Too late - it was $79 yesterday and now it is $149. At that price I would rather get the Samsung 260F - much less of a gamble.

:pAlong with the two pc tuners which are the ati hdtv and the win1600 I now have the Samsung 3242h lcd tv the real story is the ineresting fact that the tv picks up cbc dt 58.1 when the two pc units barely shows more than 10 % signal cool. I am hoping it remains but again it could be the darn crane however it may be the case if so I will move the 4228 antenna around and see what the Samsung gets who knows.

Your Samsung HDTV probably has a newer ATSC chipset than the others. For example my Sony SXRD HDTV has much better reception than my 2 PC cards and a bit better than my LG LST-4200A tuner too.

Well I am a victim of the old construction crane bounce how ever I have looked into the setup and found the lcd tv has a amp built in it and is on this is helpfull in the reception too. When iot does come in it is soo nice
Dan:D

Your Samsung has AGC (Automatic Gain Control) which adjusts the sensitivity of the ATSC tuner to match weaker and stronger stations, so its not really an amp. AGC works very well in the latest main-brand HDTVs. :)

I had a closer look at the feature and they call it LNA it says it amplifies the signal strength for the channel?
Dan

Just as foot note this bounce from the crane is such that there is just a small places when it ( the tv ) does not bounce back cbc 58.1 and the only unit to pick it up is the lcd samsung. A year almost with the two pc each with a different dtv card and rare signal locks and yet the new tv picks up in all but a couple of places it swings to. Being parked since 415pm in a great place and I haven't had so much steady not a blip in reception and the Nature of T:Dhings season opener was great. I have a hd package with a satilite service but this image in my view is far better. I know this info is slipping past the topic but it is a reception related report.

I had a closer look at the feature and they call it LNAThat's a nice surprise! LNA = Low Noise Amplifier.

It was not a feature that was mentioned in any info I could find but there it was in the chanels menu great surprize and the feature works the signal drops overs half signal when I turn it off it certainly does its job.:D

NCIX dot com has the coby dtv140 for $85.87CAD. But, they also don't list any specs. This would be very convenient for anyone living in the GVA because they can pick up without shipping costs. But, they list shipping time as 1-2 weeks. I read a lot of complaints online (at amazon and elsewhere) from people who had been waiting months for their coby dtv140 to arrive. So, I went with the 260F instead. But, I'd be very curious to hear if anyone has successfully got one, and how it works.

Just a quick follow up. I did find specs for the Coby dtv140:

# Receives Free Over-the-Air (OTA) Digital Television Signals
# Compatible with all 18 ATSC Signal Formats
# Outputs OTA HDTV Signals for use with High-Definition TVs (720p/1080i)
# Downconverts OTA HDTV Signals for use with Standard- and Enhanced-Definition TVs(480i/480p)
# On-Screen Program Guide
# Unit Dimensions: 8.85" x 1.8" x 8.65" (WHD)
# DTV Output Formats: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i
# AV Input: Coaxial Antenna
# AV Output: DVI (Monitor), Component Video (Progressive Scan), S-Video, Composite Video, Coaxial Digital Audio, RCA Stereo Audio
# Power: AC 120V 60Hz

Concerns for me: It has only coaxial digital audio output (many receivers have more optical inputs than coaxial) and no hdmi (although a dvi to hdmi cable could be used). It does not specify if hd signal is sent over the component (I believe this is sometimes not the case but I'm guessing it would).

PQ wise, there is no difference between HDMI & DVI. It avoids the $15k annual fee associated with the HDMI interface.
The Prime 206 has a optical out.

Hi -

Does anyone know of a HDTV receiver that supports anamorphic widescreen in 480i/p format?

I'm located in Ottawa and I have a SD TV. I would like to wait a little longer before buying a HDTV, but in the meantime it would be excellent to pick-up the OTA CBC signal.

I am researching OTA receivers and it seems that the Samsung DTB-H260F as well as the Hisense 2010 both output 480i format. My TV (it is a 2004 model) supports the 16:9 aspect ratio for viewing anamorphic DVDs.

I imagine some of you may be asking yourselves why bother considering that you can get a 37" 720p TV for about $700...I'm hoping that I can track down a tuner for sub $100 otherwise it may make more sense to buy a new TV w/ built-in tuner.

Thank you for your time.

hmm hopefully your not getting your terms mixed up, but I do believe anamorphic = 2.35:1 which is the super-wide aspect ratio, which most films are recorded in. Widescreen TV is still 16:9, which is not anamorphic

026162, you are the one who's mixed up. Anamorphic has nothing to do with the aspect ratio. It has to do with the process to put more information into a 480i signal (often referring to DVDs) Anamorphic = Enhanced for Widescreen. (a process). Widescreen is an aspect ratio - basically any ratio higher than 1.33:1. See:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17708

Now, back to the OP's question, which some people will understand and perhaps have some suggestions for equipment.

but in the meantime it would be excellent to pick-up the OTA CBC signal.

You will see the CBC's 16:9 HD content in letterbox on your 4:3 TV. It will be 480i, no higher. And not all CBC programs are 16:9, so those you can watch full screen.

To clarify a little - the feature would show up as an "Aspect Ratio" setting or something similar allowing you to change between 16:9 and 4:3.

Does anyone with the Sammy 260 know if it supports this?

Here is a little more info from a c-net review.

"Make sure your video settings match your TV's aspect ratio. Most modern video sources--DVD players, game consoles, satellite and cable boxes, DVRs, and even the video iPod--have an aspect-ratio setting. Make sure you set each device to the setting that matches the TV to which it's attached: 4:3 for standard TVs, 16:9 for wide-screen monitors (nearly all HDTVs). The one exception is for 4:3 TVs that offer a feature called vertical compression or anamorphic squeeze. Video sources attached to these models should be (counterintuitively) set to 16:9, because they're designed to display the full vertical resolution of a wide-screen image within the letterboxed area."

steve.mate:

The DTB-H260F has settings in the back for you to output 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i via Component or HDMI.

There are also settings for the type of TV you have, 4:3 or 16:9.

The Aspect ratio settings on the remote are:

Normal: for 16:9 material from a 1080i or 720p broadcaster on a 16:9 TV.
Zoom: expands the viewable screen both vertically and horizontally for 4:3 material from a 1080i or 720p broadcaster to be zoomed to eliminate Pillar bars on a 16:9 TV.
Pillar: compresses the frame from the sides for 4:3 material from a 480i broadcaster to eliminate the "stretched" appearance of 4:3 SD material on 16:9 TVs.

In all configurations, however, the DTB-H260F does NOT provide a "tall" vertical picture for you to apply the anamorphic squeeze feature on your TV the way it does for anamorphic DVDs.

Thank you so much for the reply - very useful.

steve.mate
Make sure you read up on the DTB-H260F.
If I recall correectly that digital tuner when outputting via s-video or lower the on-screen guide is inoperable.
Unfortunately I can't get to the US samsung site right now to confirm.
Can anyone else with the H260F confirm this??

I only mention this since you stated your tv is SD and were interested in 480i output, indicating to me that your set does not have a component input. Is this correct?