HomeCinemaBanter

HomeCinemaBanter (http://www.homecinemabanter.com/index.php)
-   High definition TV (http://www.homecinemabanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6)
-   -   HDTV tuner confusion (http://www.homecinemabanter.com/showthread.php?t=62539)

jerry March 15th 09 09:49 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
I am trying to google the facts on hdtv tuners and need some help with
clarifications. If I misstate something please let me know.

digital = hdtv = atsc all describe the same tuner.

If I am going to receive hdtv from a cable company I do not need a hdtv
with a tuner at all (I can use a hd monitor) If I ever wanted to receive
OTA hdtv I would have to buy an external clear QAM tuner. In that case
there is zero benefit from buying an hdtv with a turner.

I have seen some specs for hdtvs that have tuners:
ntsc/atsc tuner with clear QAM
Is this one tuner with all 3 functions? What does ntsc add? Isn't ntsc
for analog signals and will be eliminated in the near future?

I have seen some hdtvs that have pip. They will have to have at least 2
atsc tuners.

So the bottom line is if I am going to use a cable tv company I can buy a
hd monitor and have the cable box provide the hdtv and standard tv
signal, or buy an hdtv with atsc tuner (in which case the tuner is
superfluous). The hd dvd players will work equally well with either.

Thanks for any clarification.

Jerry

LightByrd March 15th 09 10:05 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
"jerry" wrote in message
...
|I am trying to google the facts on hdtv tuners and need some help with
| clarifications. If I misstate something please let me know.
|
| digital = hdtv = atsc all describe the same tuner.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are others more expert than I here...but here's a starter...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

| If I am going to receive hdtv from a cable company I do not need a hdtv
| with a tuner at all (I can use a hd monitor)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Called *HDTV ready* I believe you would be hard pressed to find any HDTV
w/o an ATSC tuner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I ever wanted to receive
| OTA hdtv I would have to buy an external clear QAM tuner. In that case
| there is zero benefit from buying an hdtv with a turner.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
QAM is the modulation used by cable companies. gain...hard pressed to find a
new HDTV without it
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| I have seen some specs for hdtvs that have tuners:
| ntsc/atsc tuner with clear QAM
| Is this one tuner with all 3 functions? What does ntsc add? Isn't ntsc
| for analog signals and will be eliminated in the near future?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Correct on NTSC
ATSC for OTA digital signals
QAM for cable
|
| I have seen some hdtvs that have pip. They will have to have at least 2
| atsc tuners.
|
| So the bottom line is if I am going to use a cable tv company I can buy a
| hd monitor and have the cable box provide the hdtv and standard tv
| signal, or buy an hdtv with atsc tuner (in which case the tuner is
| superfluous). The hd dvd players will work equally well with either.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Again TVs today come with those tuners. Besides, what if you ever moved and
wanted OTA reception??
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
| Thanks for any clarification.
|
| Jerry


--
Regards,
Richard Harison



L Alpert March 15th 09 11:01 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 

"jerry" wrote in message
...
I am trying to google the facts on hdtv tuners and need some help
with
clarifications. If I misstate something please let me know.

digital = hdtv = atsc all describe the same tuner.


All HDTV is digital, but not all digital TV is HD....


If I am going to receive hdtv from a cable company I do not need a
hdtv
with a tuner at all (I can use a hd monitor) If I ever wanted to
receive
OTA hdtv I would have to buy an external clear QAM tuner. In that
case
there is zero benefit from buying an hdtv with a turner.


If you want to receive OTA, QAM is not needed. Most ATSC tuners are
QAM compatible these days, which is good if you subscribe to cable
without their box as so you can pick up HD stations that are no
scrambled (usually the locals), as QAM is the encoding technology used
by the cable companies.

I have seen some specs for hdtvs that have tuners:
ntsc/atsc tuner with clear QAM
Is this one tuner with all 3 functions? What does ntsc add? Isn't
ntsc
for analog signals and will be eliminated in the near future?


