Professor, thank you for that informative post and the link to the picture of the convertor in action. Nice looking convertor box and not to physical large. Most will have a place for the up front TV for that size box but for the bedroom, finding a place to put the box could be a challenge. Thanks again and I beleive your VISUAL test, as they say the proof is in the pudding, or actual results. Of course you have to be within range of a Digital broadcast site for any convertor to work, which you are, but most people know that, or do they? Best Buy Interesting link, Go on the shelf on Feb 17th at Best Buy
Othertonka
2004 Southwind 32VS
2002 CRV Toad
U. S. Gear Unified brake system
Retired Fire Captain, SFD
I saw converter boxes stacked up at walmart last night, certainly more than 12, i didn't see a price sticker, but I did see a note about accepting coupons
my impression with the wording, 'free' in there some where was that the price was in the 39-40 range
I don't give a dang about the coupon, if i need a box i'll buy it..
right now i don't need it. NO place to put the old 3 yr old TV.
most of us pay more for one months cell phone bill, or other internet connection, than the price of a converter box will be..
to complain about it is USELESS
Connected via Verizon Via LG Dare VX9700
Member of the Verizon Wireless Customer Council
Maximum memory has been reached !
othertonka wrote: Of course you have to be within range of a Digital broadcast site for any convertor to work, which you are, but most people know that, or do they?
That, I cannot answer. What I can tell you is this:
When we (USA) first began the digital conversion (over 10 years ago) I was with the VA Department of Education in the Technology Division. One of my "jobs" involved working with Virginia's 5 public TV stations for the benefit of school divisions using PTV programming.
In licensing the new digital transmitters, the FCC required extensive signal mapping from the licensee to assure that the broadcast footprint of the digital information provided essentially the same coverage as the analog footprint. In Virginia, all but one PTV station remained in the UHF band for DTV. One dropped from UHF ch. 15 down to VHF Ch. 2 to extend range (WBRA in Roanoke). All of Virginia's non-public commercial stations using the VHF bands moved to UHF for digital. In doing so, their antenna height, wattage or antenna ERP was increased to assure equal coverage.
Other states followed the same planning, with many stations taking up residence in the VHF band rather than UHF.
While the system is not perfect, if you can receive a conventional analog channel, you should be able to receive a digitally encoded channel from the same station. Exceptions are, of course, more commonly noted in fringe reception areas.
For me, and I am sure many other RV'ers, the desire to convert now is one of both quality and quantity. In our area, hilly and mountainous terrain often result in poor analog picture quality. Received digital signals are crystal clear. Additionally, there are numerous sub channels from digital broadcasters not available from analog. We really enjoy the 24 hour weather channel many stations now offer in digital format.
We also have a dish on our RV. While we do not go camping to watch TV, it is always nice to be able to catch the news or a favorite program while away from home. As an example, we cannot get a satellite signal when under a lot of trees. Thus, we turn to OTA signals. Often they are noisy or have ghost due to poor antenna directivity and insufficient antenna elevation. If the digital signal is there (and it usually is), the picture is of satellite receiver quality.
The benefits of digitally encoded transmissions are significant, and now that affordable or coupon eligible converters are available it is worth further investigation.
Again, I really hope this thread stays informational in respect to the converters and DTV for RV's who currently have analog sets and are interested in upgrading using their current analog set.
If there is a need to argue the merits of the government coupon program, perhaps a new thread is in order?
Thanks for the favorible comments.
Professor Randy T. Agee & Nancy Agee, Mechanicsville, VA
2009 Cedar Creek 34SATS 5th Wheel - GMC 3500 dually
Generator Collection: Champion 40008 - ELM3000 - Kipor 2000Ti - Kawasaki 1400 - Champion 7,800W LPG (Home Back Up)
Professor - maybe I'm missing something here, but I believe the reason the converter box from camping world is so expensive is because it's a HD (High Def) converter. Camping World's advertising for this seems a little suspect since the way I understand it, is that you only need one of these when you have a HD ready television (one that doesn't have a HD tuner) to receive channels in HD. While it would work, it certainly would be overkill for an analog tv that isn't HD. I would guess that the cheaper boxes simply convert the digital signals to analog to accommodate the older tv. Digital and HD are 2 different animals - while HD is a digital signal, digital is not always HD. One last thing people need to keep in mind is that if you already have cable or satellite, you don't need these boxes at all.
