Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

[Big Bubba]

Hello to everyone,
I own a 32', 2004 Terry Quantum Fleetwood travel trailer and mostly use the antennae that is mounted on the camper's roof to pick up television stations. My question to you is we will be able to watch television from the bat antennae or do we need to buy a DVR box to convert analogue to digital to pick up a signal since February deadline to change from analogue to digitial is fast approaching?? What is the cheapest option that I can do if I have to go that route? Thanks, Bob:redface:

 

[chiefalen]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

Get dish network.

Or the converter.

 

[Big Bubba]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

Chief Allen,
Probably will not go with Dish Network but will instead go withthe converter box. If I get convertor box will I be able to use the camper antennae with it or no longer be able to? Thanks again, Bob

 

[gstanton]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

Actually, your current antenna will still pull in any signal out there... it's the TV that has to be digital or converted from analog to digital.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

It all depends on your current TV, what is it and how old.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

Yup your going to need a box or your going to need a dvd player to watch movies!

We are going to have to get a box for deer camp or we will not be able to watch football games

 

[chiefalen]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

Just get the box, and use the old "tenna".

 

[Pony]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

Yup your going to need a box or your going to need a dvd player to watch movies!

We are going to have to get a box for deer camp or we will not be able to watch football games

We picked up a few for that same reason.

The bonus is now we get the 24hr weather report broadcast by one of the local stations near camp......that is very convienient.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

Dish Network is what I use on my boat. No contract, just pay as you go. It is called the Dish Now system. $99 for the receiver/remote/dish and you buy Dish Now Cards (at Radio Shack) or the Greendot cards and pay as you go. Only problem is they do not make local channels available. This works fine for us as we don't have satellite in our home. We only use the system during the boating season of 6 months. No converter box needed for this.

 

[ajcrowner]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

I'm assuming you have a Winegard Sensar (batwing) as most rv's do. If so, just look up the model television you have and see if it has a digital tuner. if so, you need nothing.

Winegard has also produced a very inexpensive add-on to the batwing that will increase the range for digital UHF channels (which is like 98% of the channels). It's called the Wingman.

 

[JB]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

The difference in picture quality from even the best analog set using a digital converter to a true HDTV digital receiver is too much to ignore.

A good HD digital receiver can be had for under $300. . .flat, wide screen. And it can double as a great 'puter monitor. Very handy where space is severely limited.

If your antenna works for analog it will work for digital.

Watch one NFL game in HD and there will no longer be any questions.

 

[Ridemywideglide]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

The difference in picture quality from even the best analog set using a digital converter to a true HDTV digital receiver is too much to ignore.

A good HD digital receiver can be had for under $300. . .flat, wide screen. And it can double as a great 'puter monitor. Very handy where space is severely limited.

If your antenna works for analog it will work for digital.

Watch one NFL game in HD and there will no longer be any questions.

HD has nothing to do with the digital switch. You won't benefit from an HDTV if your not getting HD programming. An HDTV actually makes SD look much worse.

 

[JB]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

If you want to see HD, you gotta have a HD receiver and a HD signal.

This nonsense about the digital switch having nothing to do with HD is hogwash. While not all digital broadcasts will be in HD the reason for the digital system is to make HD possible

I don't know about you, but I remember antis screeching against buying a color TV because not very many broadcasts were in color and they made the black and white look worse.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

I don't know about you, but I remember antis screeching against buying a color TV because not very many broadcasts were in color and they made the black and white look worse.

Well put as usual.
Seems to be human nature that any substantial shift in technology brings out the "Nabobs of Negativity" and those who are "experts" after having read one magazine article.
Radial tires vs bias ply , 8 track vs ...well, just about anything..., Beta vs VHS etc.

My HDTV hooked to satellite works fine with any programming.....but obviously the HD broadcasts shine.
A statement like "An HDTV actually makes SD look much worse." is just false.

 

[Ridemywideglide]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

If you want to see HD, you gotta have a HD receiver and a HD signal.

