I want to switch to fios tv when it becomes available.

But I DO NOT want to pay a monthly fee for a set top box. currently I am using the bult in tuners for all of my tvs and the QAM tuner in my Panasonic plasma for HD

Does anyone know If I can skip the box and use the QAM to get all the Non-premium(HBO, cinemax and such) channels.

Can someone with fios and a QAM tuner do a test to see if they get all of the HD channels such as espn tnt,discovery, along with the Nbc, abc and the other major networks...

Can someone with fios and a QAM tuner do a test to see if they get all of the HD channels such as espn tnt,discovery, along with the Nbc, abc and the other major networks...Clear QAM will only get you the locals and PEGs and what-nots.

To get TNT, Discovery, etc. you need CableCard (or one of their boxes). Clear QAM alone won't do it.

This is true of not only FIOS but most other cable cos. Most cable cos usually only pass on the locals in clear QAM.

This is true of not only FIOS but most other cable cos. Most cable cos usually only pass on the locals in clear QAM.Well, except that most other cable companies also have a robust analog lineup. This is changing, though -- they're all moving in the direction where Fios is now, of having a very limited set of analog channels.

Also note that you can rent a CableCard instead of a set-top box, if you have a CableCard-capable device (generally either a TV or a Tivo Series 3). It's still a monthly fee, but slightly less.

If the TV has a Cablecard slot, then yes you can use it for all channels that can be subbed to, LESS on-demand and thier widgets.