Hey all, i just got my first HDTV, the Samsung HLN437W...i know its old, but i got a great deal on it and i couldnt refuse...

My brother also has an HDTV but some Toshiba, he said i can get HD Channels through an antenna, so i got a simple one and connected it into the back, i can get the channels, however they are not in HD, they just look like hazy crap antenna channels...i scanned and no HD channels. I remember seeing antenna HD channels in formats like this 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, etc.

Am i doing something wrong? or is this TV not supported...

Also, is there anyway to increase the lamp brightness, it is very dim...And the black levels aren't good...any suggested settings i should keep it at?

Thanks in advance!

The HLN models do not have an ATSC tuner so you can not get any HD channels.
Do you know when the bulb was last replaced? Poor brightness is a sign of an almost dead bulb.

Well the person i got it from claimed he had changed the bulb about a year ago, but i dont know if that is true or not...Are they expensive??

also, i looked into the TV some more and realised as well that there is no ATSC tuner in it, however, i found someone selling a Samsung SIR-TS160 for 30 bucks....he says u can use it as a tuner to get OTA HD channels...is this true? should i do it and will it work?

okay so i purchased the Samsung SIR-TS160 and it worked great! but the problem now is that i used some basic antenna to test it out with, and it didnt get all the local channels in HD (even though i know they exist)...would a better antenna do the trick? I rescanned the channels several times and i got different results in terms of channels...

Bulbs are about $200/
Go to antennaweb.org use your street addresse and you will get a list of stations available to you and antenna reccomendations.

Bulbs are about $200/
Go to antennaweb.org use your street addresse and you will get a list of stations available to you and antenna reccomendations.

fantastic. thanks so much for your help! i got the proper antenna and i get my local channels in HD!

The samsung receiver i have, also has an input option in the back for cable as well as air(where the antenna is)...now i have a non-HD cable box from Comcast (an old one) which does not get HD channels when i tune to it, but i can hear it...now if i plug it into the receiver, will i get the channels?

All but some local digital channels are encrypted over cable, So you would end up with a subset of the channels you are now getting with your antenna.

All but some local digital channels are encrypted over cable, So you would end up with a subset of the channels you are now getting with your antenna.

i see...i was talking to my brother the other day and he said that i should buy an antenna with a built in ATSC tuner so i wouldn't have a receiver and an antenna. Does such thing exist and would that be better for me?

He mentioned this because i spent 30 bucks on the receiver and about 20 on an antenna, which adds up to 50 bucks and i have 2 separate things. This ATSC Tuner/antenna would be less clutter in the living room and possibly cheaper.

I would be surprised it there is such a product since the size, location and orientation of the antenna may not put it in a location that is convenient for the tuner.

can i use the Samsung SIR-TS160 to transmit HD channels from my cable? for example, i currently have a non HD cable box, but when i connected my friends HD box to it, i got HD channels, can i use the Samsung SIR-TS160 to do the same thing?