Which Flat-Panel TV?

[sailingdog]

If you're sailing near the US, it is pretty important to get a HDTV that has an ATSC tuner, since you can't have cable TV connected to the boat out at anchor, and most people aren't springing for the expense and weight of a gyro-stabilized satellite system. Most HDTVs smaller than 26" do not have a tuner built-in.

[camaraderie]

In the US...all TV's must now be built with a built in ATSC tuner...but that was only as of 3/1 so there are still a bunch of non ATSC sets on the market. Standard analog TV broadcasting is set to go away by then end of 2009 so you need an ATSC tuner for sure at that point!

[sailingdog]

Very true Cam, but there are still plenty of ones on the market that were built without an ATSC tuner, even if they are technically HD-capable units. The only two I've found that were less than 26" were a Spectre unit, and a Sharp unit IIRC.

[hellosailor]

"Can you still get signals from an antenna? (if so how many channels?) "
Both analog TV and HDTV are *broadcast* television and can be received with an antenna. I call "cable" cable, because it isn't broadcast television.

Anyone buying a TV now should be aware that in Feb. 2009, analog TV as we know it will end. It all goes off the air and only HDTV will be broadcast.

IIRC New sets manufactured since last(?) month must all be able to receive HDTV now, there has been a phase-in requirement based on size, and some older analog-only stuff will be in the pipeline still, so be careful about what you buy and what it can do.

In theory there will be lots of converter boxes, priced around $50, to convert the new HDTV broadcasts down so our many old analog TV's don't have to be thrown out. But if you are buying something NOW...might as well look for something with both HD and analog tuners built into it, so there's one less box to screw around with. (And most of the guys in most of the stores, are clueless about these differences.)

"HD capable" "HD ready"...There are lots of buzzwords, most of them mean "you'll need to buy an HD tuner", caveat emptor.

[sailingdog]

Also, be aware that the ATSC, over-the-air, HD tuners often will receive far more stations than the older NTSC tuners did, as most television stations will have two or more HD channels. The local PBS affiliate here in Boston has four channels, and its sister station has two more...so you have six channels of PBS television instead of just the two.