If the set has a built in HD tuner, yes. Most sets on the market are HD-Ready, meaning they do not have a built in ATSC digital tv tuner, and you'll have to buy an stb to recieve ota HD.
The 38" RCA widescreen direct view, and their 61" widescreen rptv have built in ota and DirecTV HD tuners, as does the Sony XBR2 rptv line.
There are probably others out there, I just can't think of them right now.
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Steve S.
I prefer not to push the subwoofers until they're properly run in.
Joe, you need an HDTV tuner to receive digital TV broadcasts. A few TVs have them built in or you can buy an external one like I just did (Samsung SIRT150 - an excellent product).
Of course if you only have a standard TV it's a bit of a waste of time to buy an HDTV tuner, so hopefully you have a TV capable of displaying 480p, 720p or 1080i.
I disagree that using a HD tuner on an SD set is a waste. While certainly not as good as true HD, the downconverted 480i picture still blows away any NTSC signal. I would equate the picture quality to that of a letterboxed DVD.
I just got a great deal on a Hitachi 53" (53UWX10B). It was a friend of my fiance that she works with. The lady bought it new for $2895, and then she decided to get the 61". To make a long story short, she kept it 2mons and sold it to me for $1000.00! Nice TV!
Joe,
That model Hitachi does not have a built-in ATSC tuner, so you will have to buy an STB. Considering how cheap you got the set, spending another 500+ to get HD will be well worth it.
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Steve S.
I prefer not to push the subwoofers until they're properly run in.