You need the following equipment to get started:
- A coaxial cable.
- A television with a QAM digital tuner.
Once you have that, follow these simple steps:
- Connect the coax cable between your television and the wall jack.
- Power on your television.
- Run an "Auto-Program" or "Channel Scan", making sure that your TV is configured for "Cable TV" and "Digital", not "Antenna" or "Analog".
- Start watching!
OIT recently transitioned to a digital cable TV system. It's possible that your television does not possess a QAM digital tuner and is unable to process the cable TV signal that is being delivered. (Prominent television manufacturers began including QAM tuners around 2006.)
Older televisions without QAM tuners will NOT work with the new cable television system.
If your television does not have a digital QAM tuner, you may be able to purchase a separate external tuner to convert the digital signal to analog. Our cable provider Apogee has a recommendation that they are passing along:
- Technicolor DCI401 – This model is available for $135 from North American Cable Equipment and is highly recommended by our on-site cable contractors. (To place an order, please call NACE and specify that you will need the upgraded version of the set-top-box.)
We have done some preliminary testing of a less expensive digital-to-analog (DTA) alternative, the iView 3500STB. In our evaluation, it was able to display all of new digital channels, but only after a great deal of manual configuration. Additionally, the display quality of the iView device seemed inferior to that of the Technicolor. OIT would only suggest purchasing the iView device if you are comfortable performing extensive fine-tuning of the device settings.
Please note that OIT will not be able to offer official support for any of these devices. There are simply recommendations for users inquiring about the possibility of DTA conversion.
Residents are now able to subscribe to additional television programming through Apogee. Please see our Premium Cable Service page for details.
Depending on the housing complex that you live in, additional cable options may be available to you. For instance, residents of Verano Place can order service from Cox Communications. You are welcome to contact your local housing office for additional information.
(Please note that if you choose to pursue service from another vendor, student housing will not provide a rent refund or rate reduction.)
Since Verano Place apartments are wired for Cox cable service in addition to ResNet, it is possible that you are connecting to the wrong coax jack. In most cases (buildings 100 through 6528), the coax connector in the living room will be grouped with the jacks for network and phone. The wall plate should resemble the image below. In buildings 66000 through 69000, both the Cox and the ResNet cable connections are located on the same wall plate.
