We have a small NTSC/PAL compatible TV in Europe with a tunner. It's an LCD and I think it's HDTV compatible. We need a small antenna, from what I have read a DVB antenna would do but can someone confirm or point me to a product that we can take with us and hook up over there?

Thanks!

bump. anyone???

Which country?

Generally speaking, they are on the same frequencies over there, so a good antenna here will be a good antenna there. Some broadcast in the UHF only for television (like the UK). Also many use verticle polarization, so you may need to orient the antenna differntly than you would in the US, depending on the country I believe.

Why dont you just pick one up over there?

Which country?

Croatia.

Why dont you just pick one up over there?

We have a place on an island that does not exactly have a Best Buy style store on the island or anywhere near. The one analog antenna that we picked up last year is huge and atrocious looking (1970s) thing. What about something like this?

http://www.vesalia.de/e_superdigitenne%5B4918%5D.htm?slc=us

thanks

I think Croatia now has DVB-T, and I dont know if they are still broadcasting in the PAL standard.

Wiki says this...

Croatia (PAL to be abandoned for DVB-T by 01.01.2011)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVB-T_in_Croatia


I dont know what frequencies they are broadcasting on nor where they are in relation to you to gauge strength, Im supposing they are broadcasting in PAL (as well as DVB-T to some degree).

It would be safe to get a VHF/UHF combo, like a RCA ANT108/ANT110. Powered isnt really a good idea. You could bring a Classic Single Bowtie and 75ohm matching transformer as well (Small, tough, and better UHF performance than the Loop).

That is the best I can do, on limited knowledgeo of Croatia.

Well, the TV we have is the Samsung 940mw 19 LCD monitor/TV which just says its got a PAL/SECAM/NTSC Tuner (see specifications):

http://www.samsung.com/he/products/monitor/multimedia/940mw.asp

We bought it so we can use it over there. I presume that the LCD is HDTV ready so the tuner is probably analog and not digital (i.e. cannot receive HD in Croatia without a special box). All I know is that it has a regular RCA type connector which antenna plugs into right now and we program it to self-tune analog channels.

What would it take to start receiving the Croatian HD over the air signals?

For regular analog, would any indoor antenna work? I would prefer a flat antenna that is non-powered.

Thanks!

Dont know enough about the specifics of your situation or Croatias.

Good Luck!

The one thing I do know is that Europe uses UHF and VHF to broadcast, so yes you can use US antennas.....you may have to orient them in the vertical postion as some use vertical polarization (the US uses horizontal), but the elements should work.

Dont know enough about the specifics of your situation or Croatias.

Good Luck!

The one thing I do know is that Europe uses UHF and VHF to broadcast, so yes you can use US antennas.....you may have to orient them in the vertical position as some use vertical polarization (the US uses horizontal), but the elements should work.

I know I can just use amazon but is a small unintrusive FLAT antenna that you might recommend?

I was looking into something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT1400M-Multi-Directional-Digital-Passive/dp/B0022NHQ2S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246904307&sr=1-4

Thanks!

I rather recommend the RCA ANT108 and the Classic Single Bowtie.

There is no HD in analog (and very likely no HD in digital either) and what use is HD on a 19" monitor (even if it could do it, which I doubt)?

Like in the US reception depends on distance to the transmitters. Very likely the signals will be on UHF but there'll be very few of them.

You should think of selling that unit while PAL signals still exist - once only DVB-T signals are available (large portion of Europe) the thing will be worth very little.

You should think of selling that unit while PAL signals still exist - once only DVB-T signals are available (large portion of Europe) the thing will be worth very little.

Though that said you can pick up an external SD DVB-T set top box for very little these days - and that will allow you to watch DVB-T broadcasts. However if your TV was bought in the US it won't have an RGB SCART connector - so you'll be stuck with composite/s-video quality (which isn't as good) In the UK these boxes are available, along with very cheap DVD players, in most supermarkets...

There are a number of implementations of DVB-T in Europe (ignoring local differences in subtitling and text services) - with SD MPEG2, HD H264 and now SD H264 all being used in different combinations.

By far the most widespread is DVB-T SD MPEG2 - though in countries newly adopting DVB-T SD H264 is becoming standard.

On a 19" display you really won't need HD - also many European countries are using 16:9 SD. Don't know the specifics about Croatia.

The thing to find out is whether your island is covered by PAL VHF, PAL UHF or both. (Croatia uses PAL B/H - PAL B in VHF and H in UHF AIUI) Also worth knowing if the DVB-T broadcasts are VHF, UHF or both. If you only need VHF, or only need UHF it makes buying an aerial/antenna easier.

In the UK we're UHF only - we switched off our VHF broadcasts in the 80s when we ceased our Black and White 405 line TV system we'd had since 1936 - so I have no experience of VHF.

If you know other people on the island - see what they are using?

Though that said you can pick up an external SD DVB-T set top box for very little these days - and that will allow you to watch DVB-T broadcasts.

Are these available in the US somewhere or do I have to order one in Europe? As I am living in the US it may be difficult to drop by a Dixon's and pick one up.

However if your TV was bought in the US it won't have an RGB SCART connector - so you'll be stuck with composite/s-video quality (which isn't as good) In the UK these boxes are available, along with very cheap DVD players, in most supermarkets...

TV has a SCART analog connector as well as a DVI (i.e. computer monitor) input that accepts 720 and converts it to it's own 16:10 resolution. I presume if the converter box outputs HDMI or DVI it should work.

The thing to find out is whether your island is covered by PAL VHF, PAL UHF or both. (Croatia uses PAL B/H - PAL B in VHF and H in UHF AIUI) Also worth knowing if the DVB-T broadcasts are VHF, UHF or both. If you only need VHF, or only need UHF it makes buying an aerial/antenna easier.

I presume to find this out I can email HRT or the national Croatian television as I am not sure forums exist on this..

If you know other people on the island - see what they are using?

Most people on the island use TV sets that are still decades old and probably are not aware of the switch. I doubt very many people even have HD capable sets and if not they will not likely purchase them until the very last second (I am going to presume there will be extensions post 2011). Years ago when we wanted to order a stainless steel fridge (in 2005) there were none available on the island and of course there is a lack of basic electronics stores there. But will ask around this summer.

For now - I believe, I just need an antenna for basic analog PAL signal that is not a rabbit (I have one bought there, it's ugly as hell taking up space). If there is one that I can purchase in the US online, it would be great, if not then I will seek to purchase in one of the bigger cities - like Dubrovnik, passing through. Though availability and selection in Croatia is poor, IMHO.