"Home Theater Display" from Vizio has NO tuner

[Wescopc]

Looking at TV's - not all TV's have tuners! They are just monitors with HDMI inputs - no OTA. Some are billed as "Tuner Free" TV's. Not good. See this link: http://www.techhive.com/article/304...-vizios-new-smart-tvs-dont-spark-a-trend.html
Bob

 

[Claude Greiner]

Why did Dish decide to make the Ota tuner on their hd receivers an add on unit?

People don't use it

People are more concerned about the cost savings than an ota tuner.

 

[N5XZS]

Vizio TVs is crap I just stick with Sony TV they have the best OTA tuner!

 

[avion]

I can't remember when was the last time I used an OTA tuner. Probably 30 years ago. Since then I used cable and later Dish. In the future I may switch to a streaming service so again, I will not need a tuner. If I can get a cheaper TV (monitor) with great picture quality and give up on the tuner so be it. I am sure OTA tuners will not go away in the foreseeable future or they may become an optional plugin devices.

 

[harshness]

Vizio sees the writing on the wall regarding the long-term usefulness of DTV tuners. This is also why Samsung and others are using outboard boxes for their tuners in the more expensive models.

Technology (and ATSC 3.0) are coming fast and building stuff like that in to ever thinning enclosures locks you in.

Tuners have often been excluded from projectors. Why should we start wimpering now about ever more modular home theater systems?

 

[fayrich]

I mentioned this in a post some time ago. For me using Directv as my primary tv source, having an OTA tuner is very necessary considering the frequent signal outages with that damn dish. Seriously thinking of going back to cable since we have a new company in town (WOW) to give competition to Time Warner.

 

[jayn_j]

Vizio sees the writing on the wall regarding the long-term usefulness of DTV tuners. This is also why Samsung and others are using outboard boxes for their tuners in the more expensive models.

Technology (and ATSC 3.0) are coming fast and building stuff like that in to ever thinning enclosures locks you in.

Tuners have often been excluded from projectors. Why should we start wimpering now about ever more modular home theater systems?

My Samsung UN65KS9000 is about as high end as it gets. Perhaps you are thinking about the outboard box for external devices, but the tuner is definitely internal. I can use it when the connectivity box is disconnected.
I recall tunerless monitors billed as high end videophile boxes as early as the mid-80s. Never seem to catch on, although it may be different now.

 

[harshness]

Perhaps you are thinking about the outboard box for external devices, but the tuner is definitely internal.

Where is the coax cable connection made?

The one-connect boxes that I've seen all have an F connector on them. The TV itself has four inputs: USB, EX-link, Ethernet and OneConnect. This may be a difference between the 2015 and 2016 models.

When the next OTA modulation standard comes along, the tuner will necessarily be in the OneConnect box as it won't be compatible with DTV.

 

[jayn_j]

You tire me.
I agree the antenna connection is on the one connect hub. However, it the one connect is not connected, the tuner can still be selected and tuned to different channels. A very strong signal can still be received. I suspect that if you knew the pinout, you cold connect an antenna directly to the appropriate pin.

Having the antenna connection is not the same as having the tuner in the hub

 

[harshness]

The current (2016 models) 8 and 9 series UHD TVs all employ a full OneConnect box that houses the tuner and much of the brains outside the TV cabinet (and apparently costs as much as a modestly-sized HD television ~$400 -- included with the "TV"). The downside of the OneConnect configurations (versus the OneConnect Mini) appears to be that they don't support non-digital sources or sinks (no line level audio, composite video nor component video). This would seemingly put a damper on quickly connecting something like a legacy gaming console (as recent as the Wii and original Xbox), headphones or a tape-based camcorder.

It is my hope that Samsung will figure out how to upgrade the OneConnect mini TVs to a full OneConnect setup when the time comes to transition to the next TV modulation scheme.

As the Vizio announcement came in March of this year, this "revelation" shouldn't surprise those that have been paying attention.

 

[navychop]

I would be reluctant to buy a monitor vs a TV. I figure $100 is the tipping point for the cost of a OTA tuner built in.

 

[dishdude]

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a monitor. I do use an OTA antenna but it goes through a DVR.

 

[Foxbat]

So, does this "Home Theatre Monitor" from Vizio have built-in speakers? If so, it's oxymoronic since I never use the speakers in the Samsung HDTV I bought for my Home Theater setup. That's what the AVR is for, to drive my 5.1 Dolby setup. I use my Samsung's ATSC tuner, but never its speakers.

All a true Homie Theater Monitor should need is a single HDCP 2.2/HDMI 2+ input and the best possible panel you can fit in the bezel. All input switching is handled by your AVR and the ATSC tuner becomes another input.

 

[jayn_j]

So, does this "Home Theatre Monitor" from Vizio have built-in speakers? If so, it's oxymoronic since I never use the speakers in the Samsung HDTV I bought for my Home Theater setup. That's what the AVR is for, to drive my 5.1 Dolby setup. I use my Samsung's ATSC tuner, but never its speakers.

I think it is a matter of cost vs customer value. These days, the tuner is nearly worthless to MOST consumers. some form of cable now has 90%+ penetration. Especially true since the cablecard idea failed.
OTOH, few have home theater setups. Even soundbars are sitting around 16% penetration. So the majority of consumers are using the crappy internal speakers.

 

[harshness]

Not everyone uses their surround system all the time. I have my TV set up to default to its built-in speakers if the AVR isn't powered up. Then again, my TV has a pretty good sound system.

All Vizio consumer models do indeed have speakers.

 

[osu1991]

I don't have my avr on if I just have the news or something on in background during the day. Tv speakers are fine.