# hmm, tv channel 4, sometimes 3

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hmm-tv-channel-4-sometimes-3/23053>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 21, 2000, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hmm-tv-channel-4-sometimes-3/23053 "2000-06-21T00:28:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![katana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/db5fbb/32.png) [@katana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katana)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2000, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hmm-tv-channel-4-sometimes-3/23053/1 "2000-06-21T00:28:29Z")

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ok, on most TV’s that i have come across, the cable comes in on the channel 4. Sometimes channel 3, why is it that the channel 4 has been chosen to show my cable? Why not channel one? Is it just some standard chosen by some people at some  
convention.

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**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2000, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hmm-tv-channel-4-sometimes-3/23053/2 "2000-06-21T00:41:40Z")

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IIRC, the government reserved channel 1 for its own uses.  
In my house, the VCR has a switch that will let you decide if it comes through channel 3 or 4.

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**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2000, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hmm-tv-channel-4-sometimes-3/23053/3 "2000-06-21T00:52:11Z")

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About 1945 the FCC authorized 12 tv channels in the VHF range for commercial broadcast Channel 1 was never used.  
The FM radio band 88to 108 mhz is located between channels 6and 7

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**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2000, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hmm-tv-channel-4-sometimes-3/23053/4 "2000-06-21T00:57:23Z")

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Well, it isn’t channel one because there’s no such thing!

Most cable boxes use channel 3, some let you choose between 3 or 4 via a switch (VCRs and Nintendos also do this). The reason is that if you live in an area that really has a station broadcasting (over the air) on channel 3 it would cause interference so you would use channel 4 (or vice versa). Broadcasters always skip every other channel to reduce interference so it’s pretty much a guarantee that either 3 or 4 will work.

Why were 3 and 4 chosen? My guess is that it takes cheaper hardware to modulate to a lower channel’s frequency and since 2 is the first channel (and therefore almost always used) 3 was chosen with 4 thrown in for good measure.

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**Author:** ![katana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/db5fbb/32.png) [@katana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katana)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2000, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hmm-tv-channel-4-sometimes-3/23053/5 "2000-06-21T01:32:38Z")

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