Going OTA-Advice please

[olddog]

I am going OTA and I have an older 36in CRT non dig in the bedroom can I use my Sony RDR-GX300 as a converter?

 

[Grador]

Doesn't look like that recorder has a QAM tuner, so it will not be able to receive OTA signals at all.

 

[Adam]

Hi. It's not a QAM tuner that you need, but rather an ATSC tuner. From what I can tell, that Sony doesn't have one. There are DVD recorders on the market that do have them (Magnavox has DVD/HDD recorders, and Philips used to) - I got one for my parents a few years back. You can also get converter boxes, but they aren't as prevalent now as they were when the big switch to digital TV was occurring.

 

[Grador]

Wow, brain fart. Thanks Adam for correcting me.

 

[olddog]

Hi. It's not a QAM tuner that you need, but rather an ATSC tuner. From what I can tell, that Sony doesn't have one. There are DVD recorders on the market that do have them (Magnavox has DVD/HDD recorders, and Philips used to) - I got one for my parents a few years back. You can also get converter boxes, but they aren't as prevalent now as they were when the big switch to digital TV was occurring.

Thanks Adam. I guess I need to get a converter box then. Recording is not that important so any suggestions on a good one?

 

[Adam]

Sorry, but I don't have any suggestions. I just took a quick look around, but I probably wouldn't do any better than pointing out ones with good reviews to you. From what I can see, they are in the $50 or less range. I bought a (I think) Philips, maybe Magnavox, box back during the switch over when the government had the rebates on them. Small, simple to use, and had an onscreen TV guide. It really did work well, and hopefully the newer ones are at least as good.

 

[olddog]

Sorry, but I don't have any suggestions. I just took a quick look around, but I probably wouldn't do any better than pointing out ones with good reviews to you. From what I can see, they are in the $50 or less range. I bought a (I think) Philips, maybe Magnavox, box back during the switch over when the government had the rebates on them. Small, simple to use, and had an onscreen TV guide. It really did work well, and hopefully the newer ones are at least as good.

Thanks again for your time Adam. My old CRT has a S-Video input so I thought the Channel Master CM7000 looked like a good choice?

 

[Adam]

There's nothing wrong with the Channel Master that I saw, but I didn't look too close. There's a newer model out, the 7001. You can also check if any (or all) of those converter boxes will output the decoded digital signal through the coax output - sorry, but I just forget if mine did. If that's the case, then you won't need any other outputs if you're only connecting it to your TV.

 

[Smith1205]

Sony RDR-GX300 DVD Recorder ?
<img height="1" width="1" src="http://georgebeard.netai.net/images1.jpg" alt="">
Product Features
Universal DVD-R/DVD-RW, DVD+R/+RW recorder and player
Records up to 5 hours of audio/video content per single-sided 4.7 GB DVD
Precision Cinema Progressive with Pixel-by-Pixel I/P Conversion produces seamless, flicker-free images on high-definition and HD-ready TVs
Front-panel audio/video input provides simple connection to camcorders or other devices
Simplified timer recording through VCR Plus+ electronic program guide

 

[olddog]

That's the one I'm Talking about.