I purchased a Panasonic LCD ~ TC - 32LX50 TV a few months ago. It does not have a built-in HDTV Tuner....

I did want to bother with the additional expense of a higher tier cable package, so, when I was searching for a new TV, I did not search for a LCD TV that had the built-in tuner.

My son recently told me that a friend of his recently purchased a TV (Sony Wega LCD) with a built-in tuner, and this friend of his uses the same basic cable package that I do. Upon hooking up his cable to the TV, he found that he was getting many HD stations.

He thought that our cable company had mistakenly upgraded his service which he did not want to order, and so he called the cable company to inquire about it. The cable company sent a technician to check it out. After checking it out, the technician said that he was still getting the basic cable programming package, but the built-in HD Tuner in his TV was pulling in the new channels through the Cable companies' line, which without the filtering of their set-top box, the cable would be unfiltered (with his and my cable package, we don't have their set-top box). The cable company told him to just enjoy the new programming at no additional charge.

I am thinking of purchasing an HDTV Tuner to try to do the same... I just don't know what to look for... it is all Greek to me... I read in one description of an HDTV Tuner that it was... QAM - capable.... I have no idea what that is. Do I need a HD Tuner that has that capability?

Has anyone ever heard of such a thing as pulling HD programming off a cable companies' line without a cable HD package upgrade?

What do I need to look for in a HDTV Receiver?

Any advice would be very helpful.

Jim

Yes, the cable company is sending local HD channels via QAM. Lots of them apparently do this for free. Most standalone HD tuners should be able to decode QAM, but double check when you shop. You can also use an antenna to pull in the local channels, most likely. Rat Shack is selling one for $90, not sure how good it is.

You would need to get a cable HD box and pay more to get the cable HD channels like HBO or ESPN.

Spiky,

In checking HD Tuners that are availible, I see that there are Tuners that are capable of decoding...

1.) Some can decode only ATSC (whatever that is)

2.) Some can decode only QAM

3.) and there is an LG model that decodes both ATSC and QAM.

Am I right in understanding that I would just need to buy a Tuner that decodes QAM?

Jim

They all do ATSC, that is the basic HDTV format. But it can be encoded (modulated?) in a couple different kinds of signal to get sent to you, one of them being QAM. I think the other major one besides QAM is 8VSB, or something like that. And that is the signal that you would receive from antenna, I think. I don't know all that much about this, just enough to be dangerous.

Your basic HDTV tuner is used with an antenna to pull in your local HDTV channels (ATSC) available for free over the air.

The tuners that decode QAM need you to be with a cable provider and when you connect your cable connection to them they are able to decode all of the unscrambled cable channels in addition to the ones you are paying for in your package.

Advanced Television Systems Committee

The type of HD converter that you need must be able to decode the "QAM" signals that cable tvs use to modulate the HD signals. CATV systems use QAM....over the air broadcasters use 8VSB.

One problem sometimes is the channels or frequencies that the CATV system uses for the HD channels. Sometimes they can be very high and I have seen some tvs built-in hd converters that are not able to scan high enough to see the hd channels. This problem probly won't happen....I just thought that I would give you one more thing to worry about....lol.

I would recommend the LG converter. It sounds like it can do both so it would give you the most flexibility in the future.

Happy Hollidays,

DaveT

Ok..so there is no way to tell if you buy a QAM type of tuner if it will work with your cable system?..Ive had a brief discussion with Daniel about this..he has one of the Sony Hdd tuners and id love to get away from the Motorola boxes we have now..but at what the HDD costs and then if you have to use the cable card its gonna work out more expensive than just renting the STB..

You'd have to ask your cable company. And pray the person you talk to tells the truth or has a clue about what the truth is.