The way you setup your TV channels will depend on two factors: where your channels are coming from (streaming service or cable/satellite) and how the channel source is connected to your television (external cable/satellite/streaming box or cable from wall jack/internal application)
If you are using EITHER an antenna directly connected to the television OR a cable connection directly from a wall jack, skip to the section labeled “What if I have an antenna connection or a direct cable connection to the TV from a wall jack?”
If you are using satellite or cable as your source AND you have a cable or satellite box, skip to the section below labeled “What if I have a Cable or Satellite box?”
If you are NOT using a satellite or cable provider, skip to the section below labeled “What if I am ONLY using streaming (internet) content for my channels?”
How do I setup channels on my Philips Google TV?
Published on 2022-06-24
What if I have an antenna connection or a direct cable connection to the TV from a wall jack?
This is the ONLY situation where you will need to program channels on the TV itself as it is the only situation where the TV tuner will be used to tune channels.
If you followed the instructions during initial setup in the "TV channel auto installation" step and did not skip the step labeled "Scanning TV/channels... Auto installation may take over 20 minutes to complete," you should be good to go. Your live TV will be setup to tune to the cable connection on the TV and configured for Cable or Antenna tuning. Note that the Google TV EPG (channel guide) will integrate your streaming sources into the guide, showing you program data for them and for your off air or direct cable channels.
If you did not complete the auto installation during initial setup OR if you need to reprogram the television now (perhaps you have decided to add an antenna or direct cable connection after install), follow these steps to program the tuner on your Philips Google TV:
IF your Philips Google TV is installed as a Google TV and NOT as a Basic TV (e.g. you have added a Google Account and connected to the internet to use the TV as a Smart Television)
IF your Philips Google TV is installed as a Basic TV and NOT as a Google TV (e.g. you have not added a Google Account nor connected to the internet to use the TV as a Smart Television)
If you followed the instructions during initial setup in the "TV channel auto installation" step and did not skip the step labeled "Scanning TV/channels... Auto installation may take over 20 minutes to complete," you should be good to go. Your live TV will be setup to tune to the cable connection on the TV and configured for Cable or Antenna tuning. Note that the Google TV EPG (channel guide) will integrate your streaming sources into the guide, showing you program data for them and for your off air or direct cable channels.
If you did not complete the auto installation during initial setup OR if you need to reprogram the television now (perhaps you have decided to add an antenna or direct cable connection after install), follow these steps to program the tuner on your Philips Google TV:
IF your Philips Google TV is installed as a Google TV and NOT as a Basic TV (e.g. you have added a Google Account and connected to the internet to use the TV as a Smart Television)
- Press the "HOME' button on your Philips Google TV remote
- Navigate to the far right of the top row to highlight your Google Account icon
- In the dashboard that pops up, use the thumb pad to navigate to "Settings" and press "OK" to select
- In the Settings menu the first line is labeled "Channels and Inputs" and it should be highlighted
- Move to the right using the thumb pad and highlight "Channels"
- Move right again to highlight "Channel Installation Mode"
- Make certain that the correct option is enabled: Antenna or Cable, depending on your specific source.
- If it is not correct, move right and select the correct option. Then move left again to return to "Channel Installation Mode"
- Now move down and select "Channel Scan"
This will start the auto programming process for your Philips Google TV.
IF your Philips Google TV is installed as a Basic TV and NOT as a Google TV (e.g. you have not added a Google Account nor connected to the internet to use the TV as a Smart Television)
- Press the "HOME" button on your Philips Google TV remote
- Navigate to the far right of the top row to highlight the "Dashboard" icon
- In the dashboard that pops up, use the thumb pad to navigate to "Settings" and press "OK" to select
- In the Settings menu the second line is labeled "Channels and Inputs"
- Use the thumb pad to navigate down to "Channels and Inputs" and highlight it
- Move to the right using the thumb pad and highlight "Channels"
- Move right again to highlight "Channel Installation Mode"
- Make certain that the correct option is enabled: Antenna or Cable, depending on your specific source.
- If it is not correct, move right and select the correct option. Then move left again to return to "Channel Installation Mode"
- Now move down and select "Channel Scan"
This will start the auto programming process for your Philips Google TV.
What if I have a cable or satellite box?
If you have a cable or satellite box, you will NOT need to program your TV tuner by searching for channels. you will be using the tuner in the cable or satellite box and the TV will simply need to be tuned to the input the cable or satellite box is connected to.
Use the TV remote to tune to HDMI 1, 2, or 3 until you see the signal from your cable or satellite box. To tune to specific channels you will need to use the remote for your cable or satellite box. Note that the Google TV EPG (channel guide) will integrate your streaming sources into the guide, showing you program data for them but will NOT be able to show you data for your satellite or cable channels connected via HDMI.