This nonsense about the digital switch having nothing to do with HD is hogwash. While not all digital broadcasts will be in HD the reason for the digital system is to make HD possible

I don't know about you, but I remember antis screeching against buying a color TV because not very many broadcasts were in color and they made the black and white look worse.

I didn't say don't buy an HDTV, I stated a fact, that taking a SD signal and stretching it out to display in HD format will actually make it worse.
See below, and get off your soapbox.

Well put as usual.
Seems to be human nature that any substantial shift in technology brings out the "Nabobs of Negativity" and those who are "experts" after having read one magazine article.
Radial tires vs bias ply , 8 track vs ...well, just about anything..., Beta vs VHS etc.

My HDTV hooked to satellite works fine with any programming.....but obviously the HD broadcasts shine.
A statement like "An HDTV actually makes SD look much worse." is just false.

If you can't see the difference is SD vs HD picture quality then you probably have a substandard HDTV to begin with. It is a FACT, stretching the 525 lines (SD, NTSC(or even a 480i signal, which is digital, and still SD)) to fit a 720x480 HDTV (figuring you only view it in 720i) will degrade the picture. My HDTV shines with dish as well. Does this mean that the SD broadcasts look as good as the HD? Hell no.. Especially if I change the format to actually fit the screen. My HDTV "upconverts" everything to 1080p (Of course NOTHING is broadcast in 1080p, maybe that switch will effect me.). Add to that the fact that many shows you are going to receive from the now "digital" stations who broadcast HD signals, are also upconverted. So now your watching a show filmed in SD resolution, stretched to fill the HD resolution, converted to the resolution of your HDTV.... If you can't see a difference, go see the eye doctor.
I'm also not a "nabob of negativity" as the technology switch has no effect on me. I'm trying to help someone else make an educated decision. You just seem to be passing along information that's wrong.

<on edit>
Also, digital converter boxes are designed for SD output not HDTV that was a requirement to qualify for the coupon program.
And you will only get HD to your TV with component, or HDMI connections. If you don't have these (your using coax, s-video, or RCA cables) then you'll never get an HD picture. You'll have good looking SD, but that's it.
<off edit>

Here's a quote from the another thread about this, by someone who claims to work in the broadcast world.

As a person who works at a tv station dealing with the digital transition we get this question all the time... Here's a couple of things to keep in mind...

First off, there is no such thing as a "digital antenna"... Digital signals need no special antenna to pick them up. They use the same frequencies (though less of them) as the old analog signals...

Any time you see a "Digital TV Antenna" it's nothing more than a marketing gimmick so they can charge more for the antenna...

Now a quick word about indoor antennas... Because of the way digital signals work, indoor antennas are kinda hit and miss... We find that MOST places they do not work very well for digital signals... The signal fluxuates enough that it will frequently drop below the minimum level which means the signal will cut out.. Digital signals are fantastic in that you have no "noise" in the signal... You get it or you don't... But on the flip side, if the signal is right on the edge it'll "bounce" between getting it and not getting it... That leads to breakup and or cutting in or out (whereas on an analog set it would just be really snowy...) Anyway, point is, it's best to avoid an indoor antenna if possible...

As for outdoor antenna, as mentioned above channel master makes some good ones and my personal favorite winegard...

However... Here's the thing you have to keep in mind... None of us (unless we happen to live in the same area) can tell you what antenna will work good. Every area is very different... In my area a simple UHF winegard unamplified antenna is the best you can do, and it works fantastic. Throw an amp on it and you'll get nothing... Other types of antennas are patchy... Again it just all depends on your area and what the lay of the land is...

