Samsung SIR-T451

Over-the-air HDTV tuner

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Item# 305SIRT451

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Accessories

Our take on the Samsung SIR-T451

by Steve Kindig

Samsung's SIR-T451 is the real deal! It's a great way to start enjoying free over-the-air High-Definition broadcasts (some of the highest-quality HD signals available!). The SIR-T451 is a champ at pulling in local digital TV signals — it's a perfect companion for your HDTV-ready TV. Virtually every U.S. household can access at least one digital TV signal, and over 85% have access to five or more stations. Once you've experienced HDTV programs in your own home, you'll be hooked!

Each new generation of HDTV tuners not only outperforms previous models, they're also easier to use. That's certainly the case for Samsung's SIR-T451, with its super-friendly design. There's a front-panel channel display, as well as an onscreen program guide for savvy surfing. Getting around is easy thanks to clear onscreen menus. And if you find yourself puzzled by something, there's even a built-in "Help" feature.

The SIR-T451's back-panel connections include component video and DVI for your highest-quality signals, plus composite and S-video jacks for use with conventional TVs and recorders.

Tip: To find out if HDTV signals are available in your area, visit this helpful site and punch in your zip code.

Highlights:

receives and decodes all over-the-air HDTV/SDTV formats
(when connected to an HD-compatible antenna)
selectable output resolution (1080i/720p/480p/480i)
Electronic Program Guide
1 set of A/V outputs (composite, S-video, and 1080i/720p/480p component video)
DVI digital video output with HDCP copy protection
RGB output — D-sub 15-pin connector
one RF input (Antenna)
optical and coaxial digital audio outputs for Dolby® Digital
multibrand remote control (operates most TVs)
13-7/8"W x 2-11/16"H x 10-1/2"D
warranty: 1 year parts & labor
Our 60-day money-back guarantee

Note: This tuner receives over-the-air digital and analog TV signals only. It cannot receive satellite TV programs. Be sure to use with a suitable antenna for your reception conditions (see "Accessories" above).

Hands-on research from the Crutchfield Labs (what are the Labs?)

What’s in the box? | In-depth notes

Product Research

What's in the box?

Download owner's manual

Digital TV Set-Top Box
MF59-00267A wireless remote control
2 "AAA" batteries
8' Audio cable (has left and right RCA audio connectors on each end)
8' Component video cable (has three RCA connectors on each end)
Owner's Instructions
North American Limited Warranty Statement
Limited Warranty to Original Purchaser

Our Product Research Team

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Features
Remote Control
Inputs and Outputs Notes

Features

Product Overview: The SIR-T451 HDTV tuner can receive free, over-the-air HD and analog NTSC local broadcasts with the simple addition of an antenna, and the tuner is QAM capable, for compatibility with digital cable systems that transmit HDTV signals using QAM. You must have an HDTV-ready TV or monitor in order to receive High Definition programming.

DTV Formats: This unit tunes and decodes all 18 approved ATSC digital television formats (SDTV and HDTV) for breathtaking picture quality when used with HDTV-ready TVs. Standard-Definition Television (SDTV) program formats include 480-line interlaced (480i) and 480-line progressive (480p) video. 480i programs are essentially a digital version of our current analog TV programs, while the 480p format offers improved image detail over 480i. Some 480p programs are broadcast in widescreen and are comparable to progressive scan DVD movies in image quality. High-Definition Television (HDTV) program formats include 1080-line interlaced (1080i) and 720-line progressive (720p) video. Both HDTV formats are broadcast in widescreen, and offer much higher picture quality than SDTV.

Resolution Settings: The unit's Resolution Select switch determines which display format is passed through the component video outputs. The switch can be set to 1080i, 720p, 480p, or 480i.

Screen Formats: To properly display the video for any type of TV or monitor, you can select the screen format that works best. If you are using a TV with a 4:3 aspect ratio and receive a 16:9 (widescreen) program, you can choose to view it in Letterbox (black bars on top and bottom), Full, or Zoom. If you are using a TV with a 16:9 aspect ratio and receive a program in 4:3, you can choose to view it in Pillar Box (black bars on sides), Full, or Zoom. The zoom views will fill the screen by cropping portions of the picture.

Dolby Digital: The SIR-T451 can receive DTV broadcasts encoded in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. These Dolby Digital signals are output through the Optical Digital and Coaxial Digital outputs, and require connection to a Dolby Digital receiver or external decoder in order to enjoy 5.1-channel surround sound. In the setup menu, you can choose either PCM or a Dolby Digital bitstream for the Digital Outputs.

