# Can't Get Roku TV to Work w/new Cable Box



## Shay61 (Oct 21, 2016)

Hi All,

I have Comcast as a service provider, and an Insignia Roku TV. My old cable box was due for an upgrade, so I turned it in, and received a new, non-DVR box in exchange. I am trying to lower my cable bill, so I dropped DVR, which I wasn't using anyway. At the same time, I bought my own modem and turned in my old one. I had the Comcast tech at the store check the new modem was compatible.

I set up the modem no problem. But I cannot get the Roku to interface with the new cable box for cable TV; I can get Netfix, Amazon, etc., fine. I plugged the coaxial cable into the "in" port, and the Ethernet wire, and the power. I managed to pair the new remote by going to the Roku site and entering codes; the Comcast remote will now power the TV on/off, but no picture. 

I called the Insignia Roku tech support; they told me to input the coaxial cable in the "out" port. This gives me a purple screen with the error message: "Something's not quite right" with instructions to make sure all the cables are tight, and to unplug/plug it, and the code "RDK-03003". I have done all of this- multiple times. Still no picture.

I have wasted HOURS trying to figure out what to do next! Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!!!


----------



## Gr3iz (Mar 9, 2009)

I don't have a Roku TV, but I do use Roku devices for all my TVs. I don't use Comcast's TV service, it seems redundant with the Roku devices. You can get Sling or Playstaion Vue, etc. which carry many "cable" channels.
At any rate, the cable set-top box will connect to your TV via an HDMI cable. You will also connect an Ethernet cable to the back of the TV connected to your router (unless you are using wireless). The coax cable connects to your cable box and to your router (you should have two separate connections, typically via a splitter in the attic, or wherever it comes into your home).
Does this help? Or confuse? ;-)


----------



## Shay61 (Oct 21, 2016)

I forgot- the HDMI cable is there and plugged in. Yup, there's a splitter, one cable to the modem, the other to the cable box. Everything seems to be in order- I have no idea why I'm having this problem.

I'm older (56) and my ex was the video tech expert, which was his best quality, so I never really bothered with it. (He had this big contraption- a "brain" as he called it- that connected various gaming systems, speakers, DVD player, etc. It all went out the door with him! He re-married, so I won't be calling him to sort this out, either.) My son, 30, shares an apartment with some roommates. He says he's "never had TV" so how does he get his internet access? (Hotspots are too slow.) I have asked the Best Buy guys, co-workers, anyone, how they get streaming-quality video on their monitors without cable? Best Buy guy said "you have to pay for internet, so you'll always pay either Comcast or Verizon." OK. One person said they had "a card." What? I just want to turn on my TV and watch the 6 PM news; having Amazon Prime and Netflix is awesome on the Roku. Nothing any of these people makes sense to me. 

I was also told by the Comcast tech at the store that Roku + cable was redundant, but nothing she said after that made any sense. I mean, I need the modem for my computer and Roku, so...??? I am so confused...


----------



## Gr3iz (Mar 9, 2009)

I can see where Roku and cable TV could be a bit redundant. You do need Internet. A high-speed provider is best. If you are not too far from a metropolitan area (within 100 miles), you should be able to pick up local channels with an antenna. (I get all the networks, plus PBS, and several other channels I never knew existed.)
Are you saying that you do not see any channels on the cable box? You will need to select the HDMI source (or input) from the TV remote. If your cable box HDMI cable is connected to HDMI1 input on your TV, that is the "channel" you want to select using the TV remote. What am I missing?


----------



## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

Being a previous Cable / ISP support, I can somewhat see what you are talking about however for clarification:

What modem did you purchase?

The cable box you are using now, are you connecting with HDMI, or coaxial?

Can you confirm your Insignia TV model number (or at least the size)? 

Does your TV have an Ethernet connection and if so, are you connecting it to the modem?

What sounds like is the Cable box will need to be connected to the TV which is generally with HDMI these days unless your TV does not support it. To view the cable box you would choose the correct HDMI channel or whatever video cord you are using.

The network portion is usually wireless but if you have an Ethernet connection then this would be the best connection to the modem.


----------



## Shay61 (Oct 21, 2016)

Hi!
My modem is an Arris Surfboard SBG6700-AC. My TV is an Insignia Roku 5305x, NS-55DR420NA16, software version 7.5.0.
The cable box has an HDMI cable that connects to the TV; the coax comes into the house, splits, one goes to the modem, one to the cable box. I took a photo, but have no idea how to add one to a forum post, if you even can. When the coax cable is in the "output" connection, I get the purple error screen. I don't if it's in the "input" connection. THANKS!


----------



## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

It looks like you have it set up correctly. To receive a signal from the cable company the coaxial needs to go from the wall / splitter to the Cable IN port. Then the HDMI goes from the box to any of the HDMI ports on the back of the TV (or side if it's hard to get to the back). Each HDMI port is numbered so you would need to select that HDMI port using the INPUT button on the right, or going to the HOME screen (House icon on top right of remote) and then choose the correct HDMI number you connected to. 

