Any television purchased after March 2007 likely has a built-in digital tuner, although a few televisions sold after that date do not. The digital TV tuner allows your television to receive and display a digital signal. All over-the-air broadcasts in the U.S. have been digital since 2009, so in order to watch TV, you will need a television with a digital tuner to watch even free-to-air broadcasts. A tuner can be built in, an external digital TV tuner box that connects to the television, or it can be built into a set-top box provided by a cable or satellite company.
Turn your smartphone into a digital TV tuner with antenna!
Cable and satellite companies encrypt digital signals and require a tuner to view them. Broadcast TV stations, on the other hand, do not encrypt digital TV signals and your TV tuner can process them.
When watching digital TV signals on an older analog TV, the digital TV tuner is located in the DTV converter box.
When you watch digital television signals on a digital or high-definition television, the digital tuner is located inside the television.
