How to Hook up Cable to a Projector. If you own a small-screen TV and want to increase image size without buying a new television, or if you simply want the experience of theater-style viewing at home, a projector can be a great way to enhance your cable experience. It can be tricky to get the right connection going, but once established, projectors are handy gadgets that can reproduce your favorite TV programs in a big-screen format.
Hook Up Cable to a Projector
Step 1
Check the characteristics of your projector before you attempt any connections. To be able to watch digital cable programs through your projector, you should have hdmi (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) capabilities. If you don't, you will need to invest in a special adapter cable to convert the signals so that both the projector and the cable box run on the same system.
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Step 2
Hook up the cable box to the projector using an RCA cable. Simply plug the cable into the video ports in both ends. Video ports are usually identified with the letter V or the color yellow.
Step 3
Use a separate sound system for optimal audio. Rather than listening to the sound coming from your TV system, hook up the speakers to the audio input of the projector, and then run the cable through your DVD surround-sound or audio system.
Step 4
Plug in both the projector and the cable box to an electrical outlet, making sure you use a coaxial cable to run from the projector to the outlet. You may need an adapter and a multiple plug, especially if you are adding outside audio.
Step 5
Turn the projector on first, and then turn on the TV and cable TV box. The feeding should be automatic and should come through without any additional setup. If it doesn't, you may have a bad connection, so you will have to reset the cables. Other problems, such as doubled images or moving lines on the screen, are also probably the result of bad connections and are usually easy to remedy.
Things You'll Need
Cable box with video output
Projector with video input
RCA composite cable
Coaxial cable
Warning
When using a projector to watch cable TV, you will lose some of the available extras like closed captioning. There is no way to get around this, as a projector is only capable of reproducing the signal it receives (in this case, video) and cannot add anything to it.