I hate to revive and old thread, but I didn't want to create a new one and this is somewhat related.
I never thought about this, but I came across this article today about portable TVs and not buying one in 2008 unless you ensure is is capable of receiving digital broadcasts. I have a portable TV for emergencies (i.e.: hurricanes), and I know that there are other SGs who live in bad weather zones, so I thought I'd bring it up just to remind everyone who has one; you'll need a new one and for those thinking of getting one for emergencies; make sure it will be usable next year.
It's just something I never thought of, as I only use the TV when the power goes out during hurricanes and would hate to not have the ability to watch the news during bad weather events.
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-991162 ... 47-1_3-0-5
Don't buy a portable TV this year
Posted by Matthew Moskovciak | 3 comments
Sorry little guy, but your days are numbered.
(Credit: Wal-Mart)
Portable TVs can be great for camping or in case of emergency, but you're probably going to be getting ripped off if you buy one in 2008. That's because almost all portable TVs use standard analog TV signals, and those signals are going to get turned off on February 17, 2009. And even though these TVs are just about obsolete, you can still buy them at places like Target, Wal-mart and Amazon. Some of the pages have warnings about the impending DTV transition, but some of them don't.
While it is possible that someone will come out with a battery powered DTV converter--which could work with a portable TV that has inputs--we wouldn't hold our breath. The FCC's DTV FAQ page already explicitly says, "it is not anticipated that battery powered digital-to-analog converter boxes will be produced", and we haven't heard anything from any manufacturer about making one. That means pretty much all existing portable TVs will be rendered useless, unless you're using an external device to feed it video.
So what are your options if you still want to enjoy some portable TV action after February 17th, 2009? Well, you'll need to shell out for a new portable TV with an ATSC tuner. Currently there are only a few options, such as this Accurian 7-inch LCD and the Insigna NS-7HTV, which isn't even available on BestBuy.com currently. We do expect more portable TVs with ATSC tuners to hit the market as the DTV deadline approaches--which will help alleviate this problem--but right now you should stay away from almost all current portable TVs-or if you buy one, realize that it's going to lose most of its functionality in less than a year.