OK Kids,
Here is my question... Our "87/88 Regal has a 15"X15' hole above the dash and a really good operating 12V/120V TV with a nice working VCR. The rear bedroom has a little Panasonic TV that measures 12-1/2" high and 14"wide. What replacements are the best? We are keeping our 454 Gasser in spite of the price of fuel and have gotten the elusive 10 MPG! OK, if anything like a Mountain appears..... all bets are off. But, I'm degressing..... What are you Barth Owner's recomendations for HDTV's that will fit in the holes I've listed??? BTW< we are planning a trip mid July to see some old friends in Sequim, WA. also, where Ol'Roy and his lovely wife Liesje live. We'll make the trip there at 55mph with the cruise control set and drive home with an egg on the gas petal. My bets are on me and the egg..... the vacuum guage goes nuts on cruise control and I end up playing the Overdrive switch like a musical instument [Digeridoo) if any kind of a head wind comes up, we're switched onto direct drive.

For whatever it is worth, I just added a LCD HDTV widescreen to my Regency. The hole for the original TV was too small for today's TV's and I wanted something larger anyway. I went with a 26" TV and had it custom installed by Ultimate Electronics. I paid extra to have it setup to run through the stereo system since this particular TV didn't have the greatest speakers. That is something you want to consider when making a decision on what TV to buy. Some of them will have a great picture, some might have pretty good sound but it is very difficult to find both on one TV. Keep in mind, they were designed to operate in the quiet confines of your livingroom, not in an RV where the A/C or even the genset might be running. The TV I bought was not recommended by the sales rep unless it was going to have help with the sound. Since help was available by running it through the stereo system already in place, he felt it was the best TV.

Something else to consider is how much power a new TV will need to operate and how you will use it. The inverter I had was too small but, after replacing it with an 800 watt inverter, it works great and wow, what an awesome picture!

The next thing to consider, if you go the route I went, is to use an appropriate mounting system. Although the mounting system they used could be used by my kids as a jungle gym, it was not setup correctly for this install. If you need an example of what happens when the install is not quite right, read on. We were on the way to see my dad this past Father's Day and, as we drove along C-470 at 65MPH, we hit one of those spots in the highway where it suddenly drops and then rises again. This is something a smaller vehicle would go through and the driver would just be slightly annoyed. In a 38' coach, this was not the case. When the Barth rebounded from its highest point, the TV kept climbing. It landed on the console next to me and then landed on my right wrist. We were fortunate enough to keep going straight down the highway until I was able to get over and stop. Ultimate Electronics replaced the TV with a new one and made certain it was secure (I think - HA!).

Next year we will be taking a long trip to Washington DC and before leaving, I will probably replace the bedroom TV with something larger also. The current TV is original and works like new but 9" is a bit too small for me.

By the way, other than the problem with the TV almost killing us all, the install looked like Barth had done it. The color and material used was perfect! I can't help but add this after saying "other than the problem with the TV almost killing us all" reminds me of what might have been said to President Lincoln's wife after he was assassinated. "Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?"

I just completed what you did on my Breakaway. I replaced the 12" TV with a 20" LCD, HDTV from Sanyo. I then routed the sound through a home theater system. The fit is excellent. The TV weights 19 lbs and I used a simple TV bracket good for 66 lbs. I figured a 3.5 ratio a good security margin.
I documented the whole process, including the woodworking involved, and I will post the pictures shortly.

No more banging my head on the corner of the TV when entering in the coach!

You'll love going to a larger TV, especially if you are movie nuts like we are. One thing for anyone that is planning on upgrading to a larger TV to consider is the weight of the TV and what the bracket is capable of holding. I believe the bracket that was installed in our Stagecoach is capable of 200 lbs. This might sound like overkill but it really isn't. The TV might only weigh 30 lbs but in a situation like we encountered with the coach bounding up and down in quick succession, the weight of the TV increases dramatically due to inertia.

Bill' I'm curious to know more about your recent mishap with your LCD TV.
Where was the point of rupture located?
Was it:
A - Between the motorhome wall and the bracket? or
B- Between the bracket and the TV? or
C- The bracket itself

I was told that if you use a swinging type of bracket you should do as you did and select a bracket rated between 150 and 200 pounds.

LCD is definitely the way to go...that's what I'd do, but the prior owner put in a new Sony flat screen. The advantages of the LCD is lighter weight, lower power consumption, and less susceptibility to interference from the inverter.

There was some kind of flat screen TV that misbehaved at high altitude. Was it LCD or plasma?

quote:

Posted 07 July 2007 09:35 PM Hide Post
There was some kind of flat screen TV that misbehaved at high altitude. Was it LCD or plasma

Come on Kids..... We all need to change in 2008. What is it? When I stand back and look at the screens in the stores Plasma is the winner.... so Barths are "hallways" (Tunnels) Is a LCD what we want??

The Plasma is sealed at the factory, so as the elevation changes you will have distortion.

