Frugal HDTV (Pocket LCD 1" BW?)
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
three pocket 1" BW LCD TVs and I'm looking for the cheapest way to get
HDTV after February. If I had to pay more than fifty bucks I would
forego TV altogether.
- = -
Vasos Panagiotopoulos, Columbia'81+, Reagan, Mozart, Pindus, BioStrategist
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/vjp2/vasos.htm
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Al Bundy
vjp2...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com wrote:
> I watch TV half an hour a month and don't care much for it. I have
> three pocket 1" BW LCD TVs and I'm looking for the cheapest way to get
> HDTV after February. If I had to pay more than fifty bucks I would
> forego TV altogether.
>
> - = -
With only 1" TV's you have already foregone television. You are
merely listening to TV stations with a postage stamp to keep you busy.
Perhaps there would be a reasonably priced digital radio that would
pick up the signal and provide the TV channels as well as some other
things like the music you prefer.
Dave
<vjp...@at.BioStrategist.dot.dot.com> wrote in message
news:gav7rb$pkj$1...@reader1.panix.com...
> I watch TV half an hour a month and don't care much for it. I have
> three pocket 1" BW LCD TVs and I'm looking for the cheapest way to get
> HDTV after February. If I had to pay more than fifty bucks I would
> forego TV altogether.
>
OK, first, let's define terms. After February, you want to watch ATSC
television programming. If it's really HDTV you want to watch (High
Definition), then it doesn't make much sense to be looking for a cheap
television, as no cheap television is going to display HD resolution.
You can get a cheap TV with a digital tuner (ATSC) to watch TV after
February. But the cheapest you will find one is a 13" CRT set for about
$120 plus shipping.
If your budget is maxed at $50 though? Take a look at your computer. If
it's relatively recent (not ancient) and has an open PCI expansion slot, you
can get something like the following, plus ~$6 rabbit ears from wally world
(the antenna does NOT need to be "special" for digital programming...heck, a
coat hanger might work too) to turn your computer monitor and computer
speakers into a pretty decent HDTV!!!
If that link doesn't work just search froogle for ATSC PCI tuner
then sort by lowest price
Note the quality won't be great, but it will beat the heck out of a 1" BW
portable!!! And, it could possibly display real HD resolution digital
programming, depending on the quality of your computer monitor and video
card. -Dave
William Sommerwerck
ago, but I don't remember where.
Pszemol
> three pocket 1" BW LCD TVs and I'm looking for the cheapest way to get
> HDTV after February. If I had to pay more than fifty bucks I would
> forego TV altogether.
$50 converter - $40 federal check ~= $10.
https://www.dtv2009.gov/
Doug Smith W9WI
> Perhaps there would be a reasonably priced digital radio that would
> pick up the signal and provide the TV channels as well as some other
> things like the music you prefer.
There are no TV sound radios that will do digital.
Probably the closest thing would be one of the coupon-eligible converter
boxes feeding the audio output to a set of computer speakers. Not
portable though.
As for the original question, yes, one should be able to get one of the
coupon-eligible converter boxes for well under $50 after redeeming one of
the NTIA coupons. The ability to use it depends on the 1" TV having
either an external antenna input or external audio & video inputs. I
suppose in a pinch one could stuff a few inches of wire into the RF output
jack & wrap it around the TV's antenna.
Dave
"William Sommerwerck" <grizzle...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:YPidnUP8suXcCU7V...@comcast.com...
> I believe I've seen USB HD tuners for around $50. It was just a few days
> ago, but I don't remember where.
>
Even if you could find one, it wouldn't be a good idea. USB will be slow
and quirky, if used for a HD TV tuner. -Dave
Dave
"Pszemol" <Psz...@PolBox.com> wrote in message
news:gavk5s...@poczta.onet.pl...
I don't think that's a good solution. The converter will be about FOUR
TIMES the size of the TV. Plus, I've never seen a portable
onverter. -Dave
Rod Speed
> William Sommerwerck <grizzle...@comcast.net> wrote
>> I believe I've seen USB HD tuners for around $50.
>> It was just a few days ago, but I don't remember where.
> Even if you could find one, it wouldn't be a good idea.
> USB will be slow and quirky, if used for a HD TV tuner.
Wrong, they work fine.
Frank
How about a 1.8" color TV for $24?
http://www.amazon.com/Axion-ACN-5318-1-8-Inch-Portable-Color/dp/B00006CFMB/ref=dp_return_2?ie=UTF8&n=172282&s=electronics
Not HDTV, also need converter box.
Jeff
They work fine, if you have a computer to plug them into. But there
is no computer here on the OPs 1".
Note that you can shop around and get these for a song, so perhaps an
ATSC usb stub is what the OP needs since he probably has a computer.
You'll have some computational and OS conditions you'll need to satisfy
with the USB ATSC tuners that will vary depending on just what you are
using.
Jeff
>
>
timeOday
I have a Hauppauge HVR 950 HD to PC USB device which works just fine,
under Linux even.
However, the amount of disk space to store the shows, and the CPU
required to play them, stretches my 160GB drive and Athlon XP 1900+ to
the very limit. It takes a lot of tricks even to downsample them to
720x480 and replay them on my TV in real time.
As a result I use a digital converter box bought for about $12 after the
coupon (which downconverts to NTSC in hardware) followed by a hardware
encoder (PVR 150) which works well.
Samuel M. Goldwasser
Yeah, and "portable" and "DTV" and "antenna" are an oxymoron. :)
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Al Bundy
> <vjp2...@at.BioStrategist.dot.dot.com> wrote in message
I figure if he has a 1" TV that he wants to carry it around. He may
not want to also carry a converter box and a long cord and an added
antenna. I just put a converter box on my TV. It needed an antenna
booster to pull in the channels. The picture is great, but the sound
is reduced. I suspect his 1" TV is going in the trash.
PS. The first set of coupons I sent in for were expired when received.
The government site seems to be scamming folks. So I mailed a request
for two in my brother's name from Detroit. Those were sent out
immediately. They have to show some coupons redeemed. I think they
want to show they helped the inner city people.
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
THe closest thing is combo protable DVD and DTV
Bennett Price
> I watch TV half an hour a month and don't care much for it. I have
> three pocket 1" BW LCD TVs and I'm looking for the cheapest way to get
> HDTV after February. If I had to pay more than fifty bucks I would
> forego TV altogether.
>
Portable was not one of the original poster's requirements. A battery-
operable, fairly small, coupon-eligible converter is here:
> http://www.artec.com.tw/ehtm/products/t3a.htm
(External battery pack needed; comes with a 120 vac --> 12 vdc xformer)
Coupons available here: > https://www.dtv2009.gov/
Gary Heston
Try "dtv portable" to narrow your search a bit.
>THe closest thing is combo protable DVD and DTV
Try:
or:
I dont see anything wrong with a combo DTV/DTV player; you just have a
bit more flexibility.
Gary
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