I'm looking for a LCD HDTV which will allow me to hook up my Comcast basic cable (i.e. no STB) for analog and QAM channels, as well as an antenna for OTA channels. Mitsubishi is the only brand I've seen so far that has 2 RF inputs and is designed to cover my needs. Other brands like Sony and Samsung only have one RF input so you can only have either cable or OTA, but not both. Sony's manual recommends using a RF switch if you need both. However this is a crude solution in that you would need to go to the back of the set and flip the switch whenever you wanted to change RF inputs. Are there more solutions than Mitsubishi for my needs?
Need 2 RF Inputs: Basic Cable + OTA
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Viewsonic makes hdtv's with 2 rf inputs but I'm not sure if those models have a qam tuner. You could check thier website, viewsonic.com. Radio shack sells a a/b switch controlled by a remote. Most cable companies include the local stations in hd digital clear qam as part of the basic service.
All current TVs are requied to have digital tuners for receipt of OTA ATSC digial signals and many of these will also receive unencrypted QAM digital signals.
And they all still have an analog tuner for receipt of OTA or cable analog,
Some of the models only have one antenna/coax connection and then have an internal splitter which will split the RF input to the separate analog and digital tuners internally.
If you are trying to receive cable analog and OTA ATSC digital with these model hooking up a splitter backwords to combine the two usually works to feed both to the TVs single connection.
Ignore the last sentance since as Ratman point out following you cannot merge OTA digital and cable analog since the frequencies overlap.
And they all still have an analog tuner for receipt of OTA or cable analog,
Some of the models only have one antenna/coax connection and then have an internal splitter which will split the RF input to the separate analog and digital tuners internally.
If you are trying to receive cable analog and OTA ATSC digital with these model hooking up a splitter backwords to combine the two usually works to feed both to the TVs single connection.
Ignore the last sentance since as Ratman point out following you cannot merge OTA digital and cable analog since the frequencies overlap.
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Eh... no. The reasons you ask?
You cannot "combine" OTA and cable feeds as many frequencies overlap, whether it's ATSC/NTSC or QAM.
Secondly, many TV's with internal QAM/ATSC tuners are only capable of selectimg one or the other (cable/antenna) and will not "integrate" channels. A re-scan has to typically be performed when switching from antenna to cable, which can be cumbersome and time consuming.
Eh... no. The reasons you ask?
You cannot "combine" OTA and cable feeds as many frequencies overlap, whether it's ATSC/NTSC or QAM.
Secondly, many TV's with internal QAM/ATSC tuners are only capable of selectimg one or the other (cable/antenna) and will not "integrate" channels. A re-scan has to typically be performed when switching from antenna to cable, which can be cumbersome and time consuming.
Thanks to all for your comments. So far my choices seem to be:
1. Get a Mitsubishi or other set that supports 2 RF inputs. This would greatly limit my choice of HDTV's.
2. Get an additional ATSC HD tuner. If I went this route, it would probably be in the form of the upcoming TR-50 HD DVR from Echostar for use with my OTA. Need to wait till it is released to see the price and features and decide if I really want one.
3. Use a remote controlled RF switch. Not sure if this will really work well based on Ratman's comment that it may not be possible to "integrate" the cable and antenna channels in some sets.
I'm not too excited about any of these options, but I'm in no hurry to jump into HDTV so I'll keep looking.
1. Get a Mitsubishi or other set that supports 2 RF inputs. This would greatly limit my choice of HDTV's.
2. Get an additional ATSC HD tuner. If I went this route, it would probably be in the form of the upcoming TR-50 HD DVR from Echostar for use with my OTA. Need to wait till it is released to see the price and features and decide if I really want one.
3. Use a remote controlled RF switch. Not sure if this will really work well based on Ratman's comment that it may not be possible to "integrate" the cable and antenna channels in some sets.
I'm not too excited about any of these options, but I'm in no hurry to jump into HDTV so I'll keep looking.
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16,965 Posts
Mits is the last major player that has 2 RF inputs for RPTV's. I'm not sure about this years Mit's LCD models.
Last years Samsung RPTV's and LCD's had two inputs also, but in their stupidity and cost cutting, that was dropped.
Just like VCR's, each model year saw less and less useful features, only to be replaced with useless 'gimmicks' that appeared to be a selling feature to the unspecting general public, but actually wasn't.
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Last years Samsung RPTV's and LCD's had two inputs also, but in their stupidity and cost cutting, that was dropped.
Just like VCR's, each model year saw less and less useful features, only to be replaced with useless 'gimmicks' that appeared to be a selling feature to the unspecting general public, but actually wasn't.
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