12 volt TV for motor home

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Jerrygroah

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 6, 2006
Posts
286
Location
Mims,Fl, USA (central east coast)
Hello, does anyone know if they make a 12 volt TV with HD reciever? The wife likes to watch the afternoon soaps while we are on the road. We now have an anolog TV, but that will become obslete early this next year. The converter box requires 110 volts to operate, so that isn't much of an option. Could use an inverter, but then you are getting into multiple units to get working. That is too much of a hassel.

I am also at a loss for getting her a Christmas gift, so thought this might be the perfect solution. I have Googled and found several 12 volt TV's, but they all seem to need the converter box. I am not knowledgeable enough to know when the specs tell you which tuner they have to know whether or not they recieve HD.

Can someone help, please?, Jerry
 
A quick search on Google on 12v dc hdtv turned up a several relevant results, mostly marine suppliers, of just what you're looking for.  The key words to look for are things like "digital tuner" or ATSC.
 
Jerry, are you really concerned with HD or is it just digital reception that you are asking about?
 
You can get 12v powered digital converter boxes too.

Here is a link to a page that provides further info on 12v digital converters:
http://www.ezdigitaltv.com/RVs_and_Converter_Boxes.html
 
Thanks for all the responces.

Lou, what I am looking for is a TV that will operate on 12 volts. As I said before, the wife likes to watch her soaps,(2 CBS ones), while I am driving down the road. With our old analog TV I fix it so she can watch while I drive. It usually sets in the passenger seat and she sets on the sofa. I cannot see the TV.

I am looking for a 12 volt TV that will get the new HD broadcasts, witout a converter box, if there is such an animal. I am now going to look up Neds suggestion.

Thanks again, Jerry

 
Jerry, either you or I (or both) are still a little confused. 

The terms "HD" and "Digital" are two different, although related, things.

A 12 volt digital TV is probably commonly available.
A 12 volt HD TV May be a very expensive item.  Just my guess.
 
Any new-ish TV (regardless of power source) should have a built-in digital tuner.  Which means you wouldn't need a converter box.  That tuner should be specified in the "fine print" when you are shopping for 12v models, so you can make sure you have the right one before you click 'Buy'.
 
A lot of TVs, and other electronic devices, actually run on 12 VDC.  These are the units that have a box (wart) between the 110VAC wall plug and the unit.  I put such a digital TV in our old MH.  All you have to do is cut off the cord on the TV side of the box and connect it to a cigarette light plug, which is available at Radio Shack for a few bucks.

Piece of cake.

Two cautions:
1) Be sure that the unit runs on 12VDC (could even be 14VDC). 
2) You have to get the polarity correct.  Use a meter for this.
 
Let me repeat:

o You do not need an HDTV to receive digital tv in February 2009 - just a digital tv with an ATSC tuner (as opposed to an NTSC tuner). A digital converter is a way to add an ATSC tuner to an older NTSC tv

o You do not need a new tv for your RV because there are 12v digital converter boxes readily available
 
Even if you can find a 12 volt digital TV, it's unlikely it will work while you travel down the road.  The ATSC (digital) transmissions are much more sensitive to multipath and changing conditions than the current analog TV signals.  Reflections cause momentary ghosting in conventional TVs - with ATSC there will be a several second dropout while the tuner re-locks to the digital signal.
 
Thanks Gary, I am so illiterate about tuner acronyms that Don't know one from another.

But, as lou has pointed out it may not work if I do find one. I would sure hate to get a divorce after 59 plus years. I guess I will just have to pull over some where and wait the 1 1/2 hours for the soap. That would be a lot less expensive than splitting at this late date, besides I am very fond of the lady I am married to.

Thanks again, Jerry
 
Jerry,

You didn't mention in your first post how you are getting your TV signal. Are you getting it from an over-the-air antenna or are you getting it from DirecTV or Dish with a in-motion antenna.

If the latter, then you do NOT need to do anything. Your present TV will work just fine.
 
Jerry:

Another option if you do want HD is most TV's will run off an inexpensive 400-600 watt inverter that allows a wider choice of TVs/


 
Lou Schneider said:
Even if you can find a 12 volt digital TV, it's unlikely it will work while you travel down the road.   The ATSC (digital) transmissions are much more sensitive to multipath and changing conditions than the current analog TV signals.   Reflections cause momentary ghosting in conventional TVs - with ATSC there will be a several second dropout while the tuner re-locks to the digital signal.

Very good point.  This is what I do NOT like about the new digital signals.  You can't get a station with "fuzz" anymore, it's either 100% there or 100% gone.  I still don't really understand the reasoning behind the gov't forced transition to digital over-the-air broadcasting.  Someone must be making a profit somewhere.  :p
 
To answer Jeff and Don;

Jeff, I already have a 600 watt Zantrex inverter, so I think I will follow your recomendation. Thanks.

Don, I was hoping to use the wineguard batwing boosted antenna that I already have. But according to Lou it may not work. Then I will fall back to plan "B" and pull over in a rest stop. I will probably be ready for that any way. Don't have to be in a hurry.

Scotty, it has been explained to me the reason for the digital was it would allow many more stations to be on the air at the same time. That seems to be true for where I live. I use to get about 12/14 stations and now get on the order of 30/40 some on the same antenna.

Jerry
 
I still don't really understand the reasoning behind the gov't forced transition to digital over-the-air broadcasting.

For 95+% of OTA viewers, the picture quality will be vastly improved with digital signals. Viewers in rural areas that currently require rotating antennas and other other aids probably will no longer need them.  Where we live there is no usable analog tv signal without  a huge, rotatable antenna, and amplifier and that is still mediocre quality, but several digital stations come in crystal clear.  And as a side benefit the radio spectrum is utilized much more efficiently , allowing other broadcast media access to a very crowded spectrum.

Digital tv is simply an application of improved technology that is long overdue. Our current system was invented in the 1940's and it's time we took advantage of improvements. 
 
Jerrygroah said:
I use to get about 12/14 stations and now get on the order of 30/40 some on the same antenna.

I did experience an increase in stations too, from about 4-5 to 10 or so on a good day.  But most of those extras I get at home or on the road are duplicate networks anyway... two or three different NBC affiliates for instance.  So that really doesn't help in the way of available shows, since most of the national programs are broadcast on the same schedule.


RV Roamer said:
Digital tv is simply an application of improved technology that is long overdue. Our current system was invented in the 1940's and it's time we took advantage of improvements.

Understood, and I do agree that the picture quality is vastly superior.  IF it comes in at all.  <-- that's the part that doesn't impress me, a few clouds or other interference will block the signal completely and then you get nothing on the new digital system.
 
a few clouds

???

Haven't had that experience. We've used the OTA antenna in numerous places to pick up local stations and the worst we have experienced is intermittent pixelation or loss of sound. Of course, at some point the signal is lost completely.  Whether you would consider the analog signal to be watchable under the same circumstances is debatable and probably a matter of how important the tv show is to you.
 
RV Roamer said:
???

  Whether you would consider the analog signal to be watchable under the same circumstances is debatable and probably a matter of how important the tv show is to you.

Gary:

Our bedroom TV is still analog and by the time the digital up front starts pixelation the rear is almost unusable because of snow snow and static.
 
almost unusable because of snow snow and static

That's my opinion too, but if Nancy will peer through some horrendous snow if it is one of "her programs" she just has to watch.  I suspect the definition of "almost unusable" is a personal thing.
 
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