HDTV & A/B Switch

[Ace H]

Within a couple of days my sister's new HDTV (with NTSC, ATSC/QAM Tuner) will arrive. She has analog cable (without a cable box). I told her to get an A/B switch so she can also watch over the air HD programming (CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, etc).

QUESTION: After I run the setup for the cable connection do I turn the A/B Switch over to Antenna, set up antenna input for the new HDTV, then run setup for the antenna to get over the air programs?

Will this allow her to switch between Antenna and Cable both with the A/B Switch and the TV setup as mentioned above?

[Woochifer]

That would depend on the TV. Some HDTVs include two separate antenna inputs, and/or separate the DTV channel lists from the CATV lists.

But, before you bother with an A/B switch, you might want to check and see whether your sister's cable company retransmits the local DTV channels alongside the analog channels. Cable companies are not required to retransmit the DTV channels, and a lot of them don't. We'll see if this change when the analog channels go dark in February.

At home, I have the bare basic cable service and Comcast does retransmit the DTV channels (in fact, the picture quality on those local DTV channels is slightly better than what I see through Directv). In contrast, my parents have a similar basic cable service with Cox Cable, and those do not include any DTV channels. I saw that Cox was charging a fee for what they call digital gateway service, which might be needed to see the DTV channels.

[Mr Peabody]

I have two HDTV's with the both types of tuners. You shouldn't need any type of switcher, you switch from one to the other with your remote. If you use an antenna you will have to do a set up to allow your TV to search for the digital channels. Some networks may broadcast more than one channel per frequency, this will appear, for instance, 5 being the regular channel, 5.1 will be the HD version of the same thing and then you may even have 5.2, 5.3 etc which has different programming. When you hook the cable up, there shouldn't be anything to do, unless you just want to run a search to line up all the channels and block out the blank channels. I usually don't do that because if some new channels come on I might not know about it.

Back to antenna for a minute, in my example you would push "5" to get to that channel then you'd have to arrow up or down to get to the other 5. channels. At least on my TV's, there's no way just to punch 5.2 on the remote.

Hope I explained this alright. I think you'll get it once you get your hands on the TV.

[Ace H]

I downloaded the manual for the TV and it does state to use an A/B switch if you want to setup both cable and antenna. It instructs you to do it just as I had thought. First setup the Cable with initial setup, then using an A/B switch run the antenna setup.

Thanks for responding.

[Mr Peabody]

What brand of TV is it? I have never heard of that. Does this mean your sister will have to go to the TV and switch back and forth from antenna to cable? Be sure you aren't confusing something. I mean no offense but even my mom's old school Mitsubishi has 2 antenna inputs. It's hard to believe a modern HDTV not providing an input for both antenna and cable. Especially with the QAM feature. My daughter's 19" LCD Samsung includes both.

[pixelthis]

Yeah, you're confused.
Your cable box is connected via HDMI(if it has one)
Get a 1 ghz splitter and run one cable to your cable box, the other to your QAM tuner.
Although why you need OTA if you have a HD cable box is beyond
me. Mine is hooked up but I never use it (dont need to):1:

[Ace H]

The TV is a Sony KDL-32L4000.

Link to viewing/downloading Operating Insturctions:
http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-documents.pl?mdl=KDL32L4000

See page 20 "Setting Up Channel List - Initial Setup".

[Mr Peabody]

My apologies, you are correct sir. Only one RF input. You could get around using the A/B switch if your sister has a VCR that has two RF inputs. I wonder though if going through the VCR just passing the signal will reduce the HD signal from the antenna? I guess the manufacturers don't expect people to be using just coax cable or an antenna any more.

Now this is important, your sister will NOT get HD content from her cable even if the channel says it's HD. In order to get HD from cable you either need a HD capable cable box or a cable card if the TV is cable card compatible. You'll want to use HDMI connections if getting a cable HD box. With that being said, I have not had the QAM, so I don't know if that will decode HD or not. My guess is no. If I had more time I'd check the manual but I don't want to take all your fun :)

The digital stations from the antenna will be HD as long as they are broadcast that way.

Good luck and enjoy.

[pixelthis]

My apologies, you are correct sir. Only one RF input. You could get around using the A/B switch if your sister has a VCR that has two RF inputs. I wonder though if going through the VCR just passing the signal will reduce the HD signal from the antenna? I guess the manufacturers don't expect people to be using just coax cable or an antenna any more.

