Replacement TV's

[LarryD]

Our new to us 2005 Dynasty Countess III has a large TV in front with side speakers and then  a smaller one in the bedroom.  None of the original entertainment system works and I am basically starting from scratch.   I have half a dozen or more speakers in the ceiling and a large bass/woofer under kitchen counter. .   It also has the InMotion Sat receiver which most likely does not work.    To be honest all I really want is TV.   I was thinking of picking up a couple smart TV's on good Friday. Hopefully I can set up some sort of digital antenna where the crank up one is. 

Replacement radio is a separate discussion.  

Any recommendations?

 

Larry

[Just Jim]

Yes, the smart TV's are really nice if you have wifi.  If you have an enclosure for the TVs to go into... make sure the depth or thickness of the TV you purchase will work.  Some of the smart TVs are thicker. 

If you do hook up the surround sound, you may want to check the sub woofer to see if it is powered or has to receive power from the amp.  I figured out that mine had to have an amplifier as the original system had a sub woofer amp built in.... It seems many of the current amps have a sub woofer "pre out" which means the sub has to have its own amp. 

[klcdenver]

Go to www.kingconnect.com they should have one for you plus they are having a Black Friday sale. Also look at the winegard products. Wingard will have a digital head that should work on your current crank up platform and you will be surprised how good they work.

[cbr046]

You don't need a digital antenna for your digital TV.  They use the same frequencies, just send the signal different.  Your batwing will be fine.  You'll still need the amplifier as the batwing is a powered antenna.

I'm disappointed with "smart" TV's.  I've got 3 and stopped using their "smartness" a long time ago.  After a year or two their OS goes out of date with no "upgrades" available and the streaming channels you love (Netflix, Prime, YouTube) won't work any more.  Plus "smart" TV's are slow.  Better off with a decent TV (check the reviews) and a separate Roku (or similar) that you can replace when it ages out, which is faster than tires, for sure!  I do like name brands but TCL seems to got good reviews last time I looked.  Not sure how it would hold up with an RV's vibration and road hits.

- bob

[Dr4Film]

Our 2006 Dynasty Countess III came with an older 40 inch Samsung smart TV mounted above the front dash in an enclosure. That TV took a dump this summer and I chose not to replace it with a 40 inch older technology TV. So I purchased a 43 inch Samsung NEO QLED TV and a swing out bracket to hold the TV. I mounted the bracket to the back of the cabinet, attached the TV and positioned it to fit up against the face of the opening which is obviously not big enough to fit the new larger TV. Someday I might have a carpenter modify the cabinet so the TV would fit flush inside the cabinet but it isn't high on my priority list so far.

The 23 inch TV in the bedroom was mounted on the ceiling with a basic bracket. I removed the TV and bracket, then purchased a new Samsung 32 inch QLED TV with a new drop-down bracket that can be locked in the up position.

I also purchased new sound bars for each TV as the speakers that come on the TV are basically worthless.

There is also a 32 inch TV mounted in the first passenger side storage bay which I have yet to turn on. It is on a slide-out mechanism.

 

[Dennis H]

I did a couple mods that shed almost 300 pounds of junk. The rear TV slid into a side cabinet and I tried several TVs that never did fit right. Also that cabinet will only hold a 32" TV max. I now simply put a 43" on the shelf. I did drill a 7/8" hole in the side next to the slide out for the power cord and the HDMI cable which allows me to slide them back inside when traveling. The TV sits on the bed when moving.....Here's a link to the mods  https://executive45pbq.blogspot.com/2020/  The Bose and sub are the same as yours. The connections to them are in the compartment above the passenger's seat. The fittings Monaco used were not compatible with the Sony equipment I installed so I simply trashed all of it and installed the sound bar next to the front TV. Sounds better than it did with the Bose anyway.I also installed a sound bar in the bedroom in the cabinet above the clothes hamper......Dennis

Edited November 23, 2023 by Dennis H
more info

[Rikadoo]

I thought of going the smart tv route up front, however due to not having a wifi system (mainily cause im only in the rig paart time) i figure its not worth laying out the $$$ im going to try the Apple tv route so that i can upload movies an play them when im bored. As for the crank up antenna, during covid i repaired an resealed it so that it moves smoothly an i am very surprised how many stations it is able to pull in, granted many of them are in a language other than my own, and not many deal with local issues, but it is noise that helps distract when you need it. I bought a dish dome thinking it would bring in some channels, however evertime i want to set it up there always seems to be a tree in its path🤦‍♂️

[timaz996]

I went with a projector TV and I pull down an 80" screen up front. I love it.

