HUMAX Digital ATSC TV Tuner for HDTV Reception
HUMAX ATSC TV Tuner
The Humax is a nice receiver.  You have to provide the antenna input for DTV and that is where most problems will arise depending on your distance to the over the air transmitters and your physical setting.  I have not yet erected a robust antenna so I am working with an indoor antenna that does a good job when the weather is clear.  I am at the maximum distance from the transmitters at about 35 miles.  So, when there is clear sky my indoor antenna gets good reception and the Humax will then scan and find about 12 stations although 3 of them are the weather stations for ABC, CBS, and NBC.  A nice thing about the Humax is that it continues to scan for channels when it is in standby.  It does not say this in the manual but I noticed that I had more channels after having turned the unit off after a rather unsuccessful channel scan during bad weather.  The menu system is clear and straight forward and I like the remote because it provides direct access to features like signal strength, the channel guide, and the \\"info\\" on each channel.  I tried to use the HDMI interface with my connection to my TV.  The Humax and the TV were not communicating over the HDMI channel until I switched over to the Component interface, performed the setup procedure, and enabled the auto configuration for the HDMI interface; then I recabled and reset the switch on the back panel of the Humax to HDMI and the HDMI interface worked fine.  This did not last however.  As it turns out my HDMI cable projects too far from the back of the TV set which is a wall mount with a pass-through through the wall for cables.  The pass-through opening does not line up with the HDMI cable connector on the TV and so the cable has to make a 90-degree turn and parallel the wall for about 8 inches.  When the TV is positioned for viewing the HDMI cable just contacts the mounting plate and it is enough to put strain on the connector and cause problems in the interface.  Under this condition, the Humax powers itself off.So, I switched over to the component interface and all is well except that it is 5 cable connections instead of one.  I am looking for an HDMI cable with a 90-degree L plug to resolve the clearance issue.  The Humax is a good ATSC receiver; the real challenge is getting the Humax a good signal.