How to Connect Wires to a TV for a Dish Network Receiver

By Greyson Ferguson

Updated September 28, 2017

Items you will need

  • TV

  • Coaxial cable/RCA cables

Dish Network vies with DirecTV for satellite television subscribers. If you currently subscribe to Dish Network you need a satellite receiver to receive and decode the information the satellite dish is receiving. Of course, you need to properly connect the Dish Network satellite receiver to your television before you can begin enjoying the programming on your home TV.

Plug both your Dish Network satellite receiver and the television into an available wall outlet. Do not, however, power them on yet. You are more likely to receive an electric shock if the two devices are powered on while you connect them.

Connect the cable running from the satellite dish into the "In" port on the Dish Network receiver. The satellite installation technician (if it isn't installed already) is going to ask you what room(s) you want to view the programming in. These are the rooms that are going to have the cable in it.

Plug a coaxial cable into the "Out" port of the receiver. The coaxial cable transports both the video and audio signals in one cable. However, RCA cables provide better quality image and sound and the cables are not much more expensive. These cables (one red, another white and a third yellow) are plugged into the "Video Out" port in the receiver. Make sure the appropriate colors of the cables are plugged into the same colors on the receiver.

Plug the other end of the cables into the television. If you are using a coaxial cable it is plugged into the "In" port on the television (the same port the antenna would be connected to). If you are using RCA cables you plug these into the "Video In" port.

Power on the television and Dish Network receiver box. If using a coaxial cable change the television set to channel 3 or 4 (depending on what the default settings are). If using the RCA cables press the "Video" button on the TV or remote. From here you can begin watching the Dish Network satellite TV programming.

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