As I mentioned, the QAM is for cable, ATSC is digital (both HD and non
HD digital reception), and yes, NTSC is the soon to be outmoded
technology.

I have seen some hdtvs that have pip. They will have to have at
least 2
atsc tuners.


And 2 input signals (unless cable box is capable of PIP).

So the bottom line is if I am going to use a cable tv company I can
buy a
hd monitor and have the cable box provide the hdtv and standard tv
signal, or buy an hdtv with atsc tuner (in which case the tuner is
superfluous). The hd dvd players will work equally well with either.


That's about it. I have an HD moniter in my bedroom (older plasma)
that has no tuner.....works fine with the cable box and blu-ray
through the HDMI ports.


Thanks for any clarification.

Jerry




sorry-spammers March 16th 09 12:21 AM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
jerry wrote:
I am trying to google the facts on hdtv tuners and need some help with
clarifications. If I misstate something please let me know.

digital = hdtv = atsc all describe the same tuner.


Yes.

Just to be clear, not all digital TV is high definition. Some stations
transmit a standard-definition digital signal. (but if you have a
high-definition tuner, it will upconvert for your display) And some TVs
have a standard-definition display. (but the tuner will downconvert, so
you can watch high-definition programs)

If I am going to receive hdtv from a cable company I do not need a hdtv
with a tuner at all (I can use a hd monitor) If I ever wanted to receive
OTA hdtv I would have to buy an external clear QAM tuner. In that case
there is zero benefit from buying an hdtv with a turner.


The cable company's cable box is indeed the tuner, so you don't need a
tuner in the TV. (though I think you're going to have a hard time
finding one with no tuner)

"Clear QAM" is for *cable* reception. In most cases if your TV has a
QAM tuner you can get most free digital channels without a cable box,
but your channel numbers will probably be very wrong... and you
probably won't be getting premium channels like HBO.

To watch OTA DTV (high-definition or standard) you need an ATSC tuner.

For several years, any TV that contains a tuner at all is required by
law to contain an ATSC tuner. (in other words you probably don't need
an external ATSC tuner, it's probably already in the TV.)

I have seen some specs for hdtvs that have tuners:
ntsc/atsc tuner with clear QAM
Is this one tuner with all 3 functions? What does ntsc add? Isn't ntsc
for analog signals and will be eliminated in the near future?


Yes, it's one tuner with all three functions and yes, NTSC is for analog
signals.

There is a separate class of TV stations called "LPTV"; these are not
required to convert to digital yet. This class also contains many
"translators", stations that relay OTA signals into isolated areas
(especially in the West) where the main transmitters don't reach. Many
of these have not yet been "digitalized" yet either.

The NTSC tuner also works with analog cable, for those who may not
subscribe to digital cable.

And, the digital deadline in Canada isn't for another two years, and in
Mexico for years after that. So the same models, if sold in our
neighboring countries, will continue to need NTSC tuners for awhile.

The hd dvd players will work equally well with either.


Yes, as they are connected directly to the monitor, not through a tuner
of any kind.

--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View, TN EM66

UCLAN March 16th 09 07:33 AM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
jerry wrote:

I am trying to google the facts on hdtv tuners and need some help with
clarifications. If I misstate something please let me know.

digital = hdtv = atsc all describe the same tuner.


Not necessarily.

If I am going to receive hdtv from a cable company I do not need a hdtv
with a tuner at all (I can use a hd monitor)


If you want to get "Clear QAM" HDTV from your cable company, you'll need
a QAM capable ATSC HD tuner. If you are going to rely on a "cable box",
then true - as long as your "monitor" has HDMI or component inputs.

If I ever wanted to receive
OTA hdtv I would have to buy an external clear QAM tuner.


Wrong. QAM (clear or encoded) is only on cable. OTA uses an 8VSB ATSC tuner.

In that case
there is zero benefit from buying an hdtv with a turner.


An HDTV with a tuner allows you to watch OTA HD and SD transmissions, Clear
QAM cable transmissions (in most cases), and any NTSC signals still present.