[jacwjames]

In the past I had spent $$$ to get better TV's, all of which eventually failed after a fairly short time.

Back ~6 years ago I bought a TCL smart TV, one of the cheaper ones.  I was pleased it, picture was good, sound was good, and I liked the simple ROKU controller.  We still have that TV and have since moved to a new house which I outfitted in 4 more TCL TV's of different size but all have the same remote. 

So now when the dog decides to eat a remote we just borrow one from the least used TV and I order a replacement, usually three at a time.

We do not have cable.  We rely on OTA TV, I mounted a decent quality antenna in the attic out of the weather.  We get about 60 channels, can usually find something to watch.   If by chance there's nothing on TV ROKU has hundereds (yup X00's) of streaming channels and I cam usually something on it. 

We do have internet via the ATT Mobley plan ($25/month).  I upgraded the hotspot to the blackhawk and added a router so we get better reception.  Works great and the price is right.

For the RV I did move one of the smaller 32" TCL smart TV's to the overhead compartment.  I also started using Visible as my cell provider and with it I can tether it to a travel router and connect the TV to it.   In Sept/Oct I took a month trip out west and was able to use Visible all the locations I stopped, a couple places didn't have a great signal but worked.  A lot of the smaller towns out west do not have an OTA channels but I was still able to stream stations via the ROKU TCL smart TV.  This was my first trip with Visible and I was please with the ability to connect to the internet and stream in most places.  Visible is $25/month also.  We are getting ready to switch my wife's phone from T-Mobile ( which barely works where we live) and go to Visible and I might get a 3rd Visible plan/phone to keep in the RV so we can use it to check temps in RV if the dogs are traveling with my wife.  I can set alerts on the MicroAir Easy Touch thermostat. 

[96 EVO]

When I purchased my last 65" Samsung house TV, the equivalent priced TCL TV rated better!

Next TV I need to replace, I'll definitely look closer at them!

I had never heard of TCL!

[Guest Ray Davis]

8 hours ago, Rikadoo said:

it is noise that helps distract when you need it

So true,  I'm sure it's just me but I find it harder & harder to find things on tv that interest me.  I still am paying Direct TV a small fortune for hundreds of channels of nothing, what's wrong with me?  I can't seem to pull the trigger and cancel the stupid thing. 

Honestly, I think it's the channel grid line up or what ever it's called that is the hook.    My over the air stations are a mess, finding anything is very frustrating.  I know I can look up the local programing but it's a poor substitute for the programs right there on the screen.

37 minutes ago, 96 EVO said:

I had never heard of TCL!

Me either,  so I looked it up.  It's a Chinese co.  sold at many stores.  Maybe I should get out more.

[96 EVO]

2 minutes ago, Ray Davis said:

So true,  I'm sure it's just me but I find it harder & harder to find things on tv that interest me.  I still am paying Direct TV a small fortune for hundreds of channels of nothing, what's wrong with me?  I can't seem to pull the trigger and cancel the stupid thing. 

 

Not a hockey, football, baseball, basketball, F1, NASCAR, tennis fan?

[1nolaguy]

Smart TV's are great and now relatively cheap but functional as smart TVs only if you have a good WiFi source. Do not count on campground WiFi. If available it generally is only good for things like checking e-mail, reading, and maybe surfing the web. You will not, for the most part be able to stream (Prime, HuLu, Youtube, etc). So first, if you are going to invest in Smart TVs, I recommend you decide on your internet source. We use a cellular modem from MoFi but there are others as well on the market. Or you may opt for Starlink. Dish type satellite TV service is different, more like cable than Smart TV compatable (requires a separate box decoder).  Cellular modeums generally require a dedicated SIMs card(s) from a cell provider. Check out Technomadia.com and there business website (forgot the name), It is a great source for everything internet related for the RV.

