Digital OTA (over the air) is a different format that the digital signal from a cable provider. Suspect that the non-cable friendly tv lacks a QAM built in tuner.
Just what is a QAM tuner? Well, according to Wikipedia, QAM stands for "quadrature amplitude modulation, the format by which digital cable channels are encoded and transmitted via cable television providers."
More specifically, it allows you to pull in certain digital cable channels without the use of a set-top box. Or, as the Wikipedia entry puts it, "an integrated QAM tuner allows the free reception of unscrambled digital programming sent 'in the clear' by cable providers, usually local broadcast stations, cable radio channels, or in the case of providers which have transitioned to do so, public access channels."
While a QAM can be harder to find in more basic, smaller TVs like the kitchen set I was looking for, most of the larger sets now feature integrated QAM tuners. That said, if QAM is a feature you're interested in, always check the specs to make sure it's there. (Note that "ATSC" doesn't guarantee QAM compatibility--you want to make sure that QAM is specifically mentioned).
Hope this helps!
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2008 Springdale 266RELL
2007 Silverado 2500HD crew cab short bed
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