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Handheld TVs

I'd like a handheld TV to replace my trusty Sony Watchman, too.

The BIG PROBLEM, I THINK is due to the fact that the DTV stations are running only a fraction of the power levels their analog predecesors used. With Analog, full power UHF stations ran 5 MEGAwatts. Now, the Maximum is 1 MEGAWATT on UHF....And for VHF, most of the ones around these parts are running 10 to 20% of what they ran when they were analog. I think the FCC should re-visit this problem as their estimates of needed power for digital were "way off".

I used to be able to watch distant analog stations from 70 miles away with my antenna. Admittedly some had a bit of "snow", but they were still very watchable. Now, with digital, most of these stations are gone and the ones that aren't are right on the edge....always pixelating, etc...
 
KR4BD said:
The BIG PROBLEM, I THINK is due to the fact that the DTV stations are running only a fraction of the power levels their analog predecesors used.

Click to expand...


I agree, but I think a big part of this was the lower power was needed for the dual analog/digital phase of the transition.

The FCC said stations that stayed on their digital channels got protection. But this hasn't worked out well and it totally left some TV stations out in the cold.

Now with this awful economy TV stations aren't interested in increasing power as it's easier not to and blame the FCC. Since most people are getting a direct feed via dish or cable, the TV stations don't care.

Since Nielsen measures the audience, you have to wonder how many of the few thousand people in their sample are OTA TV only?

I would think very few of them are. Suppose it was someone like me, who went from 16 analog to zero digital channel. If I was in the Nielsen survey, do you think I'd be kept in it? No way, I'd be dropped.

So if there ad revenue is based on Nielsen and it is, the service area matters little, as long as the Nielsen families are getting TV. Remember if you're not a Nielsen family or part of their survey, no one has a clue what you watch, so it doesn't matter if you watch TV or not
 
I can second the recomendation of the 3.5 Auvio DTV at radio shack. I tried atleast 7 portable DTVs (Haier, SMDigital, Others) and the auvio was better in a few key areas

1> Uses plain old alkaline AA batteries, as a emergency TV thats important because most portable DTVs use rechargables that have to be recharged with AC power and also degrade in capacity after about a year (With walgreen cheapo alkaline batteries and brightness at 20% i get 3.5 hours on a set of 4)

2>This unit has a remarkable tuner, its the only ATSC tuner ive ever been able to use in a moving vehicle (atleast going less than 30mph and on strong UHF stations) and picks up stations my Sony LCD cant even smell a trace of. ( It locks a lowly 15kw UHF station <KDCG> located 30+ miles north of me that no other tv in the house can)

3>Perfect balance of size and usability to price ratio (goes on sale at radioshck for $79 regulary and with $10 off coupons floating around the net makes this a no-brainer

I had a casio 3" analog that set me back nearly $200 3 years ago and this is by far a better unit.
 
I have a Prism ATSC 710 7 inch DTV. The same TV is sold under various names at diferent stores. The Curtis TV at Big Lot is the same TV. It has a rechargable battery that recharges everytime you plug in the TV. It also works the same way using a cigarette lighter. The picture is good, but the reception with the small antenna supplied is lousy especially if you live in the sticks. A better antenna is a must. Reception with an outside antenna is excelent. week analog channels are hard to get because it automatically mutes weak signals. Its impossible to turn the mute off Its either all or nothing. The low power stations were much clearer with an outside antenna that what I usually get on my 42" plasma using the same antenna. Its a good TV to take on vacation or to use during power failures.
 
I bought myself a Chrsitmas/birthday present of a Curtis 7" TV. It's just amazing what I got for $99 at Big Lots. It is a full function monitor, receives all DTV channels and is cable ready. It is even stereo and has a full function remote. I highly recommend one.
 
Hey guys, what was the model #number of the Curtis TV from Big Lots,My friend works at Big Lots, he will look for it for me.He said they have Coby sets there,but he did not have any info on them.I had a Coby MP player with FM radio from them,that turned out to be a piece of junk.
 
KR4BD said:
The BIG PROBLEM, I THINK is due to the fact that the DTV stations are running only a fraction of the power levels their analog predecesors used. With Analog, full power UHF stations ran 5 MEGAwatts. Now, the Maximum is 1 MEGAWATT on UHF....
Click to expand...


You're comparing apples & oranges though.

The power of a TV station -- analog or digital -- is constantly changing. Most of the time, the power a station is actually running is very different from the power on their license.

An analog TV signal has amplitude peaks at predictably recurring times. Every 63.5uS (hope I got that number right) a synchronizing pulse comes along. Because the TV will "lose sync' if that pulse is not received, the pulse is transmitted with every last watt of available power. We know that every 63.5uS, an analog station will transmit with the most power it will use.

A digital TV signal also has amplitude peaks, but they don't recur at predictable times. We know that a DTV signal will run more power at some times than at others, but we don't know *when* it will use maximum power.

So, for analog TV we measure power at the peaks. When we say an analog station ran 5,000,000 watts, we meant that during the synchronizing pulses -- the most power the station would ever use -- it was running 5,000,000 watts. Most of the time, it was running considerably less -- on the order of 1,250,000 watts +/-. (VERY dependent on program material) The analog station would never run *more than* 5,000,000 watts.

For digital TV we measure *average* power, averaged over a period of time. When we say a digital station is running 1,000,000 watts, half the time it's running *more than* 1,000,000. (and half the time, it's running less) The peak power of a maximum power digital station is very roughly on the order of 2,000,000 watts.