Hey All,

Raymag: there wasn't a rupture, it was an incorrect intallation or a poorly designed bracket. Although the bracket could survive an attack by a bunker buster, it was designed for a TV hanging in your bedroom or familyroom, not in an RV that might hit a dip in the highway as we did. There are four hooks on the portion of the bracket that attaches to the TV. Those hooks are designed to hang from two steel rods on the portion of the bracket that attaches to the front of the coach. There were two safety catches that are supposed to cover the opening below the top rod and hooks. It did not completely cover the opening and the first time we hit a dip in the highway at 65 MPH, the coach plunged and then rebounded upwards. As Murphy's Law would dictate, the TV went higher than its mount. Nothing actually broke on the mounting system. I'm certain that, if I had tried, I could have merely lifted the TV from its perch and that is where the poor design comes in.

This bracket is not a swing arm type. I did not feel a swing arm or scissor style bracket would be strong enough so I went with a fixed mount. The swing arm and scissor style were designed for home use, not RV's.

Okay, my last post should have been checked before posting. My keyboard failed to alert me to missed keystrokes.

To answer Bill H's question: As far as Plasma TV's go, I don't recommend them for high altitude, that being anything in the vicinity of 6,000' or higher. Although a sales rep might tell you the TV is rated for high altitude check with the manufacturer to see what altitude it is rated to. From what I understand, none of them go above 6,000 and some can't even be used in Mile High Denver. The problem they have is a hum coming from the TV that can be quite noticable during quiet passages of a movie or show. In a motorhome, I really don't think this will be that big of an issue although it certainly could if the A/C, furnace or fans are not running. The lousy road conditions across the country might be another matter altogether. I'm not sure a plasma can take the bumps of a trip, something not experienced at home. Ask a knowledgeable sales rep about this. As Jeff Larsen mentioned, there is the issue of picture distortion. I haven't seen that but I've heard there is a problem.

Another consideration when buying is whether to buy a TV/DVD combo or separate units. I intended to buy a combo when we had our new TV installed. After speaking with the sales rep, I decided against it. He recommended using the one in the coach and upgrading when possible.

Their are several problems with a combo. First, the failure rate of combos is much higher than stand alone TV's and DVD players and this includes VHS players as well. When one of the components of combo fails, they typically will cost more to repair. I know this from experience in addition to what I have read. If the DVD or VHS player in a combo unit fails you lose the TV also while it is in for repairs. Keep in mind how easy it is to remove a DVD player or VCR compared with removing the entire TV and re-installing it later.

Second: The DVD players installed in todays new TV combos are already old technology. They haven't even begun to install the upconverting players in the combo units. The up-converting players convert the signal from 480 to 720 or 1080 resulting in a tremendous difference in picture. If you're going to spend the money on a HDTV, you certainly want the picture to look as good as possible. If space is at a premium, a combo might be the way to go but go with separates if possible. In the Stagecoach, the DVD player is in the storage compartment above the driver. The inverter sits above the passenger with the TV in between. The storage compartment doors were moved outward to allow for the wider TV. That was much simpler than having new doors made or cutting the originals down to make room. The doors were larger than the hole they cover by more than two inches so it was nice to be able to move them. The only space issue for our coach was the size of the TV. Anything larger than 26" intruded into the field of vision for the driver. Some of the combo TV's are larger and will intrude at a smaller size so measure well!

In addition to up-converting players, there are Blu-Ray and HD DVD players. I don't recommend HD since Blu-Ray won the battle between the two competing technologies. How many of you remember the battle between VHS and Sony's Betamax? Same thing here. Prices are still high on Blu-Ray and they have some bugs to work out so I don't recommend them yet. I've replaced the DVD player with a new up-converting DVD player and the picture is great. I haven't even mentioned cables and you'll have to consider the expense of HDMI vs component or lesser cables.

The selection available for TV's that will actually fit into the existing hole is probably very limited due to new technology and the move to widescreen TV's. This is especially true in the bedroom of some coaches like ours.

Plasma,

A friend at work has a brother who repairs TV's, he said that you will have distortion at as the elevision changes and there is no adjustments that can be made. He also said that it he can not get approval to fix the TV's as most stores sale their extended contracts and the companies can not make money and do not want to pay.

We have a small LCD that mounts on the wall in the bedroom. We slide it off of the wall bracket and put it under the covers on the bed as we travel. This works well.

I'm not an expert on plasma, but from what I've heard, they consume more power, run hotter, and need repair more frequently, than LCDs.

I'm with towerguy on the HD players. HD DVD and Blu-Ray are where VHS and Beta were 25-odd years ago. The drives are just too expensive for now, since there's no competition among manufactrers, nor real volume production.

Blu-ray is the sony format. The DVDs are 30gbyte. They also do 1080p (progressive) which is a much higher resolution than 1080i (interlaced). Our son just bought the new Sony TV that does 1080p and his blu-ray is due in. Will be nice to see how it really looks. I also want to hook up my upconverting DVD to it and see how some of my current titles look.

I agree you should keep your components separate. This way you can update the add-ons without replacing the TV. I have one older projection TV that has had Beta, VHS, 8MM and DVDs attached to it.

A side note is that in 2009 all the current standard broadcast frequencies are scheduled to be retired. This means your old TV will become a flower stand. We will see if congress resendes this law. Most folks, even if they have a HDTV may still have two or three standard TVs.

A converter will run about $50 (they say), so older TVs will still be usable on broadcast. Cable and satellite will be unaffected.