| Q: If my TV is "HDTV Ready," do I need a tuner? |
| A: If the TV is in fact "HDTV-Ready", then no, it probably doesn't
have an HD tuner. Until recently, very few TVs had built-in digital tuners,
which is actually a good thing. Originally, built-in tuners only received
terrestrial (over-the-air) signals from an antenna. Many people don't get HD from an
antenna (though they should, and it's free), using satellite or digital cable
instead, both of which require a box from the satellite or cable company. This
bypasses the internal tuner, rendering it pointless.
New TVs have a built in tuner with Cablecard (and are sometimes called "digital-cable-ready"). These TVs can receive over the air or digital cable HD signals. |