Digital TV issues?

I saw this mentioned in another post...but will we have issues with the Concertone and getting over the air TV channels now?

I have a flat screen TV but if the over the air signal comes in through the Concertone will it not work now?

I would say, the Concertone will not work as a TV tuner after Feb. 17, or when ever the Govt. decides to make all the TV channels go to digital.

Just cause you have a flat screen TV doesn't really mean you have a HD TV. You have to check on the TV to see if its a HD. I have a 20 inch Sharp Aquos LCD, but its not an HDTV. So I need the digital converters.

Good question. I was assuming that if the signal going into the Concertone was digital, then the signal coming out would be digital. That's what I'm hoping, anyway.

If a campground has cable or satellite, we'll be fine - or, we can set up our direct TV. But sometimes, it's getting a little late when we pull in, or we have more important things to do, so we wouldn't take the time to set up the dish. We don't know if our flat screen TV is digital or not, but we did buy the converter just in case. Yet another thing to stick in our entertainment center. :)

Tom,

Don't get confused between digital and HD. They are not the same. Digital compatible TVs have a digital tuner as opposed to the analog tuner in the older CRT style TVs. After 2/17 (or whenever the cut over happens) only digital signals will be transmitted and will require a TV with an digital tuner. HD is a high definition mode and can be transmitted in either analog or digital. I believe, and may be wrong, that all of the flat screens have digital tuners. The TV manual should state if it is equipped with a digital tuner.

I do agree the concertone will probably no longer work as a TV tuner...at least that is my guess!

No No NO. Bad Mark

HDTV is defined by a series of higher resolutions in digital whether interlaced or progress scan. You have 1080i (1920x1080 pixels), 720p (1280x720), 1080p and some others in between. There's talk of a 2160p format in the future. 480i is the format used in all analog broadcasts and is the lowest resolution in digital. 480p is usually limited to dvd players using component cables. It can be outputted in 720x480 rather than the 640x480

After March 2007, all TV were required to be manufactured with a built in digital tuner whether they were standard or full resolution HD.

The older concertone (not sure about the current units) will not work as a atsc tuner, but I believe it will pass the signal to a digital tv or on of the converter boxes. I hooked up the converter boxes on the coax output of the Concertone and then patched it back in on input #1 using the composite (yellow) cable and L/R audio. That way I can use the concertone for A/V distribution. If you have a TV with a ATSC (aka digital tuner), you should be able to hook it up with the coax. After I'm done testing, I may unhook in the inbound coax from the concertone since it doesn't provide anything, but a nice ground between components. Don't believe anything about digital antennas, it's a marketing scheme.

Mark,

I do know that my Sharp Aquos tv is NOT digital or DH or anything but analog. I did look in the manual and online. We bought it back in Dec. 2004 and paid a fortune for it, $1100.00 :cry: Now you can get a 52 inch for $1100.00 :x

So, we have 2 of the digital/analog boxes.

I'm almost sure our flat screen is analog because of when we bought it - and the price was very low. We also have a fat tv in our living room that is analog. No problem. Like Tom and Sharon, we have two converters.

About the only time we would use the converter in the house would be during a storm. Direct TV has a problem of losing the signal in heavy rain. When that happens, we turn off the Direct TV and watch local channels on the analog TV. That's when we'll have to use the converter. In the trailer, the same would apply. If we lost our signal, either on cable, campground sat, or our direct TV, we would still have local channels by using our converter. And, if there is a bad weather situation going on, we'd really like to be able to get coverage on the local channels.

Scruffy and Tater wrote:About the only time we would use the converter in the house would be during a storm. Direct TV has a problem of losing the signal in heavy rain. When that happens, we turn off the Direct TV and watch local channels on the analog TV. That's when we'll have to use the converter. In the trailer, the same would apply. If we lost our signal, either on cable, campground sat, or our direct TV, we would still have local channels by using our converter. And, if there is a bad weather situation going on, we'd really like to be able to get coverage on the local channels.

Three of my four Dish Sat HD DVRs receivers have a built-in OTA ATSC tuners so you can want your locals through the dish box and get the guide info (and record). I've only had issues with snow on my dish interrupting the signal. Usually only happens 1 or twice a year. I can still watch the local channels live if I don't want to sweep the dish. I have enough between all the DVRs to watch when the signal is down.

FWIW, I bought a 55" rear projection HDTV in 2003. There were two models. One with the digital tuner (HD integrated) and one without (HD ready). Price difference was $900 at the time. I decided to get the loaded tv for the HD gratification factor. I haven't used digital tuner in it since I upgraded my Dish HD receivers a few years ago. It was nice to watch the local digital programming in HD before the set top boxes were more mainstream. For $250 Echostar has a OTA DVR (DTVpal DVR) with two ATSC tuners (record two local digital broadcast shows at once) and outputs HD via component or HDMI (no down conversion like the d-to-a boxes)

I'm a tech nerd and proud of it.

So I have the Concertone 600 I think...I know I had the 550 before and within a month of getting my camper it went to crap! So this new one they put in was a 600.

At any rate...am I to understand that the 600 is basically worthless on its own now? Not that it wasn't close to that anyway...