In our 2005 Safari the TV in the front was useless because when the slides were in you could not see it and with the slides out it was in an uncomfortable place to watch. I installed our Mofi in a cabinet over the couch and next to it a 1080p projector, attached to a Roku streaming device, that projects to a pull down screen attached to the opposite slide header. This was cheaper, lighter, and did not require giving up seating on the sofa opposite or recliners. (yes we glamp not camp) if we were to install a televator and TV. In the bed room I replaced the not working plazma with a smart TV. Half the weight and much more energy efficient. Generally speaking as long as you can get about 5 Mb down and about 0.5 Mb up you can stream most TV and movies. as long as you stream at 720p or 1080p resolution. 4K is just too much banwidth.

Hope this is helpful.

[Guest Ray Davis]

2 minutes ago, 96 EVO said:

Not a hockey, football, baseball, basketball, F1, NASCAR, tennis fan?

Well, ya kinda got me there.  The Rangers are World Champs,  and now the Cowboys are playing pretty good,  but I'm not too much of a tennis or hockey fan,  I can watch it all and I do especially if someone is over and I think that they want to watch something.  I still don't appreciate all those shopping channels & other stuff I doubt anyone watches.  Ok, I feel better now.

They just got fiber optics out here in the rural sticks where I live.  I don't have it yet but I will and I'm sure that'll make me happy,  for a little while.  LOL

[96 EVO]

Yeah, I switched from satellite to fiber optics a few years ago.

Now I have to figure out what to do in the coach!

[Guest Ray Davis]

I'm thinking of doing the same thing and doing Dish for the RV because I think they will let me do 1 month at a time.  I gotta get fiber in the house first and see if I even like cable.    I've never had cable before,  my brother does and his channel guide seems a little cluncky.

[Georgia Mike]

Larry, our 06 Countess doesn’t have the tv coming out of the ceiling in the bedroom. Its on the large wall and if yours is like this I installed a 43 inch Samsung smart tv and it fit perfectly in the spot. There is enough room for the slide to come in and clear the tv. I installed some additional speakers in the cabinets above our bed with a sub so we have surround sound. We love watching tv in our bedroom it’s like our own home theater.

[amphi_sc]

10 hours ago, Ray Davis said:

I'm thinking of doing the same thing and doing Dish for the RV because I think they will let me do 1 month at a time.  I gotta get fiber in the house first and see if I even like cable.    I've never had cable before,  my brother does and his channel guide seems a little cluncky.

We threw cable out 9 years ago and went with Dish & Travl'r.  Simply move Hopper & Joey to either the house or coach as needed.  Have a dual USB tuner for the Hopper to integrate in OTA channels into the Dish guide.  For screen casting we have a Google TV plug in adapter ( as our TVs are dumb but adapter makes them smart ... and we are Android users not 🍎), and basically "lifetime" Hulu and Disney+ that we might use couple times a year but as it is no incremental cost we still have it available.  The Dish Hopper gives us Sirius/XM throughout the house & outside systems. The Dish Hopper fits our needs best.  YMMV - One simple solution where ever we are living at the time.  Many will say to dump Dish and stream, but for us, we dump streaming and go with Dish.

[jacwjames]

Benefit of ROKU is that where ever I stopped, if there were OTA channels, I could change the zip code in the setup menu and it would update the channel guide to the local channels.  Helpful when you move around and trying to find channels. 

When we built our new house we didn't have internet/cable/phone.  We relied on the the ATT Mobely account which I had signed up for prior to building.  Once the house was framed and I started working on pluming and electric I moved the coach to the site and lived it in.  Once you start putting wiring a house a it becomes a prime target for theft.  I relied on the Mobley for internet connection and found that it worked pretty good, good enough cut the cord on the rest of the options.

But when the local coop was installing fiber optic cable everywhere they asked if I wanted run to the house, I agreed, but did not hook up.  Since then their rates went from $50/month to $70.

