The situation changed dramatically when I switched to Verizon Fios a couple of weeks ago. Ironically, when I asked the installation technician about QAM, he said it wouldn't work and that I needed a box he even made a call to ask. I said no, I'd read on the Internet that it did work. And indeed, when he finally got everything set up and I plugged the coaxial cable into the back of the TV, hit scan on the tuner, I immediately started pulling in stations, many in pristine HD.
Again, most of the stuff was local, but there were a few nice bonuses like WGN from Chicago. Somehow this guy had done hundreds of installs and never bothered to tell anybody about it. Which made me realize that there were probably thousands of cable subscribers out there who had unneeded set-top boxes attached to lightly used TVs. Magical as this all sounds--and not in an Apple iPad way--some people will have some qualms with QAM, which is why I thought it would be a good idea to provide a few tips on the subject.
For starters, for the QAM scenario to work, you do need to have basic cable running in your home--and cable outlets around your house to tap into you just run a coax cable to the back of your TV; no HDMI or component required--this is a direct feed.
To get basic cable, you usually have to pay something, which is why I put "free" in quotation marks in the headline. That said, if QAM is a feature you're interested in, always check the specs to make sure it's there. When you start scanning for channels, you'll notice that some of the stations are labeled in ways you're not used to seeing, like Also, you might have thought you lost a channel, but it's simple been moved and is labeled differently. Tip: Scan the channels in, then add the ones you think you'll watch most to a favorites list that you should be able to access from your TV's remote.
It's the easiest way to jump between good channels without wading through the crappy ones. Typically, you'll have about 8 to 20 HD channels and the rest will be standard-definition channels that generally look pretty poor.
Which leads us to The difference is night and day, even on a small set, because many of the unscrambled SD channels have limited bandwidth devoted to them and look grainy. The operating instructions to tune the QAM tuner are usually provided with new televisions, and optimizing the image is generally a relatively simple process.
Digital cable channels are made up to two numbers: one major or physical channel and one minor or subchannel. This means that digital television viewers may watch channel 5. Some cable systems avoid this by mapping digital subchannels to "virtual" channels; by this method, channel 5. It is important to note that while all QAM tuners receive digital cable signals, those signals are not necessarily in high definition HD.
Although all broadcasters in the US, and many broadcasters in other countries, transmit their programming in the digital format, in most cases there is no requirement that those signals be in high definition. For a better experience, click the icon above to turn off Compatibility Mode, which is only for viewing older websites. ATSC is used to receive digital channels over the air.
QAM is used to receive digital channels from a cabe TV provider without use of a cable box. Before you follow the instructions below, be sure you followed the configure and set-up instructions and carefully consulted your TV's user manual. Manuals can be found on the manufacturer's web site or by searching Google for the TV model number and manufacturer's name.
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