I have seen some specs for hdtvs that have tuners:
ntsc/atsc tuner with clear QAM
Is this one tuner with all 3 functions?


Yes.

What does ntsc add? Isn't ntsc
for analog signals and will be eliminated in the near future?


*OTA* analog NTSC signals will from mid and high power broadcasters will
end, but cable boxes still put out NTSC and most cable systems still have
analog (channel 2-99) tiers.

I have seen some hdtvs that have pip. They will have to have at least 2
atsc tuners.


No.

So the bottom line is if I am going to use a cable tv company I can buy a
hd monitor and have the cable box provide the hdtv and standard tv
signal, or buy an hdtv with atsc tuner (in which case the tuner is
superfluous).


If you plan on using a cable box 100% of the time, yes. I *don't* use my
cable box 90% of the time.

The hd dvd players will work equally well with either.


HD-DVD players are dead. Blu-ray won that war. They are BD players, not
HD DVD players (though they *will* play SD DVDs.) They won't play HD DVDs.

UCLAN March 16th 09 07:40 AM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
L Alpert wrote:

If you want to receive OTA, QAM is not needed. Most ATSC tuners are
QAM compatible these days, which is good if you subscribe to cable
without their box as so you can pick up HD stations that are no
scrambled (usually the locals), as QAM is the encoding technology used
by the cable companies.


QAM is *NOT* an encoding technology. QAM is a modulation technology used
on ATSC signals by cable companies to increase bandwidth. OTA uses 8VSB
modulation of ATSC.

UCLAN March 16th 09 07:47 AM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
sorry-spammers wrote:

"Clear QAM" is for *cable* reception. In most cases if your TV has a
QAM tuner you can get most free digital channels without a cable box,
but your channel numbers will probably be very wrong... and you
probably won't be getting premium channels like HBO.

To watch OTA DTV (high-definition or standard) you need an ATSC tuner.


Sigh...OTA uses 8VSB modulated ATSC; cable uses QAM modulated ATSC. But they
are both ATSC.

Wes Newell[_2_] March 16th 09 08:12 AM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
On Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:49:10 +0000, jerry wrote:

I am trying to google the facts on hdtv tuners and need some help with
clarifications. If I misstate something please let me know.

digital = hdtv = atsc all describe the same tuner.

They could, but not always. 99% of the time you see the tuner advertised
as above, it would be an ATSC 8VSB tuner. Some,but not all tuners as
described above will also receive QAM modulation.

If I am going to receive hdtv from a cable company I do not need a hdtv
with a tuner at all (I can use a hd monitor) If I ever wanted to
receive OTA hdtv I would have to buy an external clear QAM tuner. In
that case there is zero benefit from buying an hdtv with a turner.

OTA uses ATSC 8VSB, not QAM.

I have seen some specs for hdtvs that have tuners: ntsc/atsc tuner with
clear QAM
Is this one tuner with all 3 functions? What does ntsc add? Isn't ntsc
for analog signals and will be eliminated in the near future?

For all practical purposes, yes.

I have seen some hdtvs that have pip. They will have to have at least 2
atsc tuners.

No, they may only have one tuner and require an external source for PIP.

So the bottom line is if I am going to use a cable tv company I can buy
a hd monitor and have the cable box provide the hdtv and standard tv
signal, or buy an hdtv with atsc tuner (in which case the tuner is
superfluous). The hd dvd players will work equally well with either.

Correct, but it's usually minimal extra (if at all) to buy a TV instead of
a monitor when you get into larger sizes.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
My Tivo Experience http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/tivo.htm
Tivo HD/S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm
AMD cpu help http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php

Dennis Mayer March 16th 09 04:14 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
jerry wrote:
I am trying to google the facts on hdtv tuners and need some help with
clarifications. If I misstate something please let me know.

digital = hdtv = atsc all describe the same tuner.

