Tuner woes.....

[OberGeiss]

Hi All, I am in 07083, with a nice high YAGI rig feeding three sets, distribution amp, no worries. I'm about 16 miles from Manhattan as the crow flies so many options OTA.

Strange thing happened about a week ago.
I have two circa 2009 LG LCD HDTVs and I lost PBS (WNET 13.1) on both sets.
It's not cabling. All other channels unaffected.
I can pull in 13.2 on both but 13.1 is just plain black, no signal on both LG sets.

Funny thing is that I can pull in 13.1 on basement mounted Dynex (older yet) both through its internal OTA tuner and external Dish Network converter. When I say pull, I mean rock solid.

I have hooked the DN converter to one of the LGs for the moment but the picture quality and aspect ratio are wonky. Not a long term solution at least with this older external tuner/converter.

In the interim I have ordered a new TCL ROKU HDTV and I'll be able to return no worries if it does not perform.

Not much available in terms of tuner performance data and I always felt that LG's tuners worked rather well but now not so sure. They also fail to consistently pull in 21.1, 21.2 and 21.3 (WLIW) while the external Dish Network converter pulls all of them in rather well w/o breakup/pixellation.

So on what brand, circa 2017, do I plunk my hard earned cash on for quality LCD HDTV with best tuners going?

Many thanks, David

[JoeAZ]

Hi David,

Wow, what a timely question you have asked.
I've noted in several other blogs on this site that
Tivo tuners are really pretty lousy. One in
Burlington, VT and the other near Altus, OK are
two people who just recently complained of tuner
issues. Installing several antennas each week,
I get to see which TV's people buy and how well
they work. I can tell you that it isn't pretty.
I bring my own tv, an older Toshiba, to every
job site. It has two signal meters. Unheard of
these days. One meter gives signal strength and
the other, signal quality. Almost 50% of the time,
a customers set has difficulty with one or more
stations. I've found most set's tuners are dismal.
Most Vizio don't have any tuners at all these days.
Older Vizio sets seem to be unstable with all their
inputs. They either restart or simply freeze.
Sony, Hitachi, Westinghouse, seem to have tuners
a bit better than average. Westinghouse is a big
surprise because some of their sets still have
a signal strength meter and they are inexpensive.
LG and Samsung are about average. Most of the
other sets seem to have tuner issues. Apex and
Insignia are among the worst. These are my
findings. I'd buy any set and immediately connect
it up to the antenna to see how it performs.
Make sure you can return without penalty. Best
Buy is terrible with returns......

[OberGeiss]

Many thanks Joe AZ!
I have a Vizio myself in VT place and that tuner is garbage.

On the LGs I am pulling in all so the absence of 13.1 is weird.
The TCL I am buying through Amazon.....no return issues.
Best BUy off my list for exactly the reasons you mention, plus not so great prices.

I'll post once I know more.
Apparently my Yagi is no good for high VHF, perhaps on the borderline.
May yank it down and check all connections and at least rule that out as a problem and then perhaps replace with a proper UHF/VHF rig.

I'll post more once I know more.

Best, david

[JoeAZ]

A bit of a weak VHF signal may be the issue. Some sets can handle
it and others cannot. The Winegard 7694P VHF/UHF antenna is
sturdy, compact and works well. I found them online at Home
Depot for $48.00 including shipping. Clearstream makes a couple
models that would work as well. They are more expensive.