HUMAX Digital ATSC TV Tuner for HDTV Reception
HD TV is amazing and this tuner works
Background: I live about 20 miles west of Boston, no major mountains or valleys between my townhouse and the major broadcast stations in the area, and I live at the bottom of a hill by a river in a suburban neighborhood with no high-rises around. I have a Sony 57\\" Projection HD-ready TV that I bought in 2003 or so. I choose not to have cable TV. I just have a $50, powered, indoor antenna with rabbit ears and a UHF wand that I use to get the local channels.<br /><br />I first tried to buy the Sony tuner that Circuit City had advertised, but although their Web site said they had one in stock in the next town, after I bought it online for pickup I got a call from the store telling me that they did not in fact have one. So I read more reviews online and ended up deciding on the HUMAX one, thanks to Amazon. It really seems like the Sony or the HUMAX are the two main ones you can get, and both of them are sold out at most of the big retail places.<br /><br />Bottom line: I get 19 channels on this tuner with my set up. Sony TVs are the default setting for the HUMAX remote control so I didn't even have to configure the remote for my TV. Everything just worked when I got it all plugged in. The HUMAX tuner set up was easy. The channel guide is nice (getting the guide info for channels is dependent on getting strong signals for the given channels -- I thought it would be nice if there was a free channel guide broadcast from some central authority, but there doesn't seem to be). The signal strength info (there's a button on the remote to display it on-screen) is handy for tuning the antenna. The remote has replaced my Sony TV remote. It does everything the other one did. You press \\"STB\\" or \\"TV\\" to switch the remote between the TV and the HUMAX unit.<br /><br />Problems: I've had two problems with this unit.<br /><br />First, the unit came with cheap-o component video cables (and several other cables, which is nice if you have nothing and the stores are all closed, but otherwise, invest in some good cables) that did not work (I also tested running them from my DVD player to my TV). So, you may need to buy some component video cables if that's how you're going to connect it to your TV. There are other input options (HDMI (which my TV doesn't have), S-Video, etc.) and the unit's \\"quick start\\" documentation guides you to choose the best available inputs for your TV.<br /><br />Second, the unit freezes up sometimes. It's only happened once, soon after I got it, while I was in the middle of changing channels. Since then it only freezes up sometimes when I first turn it on. It seems like I may need to turn on my TV before turning on the HUMAX unit or else it will just freeze. The solution to all freeze problems has been to unplug the unit for a couple seconds and plug it back in. I haven't decided whether this is worth returning the unit yet or not. So far it's a nuisance, but it's only been happening when I first turn the unit on for the day in the evening after work.<br /><br />Final note: I wish I'd \\"tuned in\\" to the free HiDef TV broadcasts and gotten one of these tuners much sooner. Now it seems like the tuners are hard to find because so many new TVs have them built in. Anyway, the HiDef TV broadcasts are just incredible. A lot of new shows on PBS and the major networks are broadcast in 1080i and 5.1 surround sound, which means the picture is clearer and sharper than a DVD and the sound is just as good.<br /><br />Another interesting note about HiDef and digital TV in general is that you either get a channel or you don't. There's no static or wavy lines when a channel's signal isn't strong enough. The digital broadcasts require less signal strength, which seems ironic since the stronger analog signals result in such poor quality sound and picture in comparison.<br /><br />I do have to adjust my antenna for certain channels sometimes. It seems to depend on the weather and, especially when the weather is bad, other local objects. But overall, considering the programming is free, I already owned the TV and the antenna, and the picture and sound quality of *all* the programming (in case you don't know, the digital broadcasts are for all programming -- not just HiDef, so even non-HD programming (e.g., most commercials are not HiDef) has the clarity of digital media) is so much better, I think this HUMAX tuner is worth a try. The only big issue is the freeze problem, which other people have also mentioned here, but it's not critical.ects. But overall, considering the programming is free, I already owned the TV and the antenna, and the picture and sound quality of *all* the programming (in case you don't know, the digital broadcasts are for all programming -- not just HiDef, so even non-HD programming (e.g., most commercials are not HiDef) has the clarity of digital media) is so much better, I think this HUMAX tuner is worth a try. The only big issue is the freeze problem, which other people have also mentioned here, but it's not critical.