A late arrival to the Humax discussion. Purchased my unit from "J&R" www.jandr.com $300 Cnd. all in. Delivered in 3 days. Very nice unit. Multiple inputs with HDMI. Easy to use on screen menus. Broadcast info:when included in the signal. I did a trial run with a RCA ANT711 antenna on the floor but I'll let you know my verdict when a proper antenna (CM 4228) is hooked up.
As a newcomer to the forum I'd like to say thanks for all the great info and
opinions.
I now look at peoples rooftops in a different way.
Brampton, Ont.

Fellow DHCer 4DTV HD, who is in the OTA/satellite reception business in the Vancouver area, is now offering the Digital Stream HD1150 ATSC Set Top Box for sale in Canada to Canadians:

http://www.dstreamtech.com/english/p...C_DTV_STB.html
I purchased a Digital Stream HD 1150 from Johnny G about 2 years ago and it has worked fine ever since. I also have a Samsung SIR-T160 and have had satisfactory performance as well. Originally I had some problems with CITY TV, but antenna adjustment seems to have fixed that

Finally in Canada one of the big HDTV manufacturers is clarifying why an ATSC tuner is a good thing to have in a new TV. Unfortunately its taken awhile for them to realize that OTA capability is a selling point here.Buying a TV that already has an ATSC Digital tuner is an investment in the future, as terrestrial HD signals become more widely broadcast.http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/StaticView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&contentpage=TVLanding/hdtv.shtml&categoryId=32050

I am having a really hard time trying to find a good STB with both NTSC and ATSC tuners to seamlessly combine analogue cable with OTA channels. I haven't been able to find an LG LSS-3200A so far (a used one sold on eBay recently for US$340 - yikes!). A Sony HD300 might be okay if I could find a good enough deal on one. Does anyone have any experience with the Toshiba DST-3100A (http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/televisions/product.asp?model=DST-3100) STB?

I'm in Brampton and use the SIR-TS160 only for over the air boradcasts. Buffalo HDTV comes in fine using a Channel Master 8 bow tie antenna.


The way I understand you, since this is originally a DirectTV STB w/ OTA cababilities and obviously you are not subbed, the receiver will still work as OTA receiver as long as it has a card (football or P4) inside.

Please clear this up for me, I am thinking of doing OTA but have a very limited budget & I saw this TS160 on ebay for about US$50 with no remote. TY

Please clear this up for me, I am thinking of doing OTA but have a very limited budget & I saw this TS160 on ebay for about US$50 with no remote.I picked up the ts-160 off e-bay not too long ago. You do need the card to set the dish type to "no dish". The card is not required after that. It works quite well with a few quirks, that may be related to the fact I don't have an outdoor antenna - just a cheap uhf/vhf thing sitting on top of the TV. For instance, when I scan for digital channels, it finds about 8 channels:

nbc
abc
cbs
wned
fox
cbc - digital only
signal strength for above ranges from 77% - 93%
citytv - with weak signal (36 or so)
ctv - sometimes

The strange thing is it does not find digital channels on the scan which have very strong signal such as:
20-1 (cbc-hd I watched the NHL game on this last night. Incredible picture!)
32-1
14-1
38-1
Above all have strength over 80%

There is no way to add the channels that it does not scan, but I can enter the channel and sub on the remote to bring it in. To do so, you'll need the original remote (or a Harmony such remote) to enter the channel number, ie 20-1 enter.

Anyway, it's a decent reciever and I'm able to tune 20 or so digital channels and around 30 analog channels. I do live on the 12th floor facing due south over Lake Ontario which I'm sure helps. I'm thinking of putting an outdoor antenna on the balcony.

Bottom line is you will need the card for initial setup. Alos when I got the receiver, it appeared to be DOA, with no picure or menu. I left it plugged in a couple hours and tried again. All was fine. Guess they need to warm up.

I picked up the ts-160 ... The strange thing is it does not find digital channels on the scan which have very strong signal ... but I can enter the channel and sub on the remote to bring it in.

Hey, sounds like my Samsung SIR-T451: there were a bunch of channels it would not program automatically, even though they were strong and could be manually punched in.

With my unit, you punch in the channel, and once the image is displayed, hit the ADD/DEL button to add it in memory. Then, i'm able to just hit channel up or down to get to it. Yeah, a dumb quirk.

Posted in the Sony Forum:

http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38518

Earlier in this thread I described why I was shopping for an external tuner even though my HP PE4200N has both NTSC and ATSC tuners built-in. Well, I bought a used Zenith HD-SAT520 (LG 4th generation ATSC tuner) so that I can combine all available channels into one channel list. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I can now receive CTV-HD (Vancouver) - occasional dropouts but very watchable. Bonus! Using the HP's built-in ATSC tuner I was not able to receive CTV-HD at all (CBC-HD only). I think it's interesting that the ATSC tuner in the 3-year old Zenith outperforms the tuner in the 3-month old HP.

As much as I like my SIR-T451 (great PQ), there are a few issues that bug me:
- the remote/IR LEDS suck!!! It is impossible to aim the remote properly
- "black bars" on 4:3 stuff are actually light grey bars! Yukky and distracting.
- everytime you do an "auto programming" of the avai channels, any channel you've already input is lost IF the antenna isn't pointing in that channel's correct position at that time during the auto programming.
- the guide sometimes displays all avai channels, but other times a whole bunch are left out until you actually view them that session; THEN they appear in the guide.
- the TV show reminder/timer is only available for THAT day, give or take a few hours away.

