on board HDTV

[Ridemywideglide]

Re: on board HDTV

The first part is mostly true although there are LOTS of old stock tv's out there with analog only tuners

Which is why I said "made anymore" vs "still in use"...
They are still in use, and many people, with cable like you said, didn't need to "upgrade" to a digital capable tv. All tv's manufactured now will have a digital capable tuner, so it's not wrong...
You are right in the fact that the switch didn't take place because of tv manufacturing changes, it's the opposite as the tv manufacturing changes followed the gov't requirement of going digital for whatever reason.

The original point, tho misworded by me, was you basically can't buy a new tv that's not digital capable. I'm sure there are some backstock tvs around that you would still consider as a "new tv", but nothing manufactured since the time of the transition (and considerably before) has a non-digital tuner.
TV companies are in the business of selling tv's, not selling converter boxes.

The second part in red is just plain wrong by all counts and as a matter of fact most people with cable tv are still using analog tuners to recieve the signal from the cable company..... instead of lashing out and starting a huge fight just accept that you like the rest of us are human and make mistakes.... you can do a little google search and find all sorts of info on the subject ... Even the us government disagrees with you. Here is another link with no theorys to dispute....

I hope I didn't start the crapstorm back up but maybe this info will be of use to you.

And just what does the gov't disagree with me about?
That's a good information page, but it doesn't state anywhere that tv's are still made with analog tuners....
Reffering to the above miswording I suppose, so I've corrected (or plead guilty too, as the case is here on iboats) that misrepresentation.

 

[findinghomer]

Re: on board HDTV

well.. what i did was bought a power cord that fits the power input of my tv, then has a 12v cigarette plug on the end, with a 5 amp fuse . my tv draws 70 watts max... 4.6 amps @12 volts. im assuming im safe when pluggin into my 12v power point?

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: on board HDTV

the part in red is what the gov't comment refered to.... seeing as you've reversed we are in accord.....

as for the other point.... they DO still have analog but yes most tv's for sale now do have digital also.... no biggy .... no need to plead guilty to anything.... It is good to get the story straight for those reading this who don't understand..... cheers

YES 4.6 amps should be fine on your power point

 

[Fireman431]

Re: on board HDTV

Can we get back to the original question? I also want to receive digital signals to my 17" flat screen HDTV/DVD combo and cannot get a single channel, even with the analog:digital converter. Is there an opinion as to which is the better (low-to-mid price range) digital antenna for my boat?

Help. please?

 

[Fl_Richard]

Re: on board HDTV

Most any marinized vhf/uhf antenna will work. The trick is to get it high enough. Purchase good cabling and make sure a GOOD pre amplifier is either installed or built in to the antenna. A good pre amp on a well installed crappy antenna is better than a good antenna poorly installed.

Let me see if I can find something. - How big is the vessel? Is the antenna primarily used anchored, tied to a dock or open water?

Something like this will perform well for a omni-directional antenna.
http://www.shakespeare-marine.com/antennas.asp?antenna=2025
http://www.shakespeare-marine.com/antennas.asp?antenna=2030-G

 

[bruceb58]

Re: on board HDTV

Can we get back to the original question? I also want to receive digital signals to my 17" flat screen HDTV/DVD combo and cannot get a single channel, even with the analog:digital converter. Is there an opinion as to which is the better (low-to-mid price range) digital antenna for my boat?

Help. please?

Check your location on this site. Could very well be you are no where near an antenna braodcasting a digital signal. What kind of antenna are you using?

http://antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

 

[Fireman431]

Re: on board HDTV

Thanks for the replies. The boat is a 2001 Carver Voyager 374. The radar arch is 14' above the water line. The antenna will be mounted atop of the arch in open, unobstructed view.

I checked the broadcasting site and there are 22 broadcast channels in my area, which makes sense since i got 22 channels prior to the switchover last year.

The TV will mostly be used in the waterway with minimal obstructions (trees). Occasionally at the dock. I am looking at the Radio Shack "Ship-to-Shore" antenna. the reviews have been pretty good and the price is right.

