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Digital TV in RV
Yahoo Message Number: 88425
Forgive me if this has already been discussed and answered, but what are my options for receiving television programs once the analog signals are no more.  I have a 2003 TV.  If I replace it with a similar model that accepts digital signals, will I have to replace or modify my roof antenna?  If so, what does that entail and how much would it cost?  If I keep my analog TV and add a digital receiver, will it be able to operate on 12 volts, the same as the TV?  If so, will it drain the battery significantly?

Any help with figuring out my options is greatly appreciated.

Gary Sowersby 2003 Mid-bath
Re: Digital TV in RV
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88435
Quote
Forgive me if this has already been discussed and answered, but what are my options for receiving television programs once the analog signals are no more.  I have a 2003 TV.  If I replace it with a similar model that accepts digital signals, will I have to replace or modify my roof antenna?  If so, what does that entail and how much would it cost?  If I keep my analog TV and add a digital receiver, will it be able to operate on 12 volts, the same as the TV?  If so, will it drain the battery significantly?
Your Winegard antenna with amplifier will receive digital signals. At least one of the converter boxes is spec'd to run from 9Vdc, so should be adaptable to 12Vdc operation with an adapter. Final answers to these questions will have to wait until the boxes are widely available, which should be well in advance of the conversion date.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit
Re: Digital TV in RV
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88437
On Jan 15, 2008, at 10:34 PM, barby127 wrote:

Quote
Forgive me if this has already been discussed and answered, but what are my options for receiving television programs once the analog signals are no more.  I have a 2003 TV.  If I replace it with a similar model that accepts digital signals, will I have to replace or modify my roof antenna?  If so, what does that entail and how much would it cost?  If I keep my analog TV and add a digital receiver, will it be able to operate on 12 volts, the same as the TV?  If so, will it drain the battery significantly?
Your existing antenna will work fine. Just connect it to your new digital TV and you will have several times the number of channels you are now receiving analog only.  All stations today are transmitting both analog and one or more digital signals. They will be turning off the analog broadcasts in Feb-2009.

If you choose, you can keep your existing TV and add an outboard digital receiver such as the winegard and connect that to the accessory video inputs of your existing TV.  If you want both digital and analog, you will have to jockey around the antenna connection between the TV and the digital receiver, or use a splitter to feed both.  If the digital receiver runs on 12 volts, you can certainly run it on house power.  The winegard receiver DOES run on 12v, although the manufacturer does not officially "support" running their unit on 12V directly.
 But the antenna itself will not have to be replaced. The new digital signals occupy the same general frequency spectrum as the analog signals, and any existing antenna will work fine.

The only issue not really faced yet, is aiming and orienting the antenna for us mobile users. It is much more difficult getting the antenna pointed correctly using a digital signal.  The signal is either perfect, or not there at all. Once you find a station you can optimize it based on a strength/quality meter, but you might have totally missed one or more stations in a different direction. There is considerable room for some tricky software or tools to automate the setup process a bit. Now you can use analog signals to find what general location to point then switch to digital. But the analog signals are going away, and in some locations (like Denver and Boston), the digital signals are transmitted from an entirely different location.  I am beginning to think omnidirectional antennas are the answer.

-Dave '06 MB, Indianapolis
Re: Digital TV in RV
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88438
"Forgive me if this has already been discussed and answered, but what are my options for receiving television programs once the analog signals are no more. I have a 2003 TV. If I replace it with a similar model that accepts digital signals, will I have to replace or modify my roof antenna? "

Gary
 I'm in the process of replacing the old 9" TV in our 23.5' FL with a 19" LCD HDTV.
Using the Winegard antenna, I'm picking up more digital channels than our home's roof mounted antenna. The picture is a huge improvement over the old set.
Photos to come later.

Larry
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: Digital TV in RV
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88453
"I am beginning to think omnidirectional antennas are the answer."

That would eliminate the aiming problem... but omnidirectional antennas are much less sensitive than directional antennas of the same size.

Unless you confine your travels to metro areas, I strongly suspect that you'd be worse off with an omni antenna, because many digital TV signals that could be received by the "batwing" antenna with some aiming would be unusable with the less sensitive omni antenna.

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Digital TV in RV
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88456
On Jan 16, 2008, at 12:00 PM, Andy Baird wrote:

Quote
"I am beginning to think omnidirectional antennas are the answer."

That would eliminate the aiming problem... but omnidirectional antennas are much less sensitive than directional antennas of the same size.

Unless you confine your travels to metro areas, I strongly suspect that you'd be worse off with an omni antenna, because many digital TV signals that could be received by the "batwing" antenna with some aiming would be unusable with the less sensitive omni antenna.
Yeah, I agree with that. But when pulling in to an unfamiliar campground, How many of us have a clue where the TV stations are located?  Typically I get out and look around for other antennas. If I see two or more pointed in the same direction, that is where I start.  :)

I have not seen any horizontally polarized omni TV antennas anyway.
Would have to be based on some type of halo or turnstyle dipole design.

-Dave
Re: Digital TV in RV
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88512
I'm going to yank the perfectly good, but analog, TV that came in my '05 MB. Has anyone done this yet? If so, make and model would be appreciated.

bumper
bumper
"Yonder" '05 MB
"WLDBLU" glider trailer
Re: Digital TV in RV
Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88521
It's a Sharp Aquos similar to the LC-19D44U on their Web site, but probably a bit earlier model as it was purchased at Costco, so probably discontinued or nearly so.
 We have a non-standard TV installation so don't assume this will fit the LD installation.

Terry

2003 26.5' RB
Gardnerville, NV
Terry
2003 26.5'RB
Gardnerville, NV
Re: Digital TV in RV
Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88522
Terry wrote:

Quote
It's a Sharp Aquos similar to the LC-19D44U on their Web site, but probably a bit earlier model as it was purchased at Costco, so probably discontinued or nearly so.
Hi Terry I looked at a Sharp at Costco a couple of days ago. Its model  was a LC-19SB14U. This one is not an Aquos, whatever that means. Does yours have a built in DVD? This one does not. There is a lot to like about this set. It is compact, thin and light. It looks nice (shiney black), and the picture is great. However I read one negative review on the Sharp which seems to be a common complaint among the small screen LCDs. And that is that there is about a 5 second delay when changing channels. That would be annoying when channel surfing. Does yours do that? How is the sound volume on yours? Thanks for any help on this issue.

Four weeks and counting until Baja and Back! See you in San Diego.

Tom Johnston
Re: Digital TV in RV
Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88525
Tom,
 That's the one. We have a large Sony HDTV at home, about a year old. It also takes awhile to switch channels. I think that may be true of all digital TVs but I guess the only way to check is to try them. I don't find the delay on the Sharp to be a problem. It worked well on the one 2-3 week trip it's been on. I like it because it was a good fit for our installation and our old Sharp proved reliable
Terry
2003 26.5'RB
Gardnerville, NV
 
Re: Digital TV in RV
Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88571
"... takes awhile to switch channels. I think that may be true of all digital TVs but I guess the only way to check is to try them. I don't find the delay on the Sharp to be a problem."

We bought the Sharp with the DVD in it last summer.  It does switch channels very slowly, so it takes forever to try to find a station when you don't know which ones, if any, are available.  Also, the remote does not have a button to switch back and forth between two channels.
The picture is good and the DVD is nice. Sitting so close in a small LD, it's like having a big screen.

Judy G.
23.5 FD 2004