Now this is important, your sister will NOT get HD content from her cable even if the channel says it's HD. In order to get HD from cable you either need a HD capable cable box or a cable card if the TV is cable card compatible. You'll want to use HDMI connections if getting a cable HD box. With that being said, I have not had the QAM, so I don't know if that will decode HD or not. My guess is no. If I had more time I'd check the manual but I don't want to take all your fun :)

The digital stations from the antenna will be HD as long as they are broadcast that way.

Good luck and enjoy.

AFRAID YOU ARE WRONG, MR P.
I have one cable hooked up to the QAM cable input, which is for both cable and broadcast.
I receive the broadcast stations in HD over basic cable, although I now get a "scrambled" on the CBS station the rest come in loud and clear.
Since these are broadcast I doubt that the cable company can scramble them.
These HD channels (along with their simucast stations) are in line next to other basic cable stations.:1:

[Woochifer]

Now this is important, your sister will NOT get HD content from her cable even if the channel says it's HD. In order to get HD from cable you either need a HD capable cable box or a cable card if the TV is cable card compatible. You'll want to use HDMI connections if getting a cable HD box. With that being said, I have not had the QAM, so I don't know if that will decode HD or not. My guess is no. If I had more time I'd check the manual but I don't want to take all your fun :)

The digital stations from the antenna will be HD as long as they are broadcast that way.

Good luck and enjoy.

As I said in my post, this depends on the cable company. Some of them DO relay the DTV feeds over the basic cable service without a cable box or cable card, while others DON'T. Ace's sister won't know if her cable service includes the DTV channels until she plugs the cable into the TV and runs the channel setup. On my cable service at home, I can receive all of the local digital feeds, while on my parents' service the digital channels all come up blank.

[Mr Peabody]

Wooch, not all digital channels are HD, were you talking about the HD channels? I can see the cable company allowing the additional digital channels through, after all they are free but I can't see them allowing HD through for free when they are selling the package. No content provider that I know of allows HD for free.

[Woochifer]

Wooch, not all digital channels are HD, were you talking about the HD channels?

I'm aware that not all DTV channels broadcast in HD. In the Bay Area, Comcast relays all of the DTV signals over the basic cable service, whether they are in HD or not. I get all of the local HD feeds, and that's going over the basic $13/mo. analog cable service.


I can see the cable company allowing the additional digital channels through, after all they are free but I can't see them allowing HD through for free when they are selling the package. No content provider that I know of allows HD for free.

Tell that to Comcast. My understanding is that they relay the local DTV channels in all of their service areas. Would make no sense for them to block the DTV feeds for those channels broadcasting in HD, while including only those stations that broadcast in SD resolution. For one thing, even on those stations that use HD signals, not all of their programming is in HD.

[Mr Peabody]

Apparently this QAM tuner is the key. QAM is for cable the equivalent of the ATSC for over the air. QAM has no mandate for inclusion though as ATSC. I'm surprised the cable companies haven't tried to ban them. From what I was reading it still isn't clear as to whether some one with QAM would be able to receive something like Discovery HD or other so called premium HD channels that are still being sold in packages by satelite and cable.

[Woochifer]

Apparently this QAM tuner is the key. QAM is for cable the equivalent of the ATSC for over the air. QAM has no mandate for inclusion though as ATSC. I'm surprised the cable companies haven't tried to ban them.

It's nothing more than retransmitting an OTA signal. It's like the old analog CATV tuners. Cable companies didn't try to "ban" those, so why the QAM tuner be any different?


From what I was reading it still isn't clear as to whether some one with QAM would be able to receive something like Discovery HD or other so called premium HD channels that are still being sold in packages by satelite and cable.

Discovery Channel and Food Network are part of my basic service, but none of the HD feeds for those national channels are included. A QAM tuner can only pull in what the cable company puts onto the system. My basic service does include digital equivalents for all of the analog basic channels, but only the local broadcast channels include the multicast and HD feeds. All of the expanded basic and premium channels require a set top box or a cable card.

[Ace H]

Finally picked up my sister's new HD TV today, Saturday 12/6/2008. Hooked it up to coax cable ONLY (no cable box). Attached an A/B switch with a HD Antenna and ran initial setup for both CABLE and ANTENNA. Cable picks up all the local HD stations plus the NTSC cable channels. Antenna also picks up all local HD stations plus a bunch of other stations I never new existed (some of which are even HD channels). NTSC stations aren't too bad (but nothing to brag about).