Just snow on my Direct TV connection?

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there is a menu button on the RCA which when pressed shows sleep,alarm,clock,auto program,edit channels antenna:air and list features.

That is your problem. Select "antenna:air" and it should toggle over to "cable" and then to "video", on some sets labeled "RYW" or "RCA inputs". Set it to that, and it will work just fine.

To flesh out what the deal is, there are multiple ways to get a signal from a DirecTV box (or any box) to the TV. The old fashioned way is coax cable. That is a "hub" which is a threaded thing like a screw. The cable has a connector that is threaded and screws on to the hub. Then there is what is called an "RCA input" (RCA invented it 1000 years ago, its just a name, found on everybody's boxes) that consists of three much smaller wires that have push in connectors of that are color coded red, yellow and white. There are then more advanced ones past that that, trust me, you don't have. The TV has a setting to toggle between these forms of inputs. Your TV is set to look to the coax hub (which is how you must hook up an old-fashioned antenna, and thus why it is labeled as such) and your box is wired into the TV with the RCA connectors.

You need to either set the TV to the correct input setting, or just get a piece of coax cable ($2 at Wal-Mart) and hook up your box that way.
 
Try pressing the channel up button on your TV remote and go to TV channel 4. If channel 4 doesn't work, press the channel down button to see if the inputs can be found as "channels". My parents have an old RCA TV in my dad's office room and the only way to access the input is to channel up or down to it. Going down, this is what they'd see, starting on CH 4: Ch 4, Ch 3, Ch 2, input 1 (front), input 2 (rear).

I don't know how many times he changed the channel on the TV instead of their receiver.
 
That is your problem. Select "antenna:air" and it should toggle over to "cable" and then to "video", on some sets labeled "RYW" or "RCA inputs". Set it to that, and it will work just fine.

To flesh out what the deal is, there are multiple ways to get a signal from a DirecTV box (or any box) to the TV. The old fashioned way is coax cable. That is a "hub" which is a threaded thing like a screw. The cable has a connector that is threaded and screws on to the hub. Then there is what is called an "RCA input" (RCA invented it 1000 years ago, its just a name, found on everybody's boxes) that consists of three much smaller wires that have push in connectors of that are color coded red, yellow and white. There are then more advanced ones past that that, trust me, you don't have. The TV has a setting to toggle between these forms of inputs. Your TV is set to look to the coax hub (which is how you must hook up an old-fashioned antenna, and thus why it is labeled as such) and your box is wired into the TV with the RCA connectors.

You need to either set the TV to the correct input setting, or just get a piece of coax cable ($2 at Wal-Mart) and hook up your box that way.
I don't recall but, he said he had a D12 box was it ?
Does that box have coax outputs ?
 
Try pressing the channel up button on your TV remote and go to TV channel 4. If channel 4 doesn't work, press the channel down button to see if the inputs can be found as "channels". My parents have an old RCA TV in my dad's office room and the only way to access the input is to channel up or down to it. Going down, this is what they'd see, starting on CH 4: Ch 4, Ch 3, Ch 2, input 1 (front), input 2 (rear).

I don't know how many times he changed the channel on the TV instead of their receiver.
I was going to mention this earlier as a lot of those old TV's had a video input at the end of the channel available ... in some cases it was up around 68 or so, where ever the last number was, or as you said, going down would also work.
 
Try pressing the channel up button on your TV remote and go to TV channel 4. If channel 4 doesn't work, press the channel down button to see if the inputs can be found as "channels". My parents have an old RCA TV in my dad's office room and the only way to access the input is to channel up or down to it. Going down, this is what they'd see, starting on CH 4: Ch 4, Ch 3, Ch 2, input 1 (front), input 2 (rear).

I don't know how many times he changed the channel on the TV instead of their receiver.
The only thing that works on the RCA remote is the up and down volume....Samcdbs,the big white cable goes into the hole labled(SWM-1) Satellite In.The whole satellite setup was only installed three months ago by DirectTV.I tried setting it manually on antenna:air and nothing changed.From the receiver box on top of the TV where the big white cable fits in,do I run that coax cable to the box on the floor with the green light?One white cable goes through the wall and out side and the other from the same floor box,but goes to the receiver on top of the TV,this is the one to change to coax,correct?.Guess for people that know this stuff,but I'm getting old and goofy....thanks.
 
