HDTV Tuner for HD Ready TVs

[lacywest]

Does anybody have any input on suggestions for HD TV tuners ... ??

If so ... what ones can you suggest ??

My Sony 51 inch ... is HD Ready

I want to use an antenna on top of my roof ... to pick up HD OTA broadcasts .......... I'm going to need a HD tuner.

So ... what's up ... Does anybody have any suggestions ?

[lumis]

what kind of inputs does your television have?

[redwudz]

AVSforum has a lot of info on OTA reception:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179095

Go down the page a ways and you should see a list of tuners for OTA.

[edDV]

If you asked 8 months ago, I'd say get the USDigital tuner (~$200) at Walmart.

That seems to have disappeared from their site.

First step is to see what DTV channels are in range at your location
http://www.antennaweb.org/

Hanford CA has the following list of digital channels. You will need a medium size antenna for Fresno (356 degrees) or multiple antennas to get all.

[elister]

I own a Samsung T-351 HD Tuner. It will cost you about 100$ on ebay.

Video Outputs: DVI, VGA, Component, Composite, & S-Video.
Audio Outputs: Optical Audio, COAX, & standard Analog RCA Audio.

The thing I like about this box is that it can output to everything all at once, so I can watch the HD feed through the DVI/COAX while I capture it to my ATI All in Wonder using the S-Video & Analog Audio.

[gshelley61]

Look for the LG LST-4200A. It's considered one of the best available in terms of PQ. It picks up both over the air digital and in-the-clear digital cable (QAM), plus receives traditional analog NTSC signals, too. Very convenient. Component, DVI and VGA outputs for HD and upscaled signals, and composite/s-video for standard 480i out. Provides anamorphic "squeezed" 480i output through the composite/s-video so you can correctly capture downscaled HD programs in 16:9.

[lacywest]

gshelley61 Posted: Feb 07, 2006 03:06

Look for the LG LST-4200A. It's considered one of the best available in terms of PQ. It picks up both over the air digital and in-the-clear digital cable (QAM), plus receives traditional analog NTSC signals, too. Very convenient. Component, DVI and VGA outputs for HD and upscaled signals, and composite/s-video for standard 480i out. Provides anamorphic "squeezed" 480i output through the composite/s-video so you can correctly capture downscaled HD programs in 16:9.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

elister Posted: Feb 07, 2006 02:33

I own a Samsung T-351 HD Tuner. It will cost you about 100$ on ebay.

Video Outputs: DVI, VGA, Component, Composite, & S-Video.
Audio Outputs: Optical Audio, COAX, & standard Analog RCA Audio.

The thing I like about this box is that it can output to everything all at once, so I can watch the HD feed through the DVI/COAX while I capture it to my ATI All in Wonder using the S-Video & Analog Audio.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay thanks ... now I've got two HD Tuners to think about ...

I've been looking at the T-451 and LG LST-4200A

The SIR-T451 ... is on Ebay BUY IT NOW ... around 150 bucks

http://cousins-hometheater.blogspot.com

LG HDTV Tuners Gone
LG Electronics has discontinued the LST3510A, LST3410A & LST4200A HDTV Set-top boxes. We are sold out of these models as well.
The reason we've been told that no replacements are being made: In 2006 all of LG's HD monitors will have a built-in tuner.
That's great, but what about all the people who have a 1 or 2 year old monitor and their 5 year old set top box dies?

LG LST-4200A HD Receiver/DVR

http://www.audioholics.com/cedia/cedia2004/LGLST-4200AHD-DVR.php

LG Electronics showcased its family of HDTV set-top boxes at CEDIA Expo, including its latest broadcast HDTV receiver, Model LST-4200A, its LST-3410A HDTV receiver HD-DVR (digital video recorder), and the LST-3510A, a combination DVD player and digital HDTV set-top box.

Designed to address growing consumer demand for HDTV digital recording, the LST-3410A is a combination HDTV receiver/DVR. It provides the ideal solution for recording digital HDTV delivered over the air, through unscrambled digital cable channels or via a conventional analog NTSC signal. The LST-3410A features a 120-gigabyte hard drive capable of recording more than 12 hours of HDTV programming, 62 hours of standard-definition digital programming, or 120 hours of analog programming.

The LST-3410A includes IEEE-1394 and DVI+HDCP digital interfaces. To further enhance the home theater experience, the device also features time shift record, live pause, high-speed fast-forward and rewind, thumbnail browsing, synopsis mode replay, HD video navigation with the TV Guide On-Screen interactive program guide, picture-in-grid, and Dolby Digital Sound. The LST-3410A is available now at a suggested retail price of $999.

LG’s LST-3510A HDTV receiver/high-format DVD player features an all-format ATSC receiver for over-the-air HD reception, a QAM tuner for unscrambled HDTV cable reception, as well as a built-in DVD player with 1080i output, Enhanced Scaler, Dolby Digital sound, a DVI+HDCP connector, a PSIP-based Electronic Program Guide and an RS-232 serial port.

