In Car TV Good or Bad?

In Car TV sucks!

In car TV is brilliant!
Both of these statements are true, depending…

1. Depending on what equipment you have bought
2. Depending on what aerials you are using.
3. Depending on where you live

1. Television in a car can be fantastic as long as your expectations are not too high, common sense should tell you that you only get what you pay for. I am always bemused by questions like “I purchased an all singing Car DVD multimedia TV system for peanuts from Hong Kong and I can only get two stations on it.” The millions of pounds that the likes of Alpine, Clarion, JVC etc spend on research and development is what makes their products more expensive than China but more importantly, that is why their products work the way they should. There are a few exceptions, and some Chinese products can be built to higher quality standards, so how do you tell? Usually if it looks too good to be true, is a good guide but if you take the advice of a good, known, specialist and buy reputable UK brands or at least names like CKO which are sourced in the far east but backed up with good service, you won’t go far wrong.
2. In Car TV is received by antennae and the signal is fed to the tuner through coaxial cable. The quality of the materials used in the construction is paramount. Low loss and maximum gain is the goal. Once the very weak signal has been detected by the aerial it needs to be amplified and cleaned of interference, then fed down a shielded tube cable (Coax) into the tuner. The aerial mast or radiator needs to be able to see the sky so fitted as high up the window as possible. Some car TV tuners use two aerials (Diversity) this type is best but the aerials need to be placed as far apart as possible, so one in front window and one in rear is best however some modern cars have heated screens or metallised   solar film in the glass which blocks signal, again use your specialists advice. It is unfortunate but the neat little unobtrusive glass mount car TV aerials are usually rubbish and the big ugly Necvox Digital Video Antenna ANT-536 magnetic- mount is best, it does give an incredible 20dB lift in signal which is the best mobile TV antenna on the market and fine for your caravan or mobile home but too ugly for the car (only my opinion).
3. Car TV Aerials can’t receive what isn’t there, it seems too obvious to mention but you would be surprised what the expectations of the humble antenna is especially when you put in inside a tin box on wheels and trundle it about the countryside. It is a miracle that it works at all.  Forget it if you live in the north of Scotland and in fact most other rural parts of the UK are poorly served. Unless you live under a TV transmitter mast you will only be able to get a decent picture in major conurbations you can use the Digital postcode finder at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/ to see if you are lucky.

If you need any information or help with In Car TV then please don’t hesitate to contact us.