I hope this is in the right place, I've done several searches and want to make sure of something before I go out and buy a tuner.I've just bought a Samsung 46 inch lcd, and after a discussion with a tech rep I find out it dosen't have a qam tuner. I didn't even know that word existed until I had that conversation.I bought a Visco 32 lcd for my bedroom a few months ago and it picks up several HD channels without a box. I thought that was because of the digital tuner, not specifically a qam tuner.So I got a surprise when the new Sammy wouldn't pick up the channels. Hence the call to a tech rep.Now, my question is, can I go out and buy a cable box tuner with a qam tuner in it and pick up the channels I know that are on the cable? Do anybody think it would work with my digital cable box? I have two coaxial inputs on the back of the samsung lcd, one air and one cable. Thanks for anyhelp, Chris
Man your all confused... A Cable Box is a Qam tuner. Its a Qam tuner with a content decoder chip in it. Your sales guy was right about the Samsung's not having a QAM tuner built-in. The thing they should have told you is that your TV may need an HD cable box to tap into the HD channels via your cable service. If your Visco TV doesn't have a QAM tuner and you can pick up HD channels with your cable service then you may not need a clear Qam tuner at all. Simply... ATSC/DTV tuner(s) are over-the-air tuner(s) that pick-up DTV/HDTV using an antenna. A QAM or clear-Qam tuner is used to pick up unencrypted DTV/HDTV channels over a digital cable line. Ced
confused is an understatement I honestly don't know if the Visco has a qam tuner in it or not. All I know is I can pick up several hd channels just by plugging in the cable. The Samsung does not and I cannpt pick up any hd channels that I know are there. So, I can buy a cable box with a qam tuner and get the channels? Chris
Yes an HD-Cable box is all you need. If you don't want to rent a box from the cable company you can also buy an external tuner. The Visco website doesn't list QAM tuner on its spec sheet but I you could tell me your tv's model number I could help you figure that out. Ced
The Visco is the VSC-32V1 model. For an off the wall name brand it sure does have a gorgeous hd picture. I can't get enough of the Discovery channel hd theater. I'm going to start looking for a hd cable box, maybe I can give the digital cable box back to TW when I buy one lol, I wish there was a way to get the channels out of that cable box, which is a Motorola unit. Chris
As far as Visco products the VSC-32V3 is the only one that has a Qam tuner but if that model does I would suspect that all of them do. The VSC-32V3 is the only one that has a detailed spec sheet. Yea, Discovery HD-Theater is free as well as TNT-HD and any local channels you have in your area. If you like Discovery HD-Theater you should check out there new Discovery Atlas series on HD DVD or Blu-Ray. Good luck, Ced
No. I don't know of anyone who sells cable boxes to consumers. The Tivo Series 3 box as two cable card slots so that you can not only tap into free cable channels but also the premium ones. It would be my pick as the best choice as it is THX certified for audio and video! Ced
I'll look into that one. I'm not looking to steal anything, just be able to get the hd ones that are already on the basic cable that my tv wont pick up . Chris
Oh I know. I just meant that the only box I know of for shure is the Tivo box. If you can find one the old LG DTV tuner with QAM models you will be in heaven as they make or made the best ones. Ced
I'm about to give up on the hd channels that I know are there. The tech people at the new tv customer service dept have me even more confused than before. I have tried several different indoor antennas and I am lucky if I get 3 snowy stations from Mexico( I live in Tx against the border so I'm out in nowhere land). I don't understand why on earth that a tv can pick up several hd channels and now neither of my two new ones that have the atsc tuners in them won't? Is it because neither have a qam tuner? And, I can't get a straight answer about how the hd signals are traveling. Are they on the cable or are they over the air? Both tech reps say over the air, but I am having my doubts. I'm getting more confused by the day now lol Chris
Well your question doesn't really make since. If your using an antenna then the signal is over the air. If it coming from a Cable TV provider then it is coming over a coax cable to your house. You understand how cable TV works right? Cable takes over the local over the air channels and direct cable feeds form national and premium broadcasters and puts them in to a system all together. Cable companies use their own compression technologies which are different than what over the air broadcasters use which is why they require different tuners. Its the same content but the delivery systems (and mediums) are different. Ced
Basically, I understand what you are saying and had an idea about it. Or so I thought until I talked to the two tech reps. They have me so confused I don't know which way up is. I guess I need to find a STB that has a QAM tuner init so I can pull in the hd channels off the coax. It has to be there. Several antennas couldn't pull in crap, and antennaweb.org shows no antennas anywhere near me, so the hd channels have to be onthe coax. Just not scrambled, which is why the Visco lcd could display them. And the other two cannot. Or so thats what I'm thinking now. Thanks for all the help Ced, if you have any ideas of any stb's that can get those hd channels let me know. I'm still looking for the Tivo, and also looking at some RCA's and such. I bought a used Samsung dtb-h260f, but after some reading that I didnt see in the first few days of research I believe that unit needs anantenna also, which puts me back to square one. Chris
The Samsung DTB H260F will pass all the local HI DEF channels that you cable company sends through. Just connect your cable directly to the 260, and use Component Cables or a HDMI cable to connect to your display unit. The 260 instructions don't make this clear, but it works. I use one and have not had a problem with it. It will only give you access to the LOCAL HI DEF channels at no cost to you. GYPSY01
I took a gamble and it paid off. I bought the Samsung 260f tuner and it does pick up the hd channels. Not bad for $60 bucks. All I really wanted was the Discovery HD channel, and it come in crystal clear.I did find out I had to either put it inline before my dvr or use a switcher to be able to watch regular cable without the 260f being on. Thanks for the help everybody. Chris
I know this thread is a few months old but im hoping someone will reply. I've read the whole thread but still am a little confused regarding receiving HD channels. All i have is the cable running directly into my LCD. A few days ago i ranned into some channels i never knew i had i.e. espn hd, espn news, tnt, music channels and Starz Black, then i sometimes get to see some premium channels such as HBO and some (which i believe are ppv) movies and adult channels, but these channels tend to be 'off' after whatever programming it is showing. And then there are some channels with audio but no video. All of these channels that I'm receiving range from 100 to 132.20. I did some research and believe i am receiving these channels due to the QAM tuner that is integrated in my LCD. I guess my question is, is there a way to get the channels that im only receiving audio to be viewable? I am also from deep south texas close to the border.
the qam tuner will basically give you the "clear" channels on your cable.The ones not scrambled. Why you are getting so much more and some without audio sounds like a service problem to me, but then again I'm still a newbie at this stuff.
Sorry for dragging up this dead old topic, but where in the heck did you find that tuner for only $60?!?!?
