What You Need to Know Before You Buy an HDTV Tuner

HDTV tuners are devices with the ability to decode HDTV broadcasts transmitted in the form of digital signals. However their importance is somewhat limited. It is a known fact that in order to watch television in High Definition you need HDTV sources such as HD-DVD, Blu-Ray or broadcasts in High Definition. If we consider the fact that service providers such as digital cable companies, Dish Network or Direct TV have already programed their receivers in order to be able to offer High definition programming to their subscribers, the use of tuners is unnecessary in most cases.

If you are subscribed to digital cable, Dish Network, Direct TV or any of those services you don't need a tuner. In these cases contact your service provider and inform yourself directly with them. This step is very important, given the fact that most of the time these companies use encryptions on their signals to stop service theft. These encryptions make any tuner or box that you purchase somewhere else incapable to decode their service. If your High Definition television set has built in tuner you do not need an external tuner. Look for specifications on the television set's manual for anything that says built in tuner or integrated tuner. In this case you saved yourself some money. You may not need a tuner either if you plan to use your high definition television set for the sole purpose of playing video games, watching Blu-Ray discs, HD-DVDs or any recorded media.

At this point you may be asking yourself this question. Then, who needs an HDTV tuner? You need a tuner if you like to watch local on air broadcasts in high definition that are unavailable in any of the paid television services, if any, that you are currently subscribed. You may also consider a tuner if your digital cable company offers unencrypted signals and their receiver is relatively expensive, a rare case indeed considering the fact that most of them provide you with one upon subscribing. Note that in this case you have to inform yourself if the service is transmitted using QAM signals, the type of modulation that is used by some digital cable providers to transmit signals through cable. This type of modulation is decoded by most tuners. Again, it is very important to make sure that the signal is in fact unencrypted before buying a tuner just for watching digital cable. You may still be better off with the decoder recommended by your service provider.