HDTV Tuners


The presence of an HDTV tuner built into your HDTV set separates an HD-ready TV from a true HDTV set. The only thing an HDTV tuner is used for is receiving HD broadcasts from the air from networks like Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC.

Besides an HDTV Tuner (also called a DTV Tuner or Digital TV tuner) you'll need a good set of rabbit ears or antennae on your roof. There isn't a special HD antenna, the one you've been using for years is sufficient.
Most people using HDTV won't have use for this because they're likely using a satellite receiver or a digital cable TV box as a substitute for their HDTV tuner. It's a popular and cost-saving alternative to buy an HD-ready TV with no tuner at all.

You'll need a video source with one of several video outputs (video cables) to be able to skip the HDTV tuner. A bare cable line, coaxial cable or UHF output from your cable box won't cut it (although if you have a VCR you probably have an NTSC cable-ready tuner capable of lower quality video output).

Tip
HDTV tuners are useless in Canada unless you live close enough to the border of the U.S. to receive American networks through the air.