HDTV Receivers For Decoding HD Programming

HDTV receivers send both 4:3 and 16:9 widescreen HD programming to an HDTV-ready television, as well as Dolby Digital 5.1 audio to your surround sound system, from a single unit!  With the right HDTV tuner, high definition programming is available by subscribing to HDTV satellite dish service, HDTV cable television service, or with an off air HD antenna you may be able to get local HDTV broadcast channels for free.  An HD DVR will allow you to RECORD HDTV programming!

You may not need to purchase an HDTV receiver if:

• your HD television has a built in ATSC HDTV tuner AND all you want to view are free off air HDTV broadcast channels.  You'll also need to connect an HDTV antenna. -or-

• your HDTV is Digital Cable Ready (DCR) with CableCARD and you plan on getting HDTV from your local cable company.  Contact your HDTV cable provider to be sure that their service currently supports CableCARD technology.  (Two-way interactive services such as Program Guides, Pay-Per-View, or Video-On-Demand services will most likely still require a separate HDTV cable box) -or-

• you've never been a Dish Network customer before, and plan on subscribing to Dish Network's HDTV programming.  They'll provide you with FREE INSTALLATION and HDTV receivers up front, allowing you to rent them on your monthly satellite TV bill.

Samsung HDTV Receiver

The Samsung SIR-T451 HDTV receiver shown above is one of the more popular ATSC tuners on the market.  It will allow you to view HDTV broadcast channels on your high definition ready television by connecting an HDTV antenna.  Before being able to view high definition programming and hear digital surround sound, your HDTV receiver box must be connected to both your HD-ready TV monitor and home theater receiver with the proper HDTV cables.

Besides being called HDTV receivers and HDTV tuners, high definition television receivers are also commonly referred to as an HDTV set top box, an HDTV converter box, or an HDTV decoder.  Also, this site doesn't discriminate against bad spellers, so if you found this site typing HDTV reciever or HDTV recievers when searching for high definition set top boxes, we won't hold it against you!  Remember the "I before E, except after C" rule that you learned in grade school?