If you have the right input number and you still have no live TV, then check the cable box and make sure it's not turned off. I saw in the manual that there is an area in the guided setup that helps you choose what the input has. 

If you are still not receiving picture at this point from the cable box, it may not be initialized or on your cable account correctly and you will need to contact them.


----------



## Shay61 (Oct 21, 2016)

Gr3iz said:


> I can see where Roku and cable TV could be a bit redundant. You do need Internet. A high-speed provider is best. If you are not too far from a metropolitan area (within 100 miles), you should be able to pick up local channels with an antenna. (I get all the networks, plus PBS, and several other channels I never knew existed.)
> Are you saying that you do not see any channels on the cable box? You will need to select the HDMI source (or input) from the TV remote. If your cable box HDMI cable is connected to HDMI1 input on your TV, that is the "channel" you want to select using the TV remote. What am I missing?


I'm not sure what you mean about not seeing the channels on the cable box. This is one of those new Comcast boxes that is totally black, with no display of any type (not even a clock) and only a power button on the top. It has a flashing blue bar to indicate that it turned on; it goes away after you turn it on, so I can't tell if it's on or not. I'm sorry, but it may look sleek, but this is a poor design. You really need to know if the box is on or not, and a time display is super helpful, esp. when your show is about to start; my watch may indicate one time, but the only time that counts is what the cable TV box says! I dragged my heels about updating my box for months, then, I couldn't get any visuals on any channel but major networks (just audio) so this forced my hand; Comcast must have just eliminated the technology (I had been getting "equipment upgrade" warnings for ages). My old big silver DVR box had the time display, and an indicator if it was powered on or off. (The other box I have on my 2nd TV is the black box type, but it has a blue light that stays lit when it's on, off when it's not. Brilliant!) This makes me wonder if the box is defective? Why wouldn't the blue bar stay on?

What I see is my Roku TV home page with icons for cable, HDMI, and an antenna. With my old cable box, the icon for HDMI was replaced with a live TV feed, and the other two selections were icons. I just had to select the live TV picture with the Roku remote, and it would be displayed full screen.

I'm 20 miles due North of Boston. It's ridiculous that we have all the dead zones we have around here, though. As I drive around, my Sirius radio cuts out for a block in certain spots, making me wonder if the DJ had a seizure on-air. I moved from on apartment to another in the same town. I had AT&T cell phone service in my old apt., but when I moved 2 miles away, I could not use my phone; zero signal. I had to switch carriers, which was a good idea anyway. (AT&T would not let me out of my contract for lack of service, so I had to eat $150. In an unexpected bit of justice, I got a $165 check in the mail last month: the result of a class-action lawsuit against AT&T!)


----------



## Gr3iz (Mar 9, 2009)

Shay61 said:


> I'm not sure what you mean about not seeing the channels on the cable box.


What I had meant was you were not seeing any display from the cable box, any channels, on the TV.
From the rest of your description, you may be right about a defective box. I would expect the blue light to remain on. Do you know the make/model of that box?
Being that close to Boston (I used to live in Nashua, so I know the region), you should easily pick up several over-the-air TV stations with an inexpensive antenna, depending on which side of the building you live on. The Sirius radio is satellite based, so buildings will interfere with that signal. Cell phones rely on cell towers. TV signals emanate from the station's antenna,which may not be in the same location as the broadcast booth/offices.


----------



## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

It sounds like the box is not configured to your account, or it is defective but I suspect the box just needs a signal hit to activate it. I haven't used comcast in a very long time so I cannot say for sure.


----------



## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

On top of that, depending on the TV you can get a HD Antenna to pick up content in HD. so if you are only watching the main stations that can be picked up by the antenna then perhaps you can ditch the box all together


----------



## Gr3iz (Mar 9, 2009)

I get a lot of stations over-the-air (via antenna) that are not even available on cable/dish. I love old sitcoms and there are plenty of those! My wife loves old westerns, and she gets a lot of them now!


----------



## Shay61 (Oct 21, 2016)

Gr3iz said:


> I get a lot of stations over-the-air (via antenna) that are not even available on cable/dish. I love old sitcoms and there are plenty of those! My wife loves old westerns, and she gets a lot of them now!


How much are the antennas? 
I LOVE the BBC channel, being a huge Star Trek nerd, and loving the "Planet Earth" series! I think that's only cable, though.


----------



## Shay61 (Oct 21, 2016)

Couriant said:


> On top of that, depending on the TV you can get a HD Antenna to pick up content in HD. so if you are only watching the main stations that can be picked up by the antenna then perhaps you can ditch the box all together


Cool, HD antenna! How much are they?


----------



## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

Depends where you go. This one is on sale for $13. https://www.amazon.com/1byone-HDTV-...TF8&qid=1490294716&sr=8-7&keywords=hd+antenna

One thing to keep in mind is the distance of the towers as well.

https://www.tablotv.com/tools/ this will show you some cool information.


