The first portable TVs came out in the 1970s, believe it or not. by the mid-1980s, devices like Sony’s Watchman meant you could watch TV while in a moving car if you wanted to. It was black-and-white, it was a tiny screen, but it worked. And yet somehow, by the late 2000s, it became impossible to watch TV if you were going more than about 10mph. What happened?
Digital TV: Good for everyone, bad for RVs
Of course you remember that in the 20th century, TVs were big boxes with roundish screens. They had dark, blurry pictures. We all wanted more. We wanted high definition. High definition TV had been around in test form for about 15 years by the time the US Congress authorized a change to the way we broadcast here. TV would go digital, they said, and that would mean better picture and sound, more content, and all sorts of cool stuff. Most of us said, “sign me up.”
Now, you have to understand this was the late 1990s. Most cell phones weren’t even digital at that time. There were going to have to be a lot of compromises to make digital TV work at a price that people could afford. We’re still living with those compromises today.
One compromise, the one that really affects RVs, has to do with the way that signals are received. As you move, and the distance from the towers changes, the signal begins to drift. Maybe you remember your old car stereo that needed you to move the knob every 15 minutes or so as you drove on the highway. It’s the same thing.
The new digital TV reception systems don’t include a way to compensate for that drift. It was just too much processing that needed to be done, and at the time it was too expensive. So that capability was left out. That’s why you can’t watch TV in a moving vehicle anymore.
But now it’s the 2020s
Obviously we have long ago solved this problem. It’s been solved for almost two decades at this point. I mean, think about it — you use your phone for video all the time and you don’t care if you’re moving. More modern TV standards like Europe’s DVB-T2 work while you’re moving. Why can’t the US have a system like that?
It turns out there’s a plan in place that would let you use your TV in a moving vehicle. It’s called ATSC 3.0 or NextGen TV. (The terms mean the same thing, one’s just fancy hype.) With this new standard, you could get all sorts of neat stuff. 4K over-the-air, on-demand content, and yes, TV in something that moves. As usual, though, there are bound to be some hurdles to jump over. And in the case of ATSC 3.0, they’re big ones.
The sob story that is ATSC 3.0
Five years ago, the US government authorized test broadcasts of ATSC 3.0. Things were going along pretty well in 2018 and 2019. But then, the world’s focus shifted in 2020 — I probably don’t need to tell you why. The result is that five years later, there are still some test broadcasts, but the devices you need to receive them are still expensive and hard to find.
It’s gotten to the point where the government’s authorization for these tests expires this year and really we’re no further along on this thing than we were in 2017. There are, as I write this, no 4K broadcasts. There are a handful of TVs with the right tuners but they’re pricey. Converter boxes for old TVs are practically nonexistent and cost as much as a bargain-priced TV.
Where do we go from here?
That’s the real question, isn’t it? No one seems to know the answer. The government could completely shut down ATSC 3.0 this year. In some ways that could be for the best. Fewer than 20% of Americans use antennas. A big change could potentially drive people away from the technology if it’s expensive or difficult. Still I’d like to see these new features and I bet you would too.
The best thing we could hope for would be a cheap converter box based on cheap, easy-to-get chips. Adding ATSC 3.0 support to new TVs for just a few bucks would mean every manufacturer would do it. A $50 converter device the size of a flash drive, powered by the TV, would hit the sweet spot for a lot of folks. We’re not there yet, but hopefully we could be soon.
As more and more time goes by, it gets harder to keep the enthusiasm up. I get it. But let’s all hope for the best this year, so by next year, live TV in the back of the RV will be a reality! In the meantime, if you need any RV accessories, including satellite TV or internet for your RV, call us at Solid Signal! We’re here for you at 888-233-7563. Call, or fill out the form below!
