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Northern Illinois University

Everything Technology Handbook

residence hall room

Cable System for the Residence Halls and NVC

All residence hall rooms and Northern View Community apartments are fitted with an outlet plate containing at least one cable “tap” or outlet connected to the campus cable system. The connection to each room is always "on" and need not be activated or connected. Residents wishing to use the cable system need their own TV and a coaxial TV hook-up cable to connect the outlet plate connector to the TV, VCR, or receiver. Most TVs and VCRs provide a cable with the set.

The cable TV system carries 47 analog and 17 digital channels as well as FM radio. NIU cable TV will not be affected by the change to digital broadcasting, residents do not need a digital-to-analog converter box in order to watch TV in the residence halls. However if students have a new digital TV or a digital-to-analog converter they can receive programming on the channels designated as digital.

For the most recent list of channels visit the Housing & Dining website:  www.housing.niu.edu then

  • Select On Campus Living
  • Select Channel 8 & 20 
  • Select List of Channels Offered

Channel 8 ("The Ocho") is the movie channel for the residence halls and NVC and is sponsored by the Residence Hall Association and Housing and Dining. Movie selections include recent releases and selected classics.

Channel 20 is the Housing and Dining Bulletin Board, which runs continuous announcements of interest to residents.

For information about Channel 8 and 20, including the current schedule of movies, visit the Housing & Dining website:  www.housing.niu.edu the

  • Select On Campus Living
  • Select Channel 8 & 20
  • Select Channel 8 Movies

Online TV guides are available, www.tvguide.com and  http://tvlistings.zap2it.com among others, enter 60115 for the zip code and select NIU's listing.

Cable Your Stereo for Additional FM Stations

You will be able to receive more radio stations and stronger signals if you link your stereo to the campus cable system.

If your room has only one cable outlet, you will need a cable splitter that allows you to hook up cables to both your TV and your stereo.

To receive the additional radio stations, you will need to acquire a second coaxial cable (just like the one used to link your TV). You will also need a “Balun Transformer.” Despite the technical name, these are available at many places that sell audio and video equipment. This device has a jack that connects to the coaxial cable and two connectors that attach to your stereo. Link the coaxial cable to the wall outlet and hook the two wire connectors to your stereo’s “External Antenna” inputs.

Common Problems

Cannot receive channels above 13 - New sets or sets unplugged for a time will need to be reprogrammed.

  • Make sure your set is switched to cable tuning and not TV or off-air channel tuning
  • Consult your operator manual under channel programming
  • If using auto programming, set to cable or CATV before auto program is started

Cannot receive channels 4, 5, or 6

  • Check your channel programming for HRC, IRC settings. NIU’s system is set for normal CATV channels

Problems with digital reception

  • Reception of digital television is different than analog, especially when the signal fades out. Because NIU is over 60 miles from Chicago the reception can sometimes fade. The digital signals look fine until they reach a point that they shut off. You may see a prompt that states low signal. It should be temporary, not more than an hour or two, and most channels should be OK
  • If you attempt to tune into the digital channels with an analog TV or VCR you will only see "snow".  To view the digital services you will need a "HD Built in" TV, VCR, or external digital ATSC tuner. Use the auto program feature on your television and it will program the channels it is capable of receiving. If you have difficulty getting both cable and off air digital to program try auto tune, or auto detect both

No reception or very weak reception

  • Check for loose or damaged cables if you have several devices hooked up, such as a video game, etc.
  • Try one good cable hooked directly to the TV’s VHF input before calling for services on the cable outlet

Nothing works - If, after trying all of the above, you still cannot get a signal from your cable outlet, call the ResTech Helpdesk at 753-6267.