The good news is, there's a great spot to find out more information about what others have had success with in your area...

http://www.antennaweb.org

You can choose your location and it'll show you all the channels in your area as well as what antennas will work best... (they catagorize each "type" of antenna into color categories...) Perhaps most importantly they give you a compass heading for all the towers of the stations... Because of that you can choose a direction to mount the antenna facing if it's fixed, or what points to set on your rotor if you go that route. Yes you can get an omni, but often times they are not the best choice. They lose a lot of gain and if you are far from the tower you might have problems getting a good reception, especially in certain weather conditions... You can amp the signal (as I think someone suggested above) but again it all depends on your area... Amplification does some strange things to digital signals... If ALL your station towers are far away then amps work great. If you have some that are fairly close that amp can cause problems with those signals... Again it all just depends on your area.

Also, just a quick note... As stated above digital doesn't have anything to do with HD... With one exception... You can ONLY carry HD (over the air) on a digital signal.

Here's a great forum for the OP (who may actually read and learn) to get some info on antennas, or FTA Sat, or just to answer the 2 completely wrong posts above.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/index.php

They have a great section on OTA antennas and HD vs DTV answers.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

See below, and get off your soapbox.
>>>> plus lots of tech talk<<<<<

The OP wanted advice on the cheapest and easiest way to continue access to off-air TV broadcasts. This whole HD discussion is way beyond that and almost OT.
If you want to debate the details of the technology, you will have to find someone else. I?ll be the first to admit that I haven?t read up much on this, and am not really all that interested.
What I will debate, and did in my post, is your demonstrated level of understanding of this technology if you are really prepared to defend your original absolute statement :

An HDTV actually makes SD look much worse.

You seem to have a better than average grasp of the HD hardware, so there might be a misunderstanding here
Noone I know with an HDTV has that problem, including me. In my case, something to do with the fact that the satellite box has both an HD tuner and an SD tuner. I was assured this would give no loss of SD quality, and in fact the SD is as good or better than the SD picture on the TV it replaced; and the HD is off the charts.
So it?s a break even situation at worst?. but with the upside potential of the HD. You may suggest I need to see the eye doctor or my TV is inferior, but that is a technologically-weak argument.
I have a good friend who distributes HDTVs and says your statement is simply incorrect. If it were true, HDTV sales during the transition period, when HD broadcasts are just starting to be more available, would be a disaster. There are, he says, problems with people hooking things up wrong or not understanding the equipment that is actually required to create a system that works as well as it should/can.
If that is what you meant, no argument here.
In your tech-based response, you suggested

I didn't say don't buy an HDTV, I stated a fact, that taking a SD signal and stretching it out to display in HD format will actually make it worse..

That?s a completely different statement from your first one.
My system does not do that; many others don?t either, so I am not sure what you are really saying.
What is a fact is that ?SD doesn't inherently have to look worse on a HDTV, and it SHOULDN'T look worse on a HDTV, but there ARE reasons why it CAN look worse on an HDTV.?

If that is anything like what you meant, we don't disagree.
We have wasted some words and hijacked the thread though....

 

[Ridemywideglide]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

The OP wanted advice on the cheapest and easiest way to continue access to off-air TV broadcasts. This whole HD discussion is way beyond that and almost OT.
If you want to debate the details of the technology, you will have to find someone else. I?ll be the first to admit that I haven?t read up much on this, and am not really all that interested.
What I will debate, and did in my post, is your demonstrated level of understanding of this technology if you are really prepared to defend your original absolute statement :

You seem to have a better than average grasp of the HD hardware, so there might be a misunderstanding here
Noone I know with an HDTV has that problem, including me. In my case, something to do with the fact that the satellite box has both an HD tuner and an SD tuner. I was assured this would give no loss of SD quality, and in fact the SD is as good or better than the SD picture on the TV it replaced; and the HD is off the charts.
So it?s a break even situation at worst?. but with the upside potential of the HD. You may suggest I need to see the eye doctor or my TV is inferior, but that is a technologically-weak argument.
I have a good friend who distributes HDTVs and says your statement is simply incorrect. If it were true, HDTV sales during the transition period, when HD broadcasts are just starting to be more available, would be a disaster. There are, he says, problems with people hooking things up wrong or not understanding the equipment that is actually required to create a system that works as well as it should/can.
If that is what you meant, no argument here.
In your tech-based response, you suggested
That?s a completely different statement from your first one.
My system does not do that; many others don?t either, so I am not sure what you are really saying.
What is a fact is that ?SD doesn't inherently have to look worse on a HDTV, and it SHOULDN'T look worse on a HDTV, but there ARE reasons why it CAN look worse on an HDTV.?

