Over air *only* STB?

[brianchris]

I am an extreme newbie to the world of HDTV, so please don't laugh (too hard) at my questions ;)

I have a Mitsubishi diamond series 55" HDTV monitor (no tunner). Therefore, I need a tuner to recieve over air broadcast of local stations. I am aware that most HDTV Satellite STB's also convert over-air HDTV signals, but my wife and I are not interested in getting satellite (might regret this later as more and more HDTV content appears on satellit). Are there any STB's that *just* convert over air HDTV to component? If there are, they most likely are as much as the satelite / air boxes, making those boxes the obvious choice. BUT, maybe there is a box out there that only does over the air, and costs less because of it. That way, I could actually start using HDTV on my TV sooner.

Thanks in advance!

-Brian

[zarlor]

This is a fiarly common question, actually. I think the only OTA-Only STB on the market right now is the Samsung line, SIR-T150 and SIR-T151. Some folks have mentioned seeing them for as low as $350, but I think $400-450 is probably the more likely price range you'll find. You could also find some of the DirecTV SBs for around the same price range, such as the RCA DTC-100. You may not NEED the satellite capabilities of the box, but if you find one of them for cheaper than the Samsungs, then it might be something to consider looking into.

The only difference is that the T150 is a second generation tuner and the T151 is a third generation tuner, I belive. And I have heard reports that the newer the boxes the better they are at handling multipathing if you live in a more urban environment with a few larger buildings around you for the signal to bounce off of or if you need to use and indoor antenna for some reason. I haven't heard anything comparing their capabilities with otherwise weak signals, though. While the DTC-100 is a first generation tuner and works just fine, but may not work as well as the T151 in certain environments.

[mcmark]

Samsung is also coming out with a T165 model that has both DVI and 1394 interface support. I think that the diamond series Mitsu has a 1394 connection but my memory doesn't always work so well. J&R electronics - http://www.jandr.com - is taking pre-orders for those ($600) if it interests you.

[calabria]

Zenith will be coming out with a new OTA-only STB, the HDV420. List price is $399. No DVI, no IEEE 1394.