What does "unlocked" with a snowy screen mean when you connect to cable.?

Question

we purchased a tv at a yard sale. we hooked it up to our cable, but only get what they call "network" stations, 6 total. all other channels we try to see have nothing but "snow" and a little message at the bottom that says "unlocked". it is an rca tv. anyone have any idea? the tv says "rca - skip commercial" on the casing.

thanks.

Answer 1

Cable tuning on most older TV sets means you need to select CABLE in the setup menu instead selecting AIR, the default for channel tuning.  IF the TV is set to AIR you can only tune in channels 2 through 13 and possibly see some other channels randomly but they seem a little off color or mistuned (snowy).

As for that message maybe it reads Unblock or Blocked which means that you need to change the V-chip settings to allow all channels.  IF they did not change the code for the V-chip in the menu you can enter 0000 and change the settings.  Or you may have to get the code to reset the TV from the manufacturer.