How can i hook up a DVD player to an old tv that has only a cable outlet?

You shouldn't need anything, or maybe just a short piece of the regular cable wire. DVD players, like VHS before them, have an antenna in and out connections, so you hook your cable from the wall to the player, and then from the player's ant. out to the TV's ant. in. Then you find the channel on which you see the program from the DVD player and flip your channels on the DVD player instead.