Onscreen Help: When the Help feature is turned on and you highlight an icon, a description of the feature that the icon represents appears at the bottom of the screen.

Electronic Program Guide: The Electronic Program Guide supplied information, such as program lists and start/end times of all available channels. In addition, the detailed information about the program is often available in the guide. The availability and amount of program details will vary depending on the broadcaster.

Remind List: The Remind List helps you manage your TV viewing. You can schedule a reminder to alert you when a program is about to begin.

Remote Control

Wireless (IR) Multibrand Remote: The supplied IR remote can fully control the SIR-T451 DTV receiver, as well as basic functions of most brands of TVs.

Inputs and Outputs Notes

DVI (Digital Visual Interface)/HDCP Output: The SIR-T451 has a 25-pin DVI-D jack for connecting a TV or monitor that accepts the unconverted DVI signal from an HD digital broadcast (from satellite or antenna). This set-top box supports HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) technology, which provides secure data transmission for high definition video. Only DVI-HDCP supported devices can be connected.

DTV (RGB format) Output: The 15-pin connector allows you to connect to a TV, computer monitor, or another video component with an HD RGB video input. The RGB output jack can carry any of the Digital TV and HDTV video resolutions.

Digital Outputs: This unit provides an optical and a coaxial digital output for sending digital audio signals to a Dolby Digital receiver or TV with digital input. In the menu system, you can select to output a Dolby Digital bitstream or PCM signal, as appropriate to your connected component.

Video Outputs: The SIR-T451 has the following video outputs: RCA composite video, S-video, and component video.

Audio Outputs: This unit has two analog audio outputs, each consisting of left and right RCA audio jacks.

Antenna Connections: The SIR-T451 features a single 75-ohm RF coaxial input and a 75-ohm RF coaxial output.

"Only For Service" Jack: The rear panel of the unit has a 1/8" minijack input for service use only.

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1-7 of 7 items Sort Results By: Date Reviewed | Rating | Helpfulness

5 out of 5

Samsung is best on Market

Written By Anonymous, SW, Dayton on Wednesday, November 01, 2006

So far this has been the best OTA SET TOP BOX I have used. Very easy to install, any antenna works ( I have it hooked up to an Antenna that is just your ordinary VHF/UHF outdoor type. No SPECIAL HD Antenna. And it picks up every channel in my area. The HD picture quality is Excellent. Comparing the picture quality to HD Cable, the Set Top Box blows it away. Menu features are nice and easy to set up (took about 5 minutes). The only issue I ran into was when you hook up the box you have to tune your stations in, then go to the Menu and let it pull up the stations and listings before you can view the channels. Other than that it has performed excellent. Samsung is top notch in the HDTV area.

1 out of 2 people found this helpful

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3 out of 5

Samsung SIR-T451

Written By Jiahun, Planisboro, NJ on Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The action of remote control is too slow. no way to go directly to sub-channels.

1 out of 3 people found this helpful

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5 out of 5

Samsung SIR-T451

Written By Thomas, Washington, DC on Tuesday, May 02, 2006

I purchased this unit to work with my home HDTV and was blown away with the ease of setup and performace. Just hooked it up to my old UHF antennas in the attic and get all the HDTV stations in Baltimore and Washington.
So impressed with performance, bought 22 of them for a cable system headend at work.

5 out of 6 people found this helpful

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5 out of 5

SIR-T451 Nice Product

Written By Robert, Marietta, GA on Friday, April 14, 2006

We are new to Digital OTA TV. Using a nine year old 4:3 analog CRT TV we find the picture and sound to be greatly improved over analog OTA TV. We have a cheap, old, 14 element attic antenna pointed toward the one remaining PBS analog station that we enjoy. The digital reception is stable, no dropouts, great picture and sound. We had great difficulty in the past, with actually understanding what was being said on analog. Now on digital we do not. To relieve ghosting, we have pointed the antenna toward the analog station which is 40 degrees away from the digital stations. Still, no reception problems. According to antennaweb we are within 22 miles of all the stations we are receiving.

We are very pleased with this product and look forward to attaching an 16:9 HDTV monitor once prices slide down to our budget level.

The remote setup was painless. It controls the volume on the TV but not the power. That's the one nit we find.

Crutchfield gets five stars also. Email questions were promptly answered. The product was accurately described. It was delivered very quickly and properly packaged. Invoice was emailed as well as delivery information. Also, nice to know information about HDTV was included. Price was not the cheapest available but, Crutchfield service makes the small difference in price well worth it.