----------



## Gr3iz (Mar 9, 2009)

You can pick up an HD antenna for $15-30. You should not need anything fancy being that close to the Boston market.
You can get the BBC on either Sling TV or Playstation Vue, streaming services that you should be able to add to your Roku TV (I use PS Vue on my Roku external devices). Check their website to see their offerings. They provide access to many "cable" channels. Their monthly fees are much lower than my Dish monthly fee used to be!


----------



## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

I may have to look at my options on my PS4. Having DirecTV is fine for shows for my kid to watch but I can't do close to $100 a month anymore


----------



## Shay61 (Oct 21, 2016)

Thanks! I checked the link. I don't get anything in my area... 3 channels I haven't heard of.


----------



## Gr3iz (Mar 9, 2009)

Couriant said:


> I may have to look at my options on my PS4. Having DirecTV is fine for shows for my kid to watch but I can't do close to $100 a month anymore


James, I know just what you mean! I used to spend over $130 for Dish. I'm spending les than half of that now with PS Vue ($35 for the middle package), CBS All Access (about $6) and Amazon Prime (about $12). I could probably cut back a bit, but I figure as long as I'm coming out ahead, I'm fine. There are some kids channels, but I am a bit disappointed that they dropped the Nick channels last year.

Shay, I'm surprised you can't get many channels in the Boston market. See if this link helps:
https://nocable.org/browse-locations


----------



## Shay61 (Oct 21, 2016)

I checked the link. Just the major networks, ION, and a few stations from NH. Oh, and one from Biddeford, ME. Also, our only high-speed internet options are Verizon and Comcast. It has to be Mass. regulations of some sort. We are a really weird state.


----------



## Gr3iz (Mar 9, 2009)

Usually tied to those main channels are other channels. For example, in my area, CBS in on channel 3.1. Broadcast from the same tower are 3.2 and 3.3. 3.2 is mostly a newsfeed/weather signal, kind of a subset of the CBS station. 3.3,however, is AntennaTV, a completely separate channel. It's a station that plays mostly old sitcoms (Green Acres, M*A*S*H, Hogan's Heroes, Mork & Minday, etc.). 
Another example is our NBC station. The main channel is 5.1 the normal NBC programming. Channel 5.3 is a station called Grit. My wife loves that one, they play a lot of old westerns, Walker, Texas Ranger, etc. 
ION plays a lot of the NCIS-type cops & robbers & lawyers kind of shows. She likes that one, too.
If you get the main CBS, NBC, ABC stations, there will be others associate with them. When you get an antenna connected, you run a channel scan and it will probably give you at least 15-20 channels, if not more, in your area.


----------



## Shay61 (Oct 21, 2016)

Thanks!


----------



## Gr3iz (Mar 9, 2009)

Shay, I hope we haven't confused you more than enlightened you.


----------



## Shay61 (Oct 21, 2016)

Well, my TV/Roku setup isn't working still. But, the living room is freezing, my bedroom much warmer, so I'm just hanging out in my room, watching the (non-Roku) TV there.


----------



## Gr3iz (Mar 9, 2009)

If the box in the living room has no lights on (at least any that stay on solid), I suspect it may be defective. Or, as James suggested, it may need to be activated by Comcast. If you have an hour or two to kill, you might try to call their tech support ... ;-)


----------



## Shay61 (Oct 21, 2016)

Comcast technical support! I've wasted more hours with them, being switched to "higher" levels... then, some technician showed up on my doorstep this Wednesday, telling me I had made an appointment (I had not) and my modem "was potentially causing problems on the entire street." I told him to leave. (My modem, no appointment, get lost.) A "supervisor" then called me, asking why I had dismissed my "scheduled appointment." I told them that I had been accused of launching some sort of internet mayhem with my store-bought equipment. He said there was no problem with me causing problems for those around me, and he didn't know what the other tech meant. I can't imagine it getting more messed up than that!


----------



## Gr3iz (Mar 9, 2009)

Well, unfortunately, they would be the best ones to tell you whether or not your cable box is behaving as expected. I think not, but I am not familiar with their line or equipment. I would expect some sort of pilot light to be visible when the device is powered on ...


----------



## Shay61 (Oct 21, 2016)

True! They did tell me to pull the box and try another plug. The next step.


----------



## Gr3iz (Mar 9, 2009)

But, you've said earlier that when you turn it on, it flashes blue, right? That tells me you've got power to the plug. The outlet is not faulty. That also says that they expect a light of some sort to be on continuously as well. You may just need to physically bring it back and exchange it.


----------



## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

While I don't believe this is the case for you (my modem "was potentially causing problems on the entire street), it has been known to happen, rarely but possible, at least the lines.

The only other 2 things I would have suggested is to remove the coax from the splitter that goes to the tv and plug direct to the wall and also try a different power plug. If it's the same issue then I would just get the box replaced.


----------

