HDTV Tuners

HDTV Tuner

When you invest in an HDTV for your home theater system, you’ll also need to invest in an HDTV tuner. The HDTV tuners will enable your HDTVs to tune in the channels you want to watch in high-definition. If you don’t have one of the HDTV tuners for your HDTV, you won’t be able to take advantage of watching high-definition television.

Many television stations and networks are now broadcasting and sending down HDTV signals. You need a separate HDTV tuner to bring down that signal onto your television. HDTV tuners come in several signal standards. The main competitor to the 1080i is a format consisting of 720 lines of resolution in a progressive scan format called 720p. The p stands for progressives scan. Interlace signals draw every other line in a single pass and the another pass draws the remaining lines. But progressive scan works more like a computer screen by drawing each line on the screen in a single pass.

HDTV Tuner Card

One difference between an HDTV tuner and a standard tuner is the aspect ratio in which the picture is displayed. Standard definition signals use an aspect ratio of 4:3. This means that the width of the display screen is 1.33 times greater than the height. HDTV uses a wider aspect ratio of 16:9. This wider aspect ratio is called widescreen. If you want to enjoy high-definition television, you’ll have to purchase a high-definition television and one of the HDTV tuners.

HDTV tuners take the digital signal and convert it into a signal recognizable by your television. Very few sets have an internal tuner capable of receiving an HDTV broadcast. A tuner might cost a couple hundred dollars, in addition to the price that you’ll pay for your HDTV television set.

HDTV Tuner Cards

HDTV tuners are growing closer to mainstream as more programming becomes available. Most HDTV tuners have the ability to take a 720p signal and convert it into a 1080i signal. Many larger-market television stations have begun broadcasting a digital signal in conjunction with their standard analogue signal. Television stations will soon do away with the old analogue signals and will broadcast solely in a digital signal. To continue using your old television sets, you’ll need to buy a digital-to-analogue converter that turns an incoming digital signal into an analog signal. HDTV tuners are an important part of your home theater system. You’ll need one to operate an HDTV and take full advantage of all it has to offer.