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Question: It appears this will pass through a digital signal to my HDTV that does not have it's own tuner.  Is this true?  My Sony does not have HDMI inputs.
Document: Better OATV tuner than built in tuner of 55&#34; HDTV Vizio 551xvt:  tunes more stations with better picture quality when connected via HDMI to 55&#34; HDTV Vizio 551xvt versus using Vizio's internal tuner.
I have 2 different media players that I have owned for several months so I have something to use for comparison. On certain movies, the digital audio is distorted by sharp spikes (chirps) of sound and followed by a decreased level in volume which slowly raises again until the next spike, this occurs both with the Digital Coax (connected to Sony receiver) and HDMI (direct to TV). I have also noticed some of my movies have become truncated and just end abruptly around 2/3 through.
Very confusing manual. QAM tuner does work for unscrambled cable channels. Setting up using the HDMI output can be troublesome because of its two-way signal; component output = no problem. Some on-screen options not explained (antenna power, etc.) and it came pre-set for MEXICO & 50 cycle power so take care when initiating. Can only be reset using software. The eventual recording is really HD but will hiccup when using a USB stick (needs HHD).
We hooked this box to Comcast Cable. It gave us over-the-air style HDTV. The big advantage is that the signal strength is 100%. The disadvantage is the the quality is depressed (because it's actually coming over cable. All cable and satellite is HD-depressed.) At some point, we'll hook it up to the antenna on the roof.
The iView is hooked up to the HDMI port on our TV as another input signal allowing us to easily flip between the two.
!Funny when one is as broke as I am, how a little thing like this is HUGE!I can watch TV in my living room again!!!!!!!!! (I can't afford cable at this time).Set up was easy, I'm using the coax as my other inputs are full from various devices & the picture is still superior to cable (42" 480i Sony).
So, just a few days before the Super Bowl, I checked to see if my VCR tuner would pull in the channel playing the Super Bowl as it was my intention use it to pick up the signal for our Home Theater Projector. ...and we had about 50 people coming over to watch it on our 12' screen. The VCR was outdated it DID NOT work. In something of a panic I went on-line and discovered the iView.
Setup was quick and simple. The picture quality and sound are outstanding. Recording programs on a flash drive or a portable hard drive was simple. I was reluctant to purchase the device after reading some of the reviews,but am glad that I decided to take a chance. We had one channel on our HDTV that pixelated randomly. The ASTC tuner in the iView device has never had a problem with any channel. It found over 60 channels in the Dallas area. The product works well and is reasonably priced.
The remote is completely different and more non-directional when in use and issues have been addressed for effortless use. I have my 3500STBII hooked up to my $300 ACER video projector via component (to VGA) cable and the image is sharp and the color spot-on. I have the digital audio output attached to my Sony 5.1 receiver with subwoofer and I get Dolby Digital 5.1 audio from most major network channels. Awesome. A great price and a wonderful product.
There's only one tuner for recording so I split the cable line and have one for the TV input and one for HDMI (or component) via the iView. This way you can watch another station while recording. Hope this helps you out a bit. There's also some threads on formats for HD's. FAT32,etc.. research this setting to ensure the upgrade works. *If your a novice-medium techie, you can figure this out with some time.
Answer: Your TV does not have to have HDMI inputs. It is already digital ready.  You'll get a nice crisp picture regardless.  As far as the tuner, that's what the iView serves as...a tuner to the local channels.  Just remember that you will not received channels that are normally paid for by your cable/satellite provider. Only local channels.