Connecting a LCD / Plasma Monitor to Cable TV

[adZ1]

My apartment building has cable tv distributed to all the apartments, the TV in the living room connects directly to a socket in the wall and I am able to switch through the plethora of cable tv channels directly on the TV.

So the question .... my plasma arrives from London on Saturday, how do I go about displaying the cable tv signal on it?

The model of the plasma is Toshiba 42wp27 and I don't have any kind of tuner box with it ... back home when you subscribe to cable/sat you get a decoder box (set top box) which you connect up to your display and sound devices .... I'm confused

The screen has the following inputs: VGA, Composite, RGB, S-Video and Component. Is it possible to buy some kind of tuner which will have Audio and Video out?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

PS KIA ... I guess you owe me a beer now

[Newbie]

Ok. It does not have an RF input, so you're going to need either a tuner of some sort, or run the cable through your VCR which can tune into the free channels (assuming it has the right outputs).

Are you going to subscribe to any cable services? They will give you the decoder box with the right outputs.

[adZ1]

I thought about the VCR option, but would prefer to find a better solution. I ditched my VCR back in 2000 had haven't looked back since.

The channel line up they offer is not optional i.e you can't add channels ... it's quite comprehensive and includes the footie channels etc ..

Can you buy standalone tv tuners?

[Clay]

Hmm, I got a decoder box when I signed up for cable TV/Internet here in HK. I think you should get one as well?

P.S: Wanna have a drink tonight? Give me a call.

[Newbie]

Sure .. not a problem.

Actually the best option for you might be to head over to the computer center and buy a standalone TV tuner with both S-Video and VGA outputs. They're pretty common, we have one which we connect to one of our larger LCD monitors and works like a charm.

I think I paid about HK$200-300 (30-40US$) for one of them about a year ago.

I'd recommend the shop on the top floor of Wanchai Computer Center (don't know the name right now ... but it is the one right next to the escalator that goes up).

As soon as you enter the computer center, turn left and walk past the shops that sell all the PDA equipment, then go up the ESCALATOR (you'll pass a couple of shops selling projectors and notebooks) on the way to the escalator. If you go up stairs, you're in the wrong corner.

The shop can be spotted easily ... they have about 20-30 LCD monitors going at the same time and have a huge glass counter top.

Have fun...

[adZ1]

sounds like what I'm after ... out of interest is it remote controlled?

[Newbie]

Should look and behave something like this

Viewsonic TV Tuner

[adZ1]

Clay - I've lost your number when I lost my phone last week ... pm'd you my new one on the geo site ... I should be free after 7

[adZ1]

Thx Shri - that's perfect ...

[Wildabeast]

How will this hardware work when TV transmision goes digital?