Quote:
Originally Posted by ischmidt
You can get standalone ATSC tuners with HDMI out if that's what you're looking to do.
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That's what I was thinking. If you still want to use the TV, and the HDMI inputs still work, you can use an outboard ATSC tuner or even a cable box with HDMI outputs. This seems to be how TV is going anyway -- away from RF-based signal input to direct video input to the set. A tuner or cable box connected to your set with an HDMI cable will give you a better picture as well, since HDMI is a far superior connection to composite or S-video. If your TV has more than one HDMI input (most sets have at least two), you can use your ATSC tuner and a Blu-ray or DVD player as you did before the TV's own tuner was damaged. If the audio section of the set was damaged as well, you can (as you did anyway) run the TV's audio output through a surround-sound system; the best part is you will have much better sound with this setup than the TV's own audio stages could ever deliver through the puny speakers found in today's HDTVs, since you will be bypassing the set's internal audio system altogether. The only thing you will be sacrificing is the "mute" function on the TV remote, as the audio output jacks on most HDTVs are not muted when the mute button is pressed. If you get a home-theater remote such as Logitech's "Harmony" series, et al., you may be able to program it (through its online programming feature) to mute your home-theater sound system's audio.