I'd like to know if there are any other OTA HD receivers out there to consider. Maybe my search terms are poor, but I just can't seem to find anything other than Samsungs (151, 351, 451 I think).

I don't mind buying US/Grey market/used by the way.

Most of your post holds weight, but I differ from your opinion on two:

- The IR reception has been excellent for me. Truly excellent. Frankly, I sometimes wonder if my Samsung TV is relaying signals to the Samsung tuner.

- I believe those bars are grey for a reason - they resist burn-in better than black does.

Most of your post holds weight, but I differ from your opinion on two:

- The IR reception has been excellent for me. Truly excellent. Frankly, I sometimes wonder if my Samsung TV is relaying signals to the Samsung tuner.

So you don't need to point the remote EXACTLY at the recr to get it to respond? I have to wave it back and forth until it works, usu pressing buttons 3-5x.

- I believe those bars are grey for a reason - they resist burn-in better than black does.

Interesting. Anyone else aware of this? I would've figured that black protects a monitor better.

I almost never point it right at the receiver; it'd be next to impossible, since it sits really low and the coffee table gets in the line of sight.

MASTER BURN-IN THREAD (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=406182):
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO CIRCUMVENT "BURN-IN"

Absolutely, the list is as follows:

2) Put some sort of "color" on the side bars when watching 4:3 content in its native aspect ratio. If you absolutely hate stretching 4:3 content, that is filling the 16:9 aspect ratio of the unit, then make sure that the side bars are set to either "gray" or some other color than "black".

Big-Screen TVs vs. Projectors (http://www.projectorcentral.com/big_screen_tvs.htm):
Several compromises are being made to fit non-16:9 material into 16:9 RPTVs. First, 4:3 material can be displayed in native format with gray bars on each side. Manufacturers are now making these bars gray rather than black to avoid uneven burn-in. While this is good for the set it degrades the viewing experience since image contrast and color look best when the image is presented in a black frame. And once again you have the shrunken image effect—the use of only a portion of the screen is fundamentally irritating.

eyeQ,
Try a search; "atsc tuners"

You"ll find several threads discussing your options for an tuner.

Keep in mind that OTA tuners are not only 'HD Tuners'. They do receive HD signals, but also received are the SD digital signals.

So a search for hd tuners won't get you all the info you need. Try "atsc tuners"

I can recommend the Humax HFA 100.

Good luck and good hunting!

eyeQ I currently also have a Samsung 451 and do not have a remote problem like you have.

Did you try new batteries, wonder if its your remote or infra red sensor on the tuner that is weak ?

The grey bars is to prevent screen burn in on certain types of tv displays.

If you need to add a channel you should try to add channel rather than rescan. You have to go to add channel menu and make sure you select the channel by the UHF broadcast frequency and not the psip id itself.

Example Cbc is broadcast channel 20-1 and the psip is set to display 5-1.

By the way if you can find one you can try the LG4200a.

Interesting. Anyone else aware of this? I would've figured that black protects a monitor better.No, black is a total absence of colour and is the "best" way to cause uneven phosphor wear (Burn In).

The grey best "mimics" the phosphor wear of the various colours used in TVs. See the Digital Home FAQ on "Burn in".

I suppose black would be fine if you never watched anything on your TV, since then there would be no phosphor wear at all. ;) Please note that burn in only affects certain TV types - referenced in the FAQ.

eyeQ, given all the threads and info in here on ATSC tuners (which you've posted in) I'm not sure why you're asking if there are ATSC tuner alternatives to your Sammy... ;)

I have recently purchased a OTA HD receiver while on atrip to Buffalo and would like to know if I will be able to use it in the GTA(Pickering)to pick up HD broadcasts.I have a cheap set of rabbit ears hooked up but I am not able to get any picture.I was just wondering if the signal has to be to the max in order to receive a picture.I am new to OTA HD and would appreciate any comments or info on the subject.Thanks again.

John

The Pro Brand HD3150 Plus is a great receiver:
http://www.eagleaspen.com/admin/product/fujian/img_96.jpg
http://www.eagleaspen.com/products/products_1.php?id=44

One note of caution: In order to see perfectly scaled ratios, you need the HDMI connection hooked to an HDTV TV. I noticed that everyone having problems with this product are those who hook up via s-video, composite or component to a regular SD TV.

Viewsonic is now distributing their HD12 ATSC Tuner in Canada:
http://www.viewsonic.com/images/media/nextvisionhd12_us_eng_med.jpg
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/tventertainment/tvvideoprocessors/nextvisionhd12/

And you can purchase it from Grey-Tech in Markham, ON. I have done business with Grey-Tech for years, which I find sell very good equipment and are extremely helpful. It is a little on the expensive side - I was told $469CDN, but Viewsonic makes great gear and you have a Canadian warranty. Grey-Tech are getting a demo model so you can see it in operation at their location:

Grey-Tech Computer Inc.
550 Alden Road, Unit 110
Markham, Ontario
http://www.accountwizard.com/clients/shop.asp?web=greytech