Tuner Free Televisions (or Displays)

The most reliable input on televisions for decades now has been a coaxial RF connector (radio frequency connector) which are used to connect to antennas. A PC style connector common to older monitors is sometimes used on televisions as well.

Now Vizio is spearheading the so called "tuner free display". They are not legally allowed to be called "televisions" since the FCC requires a television to have an ATSC tuner. Vizios models from $119 to $500 are televisions, but models from $650 to $2500 are called "tuner free displays".

Tuner free display without coaxial input.


Would you buy such a display? A tuner is not very expensive, and it's just one more input sticking out of the back of your TV.

Yes. How many people use the internal RF input anymore? Very few I’d imagine. Everything uses HDMI, even if you have cable it’s going through an external HDMI set top box.

I have put several thousand in my entertainment system but I do not subscribe to cable, if that tells you what you need to know.

Tuner? Turner? RF? RFD?
Who cares. All I want to know is what happens when I push "On". Not how it happens.

Quote: Fleastiff

Tuner? Turner? RF? RFD?
Who cares. All I want to know is what happens when I push "On". Not how it happens.

Nearly everyone has a problem with too many remotes and/or too many cables.

In my day we called them monitors.

Vizios models from $119 to $500 are televisions, but models from $650 to $2500 are called "tuner free displays".

Quote: Nareed

In my day we called them monitors.

I always think of a monitor as not having any sound, but you would have difficulty selling something for over a thousand dollars called a "monitor".

So if a substantial segment of your market is ignorant or conflicted over the terminology, sell Televisions in large print with subtle strikethrough typeface and put an asterisk somewhere about 'tuner less set".

Quote: Pacomartin

I always think of a monitor as not having any sound, but you would have difficulty selling something for over a thousand dollars called a "monitor".

It worked for the Union in the Civil War. :)

Actually the much derided Cheesebox on a Raft didn't really work that well as it was barely seaworthy, had vents that were too close to the waterline. Merrimac's guns couldn't be depressed enough. It did prove the advantage of rotating gun turrets though.