Thankfully, the official FCC Consumer Facts About Digital TV web page provides some hints. When it comes to determining whether your existing TV has a digital tuner or not, things get a little confusing. You might find watching DVDs a better alternative, as it doesn’t matter how far away from the station you are - you always get good reception ’round the clock.Īnd, if a campground has cable TV provided at your campsite, then that will still work as it does now.īasically, the whole analog to digital switcheroo only affects “free TV channels” that people are watching on standard (analog) television sets - usually with an antenna. If you would like to add a DVD player to yours, you can get one pretty quickly (and inexpensively) these days. Our Dutchman 18B travel trailer came with a DVD player built right into the standard AM/FM stereo receiver. (So if you’re a subscriber to Netflix for rental movies on the road, then you’re still in business.) Likewise, analog-only TVs should also continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services. The changes from analog to digital signals will have no affect on how add-ons like gaming consoles, VCRs, and DVD players will work with old TVs. Of course, if the TV entertainment aboard your RV mainly consists of watching DVDs, then you’ll be fine.
In short: watching DVD movies will be no problem, but watching free television channels are another story.įor example, when camping in areas where today you crank up your Winegard TV antenna to watch the evening news… if your television doesn’t have a digital tuner, then you will be left without any reception come February. This is because all channels will only be broadcast with digital signals on that date.
If a television has an analog tuner (rather than a digital tuner), then it will require a converter box after Februin order to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna. What does this mean for RVers? What about the TVs in RV travel trailers and motorhomes? How can you tell if a TV is analog or digital anyway? This time next year, there will be a whole lot of useless TVs out there that will no longer be receiving an analog signal.Īs you’ve probably heard by now, the whole country is switching from analog to digital TV signals by Februas mandated by the U.S. If you buy thru these links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.