Please Help!
I bought my mom a westinghouse 37" 1080p HDTC LCD monitor not realizing that it didn't have a tv tuner. She wants my head on a platter!
The monitor does not have a coaxial input (only digital inputs) so I need to figure out how to upconvert her coax analog signal into the TV so she can watch her favorite Bill O'Rielly. What do we need to buy? A blu-ray or an upconverting DVD player? She is not tech savy and just wants to watch TV ASAP. She lives in a condo and gets reg cable for free as part of her maint. fee but doesn't have a cable box or DVR. She likes the DVR idea but not the fees associated with a TIVO. PLEASE HELP! THanks in advance for all your expertise!

First, you need to determine what inputs the monitor has. If it only has VGA (which is technically an analog input) and DVI, then it's not a TV monitor but a Computer monitor and is not suited for TV viewing, even though there are ways to do it poorly. ("only digital inputs" doesn't define the inputs or the model at all)

If it has Composite, S-Video, Component, or HDMI then there are better options. A plain old VCR will generate composite outputs and will work OK. At the other end, an upscaling DVD recorder (with an internal tuner) would be the best choice. (It will have various outputs) It doesn't need to be a DVR (or a TIVO) to act as an input to the monitor.

Return the TV and get one with a tuner.

return the tv and get one with a tuner.
+1

The monitor does not have a coaxial input (only digital inputs) so I need to figure out how to upconvert her coax analog signal into the TV so she can watch her favorite Bill O'Rielly.Any old VCR you have laying around will do, as long as it has composite RCA output, and the TV has composite RCA inputs (it should - are you sure it doesn't?).

If you want a DVR with an NTSC/QAM/ATSC tuner, there's the Philips 3576H ($248.00 at Sam's Club), and the Magnavox H2160 ($239.98 at www.walmart.com). Those are the best prices. Or you could just get a DVD recorder without a hard drive. I'd suggest getting one that uses DVD-RAM. The Panasonics have exceptionally good picture quality. (They all have HDMI out if her TV truly does only have digital inputs, which I find hard to believe.)

None of these have guides, though (no models currently do), so she'll have to set all timers manually. Between the 3, in her case, I'd probably choose the Magnavox because it's newer and has a 6-hour buffer, although the Philips is just as good.

You need a cable TV tuner, regular DVD players don't have tuners they play DVDs. :)
Either an old VCR with an analog tuner will work if it has composite video/audio outputs, or rent a cable box with those outputs from the cable company used.
However these solutions will require use of one remote for the TV and another remote for the tuner.
So for ease of use it would be easier to return that monitor for a TV with a built-in tuner if possible. That would probably also get you free HD channels since HDTVs with tuners today support digital as well as analog channels.

I'd like to help but you lost me at Bill O'Reilly. ;-)