I have heard good things about the T-Mobile box but not sure it work well where we live, we are in a pretty dead zone.  When I had T-Mobile phone to ensure a good connection to make a phone call I'd have to stand on the front porch.   If I'd walk into the house I'd drop the phone call.  Forget coverage in the basement or in my garage. 

[FishAR]

I replaced my 3 tv's in the Camelot with fire TV's on sale from amazon. One in living room, one in bedroom, one outside. Didn't replace the old sony at the windshield because we never watch, I don't like to turn my head to watch tv.

They work great off the stock antenna on the roof or on wifi from my visible phone I have hooked up to a router for $25 a month.

43 inch on the shelf behind the couch in the living room, 32 inchers in bedroom and outside.

[amphi_sc]

BTW, I think we get reasonable Internet service from Verizon wireless.  Only $25/month and no data cap.  Attached screenshot is through the Verizon wireless access point/router. It does 5g versus my oldish phone which is only LTE.  The slower report is my phone without going through the Verizon access point and just using its own cell access from the same physical location.  Big difference in speed with phone versus the dedicated access point/router, but a phone should be a phone versus a specifically designed access point.  However both tests originated from the same physical device sitting in the same location.

Edited November 24, 2023 by amphi_sc
Added phone comparison

[waterskier_1]

I'd like to know what you mean by "... all I really want is TV".  Do you mean just Over the Air (OTA) TV, like you would get with an antenna, when within range of the TV station?  If so, you likely have a good start to one of the best OTA antennas on your roof already - the Winegard Sensor (aka "Batwing") directional antenna.  With the advent of HDTV, many of the old TV stations on VHF changed to UHF.  Winegard makes an add on for the Sensor antenna that enhances the UHF signal band.  With that addition, you have one of the best RV OTA antennas.  There are some that are Omni-directional, so you don't need to aim (rotate) the antenna, but they don't provide as much signal strength in fringe areas.  

Now if by TV, you are meaning satellite based (Dish Network or Direct TV), you will likely have to replace the  InMotion antenna (dish) and receiver, along with purchasing a subscription for their service.  If you already have one of these services at your home, you can likely take the receiver and use the same subscription, or add the coach as an additional receiver, but you will still need to replace the InMotion dish with one that works for Dish Network or Direct TV.

The third option is "streaming".  This refers to using the internet, and either a smart TV or some other device like Roku, Amazon Fire, etc. to connect the TV to the internet.  Then you may need to subscribe to a "streaming service" which provides the channels you can watch.  There are many of these subscription services, at varying cost available (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Paramount Plus, etc.).  All this require a good internet connection.  And a fast one if you want to watch HDTV quality.  These use considerable amounts of data.  So, you will also need to purchase some sort of internet service, which can be satellite based (Starlink) or MiFi/WiFi from a cellular provider (hot spot), or even you home or RV Park WiFi system, although the later isn't really designed for streaming, more for email, and you may be banned from it if you consume large quantities of data streaming.

Once you have made a decision on which (or which combinations - I have all three) of "TV" you are considering, we might be able to provide better guidance.

  -Rick N.

[cbr046]

4 hours ago, amphi_sc said:

BTW, I think we get reasonable Internet service from Verizon wireless.  Only $25/month and no data cap.

They don't throttle your speed back after a XX GB during the month? 

I have Verizon with no data cap also, but after 15GB Samuel Morse has a faster fist. 

- bob

[amphi_sc]

Hello Bob, 

I'm 2/3 of the way thru the current billing cycle and used 56.74 GB of data so far on that line ... and the above screenshots showing 212.8 Mbps down was current test today.  I conclude what ever throttling is happening isn't affecting me much.  YMMV

Edited November 25, 2023 by amphi_sc
Added couple of images

[FishAR]

I didn't think anyone liked their tv more than I do, but apparently the people in the Tiffin behind me do.

They have an electric ota antenna strapped to their ladder going way above the motorhome with coax running across the roof to some access point. I say electric because it has a red light on it that stays on all the time, I don't know what it does.

Then they also have a direct tv setup on the ground held down by concrete blocks.