You may have to configure your TV or cable/satellite box to allow the proper resolution. See the FAQ regarding HDMI troubleshooting, labeled "How do I troubleshoot issues with devices connected via HDMI on my Philips Google TV?"
IF YOU WISH TO HAVE THE TV TURN ON TO THE CABLE OR SATELLITE BOX EACH TIME YOU POWER IT ON, follow these instructions to enable last input turn on:
Use the TV remote to tune to HDMI 1, 2, or 3 until you see the signal from your cable or satellite box. To tune to specific channels you will need to use the remote for your cable or satellite box. Note that the Google TV EPG (channel guide) will integrate your streaming sources into the guide, showing you program data for them but will NOT be able to show you data for your satellite or cable channels connected via HDMI.
You may have to configure your TV or cable/satellite box to allow the proper resolution. See the FAQ regarding HDMI troubleshooting, labeled "How do I troubleshoot issues with devices connected via HDMI on my Philips Google TV?"
IF YOU WISH TO HAVE THE TV TURN ON TO THE CABLE OR SATELLITE BOX EACH TIME YOU POWER IT ON, follow these instructions to enable last input turn on:
- Press the "Home" button on your remote control to go to the Google TV home screen
- Next, use the thumb pad to navigate to the top right, and highlight the user profile icon
- From the menu that pops up, use the thumb pad to navigate to "Settings"
- Press "OK" on your remote
- In the menu that pops up, navigate to "System" and press "OK" on your remote
- Navigate down to "Power & Energy" and press "OK" on your remote
- Press "OK" again to select “Power on behavior”
- You will see two options :"Google TV Home Screen" or "Last input used"
- Navigate to the option you prefer and use the "OK" button on the remote to set the TV to always power on to it
What if I am ONLY using streaming (internet) content for my channels?
If you will ONLY get content from streaming services, you will NOT need to program your TV tuner by searching for channels. You will either be using the tuner in the streaming box or the application on the TV itself.
Assuming you wish to use your Philips Google TV itself to access streaming services, all you need to do is use the TV remote to navigate around the home screen and select the service or application you want to view. You will not be using the internal tuner on the television and the TV input and channel up and down keys on your remote may not be useful to you. The exception would be if you are using a service like YouTube TV that integrates with Google TV allows channel up and down once you are in the application. Note that the Google TV EPG (channel guide) will integrate your streaming sources into the guide, showing you program data for them.
If you have an external streaming device, such as a Roku or Apple TV Box, you will connect to one of the TV's HDMI inputs and tune the TV to that input. You will then use the remote for the streaming device to select the apps or services to view. Note that the Google TV EPG (channel guide) will not integrate your streaming sources into the guide if you are using an external streaming box connected via HDMI and will not show you program data for them.
IF YOU WISH TO HAVE THE TV TURN ON TO AN EXTERNAL STREAMING BOX EACH TIME YOU POWER IT ON (e.g. a Roku or AppleTV unit) , follow these instructions to enable last input turn on:
Assuming you wish to use your Philips Google TV itself to access streaming services, all you need to do is use the TV remote to navigate around the home screen and select the service or application you want to view. You will not be using the internal tuner on the television and the TV input and channel up and down keys on your remote may not be useful to you. The exception would be if you are using a service like YouTube TV that integrates with Google TV allows channel up and down once you are in the application. Note that the Google TV EPG (channel guide) will integrate your streaming sources into the guide, showing you program data for them.
If you have an external streaming device, such as a Roku or Apple TV Box, you will connect to one of the TV's HDMI inputs and tune the TV to that input. You will then use the remote for the streaming device to select the apps or services to view. Note that the Google TV EPG (channel guide) will not integrate your streaming sources into the guide if you are using an external streaming box connected via HDMI and will not show you program data for them.
IF YOU WISH TO HAVE THE TV TURN ON TO AN EXTERNAL STREAMING BOX EACH TIME YOU POWER IT ON (e.g. a Roku or AppleTV unit) , follow these instructions to enable last input turn on:
- Press the "Home" button on your remote control to go to the Google TV home screen
- Next, use the thumb pad to navigate to the top right, and highlight the user profile icon
- From the menu that pops up, use the thumb pad to navigate to "Settings"
- Press "OK" on your remote
- In the menu that pops up, navigate to "System" and press "OK" on your remote
- Navigate down to "Power & Energy" and press "OK" on your remote
- Press "OK" again to select “Power on behavior”
- You will see two options :"Google TV Home Screen" or "Last input used"
- Navigate to the option you prefer and use the "OK" button on the remote to set the TV to always power on to it