Cory

Jetskier,
I guess our Direct TV dish won't do that. We lose our satellite fairly often. North Texas gets some terrific storms, we had one last night. Heavy rain and big winds. That's the time we don't want to lose coverage - when we want to see the radar maps.

Tater

farmerforever wrote:
At any rate...am I to understand that the 600 is basically worthless on its own now? Not that it wasn't close to that anyway...
Cory

For using it as a TV tuner, YES, for using it as a dvd player & radio, no.

Reach behind the Concertone and unplug the antenna coax from the roof antenna,

install a coax outlet that you can run that antenna coax to ,,, and then run a line to your HDTV....
You could add a bigger Splitter to run that line to ,,,, doesnt the park connection coax split in with the roof coax ? ,,,, That way you keep your park connection for cable/sat.
To keep the surround sound, if your HDTV has audio out, run that to your audio in on the concertone.,,,
would that Work ?

Will the exisiting roof antenna pick up the new signals? (just wanted to throw another log in the fire here)

Yes, any old antenna will pick up over the air signals...
A friend of mine left his Ant. on a tower over the years,,, went to the sat dish for a while ,,,, then when the HDTV signals started being broadcast,,, He plugged up the old antenna to the HDTV and hit the search channel button and it loaded them all up.....
Came in Crystal Clear,,,,
Now For my old antenna ,,,, I had the wise Idea I'd never use it again because of the Sat dish,,,, So I smashed it Flat with my John Deere loader bucket and hauled it off,,,, Yes I have kicked myself in the butt cause it was a nice antenna...

My friend has the Sat HD service also,,, But his local over the air on the antenna signals come in CRYSTAL CLEAR,,,, Really sharp... He talked to another guy he knows that works for one of the Local stations and he told him that once they go full Digital, that the signals will be a little stronger,,, So some stations you might not pick up now may come in good and strong after the switch,,,
For Free........

Just for everyones info I hooked up a digital converter box about 6 weeks ago in the Cat and we are receiving more than double the channels than before plus the channels are clear. Enjoying the warm sunny weather down here at Cocoa Beach. Next trip out I will put the DishNet dish and box back in the 5th wheel so we can enjoy more channels.

We keep meaning to hook up our converter box. I guess when the time comes, we'll get around to doing it.

So if I want to hook the converter box to the concertone it will work then? Got a pic of how you hooked that up? I would like to still use the speakers inside and out...if I turn the TV around to watch TV outside with a regular antenna hooked up to the flat screen I won't be able to hear it outside now!

Farmer,

I don't think you can connect the converter to the Concertone. The converter goes directly from the antenna to the TV. Then you change the channels with the converter. I think you can send the audio out your TV, or converter if it has jacks, to the input of the Concertone. If the Concertone will work that way.

We were in Virginia Beach, VA. last week and TV reception was just OK, but I tried the converter and all the major channels including PBS & CW came in crystal clear.

So I am still stuck on this one. Lets talk some theory here...the antenna on the Cat has to come to the concertone so the channels and the sound can be made available to all of the 3 tv jacks in my 5th wheel. Should you be able to put the converter in between the antenna and the concertone so we can still use the sound system with the concertone?

When they replaced my concertone it seems like I remember there being extra composite jacks hanging in the back of the unit that were unused...I am going to have to look and see...

I have not got a converter yet, but Tom was saying you have to change the channels on the converter box if I understand right. If this is the case, you need to do like Jetskier and run the coax to the converter, then use RCA cables back into the Concertone. The problem being, that you still have to change the channels via the converter box. I am so confused

Yes, you need to change channels on the converter box. The Concertone is analog only on the TV function.

Now I guess the question is:

IF THE CONVERTER IS INSTALLED BEFORE THE CONCERTONE, CAN YOU CHANGE THE CHANNELS USING THE CONVERTER THROUGH THE CONCERTONE?

oldelmer1 wrote:Now I guess the question is:

IF THE CONVERTER IS INSTALLED BEFORE THE CONCERTONE, CAN YOU CHANGE THE CHANNELS USING THE CONVERTER THROUGH THE CONCERTONE?

I think the answer to your question is NO. The Concertone will not change the channels on the converter. You will need to change the channels on the converter no matter what.

I'm assuming you are talking about taking the existing coax feed from the antenna booster switch at the back of the Concertone and running it to the back of the converter first, then have a short jumper coax from the converter to the back of the Concertone. It would be the same thing as using the little jumper that takes the feed from the outside cable jack to the concertone. IIRC, both those feeds are fed into a splitter/combiner before entering the Concertone.

Either way, the converter would do the tuning and channel changing, while the Concertone would take the analog outfeed from the converter to show the picture and play the sound. If you use the coax route in place of the yellow composite feed, the Concertone would need to be on channel 3 or 4 to match the output on the converter. It's just like the old VCRs when you had to press the TV/VCR button to get the VCR to show up on the TV.

FWIW. I have the coaxial output from the Concertone feeding the converter box than it feeds back to the concertone on the composite jacks for A/V. THe Concertone doesn't seem to modify the OTA signal when it passes through.