hi-def widescreen tv without digital tuner-am I screwed?
 

When I bought my 52" DLP 1080i widescreen tv a couple of years ago, it was known as "HDTV Ready" and had no built-in digital tuner. I've never cared to pay money for cable, as I watch all my movies on dvd anyway (prefer to collect), so for simple local channels, I've always just used rabbit-ear antenna. You can probably see where this is headed, but I have specific questions hopefully others here can help me with.

I want to be able to see local programming on my tv in 1080i and hear digital sound without having to subscribe to a cable company or satellite service. Is this possible? All of the DTV converter boxes out there that I've seen (of which there seem to be very few) don't have HDMI connections or coaxial/optical audio outputs. What exactly do I need? Where should I look? Are DTV converters even the same thing as outboard digital tuners? They seem to be described as "digital to analog converters" which, to me, would mean I couldn't get a hi-def signal output to my tv. I know these boxes are mainly aimed at people who have old 4:3 televisions, but what about the people who bought hi-def widescreen tvs before built-in digital tuners became the mandate?

(sorry if this belongs in another forum...wasn't sure where to put it)

Depends on what you want. One option is just a receiver. Looking at Best Buy and Amazon, it looks like Samsung is the only company still making a digital receiver.

It's $160 at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-DTBH26...7010035&sr=8-1

Or you could get an HD TiVo. That would record HD OTA, but it'll be a lot more expensive.

There's also DVD recorder options, but I don't know much about them.

You're right, you don't want one of those DTV converter boxes if you have an HDTV.

Yep, something like that will work. Get cable or satellite. Those are about your only options... I guess you could sell it before the conversion date.

My projector has no hi-def tuner so I use my DirecTV HD DVR for that. It's connected via HDMI, but it can only output up to 1080i - no over the air source is better than that right now anyway.

Before I got HD Dish in our media room, I used an old Voom box picked up cheap on ebay for locals in HD with an antenna. Worked very well. But you have to read carefully and make sure you know what you are ordering. You want to make sure to get a unit that will "scan for local channels". You do not want a brand new unit in an unopened box for that might have never been activated (and there is no way to activate now).

Thanks. That Samsung receiver looks good, but a tad expensive. The dvd recorders seem to have bad tuners (not pumping true hd, upconverting only). I've thought about selling my tv and upgrading, but I'd feel a bit sleazy dumping it on someone without a digital tuner just before the switch-over date, plus the bulb is probably gonna go any day now, too. And the current money situation sucks.

The value of the TV is just going to plummet if you don't do it soon though.

Not commenting on what you should do, but tuners like this started at over $700 and then stayed at $200-300 for several years. So it sounds like a good price range. I wouldn't expect a <$100 "real" HD tuner, just the cheesy crap as discussed above.

Yup

BTW:
Refurbished HD Tivos if you care enough about TV to have one:

https://www3.tivo.com/store/webspecials.do

You can always pay the $400 for lifetime service if you don't want a monthly fee. That's what I did. We have expanded basic + $2/mo cablecard for locals in HD only.

Tivo has OTA tuner :D

My Series 3 TiVo is OTA-only and Lifetime = No monthly TV bill. :)

As someone in the same position as the OP, I'm curious why the conversion would have an effect on the television's value? It'll still do non-hd with one of the cheapie converter boxes and hd with a more expensive receiver or cable/satellite service. I don't see what's going to change with the conversion, except having to hook up a $10 convertor box. Am I missing something?

Yes, you're missing something. While the actual value of it might not really change to much over the course of the switch, although the cheapest converter box I've seen is $60, not $10, the perceived value of the set will drop dramatically. And it's the perceived value that dictates price.

Right now, most people are still not fully cognizant of the digital switch and HDTV. Once it's fully forced on them, those looking to upgrade to an HDTV are not going to be satisfied with an "HD ready set" that needs an extra box in order to display any channel, especially when brand-new TVs have the digital tuner built in. The cheapy set-boxes are only for those who don't want to buy a new TV at all. Any analog-tuner-only TV is going to get a big loss in resale value once the digital transition is finalized.

I was taking into account the coupon program and thought some boxes were available for $50.

As for your argument, I guess I have a hard time buying that the segment of the population that's only watching TV over rabbit ears is going to affect the values of used HDTVs. Time will tell, but I doubt the conversion will have a significant effect compared to something like the downward trending prices of new plasma and lcd televisions. Now that's something that's drastically abused the values of older, bulkier HDTV-ready televisions.

The ones that are content without HDTV are going to buy the converter boxes for their existing TVs. Those that are interested in TV are going to want one that comes with an HD capable digital tuner. "HD Ready" TVs only had appeal a few years ago, and their appeal is rapidly dropping. Even if you had a brand new "HD Ready" mint in box, it probably wouldn't sell for as much as a used HDTV with digital-tuner once TV is digital only.

Are there that many people who use rabbit ears? I don't know a single person in New Jersey that doesn't use cable for their primary television reception, even the people who just want the basic channels. I always assumed it was people way out in the country that use OTA.

http://www.dtvtransition.org/index.p...d=22&Itemid=35
Nearly 20 million households that rely solely on over-the-air television signals will be affected by the end of analog broadcasting on February 17, 2009. Millions more households that receive over-the-air signals on secondary TV sets will also be affected.... The switch from analog to digital television in 2009 means that some 70 million sets will go dark

No, they have a tough time since they are far from the transmitters. Satellite is more popular in rurals, I think.

Why? For anyone that has cable or satellite, it will work just fine after the switch.

There's Voom receiver on eBay right now for 10.99. I used two of them in our house before they went out of business. I gave one of them to my boss after I got D*, and he used it for OTA only on an HD-ready TV. You just need to make sure of 2 things:

• The receiver was activated at some point. As mentioned above, if it was never activated, there's no way to activate it now.
• The receiver was never de-activated. If they were active customers when Voom shut down or if they had the receiver disconnected from the satellite when they cancelled, it will still work fine. If they cancelled service with it plugged in, Voom would have de-activated it, so it won't work.

According to what that listing says, it should work fine in your case.

I have the Samsung HD Tuner. I don't consider myself screwed.

Thanks for the help. I'll keep an eye out for more Voom's, as I missed out on the one yesterday. Maybe the Samsung will be a birthday gift to myself if that doesn't pan out.