If I am going to receive hdtv from a cable company I do not need a hdtv
with a tuner at all (I can use a hd monitor) If I ever wanted to receive
OTA hdtv I would have to buy an external clear QAM tuner. In that case
there is zero benefit from buying an hdtv with a turner.

I have seen some specs for hdtvs that have tuners:
ntsc/atsc tuner with clear QAM
Is this one tuner with all 3 functions? What does ntsc add? Isn't ntsc
for analog signals and will be eliminated in the near future?

I have seen some hdtvs that have pip. They will have to have at least 2
atsc tuners.

So the bottom line is if I am going to use a cable tv company I can buy a
hd monitor and have the cable box provide the hdtv and standard tv
signal, or buy an hdtv with atsc tuner (in which case the tuner is
superfluous). The hd dvd players will work equally well with either.

Thanks for any clarification.

Jerry


My feeling is that all HDTV tuners are NOT equal, be they ASTC or QAM.
The digital processing software guts between TVs vary. Same for Cable
tuner boxes. The best with the best gives a better HDTV picture.

jerry March 16th 09 06:26 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
On Mon, 16 Mar 2009 10:14:21 -0500, Dennis Mayer wrote:

jerry wrote:
I am trying to google the facts on hdtv tuners and need some help with
clarifications. If I misstate something please let me know.

digital = hdtv = atsc all describe the same tuner.

If I am going to receive hdtv from a cable company I do not need a hdtv
with a tuner at all (I can use a hd monitor) If I ever wanted to
receive OTA hdtv I would have to buy an external clear QAM tuner. In
that case there is zero benefit from buying an hdtv with a turner.

I have seen some specs for hdtvs that have tuners: ntsc/atsc tuner with
clear QAM
Is this one tuner with all 3 functions? What does ntsc add? Isn't ntsc
for analog signals and will be eliminated in the near future?

I have seen some hdtvs that have pip. They will have to have at least 2
atsc tuners.

So the bottom line is if I am going to use a cable tv company I can buy
a hd monitor and have the cable box provide the hdtv and standard tv
signal, or buy an hdtv with atsc tuner (in which case the tuner is
superfluous). The hd dvd players will work equally well with either.

Thanks for any clarification.

Jerry


My feeling is that all HDTV tuners are NOT equal, be they ASTC or QAM.
The digital processing software guts between TVs vary. Same for Cable
tuner boxes. The best with the best gives a better HDTV picture.


Thanks everyone for clarifying for me the difference between QAM and
ATSC tuners.
I have been searching the web and as several of you have said finding a
hdtv monitor is not easy.
Thanks
Jerry

CLicker[_2_] March 16th 09 06:58 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 

"jerry" wrote in message
...
I am trying to google the facts on hdtv tuners and need some
help with
clarifications. If I misstate something please let me know.

digital = hdtv = atsc all describe the same tuner.

If I am going to receive hdtv from a cable company I do not
need a hdtv
with a tuner at all (I can use a hd monitor) If I ever wanted
to receive
OTA hdtv I would have to buy an external clear QAM tuner. In
that case
there is zero benefit from buying an hdtv with a turner.

I have seen some specs for hdtvs that have tuners:
ntsc/atsc tuner with clear QAM
Is this one tuner with all 3 functions? What does ntsc add?
Isn't ntsc
for analog signals and will be eliminated in the near future?

I have seen some hdtvs that have pip. They will have to have
at least 2
atsc tuners.

So the bottom line is if I am going to use a cable tv company
I can buy a
hd monitor and have the cable box provide the hdtv and
standard tv
signal, or buy an hdtv with atsc tuner (in which case the
tuner is
superfluous). The hd dvd players will work equally well with
either.

Thanks for any clarification.

Jerry


One reason to consider a monitor vs. an HDTV may be increased
resolution. Presently 2660x1600 seems to be topped out at 30"
but that will grow, as will the resolution. HDTVs per se are
speced out at 1920x1080 or less. We'll surely see 4x that
resolution in the future, and high-res monitors have a different
objective to merely displaying HDTV.