 

[jhebert]

Re: on board HDTV

Following the digital TV transition (DTV) last summer, all TV broadcasters that were on channels 2 to 6 had to move to new channels. Most moved to UHF channels, that is, channels 14 to 50-something. There are some DTV signals on channels 7 to 13, the "high VHF" band, but in general broadcasters tended to prefer to move to a UHF channel if they had to move.

The result of the DTV transition is that an antenna for reception of broadcast DTV does not need to be able to receive channels 2 to 6 at all, and in many locations it may not need to receive channels 7 to 13 either. This means the physical size of the antenna can be much smaller. Some of these UHF-only (i.e., channels 14 and higher) antennas are sold or marketed as "digital" antennas. If your local broadcast stations are all on UHF channels, you can benefit from the smaller size of a UHF-only antenna. If your local broadcasters are still on high-VHF channels, you need a larger antenna that works on both VHF and UHF.

Adding confusion to this change is the concept that stations could retain their traditional channel identity. For example, a station that was on VHF channel 4 can still identify itself as "4" in the new DTV system, even though it transmits on a new channel. For example, a station might be on UHF channel 45 and still identify itself as "4." In the new DTV system, the actual radio channel used is no longer important.

You can locate the stations in your market and learn their actual channel of broadcast from

http://www.stationindex.com/tv/tv-markets

The actual channel is given in parenthesis in the listings.

It should also be mentioned that in the DTV transition the power of the transmission was generally reduced. For example, a station that was on Channel 7 with the NTSC system might have been transmitting at 350,000-watts. With DTV, on Channel 7 the power would be reduced to about 25,000-watts. This reduction was implemented in order to maintain the same radius distance in the coverage for the station. The digital signal can be received with a decent picture at lower reception levels than the old NTSC signal. The meant the power of transmitters would have to be reduced, otherwise stations would transmit too far and cause interference.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: on board HDTV

Following the digital TV transition (DTV) last summer, all TV broadcasters that were on channels 2 to 6 had to move to new channels. Most moved to UHF channels, that is, channels 14 to 50-something. There are some DTV signals on channels 7 to 13, the "high VHF" band, but in general broadcasters tended to prefer to move to a UHF channel if they had to move.

The result of the DTV transition is that an antenna for reception of broadcast DTV does not need to be able to receive channels 2 to 6 at all, and in many locations it may not need to receive channels 7 to 13 either. This means the physical size of the antenna can be much smaller. Some of these UHF-only (i.e., channels 14 and higher) antennas are sold or marketed as "digital" antennas. If your local broadcast stations are all on UHF channels, you can benefit from the smaller size of a UHF-only antenna. If your local broadcasters are still on high-VHF channels, you need a larger antenna that works on both VHF and UHF.

Adding confusion to this change is the concept that stations could retain their traditional channel identity. For example, a station that was on VHF channel 4 can still identify itself as "4" in the new DTV system, even though it transmits on a new channel. For example, a station might be on UHF channel 45 and still identify itself as "4." In the new DTV system, the actual radio channel used is no longer important.

You can locate the stations in your market and learn their actual channel of broadcast from

http://www.stationindex.com/tv/tv-markets

The actual channel is given in parenthesis in the listings.

It should also be mentioned that in the DTV transition the power of the transmission was generally reduced. For example, a station that was on Channel 7 with the NTSC system might have been transmitting at 350,000-watts. With DTV, on Channel 7 the power would be reduced to about 25,000-watts. This reduction was implemented in order to maintain the same radius distance in the coverage for the station. The digital signal can be received with a decent picture at lower reception levels than the old NTSC signal. The meant the power of transmitters would have to be reduced, otherwise stations would transmit too far and cause interference.

Screw it...I'll watch DVDs

 

[Fireman431]

Re: on board HDTV

Just an update...

I got the Omni-directional antenna with the built-in amplifier from Radio Shack. Mounted it on the arch, all weather quality cable to the TV, and the 12v power supply.

I now get 42 stations that are crystal clear (33 of which I can understand the language)!!

Very, very happy. thanks for all of the help!