So the difference between a maximum power analog and maximum power digital is more like 5MW vs. 2MW. Which is not very much in the grand scheme of things.

And for VHF, most of the ones around these parts are running 10 to 20% of what they ran when they were analog. I think the FCC should re-visit this problem as their estimates of needed power for digital were "way off".
Click to expand...

Most VHF stations are indeed limited by potential interference to relatively low powers. Since most stations that had the option chose high-band VHF channels, the continuing risk of interference makes power increases unlikely. (if a 40kw station in Podunk and a 60kw station in Anytown 150 miles away on the same channel are interfering with each other, it does no good to give both stations a 3dB power increase. They're now 80 and 120kw respectively -- and generating just as much interference to each other.)
 
Hey guys, what was the model #number of the Curtis TV from Big Lots,


Curtis RT70A. Keep in mind like many similar stores when they're gone, they're gone. I use a portable antenna I bought at Radio Shack a few years back. It worked great for analog and does the job for digital. It runs on batteries but I don't think "the Shack has 'em anymore.
Now another thing.... I have been told that UHF is actually better for digital because of the inherited ghosting of UHF is actually an advantage. If the signal is strong enough off the bounce the TV will actually lock up on it. I was told this by friend who is a TV chief engineer that went from a low "V" to a "U".
 
Hi all, I picked up a Curtis tv from Big Lots ,today, I ran some tests on it, and I had some problems with the sound,OTA reception sucked from the whip ant,I picked up The handful of stations at work, ,WTNH,WVIT with no sound,WTXX,WCTX, came ok with sound,earlier tonight around 7:30pm I went up the high ground on top of deadmans hill "Kolhs parking lot off rt5,Wallingford-Meriden,CT townline",I rescanned the band and received less,Now that does not make since.still no sound from WTNH, WVIT. sound ok from WCTX 59,
WTXX did not come in,0 on WFSB,WTIC on other channels not mention.just before I logged on here ,I hooked up the Curtis to cable and Wowla, awesome picture with sound on all channels including HD and sub channels.Ok did anyone had any problem with the sound with this tv,I probably return it to the store in a couple of days,I happen to spot a Sharper Image 7" tv at B.J's tonight for $89.00
with av in and outputs. I might buy that one .
 
I think If Apple put a DTV tuner in their Iphone and Ipod and other MP3 manufacturers did the same on their MP3 players then, Handheld DTV's would really go off
 
Hi all, I picked up a Curtis tv from Big Lots ,today, I ran some tests on it, and I had some problems with the sound,OTA reception sucked from the whip ant,I picked up

Forget the antenna that came with it. It's pretty much worthless unless you are standing next to the transmitter. As I said, I have a portable Radio Shack antenna. I don't think that model is available anymore, but they probably have some kind of replacement. I have seen other portable antennas in catalogs I get. I did not have any audio problems with my Curtis. Where it got a good signal, it worked great.
 
Yes I agree,the whip ant is useless,i could use it for a coffee stur piece,The set is playing fine on cable with no audio problems, I'm still puzzled why the sound was dead on the coulpe of ota channels.
 
Hi again,I.m glad i found this thread,no since starting another one for handheld tv's.Ok lets get back to the topic,The Curtis tv is gone,I picked up a Sharper Image set at B,J's for $95 dollars,7 inch tv,with video inputs and outputs,flash and usb inputs for playing MP3's,photo and videos.this set has a more sensitive tuner,also I had no audio problem with this set,like the Curtis set,of course the built- in finger nail size mini speakers that sounds like my old 8 transistor am radio,but they do the job.when I connent to the cable,I had a problem fronm the little wire adapter that came with the set,It gave me a poor ground,so I had a similar adapter in my collection that fit the bill. and the screen cleared up and received all the channels including the HD and some of the other digital channels like WNET,WNYW and some others including some sub DTV channels.now I have a tv to go.
 
I bought a Prism from Walgreens in Point Pleasant, NJ in July. I could not receive any channels no matter where I was standing. I drove north on Route 35 in scan mode stopping constantly along the way. I drove all the way to the Charthouse Restaurant parking lot in Weehawkin before I was able to lock onto all of Empire's signals. The signals didn't even start coming in until Long Branch. When I got to Sea Bright, a WNBC van was there. I spoke with the driver for a few minutes.

Contrast that to analogue, I used to be able to pick up both NYC & Philly from my father's apartment in Pt. Pleasant.

The Prism is under different names and has an excellent pix on cable. It is a battery hog, but it takes a couple 3-5 seconds before it shows a channel so surfing is better done with insomnia.

Here in Sa-ra-so-ta!, the signals are stronger. Digital doesn't show multipath, it show up as a nonexistant channel.

In both markets, it was impossible to move and watch at the same time. Anchored boats would be out of luck.

I do believe by the time Freedom Tower, New 1WTC, or whatever they are going to call it, OTA will be but a memory.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
 
Let's sure it has a 10 foot whip for "clearest VHF and UHF reception", not a tiny whip!

-crainbebo
 
WPPCProductions said:
Thank you I have to check these out,I don't see why not they can put a dtv tuner in those portable dvd players.
Click to expand...

I found a 7" portable DTV that has a DVD player in it. From looking at the specifications, it's not in HD but it can receive ATSC channels OTA. I'm not sure if HD would matter on such a small TV. Maybe someone can answer if the picture quality is that much different or not (HD vs. non-HD).

http://www.frys.com/product/6094348?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
 
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