quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
A converter will run about $50 (they say), so older TVs will still be usable on broadcast.

Just had a déjà vu moment recalling the advent of UHF. Built my own converter to get just one channel.

One problem with Blu-Ray and HD DVD is that neither format will win. The rumor is they will both be ditched in favor of using a hard drive instead. Other types of media have gone this route so the manufacturers that have jumped into Blu-Ray or HD DVD players must be a bit worried if this is true.

Our venture into the TV upgrade has just about turned into a nightmare. The Stagecoach will go in for it's fourth visit on Wednesday morning to hopefully fix the upgrade for the last time. When the TV fell on me after initial installation, it apparently took the DVD player out also. We couldn't view a DVD on the replacement TV and found out today the DVD player had gone bad. Ultimate Electronics agreed with me that the TV falling probably caused the DVD player to break. As a result, on Tuesday they gave me a nice price on a new up-converting player ($20 for a $250 display model). They must hate to see this Barth pulling into the parking lot (or maybe it's just me walking into the store). In addition to all of this, we used the replacement TV for the first time on Saturday and, when I removed the protective tape from the front of the TV, I noticed several deep scratches across the top of the TV. The Stagecoach now goes back again to replace the replacement TV. I had to leave for work so they didn't have time to address this newest issue. They're trying real hard to make this right but it appears they're using a backhoe for the hole they're digging in the process.

When the TV fell, it landed on the console, guess where the remote was? You guessed it, on the console and the remote was broken in two places. When we attempted to watch the TV on Saturday, I realized there wasn't a replacement remote to go with the replacement TV. While I was in today to see why the DVD wouldn't play through the 2nd new TV as it had through the first new TV, they gave me a new remote. On further examination I found that not only was the remote used but it wasn't the correct remote either. When I speak with the manager tomorrow, as long as they replace the TV with a brand new, never been touched out of the box TV and remote, I'll remain happy. I think you can see this attempt at upgrading our TV has not gone very well. Hopefully, when the dust settles, we have not found a need to involve a lawyer.

Touring Bee - have you had a chance to upgrade the TV yet? Our Stagecoach is finally done and the installation not only looks great, it is awesome to watch TV or movies on this TV.

If you plan on watching movies while the AC or genset is running have the installer set everything up to run through the sound system if you have one. It will make a tremendous difference. Without the sound system, it was difficult to hear everything when either the AC or genset was running in ours.

If you don't have a sound system, I don't recommend the Sanyo Aquos HDTV that we went with. It had the best picture by far but lousy speakers. You will not believe the picture you can get with this TV using the regular TV antenna. We were fortunate that the previous owner installed a Pioneer sound system in the dash along with a subwoofer below the dash, two speakers in the front corners of the cockpit, two more speakers behind the driver and passenger seats, two more speakers mid-coach and two more speakers in the bedroom. The result is FANTASTIC for a family of movie nuts like us. I don't believe the cost was significant for the sound system. The cost of the TV install was $1300, $809 for the TV, $150 for the bracket plus tax and installation. They threw in a set of $200 component cables when they replaced the TV. The up-converting DVD made a ig difference and, although it had a retail of $250, they can be had for less than $80 with very good results. I mentioned the installation and this is important too since we're dealing with Barth's and not just some SOB. The installer matched the fabric and color as if he had some NOS material from Barth. The point I'm making is, if you're going to have it done, getting someone that has the ability to do the installation and access to the right materials makes a big difference in the finished product. You'll certainly want it to look good when the TV is off also.