Not having a tuner in an HDTV will probably not yield a cost
savings worthy of the search. In the past, it might have been
worthwhile, now it's more important to know your display
objectives and review the specs on how various manufactures have
implemented them.

All else being equal between an HDTV and a tunerless monitor,
what do you expect as a benefit from the latter?



L Alpert March 17th 09 12:04 AM

HDTV tuner confusion
 

"UCLAN" wrote in message
...
L Alpert wrote:

If you want to receive OTA, QAM is not needed. Most ATSC tuners
are QAM compatible these days, which is good if you subscribe to
cable without their box as so you can pick up HD stations that are
no scrambled (usually the locals), as QAM is the encoding
technology used by the cable companies.


QAM is *NOT* an encoding technology. QAM is a modulation technology
used
on ATSC signals by cable companies to increase bandwidth. OTA uses
8VSB
modulation of ATSC.


Some say potatoes, some say potatoes.



UCLAN March 17th 09 05:58 AM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
L Alpert wrote:

If you want to receive OTA, QAM is not needed. Most ATSC tuners
are QAM compatible these days, which is good if you subscribe to
cable without their box as so you can pick up HD stations that are
no scrambled (usually the locals), as QAM is the encoding
technology used by the cable companies.


QAM is *NOT* an encoding technology. QAM is a modulation technology
used
on ATSC signals by cable companies to increase bandwidth. OTA uses
8VSB
modulation of ATSC.


Some say potatoes, some say potatoes.


The difference between "encoding" and "modulating" technologies is *not*
simple pronunciation.

RickMerrill March 17th 09 06:50 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
L Alpert wrote:
....

If you want to receive OTA, QAM is not needed.

TRUE.

Most ATSC tuners are
QAM compatible these days,


In practice a "tuner" may do Both ATSC and QAM.
HOWEVER, ATSC is for over the air, and QAM is for over the cable.

which is good if you subscribe to cable
without their box as so you can pick up HD stations that are no
scrambled (usually the locals), as QAM is the encoding technology used
by the cable companies.

....

RickMerrill March 17th 09 06:54 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
UCLAN wrote:
sorry-spammers wrote:

"Clear QAM" is for *cable* reception. In most cases if your TV has a
QAM tuner you can get most free digital channels without a cable box,
but your channel numbers will probably be very wrong... and you
probably won't be getting premium channels like HBO.

To watch OTA DTV (high-definition or standard) you need an ATSC tuner.


Sigh...OTA uses 8VSB modulated ATSC; cable uses QAM modulated ATSC. But
they
are both ATSC.



The trouble is that the technical designation is not
the wordsmithing used by the marketing people. On a
product you should see the words ATSC and QAM to indicate
that the product works for over-the-air and for over-the-cable.

UCLAN March 17th 09 07:25 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
RickMerrill wrote:

In practice a "tuner" may do Both ATSC and QAM.
HOWEVER, ATSC is for over the air, and QAM is for over the cable.


ATSC is *both* over-the-air and cable. OTA is 8VSB modulated ATSC
and cable is QAM modulated ATSC.

UCLAN[_2_] March 17th 09 07:41 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
RickMerrill wrote:

Sigh...OTA uses 8VSB modulated ATSC; cable uses QAM modulated ATSC.
But they
are both ATSC.


The trouble is that the technical designation is not
the wordsmithing used by the marketing people. On a
product you should see the words ATSC and QAM to indicate
that the product works for over-the-air and for over-the-cable.


*What* marketing people? I have seen numerous TV specifications that
correctly state that the tuner is: ATSC (8VSB/QAM), NTSC.

The ATSC specification mandates that the tuner demodulate 8VSB signals,
hence 8VSB is usually not mentioned in the tuner specifications. QAM
demodulation will likely be added in the next update, but is not currently
mandatory. So, some tuner specifications mention it as well.

Do "marketing people" decide what is right and what is wrong?

