Upon arrival

Camping: some tips if you want to have TV in your caravan

 

For most caravanners, even on holiday, receiving TV programmes is an important convenience. In many cases, a terrestrial antenna is more than enough. However, if you want to be sure of receiving your favourite programmes everywhere, a satellite antenna is ideal.

The problem of TV reception in caravans is closely linked to the way in which this type of holiday is practised. Thus, those who stay in the same place for the duration of their stay will not encounter the same difficulties as those who go on tour. The latter will have to adjust their antenna at each stop.

Wireless reception

Since the widespread introduction of digital technology, mobile radio reception has become less reliable because, unlike analogue, digital signals do not allow for inconsistencies: either you have a perfect picture or you have no picture at all. This means that you may not receive your programmes for the following reasons:

If there is even the slightest obstacle between the transmitter and the antenna. However, if the object is not too large (a few tree branches), the electronics can compensate for the deficiency by automatically generating the few missing pixels. When the distance between the transmitter and the caravan is too great and the Earth's rotundity means that the waves pass well above the vehicle (note that the rakes of houses are generally more than ten metres high to pick up the signal).

There are also technical pitfalls related to the type of antenna (directional or omnidirectional): Searching for reception with a directional antenna will be very difficult (unless you are exceptionally skilful) because, on the one hand, in most cases you will not have the exact geographical position of the nearest transmitter and, on the other hand, as the digital signal takes some time to reach the television set, you will have already lost the signal (by turning the mast), before it is visible on the screen. An omnidirectional antenna will not have this problem. On the other hand, it is possible that the TV set may have difficulty tuning to the strongest signal when it is at the crossroads of several transmitters.

Satellite TV

Satellite reception requires a satellite dish. In a caravan, you can choose between three types of satellite dishes: free-standing dishes (placed on the ground next to the caravan using a tripod support), manual dishes and automatic or semi-automatic dishes (to be installed on the caravan roof). Before opting for an automatic one, you should make sure that the roof is strong enough for the location you have chosen for the installation, as these models of antennas weigh between 10 and 20 kg! Manual antennas do not have this problem because they are fixed to a mast that crosses the roof, which is itself attached to the wall of a cabinet.

High Definition

High definition (HD) is undoubtedly a decisive step forward in the evolution of television, with better picture definition and faster scrolling thanks to a more efficient compression format (MPEG 4). However, the transition from SD (standard definition) to HD is slow, especially in terrestrial reception. So, don't panic, if your equipment is in SD, it still has a lot to offer!

Television sets

If you have a 230 V source, you will have a wide choice of TV sets, guided by picture quality, size and price. With 12 V, the choice is more limited, but there are more advanced technology sets that are better suited to mobile use. For example, screens with built-in demodulators that can guide a satellite dish.

DTT

Access to terrestrial DTT channels is free. However, their reception via satellite has a cost represented by the purchase of specific equipment, to which, in certain cases, it will be necessary to add the acquisition of a card or a decoder linked to a subscription. The main options are TNTSAT for the dedicated DTT decoder, Bis TV for the pay-per-view subscription (which nevertheless requires a digital demodulator with a card reader) and Fransat, which was originally reserved for sedentary inhabitants of areas not eligible for terrestrial DTT, but which is perfectly possible to use in a caravan.

Demodulators

As modern television sets are necessarily equipped to receive terrestrial DTT, they do not require a demodulator to access these programmes. However, satellite reception requires a demodulator or decoder. The 230 V available on campsites allows the use of consumer equipment sold in supermarkets. However, this equipment is dedicated to a bouquet and does not allow you to change satellites to search for other programmes, nor to guide an automatic antenna.

 

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