Connecting up a TV – what do I need to know?

• Antenna socket
• Coaxial cable (antenna cable/SAT adapter/F connector)
• Possibly a receiver (usually integrated in modern TVs)
• For connecting devices to your TV: HDMI cable

When deciding where to put your TV, it’s important to position it close to an antenna socket. This is because if coaxial cables are too long, this can reduce the signal quality, causing picture interference or distortion. The antenna socket is a white, rectangular, triple-outlet socket: The left outlet is for connecting the TV, and the other two outlets are for radio and Internet (“Data”), respectively.

For older TVs, you’ll need to buy a receiver. New TVs usually have an integrated receiver for all types of TV connection (cable, satellite, digital).

If your house or apartment has a cable connection, connecting and setting up your TV for cable TV will be relatively easy. Simply plug the end of the coaxial cable with the recessed hole (the female connector) into the left antenna socket outlet. This is often labeled “TV”. Plug the other end (the male connector) into the TV. The socket for this is usually labeled “ANT” (antenna) or “Cable”. If you’re using a receiver, follow the same procedure, but plug the male connector into the receiver instead of the TV. You’ll then need to use an HDMI cable to connect the receiver to your TV.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll need to search for channels on your TV. This process is usually much faster for cable TV (compared to satellite TV), and sometimes not even necessary, since the cable TV provider will already have “preselected” channels. This will, however, limit the variety of programs available for you to watch.

To connect your TV to satellite TV, you’ll need to put the SAT adapter (F connector) in the top antenna socket outlet. You can tell which outlet you need here by the fact that it has a screw-in connection rather than a plug-in connection. Screw the connector into the outlet securely, to prevent it from coming loose. If your TV has an integrated receiver, attach the other end to the TV; this is also screw-in connection and will be labeled “SAT” or “LNB IN”.

If your TV doesn’t have an integrated satellite TV receiver, you’ll need to connect the satellite cable to the receiver, and then use an HDMI cable to connect the receiver to your TV. Once connected, you’ll need to start the automatic channel search. This can take a long time for satellite TV. How long will depend on the relevant settings, region, weather, satellite specifications, as well as the number of satellite dishes and dish orientation.

If your TV is too far away from the antenna socket, or if there isn’t an antenna socket in the room, you may underestimate how long the cable needs to be. It’s always a good idea to measure the distance between the antenna socket and your TV or receiver before buying a cable. It’s also best to buy a cable that’s a little too long, so that you can use the same cable if you want to change things around in the room and have your TV elsewhere. In principle, however, you should avoid buying a cable that is too long (over 50 m), since the signal quality may be reduced, depending on the cable quality and length. A cable that is poor quality or too long may cause picture interference or distortion. Another option is to connect another cable as an extension.

Most new TVs are smart TVs. These days, many people get the majority of their multimedia content over the Internet. Whether Netflix, Amazon Prime, media libraries, YouTube, or any other Internet service: most people don’t just use their TV to watch conventional TV channels anymore. Your TV will also need an Internet connection in order to carry out firmware updates; alternatively, you can use a USB stick here. It is generally advisable that you regularly update your TV to the latest version, since this is where bugs are fixed and new features may be added.

To connect to the Internet, you can use either a LAN cable (Ethernet cable) or the WLAN module that is integrated in newer TVs. Only use the latter if your router is not within range and there is no LAN cable network within range either. WLAN connections are generally not as stable as wired Internet connections – in particular at higher data rates, such as those that occur with 4K broadcasts, irritating buffering can occur.

Another way to connect your TV via LAN cable is to use a powerline adapter. With a powerline adapter, the Internet signal is connected via the house/apartment mains. To use the devices, one adapter needs to be plugged into the router and the other into the TV.

You can connect all other devices, such as game consoles, PCs, receivers, and DVD and Blu-ray players, to your TV via HDMI. With HDMI, image and video are transmitted simultaneously without any loss of signal quality, which is why you don’t need any additional cables.

Please note, however, that the latest game consoles (Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5) will only be able to output a picture with the highest resolution and refresh rate (4k 120 Hz/8k 60 Hz) if your TV supports HDMI 2.1. Here again, it’s important that TVs only have a limited number of inputs for this “highest” HDMI level. The remaining input ports support HDMI 2.0, which is perfectly adequate for conventional devices up to 4k 60 Hz. Be sure to connect your game console to the right port! In most cases, it’s the anterior or first HDMI ports labeled “HDMI 1” and “HDMI 2” that support HDMI 2.1. The cable must also be able to support HDMI 2.1, which means that you can’t simply use a conventional HDMI cable. Otherwise that’s all you need to know for connecting your devices to your TV via HDMI. The two cable ends are identical and can be connected to your TV or device either way round.

You can connect your PC, laptop, or iPad to your TV using an HDMI cable; alternatively, some TVs also have a DisplayPort (DP) connection. Some slimmer laptops don’t have a full HDMI connection. If this is the case, you can use an adapter (USB/Lightning to HDMI).

For content from iPads, you can either transfer it via AppleTV (hardware available separately) or convert it to HDMI using a Lightning adapter (or USB-C connector for the latest iPads).

To connect your TV to cable TV, you need to use a coaxial cable. The socket for this is usually labeled “Cable” or “ANT” (antenna). This round socket can be easily identified by the fact that it protrudes from the back of the TV. If you can’t see this socket on your TV, it means that your TV does not have an integrated cable TV receiver. You’ll therefore need to buy a cable TV receiver and connect it up to your TV using a coaxial cable, putting one end into the receiver and the other end into the antenna socket.

There’s basically no clear-cut answer here, since there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Satellite TV has the advantage that you can easily receive all available channels, including from other regions and in other languages. There’s also a far greater variety of programs available compared to cable TV. One disadvantage, though, is the high purchase cost of a satellite dish, if you don’t already have one. Wind and weather can also have a huge impact on signal quality. If it’s stormy or snowy out, you may not be able to receive any channels at all. One advantage of a satellite dish is that there are no monthly fees to pay. With cable TV, either the monthly charges (approx. €10 - €15) will be included in your rental contract or, if you own your own home, you’ll need pay these to the cable network operator.

Provided they are installed correctly and the cable runs are short, the signal quality is identical for both cable and satellite TV. Satellite TV images may arrive a few seconds faster because the delay is shorter. Which explains why that neighbor with a satellite dish always seems to cheer goals a few seconds earlier.