# Video converter - Coaxial to RCA output **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 12, 2004, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-converter-coaxial-to-rca-output/239692 "2004-04-12T23:56:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-converter-coaxial-to-rca-output/239692/1 "2004-04-12T23:56:43Z")
I can go to any electronics store, drop down $20, and get a video converter that takes a set of RCA outputs (Yellow video, Red and white audio) and spits out a television signal on a coaxial wire. This is handy for connecting newer equipment to older television sets. Is there a gadget I can buy that will do the same thing, but in reverse? That is, take a coaxial video signal as an input (such as from a TV antenna) and spit out the stuff on separate RCA yellow/red/white ports? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-converter-coaxial-to-rca-output/239692/2 "2004-04-13T00:01:33Z")
Yes. It’s called a tuner. Probably the easiest way to get your hands on one is to use an old VCR. Antenna goes to the antenna-in connector, and get your video and audio on the “out” jacks. You may need to poke the VCR/TV button to get your off-air stuff to appear. Otherwise, stand-alone tuners aren’t terribly common things. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-converter-coaxial-to-rca-output/239692/3 "2004-04-13T22:32:30Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Otherwise, stand-alone tuners aren’t terribly common things. Balderdash. This is **G.Q.** , not **I.M.H.O.**. Please refrain from making statements like this unless you’re very very sure, ok? You want to do this, and not have a huge box in the way? Call **Wolf Seeburg Video** at **(310) 822-4973**. As for **Peggy in Sales**. It costs $ 180.00, and is very compact. It comes with an AC/ DC power supply. This is an extremely small RF Tuner box. It doesn’t “steal” scrambled cable t.v. signals. This device is entirely legal. All it does is exactly what **rjung** said he wanted to be able to do. You plug in the RF cable, select a channel, and the RCA jacks out the other side feed pure Video and Audio. I own one. It works just fine. It also is a t.v. tuner, it can catch signals broadcast in the air and feed out pure Video and Audio as well. Ya wanted the Straight Dope? Ya got it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-converter-coaxial-to-rca-output/239692/4 "2004-04-13T23:54:12Z")
Guess I stand corrected on stand-alone tuners. But I also stand by how uncommon they are. If a store sells things that plug in and make sound or pictures, odds are good that they sell VCRs. Even my grocery store sells them every so often. Anything that I have to go to one specific person at one specific company for isn’t common, compared to something that I can get at any of six stores in a two block radius of where I’m sitting. No opinions are needed. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-converter-coaxial-to-rca-output/239692/5 "2004-04-14T01:46:46Z")
The price also speaks to their relative rarity - $180 for a standalone tuner, or $43 for a [brand new VCR](http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2123644&cat=4564&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A3987%3A77622%3A4564)? Unless the picture from the standalone tuner is really 4-5 times better than the picture from the VCR, you can be pretty sure that a lot more cheap VCRs are being cranked out than standalone tuners. ---
**Author:** ![spiralscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@spiralscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spiralscratch)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-converter-coaxial-to-rca-output/239692/6 "2004-04-14T05:31:27Z")
$180 is awfully steep. You want [something like this](http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F010%5F009%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D2525). You can probably get something similar at the local Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. If your TV has stereo speakers make sure to get a converter that supports stereo output over the coax RF connection to the TV. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lodoen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b3f665/32.png) [@Jeff\_Lodoen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lodoen)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-converter-coaxial-to-rca-output/239692/7 "2004-04-14T06:31:25Z")
> [@spiralscratch](#): > > $180 is awfully steep. > > You want [something like this](http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F010%5F009%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D2525). > > You can probably get something similar at the local Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. > > If your TV has stereo speakers make sure to get a converter that supports stereo output over the coax RF connection to the TV. No that’s what **rjung** already has. Takes an A/V source and converts it to an NTSC RF signal at the frequencies commonly referred to in the US as Channel 3 or Channel 4. A nice one though. Two sets of inputs, S-video included. He wants to take an RF signal at one frequency (pre-NES video game) or several (antenna or cable) and convert to A/V output. He needs to be able to select (tune in) a channel. ---
**Author:** ![spiralscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@spiralscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spiralscratch)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-converter-coaxial-to-rca-output/239692/8 "2004-04-14T07:57:49Z")
> [@Jeff Lodoen](#): > > No that’s what **rjung** already has. Takes an A/V source and converts it to an NTSC RF signal at the frequencies commonly referred to in the US as Channel 3 or Channel 4. > > A nice one though. Two sets of inputs, S-video included. > > He wants to take an RF signal at one frequency (pre-NES video game) or several (antenna or cable) and convert to A/V output. He needs to be able to select (tune in) a channel. ACK! I misread that. Sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-converter-coaxial-to-rca-output/239692/9 "2004-04-14T22:01:21Z")
Thanks for all the replies! ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-converter-coaxial-to-rca-output/239692/10 "2004-04-15T13:00:49Z")
I must admit, most vcr’s have tuners. However, they’re large and bulky and take up real estate in the media cabinet. My suggestion works and is incredibly small and discreet. -shrug- It’s an option. I didn’t mean to suggest that using a vcr was not an option, sorry if it came off that way.