HD200-Based "Luggable" TV: Proof Of Concept

[PeteCress]

Probably the biggest downside of the digital TV changeover around here is that rabbit ears no longer work - as in no more portable TVs.... period.

My Better Half likes to watch TV on the back patio and used to have an el-cheapo 7" analog box with a single rabbit ear that did the job just fine.

It had a battery, but being a piece of junk in the first place, the battery didn't work very well from Day 1 and soon became history.

But that was ok.... no problem... as long as the only wire was AC.

Dangling two wires and having to pull coax into every room of the house plus the back patio is a no-no for me.

In that context I wanted to cobble together a functional equivalent: something that would let somebody watch TV wherever they wanted to, but only require an AC power connection.

So...

I took an ancient-and-honorable Aquos analog TV, a couple feet of that industrial-strength Velcro they sell at Home Depot, and decorated the back of said TV with a power strip, the TV's brick, an HD200, and a D-Link DAP-1522 WAP/Bridge - which talks to my D-Link DIR-655 wireless router and delivers an Ethernet connection.

It's not light.... thank goodness for the Aquos' handle.... and it's definitely not pretty..... but it does the job.


Only puzzler is that consistantly when I re-power the HD200 by flipping the switch on the power strip, the HD200 is unable to find the server until I use the remote to turn the HD200 off and then back on again.

This is 100% replicable... and happens whether the HD200 is plugged into the bridge's Ethernet or directly into a hard-wired router or switch.


Bottom line, though, the job was was easier and the result works better than I expected.

Get a lighter/smaller TV that plugs direct into AC without that grey brick; pull the guts out of the HD200; pull the guts out of the bridge; fabricate box that incorporates both plus a power strip......and it might even not be so ugly.

Could we be looking at a small part of home TV's future here?


Post Script: I'm not having any luck uploading photos of this thing to Sage,
so I put them on Flickr: http://tinyurl.com/nvbrn7

[btrcp2000]

For a little while I had my wireless mvp hooked up to a playstation 1 battery and screen. It would run for about 45min pretty well. I was going to take the mvp guts out and put them in the psone case, but my linksys 54g router died, and the mvp won't work wirelessly anymore with the new one. PLus the mvp can only do wap.

I have had thoughts as well of gutting a portable dvd player for a battery powered instant on hd200. Some would call that a "laptop", but I think there is something to be said for instant on and no video/codec hassles.

I now have a battery powered lcd that will accept a/v in but also has an atsc tuner (coby tv-1091), found it on ebay for about $100 if you're looking for something smaller.

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by btrcp2000

I now have a battery powered lcd that will accept a/v in but also has an atsc tuner (coby tv-1091), found it on ebay for about $100 if you're looking for something smaller.

I was just about to mention that ATSC based portable tv's have been around for awhile now. Heck, a quick trip over to Newegg and I see a 7" one on sale for 90 bucks with no shipping (also has a QAM and NTSC tuner)

[PeteCress]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

I was just about to mention that ATSC based portable tv's have been around for awhile now. Heck, a quick trip over to Newegg and I see a 7" one on sale for 90 bucks with no shipping (also has a QAM and NTSC tuner)

Problem around here is that TV would need a coax connection. Rabbit ears just don't work any more in this area.

[Fuzzy]

Have you tried it post transition? A lot of stations were using lower power transmitters for their digital before the cutover, and you may find there is better reception now. I've seen car based ATSC systems as well, and they seem to pick up pretty well in suburban areas.

[sainswor99]

I use a laptop with placeshifter and get the same outcome with much less weight. Waiting on the Viliv s5 to come out with windows 7 and I'll probably pick up one of those for use while grilling out.

[PeteCress]

Originally Posted by sainswor99

I use a laptop with placeshifter and get the same outcome with much less weight. Waiting on the Viliv s5 to come out with windows 7 and I'll probably pick up one of those for use while grilling out.

I do that too: Asus 901. Works well for me.

But for the dedicated technophobe, laptops are anathema.

The Viliv devices look interesting. I like my Asus as a "walking around" PC, but lust after a touch screen.

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by PeteCress

Only puzzler is that consistantly when I re-power the HD200 by flipping the switch on the power strip, the HD200 is unable to find the server until I use the remote to turn the HD200 off and then back on again.

This is 100% replicable... and happens whether the HD200 is plugged into the bridge's Ethernet or directly into a hard-wired router or switch.

what happens if you power on the bridge, let it establish a connection back to the AP and then power up the HD200?

[mistergq]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Have you tried it post transition? A lot of stations were using lower power transmitters for their digital before the cutover, and you may find there is better reception now. I've seen car based ATSC systems as well, and they seem to pick up pretty well in suburban areas.

actually, a lot of stations went back to high VHF and are using less power. i cannot get two of the major networks right now. Until these stations get approved for UHF again by the FCC, we are stuck at this time.