O.K. I'm very confused.

Just bought a Samsung HP-R5052 with a built in HDTV tuner. The thing is...the only way I can get HDTV broadcasts is if I have an HD Cable Box or an HD cable card. Is it me or shouldn't I be able to plug the cable wire into the TV and receive HD broadcasts????

My old HD-ready TV got HD broadcasts with the cable box too. Whats the diffence between... built in HD tuner and and HD ready if you need the digital receiver for both.

Thanks again.

*** Just in case you were wondering, the HD picture on this TV is crystal clear. DEFINITELY AN UNDERRATED TELEVISION.

An HDTV Tuner is for receiving Hi-Def over the air, so you need to hook up a TV antenna to see what the tuner can pull in for you.

If you live in or near a major city, you should get all the major networks in Hi-Def.

Unless the ATSC tuner has "Clear QAM" you won't be able to get any signal from a coaxial cable from the cable company. Even then, you won't be able to descramble any cable channels that are scrambled.

Either get an antenna (any old VHF/UHF antenna will do fine) or upgrade your cable to include a HD box and HD programming.

Wow!!! So when you spend $1000 more to have the HDTV tuner built in, you are paying to have the broadcast channels (2,4,5,7,9,11,13) come in clear with a regular antennae (over the air waves).

I would have to say a low percentage of America still uses a standard antennae to get bradcast TV. Most of Aerica has some sort of CATV or Sattelite which would eliminate the need for the built in HDTV tuner. So when one pays extra for a TV with a built in HDTV tuner as opposed to an HD-Ready TV its just for "bragging rights"...basically.

Thank you once again for educating me.

Currently you can't get all of your locals channels in HD over satellite and some cable companies. So if you want local HD and you're able to receive the signal in your area it's worth it to some people. It should be like SD broadcasts that you just hook up to a cable ready TV but the sat and cable companies insist on scrambling their digital signals so you need to use their box to descramble the signal.

I don't have cable and I probably won't have it for some time so I guess that puts me in the minority. However, my Samsung has a built-in HD tuner and all that's hooked to it is a $30 Rabbit Ear unit and the HD channels* come in great.

As I type this I'm watching Conan in Hi-Def.




*The only channels that appear to be in HD 24/7 are the PBS stations. Most of the Network stations seem to just have select shows that come in HD like LOST, The Tonight Show, Late Night with David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, and a few other shows.

This is exactly why it's vastly important to do an extensive research task on a portential buying item, prior to purchasing, enabling to gain complete knowledge about the overall product.

But that is exactly why OTA is making a come back. I had used cable/dish for 15 years and never had an antenna on my roof/attic. But once I set up my media room, threw and antenna in the attic, bought a cheap used STB and now get excellent HD on all local channels for FREE!!! (well there was the cost of the STB and antenna).

I overspent. Got a $27 antenna to attach to my dish. Coulda got a $23 one that might even work better.

If you paid $1000 extra just for the tuner, you got ripped off. When I was shopping nearly 3 years ago, the tuner increased TV prices about $400. I'd assume that amount is similar today, if not even lower. If nothing else, you can buy an external OTA tuner for about $200.

As already mentioned, there aren't many cable or satellite providers that offer all of the local channels in HD. I have DirecTV, and can't get any of them. Howerver, using the antenna hooked up to my D* receiver for OTA (I don't have a built in tuner), I can pick up an extra 21 channels for FREE.

An OTA tuner (whether built into the TV as you have, or external as I happen to have) simply allows one to receive free HD feeds via antenna assuming those channels are available in your area. It will not affect any HD reception through your cable or satellite provider - you still need an external tuner for those.

You could have saved yourself a lot of money with just a little bit of homework...

Thanks...

I guess I could've saved some money. If I would have known it had nothing to do with receiveing HD signals via cable (I thought it automatically processed the HD signal from any source), I would have bought an HDTV ready plasma set.

Oh well...you live and learn.

Thanks for the info.

One of the two cable companies where I live offers ABC,CBS,etc in HD with basic cable. So your built in tuner would work for that right?

Depends on how they send it. Most don't seem to advertise the free/clear QAM signals they send. They also send encrypted channels, like all the other digital cable channels, and these are the ones usually advertised. If they are sending QAM, you can find it just by hooking up the cable line to your built in tuner and scanning for channels.

You would still have to have some paid cable service to get the QAM signal, no doubt. It's not totally free like OTA. Just no additional charge to what you already pay, analog cable customers can pick this up if it is there.

Or, a built in tuner with cable card should be able to decode the encrypted channels.

It's too bad it all has to be so confusing, there's always so many options.

Even when I was paying for digital cable and the HD package I wasn't getting Fox and WB in HD as Time Warner is so limited in there HD offerings. I cut back my cable and went OTA for my HD since we were watching the regular channels most of the time anyway. I'm saving a ton of money on cable bills and enjoying free HD every day. OTA HD definitely has its place.

Also....OTA HD tuners will pull in the sub-channels broadcast by the local stations that aren't always supplied by the cable companies. AND, if my area, I can pick up the Washington, DC and Baltimore HD stations (cable and satellite locals are restricted to one city only). On Sundays, those local DC and Baltimore affiliates frequently broadcast different NFL regular season football games (in HD).....sweet!