I know this topic must have been discussed before, but I couldn't find the answer I was looking for... apologies if I missed it - please just direct me to the appropriate thread. If not, I would really like some info preceding my next purchase.

I am in the Philadelphia suburbs and have Comcast Digital Cable. I am planning on buying two Toshiba 20HL85 20" LCD HDTV's for my rec room (one on each end of the room so they can be viewed from any seat around my poker table). I would like to be able to tune each to a different channel. I don't want to use STB's. The TV's have built-in 181-channel tuners. In this area, Comcast's HD programming is from channel 200 to 300. Is it possible to tune these channels with the built-in tuner? Is the top channel 181, or can the channels be "mapped" so that I can receive the HD programming?

"In this area, Comcast's HD programming is from channel 200 to 300. Is it possible to tune these channels with the built-in tuner?"

If the sets have QAM tuners, you can get any unencrypted QAM channels offered which is usually just locals. In order to get premium channels such as ESPN, you'll need cable card capable TV's or STB's to tune these channels.

....which means buying more expensive TV's for the cablecard feature ...and of course I'd need to rent the cards from Comcast.... GRRrrr.

I already pay extra for the HD programming itself - is there no way to get ESPN and Comcast Sports in HD without renting their equipment too?

I don't see anywhere on the specs for that set that it even has a QAM tuner, if that's the case, it will not be able to receive any digital/HD channels via cable without an STB. Finding a set that small with a CableCard slot may pose a challenge, not sure if they are making them that small yet.

ok -- so if I can't use the built-in tuner, and I still want to use these sets, is there any way to get around paying Comcast for two additional sets and boxes? Remember, If I get two more boxes, I'm paying $9 a month for each of the boxes, plus an additional $5 a month for just having additional tv's. I'd like to avoid this if possible.

"ok -- so if I can't use the built-in tuner, and I still want to use these sets, is there any way to get around paying Comcast for two additional sets and boxes?"

If you want premium channels, no. If you just want local HD channels you can buy QAM tuners.