That D12 box has a RF modulator, what you are going to have to do is get a piece of coax cable and run that from the "out to TV" output on the receiver into the "in from antenna" on your television, make sure the switch on the receiver is on "Ch 3" the you should be good to go as your television is tuned to channel 3.
 
The only thing that works on the RCA remote is the up and down volume....Samcdbs,the big white cable goes into the hole labled(SWM-1) Satellite In.The whole satellite setup was only installed three months ago by DirectTV.I tried setting it manually on antenna:air and nothing changed.From the receiver box on top of the TV where the big white cable fits in,do I run that coax cable to the box on the floor with the green light?One white cable goes through the wall and out side and the other from the same floor box,but goes to the receiver on top of the TV,this is the one to change to coax,correct?.Guess for people that know this stuff,but I'm getting old and goofy....thanks.

Ok... so physically get up and press the channel up or down button on the TV, not Directv receiver and do that instead.
 
That white cable you have coming in is probably from the Dish to the receiver and is connected to LNB in, don't mess with it. There should be another output that says "out to TV" from that you need a piece of coaxial cable to the antenna in jack on your TV set.
 
That white cable you have coming in is probably from the Dish to the receiver and is connected to LNB in, don't mess with it. There should be another output that says "out to TV" from that you need a piece of coaxial cable to the antenna in jack on your TV set.
bobvick,the white cable comes through the wall and goes into the small box on the floor with the green light Another white cable goes from that same floor box to the bigger box on top of the TV.
 
That white cable you have coming in is probably from the Dish to the receiver and is connected to LNB in, don't mess with it. There should be another output that says "out to TV" from that you need a piece of coaxial cable to the antenna in jack on your TV set.
bobvick,the white cable comes through the wall and goes into the small box on the floor with the green light Another white cable goes from that same floor box to the bigger box on top of the TV.
 
Ignore that white cable. Can you see the name of the input the yellow/white/red is plugged into on your TV? Something like AV1.

When you say the other buttons "don't work" do they actually not work or do you mean nothing happens when you press them.

Also, I have seen this work on an old TV:

Leaving the Directv box on, unplug the yellow/red/white connections from the back of the TV, then plug it back in again. That has gotten the input to sort-of "auto trigger" being selected. Long shot, but worth it.
 
What type of cable comes out of the D12 to the tv? If you have a coax cable and a yellow/white/red wire, disconnect the yellow/white/red wire and just use the coax. Then put the tv on channel 3 or 4. If one channel doesn't work then use the other.
 
What type of cable comes out of the D12 to the tv? If you have a coax cable and a yellow/white/red wire, disconnect the yellow/white/red wire and just use the coax. Then put the tv on channel 3 or 4. If one channel doesn't work then use the other.
It's a thick white cable that goes from the bigger box on top of the TV to the little box on the floor that has the green light constantly on.The yellow/white and red come out of the same box as the D12 and plug into the bottom back of the TV.
 
It's a thick white cable that goes from the bigger box on top of the TV to the little box on the floor that has the green light constantly on.The yellow/white and red come out of the same box as the D12 and plug into the bottom back of the TV.
...and where exactly would the coax cable plug in at both ends?
 
Ignore that white cable. Can you see the name of the input the yellow/white/red is plugged into on your TV? Something like AV1.

When you say the other buttons "don't work" do they actually not work or do you mean nothing happens when you press them.

Also, I have seen this work on an old TV:

Leaving the Directv box on, unplug the yellow/red/white connections from the back of the TV, then plug it back in again. That has gotten the input to sort-of "auto trigger" being selected. Long shot, but worth it.
Nothing happens when the buttons are pressed and where the three colors plug into the bottom of the TV it just reads ,Input.Could someone post a n ad from Walmart showing the cable I'd possibly need?...thanks.
 
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Upgrading from SD DVR to HD DVR