So I've been reading about antennas and everything to see what I can get OTA, but was recently directed to QAM tuners instead. They seem like less of a hassle than antennas but still not sure about a few things...

- If I do buy a QAM tuner like the DTB-H260F, would I still need to subscribe to Basic Cable from Comcast to be able to get anything or can I hook it up w/o any service at all?
- That DTB-H260F seems to get good reviews around here, but are there other alternatives that is not so expensive?
- Also, can anyone with Comcast from Atlanta area confirm whether or not Comcast encrypt some signals or not?

1) Yes, not paying for service at all is considered signal theft.
2) Not really unless you can find an older used tuner
3) Check the local reception forum for info specific to Atlanta. Comcast in general does not pass any premium channels unencrypted.

Check for an Atlanta thread here - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=45

I tried checking that specific Atlanta comcast forum but its like 75 pages. I got lost reading that thread. Well I'll probably just go back to looking for antennas as Im not willing to drop almost $200 for just a QAM tuner just yet.