Installing UHF Pro or RF Remote
If your DVD player supports it, using a UHF Pro or RF remote is recommended:
- The UHF Pro remotes simulate DVDs. Switch on your DVD player and press the DVD mode button to take command of your player without the use of other remote controls.
- If however, the remote that came with your DVD player is an RF remote, turn on the RF mode on both the DVD player and the remote, as described in the manual. This also helps to avoid having to go for several remotes.
You can now turn on your DVD player and also switch channels and record programs through your Dish receiver conveniently. The only benefit I see from being connected through Dish instead of directly to the TV is that you only need to switch inputs to get to all of this. No more switching between the TV inputs to watch the different channels. All you need to do is choose between your satellite channels and DVD input.
Troubleshooting Problems
If you follow the steps but do not see a picture from your DVD player, double check:
- They are fully plugged into the ports at both ends with no slipping out. The largest and most frequent problem is loose cables.
- TV is to be set to the right input to watch the Dish receiver. If required, choose the correct input.
- Ensure that the DVD player is on and playing the disc.
- If current RCA cables are bad, then perhaps using a new set of RCA cables can help.
- Use S-Video input for video from the DVD, to maintain the quality of the picture.
- Make sure on the Dish remote to select the right input name by which the DVD is connected.
The process of connecting your DVD player to Dish Network is very simple and will not take much of your time. Whether you’re using a Hopper 3, Joey, 622, or any other Dish receiver, the process remains identical. Soon you will be able to use your satellite box to have easy access to your favorite DVD movies. Happy with the improved home theatre system.
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