Wes Newell[_2_] March 18th 09 08:38 AM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
On Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:41:16 -0700, UCLAN wrote:

*What* marketing people? I have seen numerous TV specifications that
correctly state that the tuner is: ATSC (8VSB/QAM), NTSC.


And I've seen *many* specs online that list them as ATSC/NTSC/QAM. or
other combos of the 3. And not all ATSC tuners do QAM. While technically
wrong, I think it's probably a good thing to separate them for the general
public.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
My Tivo Experience http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/tivo.htm
Tivo HD/S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm
AMD cpu help http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php

UCLAN March 18th 09 07:27 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
Wes Newell wrote:

*What* marketing people? I have seen numerous TV specifications that
correctly state that the tuner is: ATSC (8VSB/QAM), NTSC.


And I've seen *many* specs online that list them as ATSC/NTSC/QAM. or
other combos of the 3.


And I explained why in my previous post.

And not all ATSC tuners do QAM.


Never said they did. That's why QAM is mentioned in the spec. 8VSB need not
be mentioned in the tuner spec since it's part of the ATSC spec.

None of this changes the fact that both QAM and 8VSB are modulation methods
used for ATSC, and that QAM is *not* and encoding method. Saying that ATSC
is for over-the-air only is just plain WRONG.

Wes Newell[_2_] March 18th 09 07:49 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
On Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:27:46 -0700, UCLAN wrote:

Wes Newell wrote:

*What* marketing people? I have seen numerous TV specifications that
correctly state that the tuner is: ATSC (8VSB/QAM), NTSC.


And I've seen *many* specs online that list them as ATSC/NTSC/QAM. or
other combos of the 3.


And I explained why in my previous post.

And not all ATSC tuners do QAM.


Never said they did. That's why QAM is mentioned in the spec. 8VSB need
not be mentioned in the tuner spec since it's part of the ATSC spec.

None of this changes the fact that both QAM and 8VSB are modulation
methods used for ATSC, and that QAM is *not* and encoding method. Saying
that ATSC is for over-the-air only is just plain WRONG.


I'm not disagreeing, just that some atsc tuners do not have qam capability
and being so I think it's best that they advertise it's capability
separately. AFAIK, all ATSC tuners do have 8VSB (OTA) capability.



--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
My Tivo Experience http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/tivo.htm
Tivo HD/S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm
AMD cpu help http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php

Wes Newell[_2_] March 18th 09 07:49 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
On Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:27:46 -0700, UCLAN wrote:

Wes Newell wrote:

*What* marketing people? I have seen numerous TV specifications that
correctly state that the tuner is: ATSC (8VSB/QAM), NTSC.


And I've seen *many* specs online that list them as ATSC/NTSC/QAM. or
other combos of the 3.


And I explained why in my previous post.

And not all ATSC tuners do QAM.


Never said they did. That's why QAM is mentioned in the spec. 8VSB need
not be mentioned in the tuner spec since it's part of the ATSC spec.

None of this changes the fact that both QAM and 8VSB are modulation
methods used for ATSC, and that QAM is *not* and encoding method. Saying
that ATSC is for over-the-air only is just plain WRONG.


I'm not disagreeing, just that some atsc tuners do not have qam capability
and being so I think it's best that they advertise it's capability
separately. AFAIK, all ATSC tuners do have 8VSB (OTA) capability.



--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
My Tivo Experience http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/tivo.htm
Tivo HD/S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm
AMD cpu help http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php

L Alpert March 18th 09 11:42 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 

"UCLAN" wrote in message
...
L Alpert wrote:

If you want to receive OTA, QAM is not needed. Most ATSC tuners
are QAM compatible these days, which is good if you subscribe to
cable without their box as so you can pick up HD stations that are
no scrambled (usually the locals), as QAM is the encoding
technology used by the cable companies.

QAM is *NOT* an encoding technology. QAM is a modulation technology
used
on ATSC signals by cable companies to increase bandwidth. OTA uses
8VSB
modulation of ATSC.


Some say potatoes, some say potatoes.


