What Input Should Your TV Be On to Watch Cable?

In this video tip, Mr. Noobie explains how to use the Input button on your remote control to make sure you are on the correct input to watch television.

This tech tip has been brought to you by XFINITY. For more information on how you can get high-speed Internet access in your home, visit xfinity.com.

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It’s not uncommon to have a cable box, Blu-ray player and Xbox all hooked up to your television at once. This is all made possible because each device is hooked up to a separate input on your television. With funny terms like HDMI, composite and component, how can you make sure you select the right input when you just want to watch television?

Hi, I’m Mr. Noobie and today I’m going to answer the question, what input should your TV be on to watch cable?

Television inputs

Modern televisions are like giant switchboards. One minute they can be set to watch television and the next they can be set to play a DVD. The key to switching between everything is by using what your television refers to as an “input”.

Look at your television’s remote control and you’ll likely find a button labeled “Input”. This is the magical button that, when pressed, tells your television you want to switch the display to a different connected device.

So which input is your cable box connected to? Well, it depends on what type of cable is used between the cable box and your television and what inputs were available when it was connected.

The most standard connection today is an HDMI cable which means your cable box is probably connected to an input on your television labeled something like HDMI-1, HDMI-2 or HDMI-3.

Cycling through the inputs

The easiest way to find out which one, is to power on your cable box and your television. If you don’t see your cable television programming or see “No Input Detected” on the screen, pick up your remote control and press the Input button.

Each time you press the Input button, your television should cycle to the next available input. For example, if you are on the input labeled HDMI-1, pressing the Input button should take you to the input labeled HDMI-2. Pressing Input again should take you to the input labeled HDMI-3. Depending on your television model, you may need to press the Input button and then use your up/down arrows on your remote along with the Select or Enter button to manually select the next input.

As long as your cable box is powered on, using the Input button to cycle through the inputs should eventually land you on the correct one for your cable television. You’ll know you have the correct input when you see your cable television programming.

And don’t worry if you accidentally skip by the correct input. You’ll eventually cycle back around to it a second time. Just keep pressing that Input button on your remote control until you see your cable television programming.

This tech tip has been brought to you by XFINITY. For more information on how you can get high-speed Internet access in your home, visit xfinity.com.