Handheld TV's After The Big Switch

Here is a question I hear all of the time "If
you have a handheld tv (we use ours when the power is out), will it no longer
work next year?". This happened to be emailed from a viewer a few days ago. The answer is usually an unfortunate NO. Analog handhend, battery operated televisions will not work after The Big Switch. I have searched high and low and have not found any battery operated alternatives for a digital converter box. So... bottom line, if you want a handheld or battery operated television to watch when the power goes out, for now at least, you'll have to buy a digital handheld television (unfortunately, they are not cheap).
There may be one alternative, I found a USB digital television reciever through several websites on the internet. That allows you to tune in to digital television on your laptop computer. As long as you have a good battery on that, you should be able to watch during a storm. I haven't had a chance to test these first hand, so I can't say with confidence they work. If you have any experience with these gadgets, let me know.

Comments

[LexFamilyof6]

Thanks for the info! I hadn't thought of the laptop idea. I'm going to look into that one.

[Steve W]

A very handy device I think many people can benefit from for power outages is a power converter you hook up to a car battery. I can run a lamp for reading and watch TV for about 10hrs strait if I chose to go that long.

[Steve W]

A very handy device I think many people can benefit from for power outages is a power converter you hook up to a car battery. I can run a lamp for reading and watch TV for about 10hrs strait if I chose to go that long.

[Steve W]

A very handy device I think many people can benefit from for power outages is a power converter you hook up to a car battery. I can run a lamp for reading and watch TV for about 10hrs strait if I chose to go that long.