# Digital TV-Is It The Death Of The Portable TV?



## Button Pusher

What will you do with your little 2" Casio portable TV? The one you may use on occassion where you have no power and wanted to catch a show OTA. Obviously you can't use the Digital Converter box in that situation so I assume that limits the use of the little portable TV to places where you can get the converter box plugged in.


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## Stuart Sweet

Maybe that's just a temporary question. Maybe we don't need portable TVs as much now that we have the wireless web on our phones. 

Back when I got my first pocket-sized TV (1985) they were $150 and Black-and-white to boot. It's only been lately that they've been cheap, and they probably will get cheap again, but with ATSC tuners.


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## scooper

I don't know if you will get good reception out of them any more - ask anyone with the 5 inch / 7 inch portables how well they did on their builtin antenna. They weren't too bad if connected to a regular antenna.

Maybe doing some of this is what the A-VSB stuff is meant to address. Although it's going to suck for those of us wanting as good of HDTV as we can get....


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## HDTVFreak07

Button Pusher said:


> What will you do with your little 2" Casio portable TV? The one you may use on occassion where you have no power and wanted to catch a show OTA. Obviously you can't use the Digital Converter box in that situation so I assume that limits the use of the little portable TV to places where you can get the converter box plugged in.


I've got a nice 7" color portable digital TV! I bought one from Best Buy (Insignia) and it works great! It can do both analog and digital and in 2009, the analog will not work. It also has a input jack for use of maybe a DVD player. At the present time, I have a Directv receiver (H20) hooked into it.


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## kevinwmsn

How long does it work on the batteries?


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## HDTVFreak07

kevinwmsn said:


> How long does it work on the batteries?


Are you asking me? I'm not sure how long the batteries last but it seems to last at least more than 2 hours (because I haven't tried or watched for more than that). It comes with an adapter for autos.

It really is a nice TV even though it is not HD. It is a SD widescreen LCD TV (480i or p, I don't know the difference) and any programs broadcasting in widescreen looks really good on that TV.

I was just checking on Best Buy and this seems to be a discontinued item. THANK GOD I got it!


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## scooper

Radio Shack lists it on their website now. For how long we don't know.


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## kevinwmsn

I'm in the market of looking for a new portable TV that has ATSC and I could have it running during the hurricane when the power loss. 2 hours doesn't sound bad, its just that I got used to the old one lasting 6 hours(or at least the length of the hurricane). The hurricanes now just take their sweet @ss time getting on land compared to what they used too.


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## Phil T

Stuart Sweet said:


> Maybe that's just a temporary question. Maybe we don't need portable TVs as much now that we have the wireless web on our phones.
> 
> Back when I got my first pocket-sized TV (1985) they were $150 and Black-and-white to boot. It's only been lately that they've been cheap, and they probably will get cheap again, but with ATSC tuners.


I never did own the pocket TV's but now am hooked watching my Slingbox on my Sprint Treo 755p. HD channels from my HR20 are a little small but work OK. I prefer to watch SD 4x3 channels. I usually watch the noon news during lunch at work.


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## HDTVFreak07

kevinwmsn said:


> I'm in the market of looking for a new portable TV that has ATSC and I could have it running during the hurricane when the power loss. 2 hours doesn't sound bad, its just that I got used to the old one lasting 6 hours(or at least the length of the hurricane). The hurricanes now just take their sweet @ss time getting on land compared to what they used too.


Well, the TV I have COULD last longer than 2 hours (maybe even up to 8 hours but it comes with car kit so if it runs out, you could go out to your car if it's in the garage???). I checked the Best Buy web site and it is no longer there. I checked Insignia's web site to see if it is a "discontinued" item, it isn't listed there. I don't know where you might find them now. It works GREAT! I LOVE it!


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## scooper

Consider the idea of getting one of the CECB ATSC converter boxes ,an inverter, and one of those 12V "jumper" batteries and continue to use your old portable TV ?


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## Upstream

scooper said:


> Consider the idea of getting one of the CECB ATSC converter boxes ,an inverter, and one of those 12V "jumper" batteries and continue to use your old portable TV ?


Wouldn't it be a whole lot easier, and just slighly more expensive, to buy a new digital portable TV?


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## HDTVFreak07

scooper said:


> Radio Shack lists it on their website now. For how long we don't know.


