EggXpert

I'm planning on buying a USB TV Tuner soon. I currently have Cablevision's IO TV service. I'm wondering if paying extra for a tuner with Clear QAM tuning is worth it or not.

 Without QAM, the tuner is $60 shipped.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116031

 With QAM, the tuner is $78 shipped.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116034

So basically, is the QAM worth it? I have Cablevision's io TV service and my Desktop computer in my room at home. Soon I'll be going away to college and I'll be getting a new laptop and have cable there. Are there several QAM channels available? Is the HD significantly better than the analog NTSC? (I haven't upgraded to HD anything before...)

 Thanks.

If you have a hd monitor/tv I think the answer is yes.  If you do not then it is not worth it. 

All your local network channels with be in clear qam after that you may not get many more clear qam channels, really that is up to the cable company and they seem to not want to put stuff in clear qam.

Something you might want to read:

 http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/09/24/cablevision-asks-fcc-for-a-waiver-to-encrypt-all-clear-qam-chann/

 If Cablevision has their way, your clearQAM tuner won't work.   In order to get ANY channel, you would have to have either their set-top box or a cablecard-capable tuner.  That said, above petition might take a while, and might not be granted.   I would however, try to find out exactly what does Cablevision offer in clearQAM.  Chances are, it would be channels you can get loacally using just an antenna.   I cancelled my cable, and went OTA-only with an ATSC tuner card.   Good stuff.   HD is definitely worth it - especially considering you don't really need to pay extra for it.these days.

Frankly, if all you want is watch TV on your PC monitor, and have DVR ability, it might be a good idea to simply get an HD DVR box.   Only $10 extra/month.    You would then need a multi-input monitor (i.e. my 24" BENQ has DVI, HDMI and VGA) and some way to rout sound to your speakers - either directly or through PC line-in.

QAM is not worth it. Cable companies are moving entirely away from analog to save bandwidth and are beginning to encrypt all digitized content.  I have had nothing but problems with CableCard tuners.  Just go with the cable company's Set Top Box and that'll also give you Video On Demand and any other interactive services they are planning to offer going forward.