* This post was
edited 02/11/08 12:32pm by jfs999 *
JFS999 wrote: Professor - maybe I'm missing something here, but I believe the reason the converter box from camping world is so expensive is because it's a HD (High Def) converter. Camping World's advertising for this seems a little suspect since the way I understand it, is that you only need one of these when you have a HD ready television (one that doesn't have a HD tuner) to receive channels in HD. While it would work, it certainly would be overkill for an analog tv that isn't HD. I would guess that the cheaper boxes simply convert the digital signals to analog to accommodate the older tv. Digital and HD are 2 different animals - while HD is a digital signal, digital is not always HD. One last thing people need to keep in mind is that if you already have cable or satellite, you don't need these boxes at all.
Nope, I don't think you are missing anything. You have hit the nail on the head, so to speak.
Just as a review, the converter box that Camping World advertises as HD will not give you HD on an older analog TV. But, if you happen to have a HD TV without a tuner, it will allow HD reception from OTA signals. It will also give you the Dolby digital 5.1 PCM stream for true surround sound.
The Insignia converter will receive a HD signal. But, it will not give you an HD output via a HDMI connector or component RGB connection for a "HD ready" monitor. Additionally, it will not provide a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio stream, only 2 channel stereo.
Some RV's have satellite dishes and receivers. Some RV parks offer cable connections with analog feeds. But, many times we as RV'ers only have our antenna as a signal source. It is in those instances that DTV is really nice (soon to be needed). Since the introduction of these coupon eligible boxes, we now have a less expensive alternative to receive digital signals. I personally agree with Mr. Wizard, the coupon would be nice but if I want one I don't have to have the coupon. It also looks like Wal-Mart "may" have a converter box for a lower price than Best Buy. We will find out over the next few weeks.
One other thing to keep in mind: For several years now we have been told that these converter boxes were going to be available. But, the only ones that have been available up to now were very expensive - often more than a new DTV! Finally, after a long wait and many promises, they are here. I'm kinda excited (no I'm not weird... well, maybe a little) to finally get my hands on one. I "thought" maybe it would be good to share the news and my results on RV.net since RV'ers are often limited to antenna (OTA) reception. These things are brand new and I am sure there will be many questions as to quality, size, ease of use, etc. Hopefully, others will share experiences as more units become available and get into our hands.
I personally like the idea of a DTV converter rather than a new TV for a RV - unless one wants high def.
* This post was
edited 02/11/08 04:44pm by professor95 *
Thanks for posting this information. I checked my Wal-Mart today and they don't yet have the converters, but I expect they will soon have them. I have applied for two coupons, although I feel that one converter placed in line before my built-in signal splitter should serve both TVs in my rig.
sparker1 wrote: Thanks for posting this information. I checked my Wal-Mart today and they don't yet have the converters, but I expect they will soon have them. I have applied for two coupons, although I feel that one converter placed in line before my built-in signal splitter should serve both TVs in my rig.
You might want to look at the possibility of connecting one TV to the RF cable and the other to the composite video/audio cables (two outputs on the converter box). That way you will not incur the 3.5 dB signal loss of using a splitter. Mr. Wizard is right on the same channel stuff... I do that with my 311 dish receiver.
I stopped by our local Radio Shack this afternoon to pick up some batteries. There was one lonely little DTV converter on the shelf. No label, price, remote or literature. I asked the manager what the price was. She responded "$69.95 without the coupon." I asked if there had been any coupons turned in to her. She said. "No, we just got 21 units in today. The letter from HQ said the first applicants would begin to receive their coupons shortly after the initial March 1 mailing date. We should expect a rush and quick sell out." She did not know if or when additional converters would be shipped to her store.
This converter had the Zenith name and logo on it, but was otherwise identical to the Insigina branded unit I bought last week at Best Buy.
I continue to be impressed at the quality of the D to A conversion. The old analog TV never looked so good!
Offline
