CoreY2K1

now that my IVA has been in for awhile, it's time to start thinking about hooking up a TV Tuner in there... anyone have the Alpine tuner installed? Thoughts?

any other ideas for getting a TV signal hooked up to the IVA? i was thinking there might be a custom 'radio shack' solution...

i'm not quite sure that $500 (for the Alpine) is justified to only get channels 2-13, but it would be nice to catch the Simpsons on the way home from the office...

-Corey

amlin423

I'm looking for the same thing too....Just wondering if anybody has experience with other TV tuner brands other than Alpine because it's quite expensive. Not even sure if you can hook up another brand to the Alpine. Plus, I wouldn't know where to mount those antennas....

Also wondering if the reception quality of the Alpine is any good compared to other brands.

CoreY2K1

i did some searches on Google this morning, and it looks like Jensen makes one and I also found one by a company called Farenheit, both under $200.

i don't know how well these work, but they have A/V outs, so they should be compatible with the IVA / CVA.

they both have external remote eyes and remote controls, but the remotes looks like they're from the 70s.

i don't think you can control the Alpine Tuner with the IVA / CVA standard remote anyway, so i'm not sure if there's any real advantage for going with the Alpine unit...

LS007

The lowest cost stand-alone TV tuner is Clarion TTX-001. It has remote contorl, seperate IR eye to be mounted anywhere. The antenna is only single 75ohm input (unlike other mobile antennas with diversity tuning system). The output is composite video... The unit sells for ~$120. Match this tuner up with good antenna, such as Santeca ME-9000 (although that will cost more than the TV tuner) and you have a good solution.

amlin423

Thanks videonavi, but
does the Alpine support composite video input?
it doesn't even support s-video.

CoreY2K1

amlin, i think you're thinking of component video. composite is just the standard A/V jacks which will work with the IVA/CVA...

the Clarion seems to be a pretty good model. i found em on eTronics.com for $109. i'm having some trouble finding mobile antennas though...

amlin423

Arrgghhhh..you're right....I don't know what I was thinking....
I was looking at the Santeca ME-9900 (not ME-9000) and that thing is about 300 bucks...

Man...do we have to stick those ugly antennas outside of the car or can we just mount them inside the car on the rear deck assuming the attena is not too long....

D-MAN63

I too was looking for the TV TUNER for my IVA. The problem is if I get the tuner, it won't work if my car is in drive , because of safety precautions. I know somewhere they sell a "cutoff" switch which allows me to turn on the TV while in drive.

Anyone know where they sell that?

amlin423

Diesel
Try EBAY....search for "alpine bypass"

D-MAN63

Thanks Amlin !

CoreY2K1

VideoNavi,

can you suggest any other mobile antennas? at $300 for the Santeca + $120 for the Clarion, that's close to the pricepoint of the Alpine, which includes an antenna...

are other antennas that much worse?

LS007

Most car antennas, like the Pioneer AN-G3, Clarion or Alpine models have 4 plugs 3/16"(?) that go into a diversity style TV tuners. These TV tuners then switches between elements to get the best signal. The problem is pretty much all mobile TV reception sucks. And it just sucks less when the car is parked.

The Santeca ME-9900 has the diversity amplifier and only 1 output. That is why it will work with the Clarion TTX-001 very well. Too bad it's so expensive. The Santeca can be mounted internal or external.

Heck, I'd even check a few of the RV type antennas from www.campingworld.com or Radio Shack.

D-MAN63

Hey VideoNavi, pretty much your saying is that the expensive Alpine TV Tuner will get the same quality as some generic cheap brand? I seen any TV tuner's in the car in real life so I can't judge on how good the reception is

thanks man.

LS007

The TV tuners all try to do the best with the signal they get. So, the antenna is really important. Most TV tuners are within 10-15% performance of each other, but antennas make or break your signal. Make sure the antenna is at least amplified.