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Old 09-27-2015, 09:35 PM   #1
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Television receiver quality-- is there a difference?

I have the 22" Jensen 12V TV, which I use both at home and when I travel. Well, that was the plan-- I've found that the TV has poor build quality and poor reception. I receive my TV signal over the air; I don't have cable, and one tree waving in the breeze in line-of-sight of the broadcast tower will kill the channel I'm watching.

I realize that most of this is due to the nature of digital broadcast signals; they don't degrade gracefully, but I'm wondering if better electronics in the TV would help with this, maybe by using buffering or something. So-- is there a qualitative difference in broadcast TV receivers? Does anyone have one of the RCA 12V televisions, and if so would they recommend it? I'm about ready to give up on this thing.
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Old 09-27-2015, 09:41 PM   #2
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I equate RCA with Really Crummy Appliance.
I think your receiver will accomplish little without a good antenna.
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Old 09-27-2015, 09:43 PM   #3
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We use an OTA external antenna and matching amplifier at the house. Full High def and about seventy channels, no issues. Seems most of the trailer antennas have some kind of amp as well. If hooked up to external antenna and amp system, wouldn't think the tv brand would matter.
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Old 09-27-2015, 10:54 PM   #4
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Yeah, I guess I should relocate and/or replace my external antenna before buying a new TV. I'll try that first.
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Old 09-27-2015, 11:16 PM   #5
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Good place to start for help in locating antenna on house. AntennaWeb - Home
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Old 09-27-2015, 11:27 PM   #6
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Thanks. My main problem is a big fat pecan tree between my antenna and the desired transmitters. I'll have to move the antenna quite a ways to avoid it. How annoying.
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Old 09-27-2015, 11:44 PM   #7
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What antenna are you using for home use? Some friends and I ended up in a little contest building our own to see which type was best. There are some differences between types. You have one tree in your line of sight! I wish I have a forest and a ridge. Despite that my commercial, non-amplified 8 bay antenna does well and I get everything that's available in this area. I use it for two TV's. Ones small and cheap compared to our "good" TV. But they both get the same amount of channels.

I use TV fool at home and on the road to target stations.

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Old 09-28-2015, 12:41 AM   #8
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I was so delighted with the performance of the Jack antenna on my 21 after so many crummy trailer antennas that I bought a $50 head unit (no signal lights) and have it installed at home. Works super!
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Old 09-28-2015, 05:32 AM   #9
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I am using an amplified Channel Master antenna; it looks like a flying saucer. I guess I could try something more conventional. I'm in a rural area and the stations I want to pick up are 40-90 miles away.

I bought the Channel Master when I lived between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, but even in that urban environment I recall that waving tree limbs would mess it up. I assumed it was due to the nature of digital signals, but maybe it's just a crummy antenna.
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Old 09-28-2015, 06:31 AM   #10
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Mike,
cut down the tree and eat the pecans while watching tv...
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Old 09-28-2015, 06:34 AM   #11
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Hi: Mike Lewis... At the risk of being riveted to the antenna mast, what digital broadcast has given us is more signal room for broadcasters to buy... one on top of the other... but at a reduced pattern area. To receive what you used to get OTA an amplified antenna seems now a must have.
The Jack in our 5.0TA receives way more than the Winegard on our 5.0 did in a given broadcast area, with the same Toshiba TV. You get a choice of full picture, pixelated, or no picture!!!
The last Prov. Pk. we were in was behind a ridge of ledge rock and close to the lake effectively cutting off the chance of a signal getting through to our roof mount. Kinda nice in a quiet sort of way. Alf
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Old 09-28-2015, 01:15 PM   #12
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loss of sound but still good picture

I use a Jack antenna with a 12 volt 20" RCA flat panel TV and often will have a decent picture however the sound will drop out. However changing the channels up one and back will revive it then later it will drop out again. has anyone experienced the same issue.
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Old 09-28-2015, 02:32 PM   #13
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As has been said before the difference between the old days with rabbit ears and OTA digital is you don't get to make the decision to watch a snowy poor picture.

But I've found the same thing, dropping in and out in a marginal situation. So it's not quite the all or nothing situation. If that starts happening at my place I usually give the antenna a tiny tweak and then it usually stays good for a long time until a wind storm jars it.

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Old 09-28-2015, 03:43 PM   #14
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We live in a rural area with lots of trees. We have an outdoor antenna (No cable available)
Our Vizio TV pulls in about 50% more channels than our other TV set.
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Old 09-28-2015, 05:05 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David H View Post
I use a Jack antenna with a 12 volt 20" RCA flat panel TV and often will have a decent picture however the sound will drop out. However changing the channels up one and back will revive it then later it will drop out again. has anyone experienced the same issue.
That almost sounds like an issue with the TV, not the reception.
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Old 09-28-2015, 06:54 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC View Post
What antenna are you using for home use? Some friends and I ended up in a little contest building our own to see which type was best. There are some differences between types. You have one tree in your line of sight! I wish I have a forest and a ridge. Despite that my commercial, non-amplified 8 bay antenna does well and I get everything that's available in this area. I use it for two TV's. Ones small and cheap compared to our "good" TV. But they both get the same amount of channels.

I use TV fool at home and on the road to target stations.

Ron
Ron,

Can you recommend a good antenna for home use?

thanks,
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Old 09-28-2015, 06:58 PM   #17
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Mike,
cut down the tree and eat the pecans while watching tv...
Since pecan trees have weak roots, I'm guessing the next Force 3 hurricane will take care of the problem. Not that I'm asking for one, you understand-- it would take care of a lot of things, including the TV antenna. In 2004 Hurricane Ivan took out four pecans and two small oak trees at the house, back when my dad was living here.
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Old 09-28-2015, 07:02 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by steve dunham View Post
We live in a rural area with lots of trees. We have an outdoor antenna (No cable available)
Our Vizio TV pulls in about 50% more channels than our other TV set.
Perhaps I should give up on the idea of using the same TV at home and in the trailer and just buy another one solely for home use. It's obvious I'm thinking out loud here. I need to research this.
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Old 09-28-2015, 07:15 PM   #19
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Ron,

Can you recommend a good antenna for home use?

thanks,
If you go to ebay and put in "8 bay antenna" you'll see the type I have at home. It works well in my difficult conditions but they're sort of the opposite of yours.

I'm in a valley with trees and a ridge about 100 yards away completely preventing any line of sight reception but the big difference is that the transmitters are only about 5 miles away. You're a lot further from the transmitters so I'd expect that you'd have to use an amplifier. It's a somewhat black art, theoretically I shouldn't get anything but I do.

As far as "good tv, bad tv" goes I don't see much difference in mine. I also have a TV stick that I plug into my netbook when we're on the road and it also does a pretty good job. Never tried it at home to compare with the "real" tv's.

Ron
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Old 10-11-2015, 07:10 AM   #20
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I ended up buying a new television instead of replacing the antenna. The TV is an Insignia 24"; I think Insignia is Best Buy's house brand. I got it because it has an external power supply with a 12V connection to the TV, so I can use it on battery in the trailer as well. It has 1080p resolution and cost $130 on sale.

My reception at home is much better than with the Jensen. It receives more channels. When the wind blows my pecan tree around there is a bit of degradation but it doesn't cut out completely like the Jensen does. I can also use it as a computer monitor if needed, though 1080p isn't quite sharp enough for serious computer use. I'll take the TV with me next time I take a trip in my trailer and see how well it performs.
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