At first, I didn't know what you were talking about when you posted your comment. I think I see it now...

Radio Shack has a very, VERY similar item that I have, just different brand name. Everything about it is the same. I couldn't remember how much I paid for on mine but it may be for about the same Radio Shack is selling for.


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## n3ntj

Button Pusher said:


> What will you do with your little 2" Casio portable TV? The one you may use on occassion where you have no power and wanted to catch a show OTA. Obviously you can't use the Digital Converter box in that situation so I assume that limits the use of the little portable TV to places where you can get the converter box plugged in.


I have one of those little 2" Casio color TVs too.. guess I won't have much use for it next spring..


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## Davenlr

I've got the 7" widescreen portable Accurian brand tv from Radio Shack. I am 15 miles from our local tv transmitters. They are full power dtv on vhf-hi and UHF. They are on 1000' towers on top of a 1200' mountain. I am at 450' on top of a hill. There is one hill about 100' higher between my house and the tv stations. 

I can pick up their analog broadcasts with some snow on the built in antenna... I can get ONE dtv station out of 6, and that one only if I stand on my head with the antenna stuck in my ear. DTV sucks for portable use. I can get all the stations fine on it if I plug in a little rooftop antenna...but don't plan on watching after Feb 2009 from a moving vehicle or while moving the tv at all. And hope you are VERY close to the stations. Its going to be terrible for emergency use... DTV is great for HD, but forget portable operation with current tuners.


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## HDTVFreak07

Davenlr said:


> I've got the 7" widescreen portable Accurian brand tv from Radio Shack. I am 15 miles from our local tv transmitters. They are full power dtv on vhf-hi and UHF. They are on 1000' towers on top of a 1200' mountain. I am at 450' on top of a hill. There is one hill about 100' higher between my house and the tv stations.
> 
> I can pick up their analog broadcasts with some snow on the built in antenna... I can get ONE dtv station out of 6, and that one only if I stand on my head with the antenna stuck in my ear. DTV sucks for portable use. I can get all the stations fine on it if I plug in a little rooftop antenna...but don't plan on watching after Feb 2009 from a moving vehicle or while moving the tv at all. And hope you are VERY close to the stations. Its going to be terrible for emergency use... DTV is great for HD, but forget portable operation with current tuners.


Can you use rabbit ears on them? I tried it on mine and it works just fine (without the amp). As for moving vehicle, it doesn't seem to work well. I checked on a couple of web sites and they seem to have the antenna for it (for use in vehicles). I'm thinking of getting one and of course, it's not for my driving and viewing... just for passengers.


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## Davenlr

On mine you can use any antenna, its got a standard F connector...but the point of portable is not needing external antennas for use in a grade A signal area, and its just not do-able now.

Please post the results you get with the mobile antenna. I'm looking for a good horizontally polorized antenna for attic use for some friends who don't want an antenna on the roof...And our stations here are in 3 separate directions.


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## appleye1

I've got one of those little Casio TVs too. (Must have been big sellers!) I use it at the pool every summer. I guess I won't be using it next summer.  Unless they come up with a teensy, battery-powered converter.

Thing is, I also use it when we have some sort of power emergency too. A few months ago we had an ice storm that knocked our power out for 4 days. The little Casio was indespinsible during that time. I wonder if the FCC has even considered anything like that? It seems to me that, after Feb 2009, in the case of a national emergency where the power grid was disrupted in a major way, the lack of widespread portable TVs would be a big problem. A problem that hadn't existed before. Thank god we the FCC didn't shut off analog radio when digital radio came along. At least we'd have that to rely on!


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## Kansas Zephyr

appleye1 said:


> Thank god we the FCC didn't shut off analog radio when digital radio came along. At least we'd have that to rely on!


That's because digital and analog radio, when simulcast, still occupy the current allocated bandwidth.

That isn't possible with analog and digital TV.

Portable ATSC TVs will become more available, and cheaper.


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## photostudent

n3ntj said:


> I have one of those little 2" Casio color TVs too.. guess I won't have much use for it next spring..


I think these little Casios had to have the best tuner ever! Just got back from using it at the beach for 2 weeks. The cellphones I like are too small even for a portable TV and cell service is about the first thing to go out in an emergency. The price of progress I guess.


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