Home audio & video forum: HD OTA tuners

Unless you already have or want cable, there's no need to get it simply for network channels. Aside from being free, OTA digital (i.e. ATSC) broadcasts are as good as or better than cable/satellite equivalents in terms of picture and sound quality. You simply need to be within a decent range (maybe 50 miles or less) and have a suitable antenna (the appropriate traditional UHF variety, properly aimed, does wonders).

I was in the same boat - considering an ATSC tuner for my HD-ready TV - but realized that a home theater PC would do the job and give me free TiVo and other niceties (future expandability, large-screen PC gaming, etc.) for just a little more money. There's a CNET course on this subject starting shortly, if you want to consider that option.

If you are in an area where you get strong reception of local HD signals I know folks who use one of the old VOOM receivers. You can pick one up cheap on ebay and if "activated" they can be utilized as OTA receivers in conjunction with an OTA antenna. I've had good results with the Channel Master Stealthtenna. It has a small footprint for outdoor mounting and is easy to set up. Hope this helps!