OTA HDTV tuner

[Inspector Jihad]

i want to get one, since i dont have cable and the nba finals start tomorrow. preferably i would like to get one in store so i can have it tomrrow...any recommendations?

 

[venkman]

You can get them retail but you will have to pay a pretty penny.

Link

 

[Inspector Jihad]

damn...why is it so expensive? any other cheaper options?

 

[Mloot]

There are some DVD recorders (such as one by LG, I think) that you can get that carry an OTA tuner, but I'm not sure if they output at HD resolutions or if they only pass downgraded 480i signals. In any case, the ones I saw were more expensive than the Samsung tuner linked to above.

As far as why the Samsung is so expensive, it's partly because alot of HDTV's now come with a built-in tuner, and the Samsung is, I believe, just about the only STB currently on the market with a 5th generation tuner (which gives better reception in high multi-path situations than previous tuners).


EDIT: Another option might be to look on Ebay for someone in your area selling an older OTA receiver and seeing if you can buy it today. I use an older RCA Directv receiver (model DTC210) strictly for OTA reception and it only cost me $45 (bought it from a local Ebay seller).

 

[Jaxidian]

Originally posted by: venkman
You can get them retail but you will have to pay a pretty penny.

Link

Thanks for the link - I'll have to check out my local CCs and see if they have these in stock. Fry's didn't have a single damned receiver in the store aside from the ones in their TVs or for PCs.

 

[Mrfrog840]

Best bet is the samsung. I've had a couple customers that have used them and couldnt be happier. Thats about the only option for your TV. unless you want to watch it on your PC. But your still forced to pick up an HDTV PCI tuner.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

yeah it looks like i'm gonna have to go with the samsung. it is expensive though.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Originally posted by: Mloot
There are some DVD recorders (such as one by LG, I think) that you can get that carry an OTA tuner, but I'm not sure if they output at HD resolutions or if they only pass downgraded 480i signals. In any case, the ones I saw were more expensive than the Samsung tuner linked to above.

As far as why the Samsung is so expensive, it's partly because alot of HDTV's now come with a built-in tuner, and the Samsung is, I believe, just about the only STB currently on the market with a 5th generation tuner (which gives better reception in high multi-path situations than previous tuners).


EDIT: Another option might be to look on Ebay for someone in your area selling an older OTA receiver and seeing if you can buy it today. I use an older RCA Directv receiver (model DTC210) strictly for OTA reception and it only cost me $45 (bought it from a local Ebay seller).

hey, i was wondering if you could help me find some older receivers on ebay. what do you think of this.

any other that you see that are cheaper?

edit: what about these?

2 receivers for 70 bucks...not bad deal right?

 

[Mloot]

I really don't have any experience with any tuner besides the RCA unit I use. I just recently got into digital OTA tv reception (a few months ago) so I'm still really a noob at all of this.

 

[venkman]

Just be careful as some of those tuners will require access card to use just as tuners. You should be able to find access cards on ebay also for $10-$20.

 

[Rio Rebel]

I did a little research on those Voom tuners, and as I understand it, any of them which have not already been activated cannot work as an HDTV tuner. Only those which were activated already with Voom will work. Since Voom is out of business now, I believe that means any brand new unit is worthless as an HDTV tuner.

 

[Mrfrog840]

Id still go with the samsung OTA over the LG OTA tuner.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

there is a lot of confusion over some of the units on ebay. i think i might just go with teh samsung.

 

[mshan]

Check your address at http://www.antennaweb.org to see what type of OTA HDTV signals you get at your location (20 - 30 miles away for Silver Sensor type indoor antenna is about max).

If you have a powerful computer (Core Duo or Core 2 Duo), the Hauppauge HVR-950 is on sale at Radio Shack for around $60 after rebate.

Just install drivers, but not hdtv software, go to http://www.watchhdtv.net and download their free program instead.

 

[sdifox]

You sure your TV doesn't have a tuner?