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Before buying an ATSC tuner like
the Motorola HDTV receiver pictured
below that's
limited to decoding just a few local off air HDTV broadcast
channels, you should be sure that you're NOT planning to
soon make the switch to either HDTV cable or HDTV
satellite dish systems for lots more HDTV programming
possibilities.
That's because when connected to properly
aimed and mounted satellite dishes,
HDTV satellite receivers NOT ONLY allow you
to subscribe to additional DIRECTV HDTV or Dish Network
HDTV channels (along with lots of standard definition digital
channels), BUT ALSO include a built-in ATSC tuner that allows you to
connect the cables coming from both your satellite dish and your
HD TV antenna to a single HDTV receiver!
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Another reason it's important to
think it through before you buy is that you may want to be able to
record HDTV programming using an HD DVR or HDTV
recorder.
If
you've got an HDTV-ready television monitor that lacks a
built-in HDTV tuner, you'll need to connect a separate ATSC
tuner box to the back of your television with the proper HDTV cables,
and connect the HDTV antenna to the
antenna input on the ATSC tuner. Links
to five of the most popular basic ATSC tuners on the market are in
the left column.
If you've got an HDTV with
integrated tuner, the ATSC tuner required for decoding off
air HDTV broadcast channels is built in to your television
set. Run the cable from your HD antenna to the antenna
input jack on the back of your high definition TV.
Also, if you've got a digital surround
sound system, don't forget to connect the digital audio
output from your HDTV receiver to an input on back of your home
theater receiver with an optical or coaxial digital audio
cable. |