6 out of 6 people found this helpful

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4 out of 5

4 Stars, But...

Written By Joe, South Florida on Wednesday, January 11, 2006

I like the SIR-T451 a lot, and it performs admirably. Although I give it 4 stars overall, there are several things that bother me about the unit. Had I known these things before hand, I might've shopped around a bit more:

a) The user manual is almost worthless. Some parts of it are contrary to reality, other things are simply left out. For example, there is nothing at all that says you should perform an auto-scan first. If you don't do that, you probably won't receive any channels and the unit will appear "dead".

b) If a station is multicasting, there is no way to directly key the sub-channel. You have to hit the main channel first, then cycle up to the sub-channel. If you've deleted the sub-channels from scan memory, you simply can't access them.

c) Since I have a 4:3 HDTV monitor, I see the top and bottom bars in letterbox mode. They are a very obnoxious light grey, and you cannot change them.

d) On my 4:3 monitor, the zoom mode is supposed to retain the aspect ratio of the picture and simply "chop off" the sides to fit the 4:3 screen. The zoom mode certainly chops off the sides, but it also "flattens" the picture a bit from top to bottom, sort of stretching it from side to side. Very annoying. Thinking this might've been an issue with the specific unit, I exchanged it for another (great exchange service from Crutchfield BTW) and the exact same thing happened. I know it's not my set, because the zoom mode on my DVD player retains perfect aspect ratio.

e) Because the supplied remote can't turn the actual HDTV monitor on and off, I still have to use two remotes - one for the TV and one for the tuner.

16 out of 20 people found this helpful

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4 out of 5

Good Value

Written By Allen, Suffolk, VA on Wednesday, March 16, 2005

This is my first HDTV Tuner so I don't have anything to compare it to. The picture is great but isn't that the result of the HD signal/antenna? I could only get about half my channels on the program guide but that's probably the result of the local stations rather than the tuner. The signal strength gage is helpful in locating your antenna.

My biggest problem is the remote, it doesn't work all that great. I have to push the remote buttons several times and move my arm around to get a connection. I have my DirecTV receiver right next to it and it works fine. The remote itself is great, small and user friendly, just the connection stinks. I really like the one-touch screen format button. You can switch between letterbox, full, and zoom (with a 4:3 TV setup) format with just a push of a button rather than going through the system setup.

Overall a good value.

67 out of 79 people found this helpful

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5 out of 5

This tuner makes the chore of finding HDTV stations easier

Written By William, Westfield, NC on Monday, February 07, 2005

I have had no problems with this Samsung HDTV tuner. It is very easy to use and to hook up. I used the component video cable instead of DVI and I used the coaxial audio output for sound instead of the optical output.

The remote is quite small and basic, but it does have a menu feature that I have found useful when setting up the various channels. Of particular usefulness is the signal strength menu. This helps me to tune in the station using my recently purchased remote control Channel Master rotor. I also like the Guide feature which tells me what's going to be on a particular channel during the next few hours. The Guide will also display program information for all of the channels. That is, if the individual channels are sending this information along with the signal. The Guide is similar to the guide that I am more use to on Dish Network.

Receiving free HDTV signals is a learning experience, but the Samsung SIR-T451 made the chore easier. I am giving this item 5 stars. The problems that I had with the stations will be overcome with time. More programs will be in HD eliminating the bars and more stations will begin to send the signal in full power which will add more free HD stations.

415 out of 525 people found this helpful

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1-7 of 7 items

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Visit our Learning Center to learn more about HDTV Tuners

For a more in-depth review and enhanced detailed information on the Samsung SIR-T451, please visit the Crutchfield website product page (/ISEO-rccbcspd/p_305SIRT451/Samsung-SIR-T451.html ).

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Samsung SIR-T451

Over-the-air HDTV tuner

Item# 305SIRT451 offer details

Review Sumary

Our take on the Samsung SIR-T451

Highlights:

Hands-on research from the Crutchfield Labs (what are the Labs?)

Product Research

Our Product Research Team

Product Reviews

Samsung is best on Market

Samsung SIR-T451

Samsung SIR-T451

SIR-T451 Nice Product

4 Stars, But...

Good Value

This tuner makes the chore of finding HDTV stations easier

Learn more about HDTV Tuners

Learn more about HDTV Tuners

Video: What You Need to Get HDTV

What You Need to Watch HD

Choosing and Installing an Antenna for HDTV

Get the Best Picture on Your HDTV

Connecting Your HDTV

Accessories

Accessories we recommend

Extras

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