Would You Buy a Plasma Today Without a QAM Tuner?  

What does the QAM tuner do?

I bought one last week without a QAM tuner. I use my cable box as my tuner.

Factor one is, can you do what you want to do without a DVR and VOD. Factor two is, can you live with only what is in the clear, which is usually very little, assuming you're talking QAM only with no CableCard. Factor three is, if your cable system is using dynamic frequency allocation, even those channels that are in the clear may change frequency at will.

There are other factors, like maybe fiber optic delivery will really catch hold within your several-years timeframe.