Twin tuners and hard drives: tips for buying an HDTV receiver

Tag: Satellite Digital Receiver

Hamburg - High-definition TV is the newest big thing. About 1.4 million Germans will have HDTV by the end of the year, according to BITKOM, a Berlin-based industry association.

That means they'll need a television with the HD-ready or Full-HD logo and a receiver to turn the high-definition satellite or cable signals into pictures and sound.

"Of course, this raises the question of who even needs HDTV," says Reinhard Otter of Video, a magazine published in Stuttgart.

HD films are becoming more common on Blu-ray, making the purchase of a Blu-ray player a no-brainer.

But investing in an HDTV receiver remains an investment in the future. A few broadcasters, like Premiere, primarily with its Premiere HD service, offer shows in HD format. Pro Sieben and Sat.1 have only recently set up their HD services. ARD and ZDF have also announced that they will begin regular HD broadcasts in February 2010 with the start of the Winter Olympics.

But there are good reasons to invest in an HDTV receiver, especially when the old receiver is broken or a customer thinks its time to invest in a receiver with a hard drive. After all, HD receivers can also accommodate TV signals in the standard PAL format until HDTV becomes more widespread.

HD receivers cost about 200 euros (308.28 dollars). One of the simple models is the HC 5101 CICO from homecast, which receives the signal over a standard digital cable connection. Like most models, it comes with two CI slots for pay-TV cards.

The DSR9005/02 from Philips is designed for DVB-S, or satellite digital. It costs less than 300 euros (462.41 dollars). It does not need a special antenna for HD reception. A satellite dish for digital television reception will do. The DCR9000/02 for cable customers costs as much as the DSR9005/02.