questins from a newbie

[k-rock]

i'm in the process of purchasing an hdtv. my question is about the hdtv set-top-boxes (hdtv tuners). is there a difference between the hdtv tuner and a satellite receiver? do i have to have a satellite service to get hdtv broadcasts? can i simply buy an hdtv and an hdtv tuner and be ready to go? with this set up, can i get my regular cable channels w/ the hdtv signal bradcasts? sorry that this is more than one question. i've probably got more!!! can anyone help me out?

[BadCamper]

When it comes down to it you've got two flavors of High Definition televisions: Integrated (HDTV) and Non-Integrated (HD-Ready)...I'm excluding EDTV as it's in a category of it's own.

For all HD-Ready TV's you are required to have some sort of tuner...be it an OTA (over-the-air), one provided by your local cable company or one you purchase for DirecTV or Dish Network.

As far as I know ALL DirecTV and Dish Network HD tuners will process 1080i signal from both Satellite sources and from OTA broadcast, provided you have a separate Antenna for the OTA transmissions (neither company will spare the bandwidth yet for HD local stations).

As far as I've heard, (we don't have HD cable in my market yet), most Cable HD tuners will either have an OTA antenna input or the service company themselves will broadcast the OTA channels in HD.

And of course you've got your good old local OTA tuners, which will process nothing except for local station broadcast picked up from any antenna. I would check with http://www.antennaweb.org/ for information on OTA HD broadcast in your area. (A wonderful source that I picked up on this site)


For your "regular" (I'm assuming non-HD) I would reccomend asking around your area and see if there is an HD package/option with your cable providers. Even if it is just a couple of channels broadcast in HD now it is only going to get better...so don't let 4-5 HD channels out of 150+ analog dissuade you from making the change!

[Wooger]

>>i'm in the process of purchasing an hdtv.
Congrats!
>>my question is about the hdtv set-top-boxes (hdtv tuners).
OK
>>is there a difference between the hdtv tuner and a satellite receiver?
Yes
>>do i have to have a satellite service to get hdtv broadcasts?
No
>>can i simply buy an hdtv and an hdtv tuner and be ready to go?
Pretty much. Depends (see below)
>>with this set up, can i get my regular cable channels w/ the hdtv signal bradcasts?
Absolutely
>>sorry that this is more than one question. i've probably got more!!! can anyone help me out?
OK, here is the deal. MOST of the HD tuners (STB) available today have some sort of DSS functionality as well. ALL of them (I believe... someone correct me if I am wrong) are OTA as well. ALL of the tuners allow a 'pass through' that allows the TV to watch regular OTA/Cable programming as well, although you will probably be sending the cable/OTA regular programming to a separate input on your TV anyway.

As mentioned above, go to ANTENNAWEB.ORG and enter your ZIP Code and find out who in your area is broadcasting in HD. NOW comes the interesting part: THE ANTENNA!!!

You will need an antenna. Depending on where you live and other various things, you can get away with anything from a pair of rabbit ears to a full-fledged tower antenna. THIS is an area that you might want to research a bit first. If you live out in the boondocks somewhere, you WILL need a BIG antenna, probably an antenna-rotor, the works. In a metro area (Detroit is the most heavily saturated HD market currently) you could have an omni-directional RadioShack or Terk antenna behind the set or in the attic and pick up most everything.

Go to antennaweb, ask more questions, research it. And Welcome!

[57U]

k-rock, welcome to the forum.

Check out the FAQ section, 7th one down on the home page, especially the following posts.

1. If only I'd have known.
2. How large an HDTV to buy.
3. What you need to do to your new HDTV.

check out any other posts of interest.

[k-rock]

this is definately one of the friendliest sites i've EVER seen. thanks so much! i was reading one of the other posts and saw something about the time-warner stb. is this a different box than the digital cable box. i had digital cable with time-warner but the bill for my area with just the hbo pkg. was getting close to $100 a month. i am a HUGE video game, 5.1 surround, and dvd movie fan (my dvd collection is right around 300 for the moment) so that will be the majority of my use. will a direct hook-up to an hdtv give me even more calrity with those devices without the stb? it just seems a shame not to have the whole shabang! i may have to take this in baby steps. thanks again!