Monitor or HDTV w/built in tuner or cable card slot?
Sheashug
Unregistered guest
Posted on
I'm shopping for a 50" plasma. Should I buy a monitor or HDTV with tuner? FCC recently mandated all TV's over 42" to have a built in tuner. Are monitors obsolete? IF I buy a monitor, will I have issues in 10 years down the road with changes in technology? What is the pro/con for both monitors and hdtv's with tuners?
Get with HDTV atsc tuner built in and CableCard slot if you use cable. if you use dish then you donot need a cablecard slot. the cable card slot allows you to use your standard remote with channel changing. no cable box needed. the built in tuner is only for air broadcast with an external antenna. so if you have HDTV broadcast in your area then the internal tuner is the ticket.
B Stringer
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Wrong, the built in HDTV is not for just over the air broadcasts. I have standard cable (not digital)without a cablecard and my TV picks up all of the cable companies HD stations.
TPE
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Stringer....dont jump to hard on this one. Johnson is correct, it is for over the air HD signals (yes you can get signals via rabbit ears and no monthly fee!). Dont confuse digital cable with HD, very different, think of them this way- analog is a type of signal (good), digital is a type of signal (better), HD is a type of the signal (Best). Digital is one step down from HD. PS even if you get HD signals on your TV, if your TV is not HD itself (1028i or 720p res) then you are not watching HDTV.
I want to purchase a 42" Plasma HDTV with the built-in tuner and a cable card slot. It seems as though only Panasonic so far is making most of these type of TVs with cable card slots. I want to avoid using the separate HD tuner and separate remote control needed by my cable company if there is no cable card slot on the TV for the card they provide. Should I bother with the cable card slot or not? I move alot and am imformed that many areas of the USA still are serviced by cable/broadband companies thst are not using the cable card technology thus requiring use of the separate tuners I wanted to avoid. Can anyone advise me what they think is best? I wanted to purchase the TV by October 31,2005. Thanks
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
You'll find most providers are already using the CableCARD feature to provide their digital programming. So it's best to get a set with a built-in CableCARD slot.
Some DCR {Digital Cable Ready} sets do not have a built-in EPG {Electronic Program Guide} and it's somewhat frustrating not having it while you're trying searching for your favorites channels. All of the current DCR sets are 1-way, this mean you won't be able to order Pay-Per-View events thru the TV even though is DCR, for that you'll need the cable box. Otherwise is not such a big deal if you don't order Pay-Per-View programming.
LG and Philips have sets that are DCR and have EPG built into them. Panasonic TH-xxPX50U/P series are also DCR, but DO NOT have the EPG built into them.
Another downside beside the 1-way digital signal is with the EPG, it takes 24-hours to be downloaded into the set, sometimes the guide will go blank at the middle of the day and it will re-start the downloading process all over again {Another 24-hrs.}
Every cable provider that offers digital cable have to use a cableCARD there's no way around that., most will use sneaky marketing tactics to "force" you to use their box instead of the card alone. Rest asure, you don't need their ugly box {Much less paying an additional rental fee for it.} when you have a DCR TV set.
Anonymous
Posted on
I am looking for a 20"-23" lcd or plasma with a built in hdtv tuner. I find a lot of "hdtv-ready" sets that require a separate tuner. Any brands(models) with the tuner built in?
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Since it's not mandated by the FCC, manufacturers are not legally obligated to manufacture their 20"-32" sets with a built-in ATSC tuner.
We're starting to see 23" and bigger sets with the HDMi input. so it's a matter of 1-or-2-years until we'll see small LCDs with a high definition tuner built into them.
Anonymous
Posted on
I am looking for a 20" LCD TV with a Cable card slot. Does such an animal exist?