We have a prizmo tv and I want to get just local channels. bought a antenna. then what?

Check the shielding of your antenna. Moreover make distance between VCR and antenna cable. In fact VCRs have a built in modulator and its signal is strong as compared to local antenna signal. There is another way, connect the local antenna in VCR RF In and connect RF Out of VCR to TV. In this scenario you have to tune your VCR to get the antenna channels instead of TV. It will solve your problem.

Yes you can use an indoor antenna. Just make sure it is an HD antenna to get the digital channels clearly. You will have to do a scan to pick up local channels. In the TV menu, it will ask you if you want to scan for "cable" channels or "antenna" channels. You want to choose antenna.

You need to find out what antenna you need and the direction it should point to get your local stations. Antennas are given a color rating based on how far away the transmitter is that can still provide a good signal. The actual results may vary due to trees, hills and buildings.

antennaweb.org and tvfool.com are good starting points; just type in your address. Antennaweb.org is very conservative in the available channel list even with assuming you have an external antenna. Get the appropriate antenna and point it in the best direction for the channels you want. Connect it to the TV (coax) and set the TV to scan for OTA channels. (Usually the source or input must be TV and then enter the menu to set the TV to OTA signal and scan for all channels.) You do need an ATSC tuner these days.

If you are splitting the antenna signal to several TVs, you probably should add an amplifier to the setup.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells

if the display says cable, it won't get over the air signal. switch the source to antenna, hook up an antenna and go through auto program sequence.

You may be looking in the wrong place or have the wrong kind of antenna. With the digital conversion, TV channels shifted from the numbers they used before. In my area, the previous Channel 6 is now broadcasting in the UHF band.
It can be harder to adjust the antenna for a digital TV because it is either working well or totally off - no gradually decreasing "snow" as a clue.
It is possible your TV is not equipped to pick up digital TV. There are converters to translate digital TV to analog signals for older TV. They cost between $30 and $70 depending on features.

Here is how you should have it connected.
1- Antenna (rabbit ears or whatever)
2- Converter box
3- Television

When you turn on the TV and the converter box, go to channel 3 on the TV. You should see the converter box signal there. If you do not see it try channel 4. Bring up the convert box menu and go through the AUTO SEARCH, not manual search. Now your box will search all the frequencies and add any stations that are in your area. Make sure you change channels with the converter box, not the tv. An antenna on the roof will still provide somewhat better range, but even rabbit ears will likely pick up something. If you still get no channels you could be too far away, digital signals have a shorter range than analog signals. You can check your local TV stations website or call to see if they are broadcasting digital yet.

Take a gun and shoot your self.

Ok first I can save you some money. Take your "HDTV" antenna back. There is nothing different about the antennas needed receive analog and digital signals. If you got reception without your converter box, use the same antenna with your converter box.

Next let's see if there is a problem with the box. Hook up a television with the antenna. How many stations do you get? Now hook up the same television & antenna, but this time put the converter box between the antenna & the TV. Do not turn on the box. Now how many stations do you get? If the number is different, the box is not allowing the antenna signal to pass through. That is bad. You want your signal to pass through the box so you can still pick up stations that don't broadcast digitally. Some areas of the country will not be covered by digital stations from all major broadcasters when the changeover happens in Feb.

My suspicion is either you did not have the antenna hooked up to the converter box when you searched for channels OR you are in an area that is not yet broadcasting digitally.

I hope this helps you solve your problem. Thank you for using FixYa and feel free to add more questions here by using comments.

you might have to look for "hidden" hd channels.

most cable companies are broadcasting the local stations unencrypted, so you should be able to receive them and sometimes a few other "basic" hd channels like discovery or tnt.

try googling your cable system, city and hd channels to see if someone has posted a list of channels (eg, 88-1 or 102-1)