If that is anything like what you meant, we don't disagree.
We have wasted some words and hijacked the thread though....

While we probably have hijacked the thread, it's still pertinent info as others are passing along incorrect information, and your borderline in that group (no offense intended). As for your "friend" who claims sales would be down, that's just ignorant. People who can afford HDTV's, don't rely on OTA for their programming. The Digital transition effects those who are most likely to NOT have the money to buy an HDTV, thus the coupons and the cheap DTV boxes.
The rest of us have been enjoying HDTV via Sat/High-end Cable or FTA.
My "technologically weak argument" is desplayed below. Again, if you can't see a difference, your either not admitting it, or you need to see an eye doctor.

I've taken some videos and pics (with an HP Photosmart 425, not a great quality digi cam.) of my HDTV, viewing the same program via HBO HD Sat feed, and HBO SD Cable feed. I've also included a video (incorrectly named tho) of HBO SD Cable feed in standard format as to avoid any complaining af picture quality being degraded by stretching.

These are of the same show, I paused Sat, and then recorded the same section after recording via cable.
The difference is day and night, and if you can't see it, you should not pay to upgrade to HD.

The videos start out at a dark point, but the lighting get better shortly. I've not seen the movie so I didn't know what was coming. Make them fullsize for the best comparison.

Here's video 1 from cable feed.
http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/...HD shots/?action=view&current=CableVideo1.flv

Here's video 2 from dish.
http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj148/Ridemywideglide/HD shots/?action=view&current=SatVideo1.flv

Here's an unstretched cable segment.
http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj148/Ridemywideglide/HD shots/?action=view&current=SatVideo2.flv

Here's 2 stills, first being cable, second being sat. Even in the stills it's obvious there is substantial quality loss.

These are all on my JVC 42x788 1080p (full HD). Or course the Dish feed is HDMI, and the cable feed is, well, cable.
There is just more information required (pixels needed for display) in HD than are available in SD. Thus you get pixelated and generally crappy video. Now to benefit the other side, the SD is better when watching it via dish. The quality difference is apparent, but with my camera they looked the same. In person, there is still great loss.

As to the OP's original question, your current antenna will work, you will need a Digital converter, or a new TV with a Digital tuner. These will NOT however get you HDTV, unless you buy an HD TV. A digital broadcast is NOT an HD broadcast. HD IS available to be broadcast via digital, thus the switch. However, most stations wanted the switch because digital is cheaper, NOT because it was beneficial to you.

 

[dbkerley]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

I would really love to find a 12v digital convertor for use in my van/camper or on the boat. I don't want to have to hook up an inverter to get to 110v and then change TVs

... or a 12v digital ready TV. Why can't these things just be simple.

 

[Adjuster]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

Regular cable on an HDTV is terrible at best. If you have an HDTV then you need digital cable, satellite or an over the air antenna for all the new digital broadcast signals. I would like the poster that disagrees with this to list his setup so we can figure out what the confusion is about. I would also like him to hit the info button on his remote or whatever his button may be and tell us what resolution the channels he is watching are being broadcast in. You should also see this as you switch between channels when the info is displayed. Regular cable is broadcast in 480i and it looks like total crap on a HDTV.

 

[Adjuster]

Re: Whatching Television in Travel Trailer/Camper?

There is a 12v digital converter available. I will see if I can find the link. Also some people have had good results cutting the plug off the 110 converter and hooking it up to 12v. The converter uses very little power so this has worked.