TV with built in Freeview (1 Viewer)

[Romanna]

We have an lcd tv which has a DVD player and Freeview built in, we use it in the van and only watch DVDs on it because we've not finished our van yet, and want to get a good satellite system eventually.

In the meantime, will the Freeview work with some sort of digital aerial?

Remember in the old days when we all had a tv in our bedroom with a tiny little aerial standing on the top, is it not like that any more? :Sad:

 

[dazzer]

Just stick an aerial in the back of it and it should be ok. Freeview is very hit and miss in the motorhome which is why so many use Freesat or Sky with a dish

 

[1_man_and_his_dob(lo)]

The little LCD TV I have came with a built in telescopic aerial for analog (which, not surprisingly, isn't much use nowadays) and an external vertical stubby aerial for digital, which is pretty 2.

In more technical terms, its designed to pick up signals from all directions and avoids you having to point things correctly, but the signal strength has to be very strong and so far very few sites I have been on meet that criteria. Put the aerial inside the Faraday cage that is my van and you can guess the result.

I picked up a combination analog/digital aerial from Maplin which is directional and amplified for about £20 (hey...big spender) and this has improved things when it comes to Freeview, provided I crank the amplification up and have the patience to try and point it in the right direction. It's still not great though.

The van's too small and I'm not desperate enough to go to the effort of fixing an external aerial or dish, but I get the impression that the latter is the way to go.

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[TomTee]

Regrettably it's not as simple as just sticking an aerial in the back. Digital television is much more sensitive and directional than the old analogue system and to be sure of receiving a good signal you'll need a good aerial. You'll also need to find a way of mounting it and feeding the lead into the 'van.

Try Leisurepower's site to get an idea of the cost of digital aerials and mounts.

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I'm considering buying one myself for when I'm in the U.K. and can't get a satellite signal because of trees and buildings etc.

 

[Romanna]

Thanks all. I knew it wouldn't be simple.

We'll probably just stick to watching DVDs for the time being, it would have been nice to plug an aerial in this weekend for the fooball but tbh I'm slightly relieved...

Maybe we'll find a supplier at the show this weekend who will sort us out?

 

[TomTee]

You may get a signal with a small, cheap aerial as long as you are outside the 'van and can move around a little to receive what may be a directional signal. However, unless you're in some shade you may have a problem seeing the screen!

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[mavisangelica]

When we had the caravan, it had a status directional aerial and in a lot of places we were able to get freeview no problem. I used to look around as we drove up to a site to find which way to point the aerial and then tune the analogue in. Once we had the aerial pointing properly for the analogue I then used to tune the freeview in. If the picture was good on analogue, then generally the freeview was fine.