What does an ATSC tuner do for my HDTV?

Question

So I just bought a brand new Philips 19" Modea HDTV with a buit in ATSC tuner. I bought the TV for my apartmen this year in college. My ? is how do i get cable. Does an ATSC tuner provide FREE cable or what does it do? I just heard I needed to get a TV with an ATSC tuner so i did but now i just need help on what I need to do to watch TV on my new TV. Is it ready to watch right out of the box? Any help is much aprieciated....Thanks!!!!

Answer 1

Good question. An ATSC tuner is similiar to the tuner that's been a part of every TV over the past few decades except that it is designed to pick up "over the air" High Definition digital signals. It will not work with HD cable or satellite signals. In order to get those you will need a set top box (STB) from either your cable company or Satellite provider.

Connecting the cable directly to your TV will get you the standard analog tv signals (assuming the cable is active) that the cable provider has available.

The ATSC tuner will be of benefit mostly for people who will only be using a regular antenna to get their television programming.

Answer 2

ATSC tuner receives digital tv (DTV) channels. You need to attach an antenna to receive the signal. These are broadcast channels (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc.).

A cable-card slot (QAM) tuner will enable you to receive cable channels. This would be provided by your cable provider. You won't get free cable channels, you'll still have to pay. But you won't need the cable box.

Answer 3

ATSC is the official name of the digital television standard adopted in the USA (and elsewhere), replacing NTSC (for serious next Februrary, when all NTSC transmissions will cease). Digital television supports both HD and SD formats... since you bought an HDTV, you can see both types.

There are two sources of HDTV content for that tuner... over the air (OTA) and cable. OTA broadcasts are now available in most areas, and if you hook up a UHF antenna to that TV, you should be able to pull in something, unless you're in the boondocks. There are companies selling "digital" antennas, but that's all hype and largely deception... any old UHF antenna can work in a strong signal area.

For cable, you may be able to tune in some basic cable channels once you have a hookup (which you do need to order and pay for every month).  Most systems broadcast "clear" digital channels for the basic cable service, but it's pretty much up to them.

But for any premium content, you need to get a CableCard from your cable operator. This card contains authorization keys that allow you to access additional channels.