HDTV Tuner for OTA Reception (1 Viewer)

[SeanA]

I am looking to buy an HDTV Tuner/Receiver for the sole purpose of pulling in Digital TV signals with an indoor antenna. I get good analog reception using a Silver Sensor UHF antenna and a Jensen TV940 VHF antenna, so I believe I will have good luck in pulling in the digital signals. Only problem is I don't know what to buy. There does not seem to be a lot of information on HDTV Tuners for OTA reception. I found some details on the Samsung SIR-T151 and I think Zenith and Sony also make similar tuners. However, I would really like to find some independent reviews or comparisons. Any suggestions on where I could look to find such information ???

 

[Aaron H]

AVS Forums has a whole section dedicated to HDTV hardware. Samsung has the 150, 151, and the 165, I think, for OTA. Zenith has a few out, too. Older model DTC-100, and I think the newew 420 and 520? I think Circuit City sells the Zenith. Best buy and sears sell the samsung. There should be some good comments for you over at AVS.

Aaron

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I believe that Samsung and Zenith are the only companies making OTA-only receivers. Sony's receivers are all OTA/satellite combos.

The Samsung SIR-T151 is a good, basic receiver. However, it is digital only (no NTSC analog tuner) and does not have a DVI digital output. You need to step up to the SIR-T165 for that functionality.

I am using a SIR-T151 with an indoor antenna (Radio Shack double-bowtie), and can pull in all Detroit-area stations except UPN. I am about 20 miles from the broadcast towers.