With the DVI+HDCP connector, the unit can display and scale true digital-to-digital images of DVDs. And since the digital tuning and DVD player are combined in the same unit, connecting to an HDTV monitor is simplified. A unified remote control operates both the receiver and DVD player. The LST-3510A is available now at a suggested retail price of $599.

The newest addition to LG’s digital set-top box lineup is the cost-effective LST-4200A, which combines ATSC, NTSC and QAM (unscrambled) tuners, PSIP electronic program guide capability, and multiple outputs, including DVI+HDCP, RGB, HD component and NTSC for native and converted modes. The LST-4200A is available now at a suggested price of $349.

http://us.lge.com/Product/proddetail.do?actCategory=tv&archivedYn=&actType=search&cate...e=1&perPage=10

WOW ... I'm over whelmed ... which to get ???

My goal is to pick up the HD broadcasts in my area and display them on my Sony HD ready TV ... model number KP-51WS520

Seems to be some ... cons and pros ... with both of them.

Since I'm a member here ... most of us at this website do a little of everything ... capturing and ... etc ... etc ... I do want it all !!!

What can I say ... I want instant gratification ... NOW

[edDV]

These DTV tuners are getting better and cheaper all the time. Avoid old ones on ebay. They are full of quirks and errors that are well documented in the forums.

Read user reviews carefully before buying.

[chas0039]

I need a smart answer to a dumb question. Will all of these also output analog to an old TV when the only thing available are HD signals?

[gshelley61]

Yes. A downscaled NTSC 480i signal is sent to the composite/s-video outputs.

[lacywest]

Okay ... so what is current and being used today ?

... new models ... not last year's models ! !

That includes the features that ...

elister ... and ... gshelley61 ... mentioned ... above

[gshelley61]

Not sure on "new" models. There is not that much demand for set top HDTV receivers because most people who have an HDTV either have cable or satellite HD services. Over the air digital is still mostly ignored by the public. Plus, all new TV's over 27" in size now must have the ATSC digital tuner built-in, so new HDTV's don't need a separate tuner anymore.

There will be huge demand for set top digital tuners when the analog NTSC broadcast television signals are all shut down in a couple of years and legacy TV's have nothing to receive. This will affect millions of people, as not everyone will be able to afford to go out and get a new digital TV or subscribe to cable/satellite. Set top digital tuners will be needed in order for these folks to be able to watch free over the air TV.

[edDV]

Here's a place to start reading.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=25

Here is the list of tuners and their prices.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=179095

Gift us an overview of what you learn and which you select.

[lacywest]

Here is a update for HDTV and the Directv HR10-250 ... oh and I will mention it does have it's bugs.

Dolby Digital doesn't aways work or maybe the Directv guide is misleading ... it mentions a second audio is available in Dolby Digital but I think the people creating the info dont always know what they are doing. I think it is Dolby Surround ... not Dolby Digital.

My PIONEER VSX-1015TXK THX Select AV Receiver wont display the Dolby Digital EX on the display ... when I think it should be doing it. But a few days ago ... I was receiving Dolbly Digital and it sounded very nice ... two movies in a row ...

InXess wrote:
lacywest wrote:

My theory is ... Comcast cuts me off ... when I download too much ... in a certain time period. So I use a Timer ... to keep my downloads ... downloading.


Good news, this theory is wrong. No one would waste their time to cut 1 user repeatedly just to reconnect a bit later. If cut, modem is dead (deauthorized) and no timer will ever bring it back to life. You have poor connection and high CRC errors throttling your modem down to zero.

Oops, old post... sorry.

Well ... what ever the crap is going on ... it sure pisses me off. It has been weeks now and the senario has changed ... this problem has changed.

I did away with Comcast HD TV [monthly charges were $140]... I still use the basic Comcast feed ... only because I need the Internet connection ... [monthly charges are now around $70 bucks].

And now have Directv HD ... one HR10-250 HD Box in living room and one in the bedroom.

Yesterday ... AT & T told me I can get DSL in my area ... hmmm ... [they merged with SBC] ... so if they do provide DSL in my area ... I will say to Comcast ... get the F*&%$# out of here.

I tried to watch Smallville a few nights ago ... using the Comcast feed ... geez ... it looked like crap ... those ugly rolling lines were back and over a inch thick ... two at a time rolling up ... repeating ... repeating ... repeating ... repeating.

Huge rolling lines two at a time on my screen ... Comcast did pretty good for awhile but those lines are back.

I've got a nice BowTie type antenna attached to my roof [I'm feeding it into the HR10-250] and HD reception is great. And Directv provides feeds of our local area TV shows in our area ... and they are clear ... not like the Comcast reception.

So I've got a good selection and choice of HD stations to look at.