The difference between "encoding" and "modulating" technologies is
*not*
simple pronunciation.


I understand the concepts between modulation and encoding schemes, but
it means little to the layman. All he cares about is does it work.
If you need to be told you are right, so be it, you are right.



UCLAN March 19th 09 05:26 AM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
Wes Newell wrote:

AFAIK, all ATSC tuners do have 8VSB (OTA) capability.


As I wrote twice in this thread, ATSC tuners *have* to demodulate 8VSB.
It's in the ATSC specification. A tuner cannot be called an ATSC tuner
if it *can't* demodulate 8VSB.

RickMerrill March 20th 09 09:29 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
L Alpert wrote:
"UCLAN" wrote in message
...
L Alpert wrote:

If you want to receive OTA, QAM is not needed. Most ATSC tuners
are QAM compatible these days, which is good if you subscribe to
cable without their box as so you can pick up HD stations that are
no scrambled (usually the locals), as QAM is the encoding
technology used by the cable companies.
QAM is *NOT* an encoding technology. QAM is a modulation technology
used
on ATSC signals by cable companies to increase bandwidth. OTA uses
8VSB
modulation of ATSC.
Some say potatoes, some say potatoes.

The difference between "encoding" and "modulating" technologies is
*not*
simple pronunciation.


I understand the concepts between modulation and encoding schemes, but
it means little to the layman. All he cares about is does it work.
If you need to be told you are right, so be it, you are right.


Copernicus was "right" too, but nobody believed him for, what, 400
years? I wonder if he was angry about it too?


RickMerrill March 21st 09 05:33 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
UCLAN wrote:
Wes Newell wrote:

AFAIK, all ATSC tuners do have 8VSB (OTA) capability.


As I wrote twice in this thread, ATSC tuners *have* to demodulate 8VSB.
It's in the ATSC specification. A tuner cannot be called an ATSC tuner
if it *can't* demodulate 8VSB.


Worse case of Violent Agreement I have seen in a long time!-)

UCLAN March 21st 09 08:12 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
RickMerrill wrote:

AFAIK, all ATSC tuners do have 8VSB (OTA) capability.


As I wrote twice in this thread, ATSC tuners *have* to demodulate 8VSB.
It's in the ATSC specification. A tuner cannot be called an ATSC tuner
if it *can't* demodulate 8VSB.


Worse case of Violent Agreement I have seen in a long time!-)


Except for the use of "AFAIK." Since 8VSB is mandatory (according to the
ATSC spec), "AFAIK" is a very illuminating qualifier.

RickMerrill March 21st 09 08:41 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
UCLAN wrote:
RickMerrill wrote:

AFAIK, all ATSC tuners do have 8VSB (OTA) capability.

As I wrote twice in this thread, ATSC tuners *have* to demodulate 8VSB.
It's in the ATSC specification. A tuner cannot be called an ATSC tuner
if it *can't* demodulate 8VSB.


Worse case of Violent Agreement I have seen in a long time!-)


Except for the use of "AFAIK." Since 8VSB is mandatory (according to the
ATSC spec), "AFAIK" is a very illuminating qualifier.


Did it cross your mind that he was being humble?


UCLAN March 22nd 09 06:01 AM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
RickMerrill wrote:

AFAIK, all ATSC tuners do have 8VSB (OTA) capability.

As I wrote twice in this thread, ATSC tuners *have* to demodulate 8VSB.
It's in the ATSC specification. A tuner cannot be called an ATSC tuner
if it *can't* demodulate 8VSB.

Worse case of Violent Agreement I have seen in a long time!-)


Except for the use of "AFAIK." Since 8VSB is mandatory (according to the
ATSC spec), "AFAIK" is a very illuminating qualifier.


Did it cross your mind that he was being humble?


By leaving the possibility that a non-8VSB compliant ATSC tuner exists? No.
BY DEFINITION, an ATSC tuner is 8VSB compliant.

--
AFAIK, the Sun sets in the west.

