QAM stands for "quadrature amplitude modulation". It is the way the cable providers encode your digital cable signals. Qam (digital cable) signals are transmitted to our homes thru the cable line. We usually refer to this as "digital cable". A cable set top box, is required, to received the QAM (digital cable) signals. This is furnished by your local cable provider. You usually pay a small fee per month, for this device.
A QAM Tuner is a special electronic tuning device. It is found in some of the new digital television sets being manufactured and sold today.
A QAM tuner enables the television set, to tune in to the QAM (digital cable) signals being sent by the cable providers. This allows free reception, of the unscrambled digital cable channels. A QAM tuner will eliminate the necessity for a cable set-top box, for most basic cable services. Digital channels that are not part of the basic cable package, are usually scrambled. But this is not always the case. Which channels are scrambled varies greatly from location to location, and will probably change over time. If the digital channels are scrambled by the cable provider, then a cable box is still necessary. An alternative would be to buy a television that is labeled "digital cable ready". This type of television will have a CableCARD module with a slot. Cable providers will have a special card they insert and install into this slot located on the tv. This card, will unscramble the protected channels, and allow subscribers to tune in all authorized digital channels, without the need for a traditional, cable, set-top box. For more information see
www.qamtuner.com