Wes Newell[_2_] March 22nd 09 08:07 AM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
On Sat, 21 Mar 2009 22:01:46 -0700, UCLAN wrote:

RickMerrill wrote:

AFAIK, all ATSC tuners do have 8VSB (OTA) capability.

As I wrote twice in this thread, ATSC tuners *have* to demodulate
8VSB. It's in the ATSC specification. A tuner cannot be called an
ATSC tuner if it *can't* demodulate 8VSB.

Worse case of Violent Agreement I have seen in a long time!-)

Except for the use of "AFAIK." Since 8VSB is mandatory (according to
the ATSC spec), "AFAIK" is a very illuminating qualifier.


Did it cross your mind that he was being humble?


By leaving the possibility that a non-8VSB compliant ATSC tuner exists?
No. BY DEFINITION, an ATSC tuner is 8VSB compliant.


So then what are QAM cable boxes without 8vsb support? Since QAM is a part
of the ATSC spec, wouldn't that make them ATSC tuners.:-)



--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
My Tivo Experience http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/tivo.htm
Tivo HD/S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm
AMD cpu help http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php

Wes Newell[_2_] March 22nd 09 09:21 AM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
On Sun, 22 Mar 2009 07:07:43 +0000, Wes Newell wrote:

On Sat, 21 Mar 2009 22:01:46 -0700, UCLAN wrote:

RickMerrill wrote:

AFAIK, all ATSC tuners do have 8VSB (OTA) capability.

As I wrote twice in this thread, ATSC tuners *have* to demodulate
8VSB. It's in the ATSC specification. A tuner cannot be called an
ATSC tuner if it *can't* demodulate 8VSB.

Worse case of Violent Agreement I have seen in a long time!-)

Except for the use of "AFAIK." Since 8VSB is mandatory (according to
the ATSC spec), "AFAIK" is a very illuminating qualifier.

Did it cross your mind that he was being humble?


By leaving the possibility that a non-8VSB compliant ATSC tuner exists?
No. BY DEFINITION, an ATSC tuner is 8VSB compliant.


So then what are QAM cable boxes without 8vsb support? Since QAM is a
part of the ATSC spec, wouldn't that make them ATSC tuners.:-)


BTW, only 16 qam is part of the atsc standard, not 256 qam, which is the
cable standard.



--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
My Tivo Experience http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/tivo.htm
Tivo HD/S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm
AMD cpu help http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php

UCLAN March 22nd 09 07:26 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
Wes Newell wrote:

AFAIK, all ATSC tuners do have 8VSB (OTA) capability.

As I wrote twice in this thread, ATSC tuners *have* to demodulate
8VSB. It's in the ATSC specification. A tuner cannot be called an
ATSC tuner if it *can't* demodulate 8VSB.

Worse case of Violent Agreement I have seen in a long time!-)

Except for the use of "AFAIK." Since 8VSB is mandatory (according to
the ATSC spec), "AFAIK" is a very illuminating qualifier.

Did it cross your mind that he was being humble?


By leaving the possibility that a non-8VSB compliant ATSC tuner exists?
No. BY DEFINITION, an ATSC tuner is 8VSB compliant.


So then what are QAM cable boxes without 8vsb support? Since QAM is a part
of the ATSC spec, wouldn't that make them ATSC tuners.:-)


Might be true *if* QAM is mandated in the ATSC spec, but they aren't. That's
why cable boxes *aren't* called ATSC tuners. Since they don't support 8VSB,
they aren't!

UCLAN March 22nd 09 07:29 PM

HDTV tuner confusion
 
Wes Newell wrote:

On Sun, 22 Mar 2009 07:07:43 +0000, Wes Newell wrote:


So then what are QAM cable boxes without 8vsb support? Since QAM is a
part of the ATSC spec, wouldn't that make them ATSC tuners.:-)


BTW, only 16 qam is part of the atsc standard, not 256 qam, which is the
cable standard.


Looks like you just answered your own question!


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:28 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
HomeCinemaBanter.com