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Old 09-14-2003, 06:25 PM   #1
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Thoughts on flat screen tv

I'm in the market for a flat screen tv for use in my Airstream because they are lightweight and don't take up as much space as a conventional tv. I plan on using the tv in the conventional manner as a tv but also want the ability to hook it up to my laptop to show DVD movies using a widescreen format. I found a 17" Samsung which not only can double as a tv and a pc monitor but it will also display a split screen for the tv and pc. Does anyone have thoughts on this model or on other flat screen models?

http://hardwarecentral.dealtime.com/...RD-85309165188
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Old 09-14-2003, 06:39 PM   #2
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We went window shopping for a flat panel tv at our local Good Guys, Best Buy, CompUSA and Circuit City. Of all the brands we saw the best picture quality was Sony but the Samsung was a strong 2nd.

Still haven't bought one yet. The old 15" is still working well.
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Old 09-14-2003, 06:48 PM   #3
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You could always go with one of the Mobile Video systems, they make them up to 15" I believe. These can be mounted to the ceiling and they fold up out of the way. Designed to be used in vans and suv's powered by dc.
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Old 09-14-2003, 06:54 PM   #4
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Our 15 inch flat panel Sansung is fine, but be sure to get one with a HDTV tuner. I cut off the ac adapter and run it to the 12 volt plug in our AS for power. You dont' need the 115 volt adapter because the Sansung flat panel runs on 14.5 volts DC. Ours works great with no problems and we use less battery power without the ac converter. Even when the battery power drops below 12 volts the set works just great. Just a tip.
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Old 09-14-2003, 07:00 PM   #5
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I have a predecessor to that model and really like it. It has a 120 adapter but is 12v so I run it off the house battery. It also has cable and RCA inputs. The picture is good, the sound is marginal but I run it through external speakers.

John
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Old 09-15-2003, 03:39 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally posted by Tinsel Loaf
I cut off the ac adapter and run it to the 12 volt plug in our AS for power. You dont' need the 115 volt adapter because the Sansung flat panel runs on 14.5 volts DC.
Thanks for the tip! I'm actually interested in the 17" model so how do I find out how much voltage it pulls?
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Old 09-15-2003, 04:37 AM   #7
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Some of the sites like Best Buy, Circuit City or J&R Music will have detailed photos of the back of the unit. The input is normally stated, 10/12/16 volt AC/DC etc.

You may have to search around but it can be found without a trip to the store
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Old 09-15-2003, 05:11 AM   #8
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Also check the Samsung site. Most manufacturers have pretty good spec sheets for their products.

John
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Old 09-15-2003, 07:19 AM   #9
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We have a 17", 12V LCD unit installed

Nancy,
As a EE, I did considerable research before going my own way on the matter of a 12V TV for the Bambi. The unit I chose is actually an import from Australia (via a US distributer). The manufacturer is Cornea Systems. The unit is NATIVE 12V, has inputs for composite, DVI, S-Video and VGA, and cable/antenna. The resolution is 1280X1024, 16million colors. It has a NTSC tuner builtin. It comes with software drivers for your notebook. The unit does come with a 120V to 12V power brick, but unfortunately does not come with a 12V power cord. This was an easy fix. I just went to Radio Shack and purchased a 12V cigarette lighter cord that accepts a variety of device power input tips. By matching the tip dimensions and tip polarity with the included power brick, the appropriate tip was determined completing the 12V power cord. For mounting the unit, I wanted it NOT to sit on ANY of the limited counterspace of the Bambi, so I ordered an articulating VESA mount with a quick release. I mounted the arm at the extreme rear right area of the refrig cabinet. I did have to disconnect the propane from the refrig, remove the refrig mounting screws and slide the refrig slightly out so as to have access to the inside of the cabinet during the installation of the articulating arm (not all that difficult a job...really). The articulating VESA mount and quick release allows us to dismount the TV during travel, which we store in the original packing box placed in the shower area. When mounted, the TV is totally above the refrig counter and can be swung for viewing on the sofa or the bed as well as allowing the viewing angle to be adjusted for the best picture. The TV also includes a folding support that allows it to free stand. This is nice if you want to use it elsewhere. Other than installing the articulating arm mount, the only other modification that I think should be done is to drill a large whole from the bedside wall into the rack area above the refrig. This will allow the cords from the TV/power jack to pass thru rather than drape between the TV and the connector.

The other thing that we added to complete the "media" center was a native 12V DVD player. The unit, Blaupunkt DVD-ME1, is a really small, well designed unit. As both the DVD player and the TV handle PAL (European std) as well as NTSC (US analog std), we found that that the slightly higher resolution of using PAL was visably better, so that is how we run both units. (BTW, setting the composite input to PAL on the TV has NO affect on its reception of NTSC TV signals nor it use as a SVGA monitor) If this is of interest, I will email you how we did installation. I am picking up our Bambi mid week and I will take some detailed pics of the mount, TV and DVD player and add them to my posted pics. I forgot to mention that both the TV and the DVD come with full IR remote controls

We have been extremely pleased with the picture quality from both DVDs and OTA (over the air). Of course, OTA reception can be spotty if parked more than 50 miles or so from TV stations.

The TV can be found at
www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=967676.
The cost is $479.

The articulating arm can be found at http://www.lcdmonitorarm.com/lcd_arm_10.htm.
You will need one each, 835.BK ($259) and one each 899.BK ($10).

The DVD player is available at
http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/BLADVDME1
for $179.95.
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Old 09-15-2003, 02:44 PM   #10
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Just posted to members photo installation of my sharp 20 and combo dvd vcr combo. Works great

Yargseth
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Old 09-15-2003, 02:53 PM   #11
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Thoughts on a flat-screen TV....

too damn expensive!

(how's that?)
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Old 09-15-2003, 03:37 PM   #12
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Thanks for your "thought", Chuck!

The good news is the prices are coming down more and more every day!
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Old 09-15-2003, 03:50 PM   #13
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I think flat screen TVs are wonderful....

...and I think someone should buy me one.

Or maybe two - one for the AS and one for the house.
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Old 09-15-2003, 04:37 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally posted by yargseth
Just posted to members photo installation of my sharp 20 and combo dvd vcr combo.
Wow! What a sweet set-up you have! Check-out Yargseth's setup: http://www.airstreamphotos.com/photo...r=2915&thumb=1
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Old 09-15-2003, 04:46 PM   #15
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Re: We have a 17", 12V LCD unit installed

As usual, dtbw, I am amazed and wowed by the depth and breadth of your research and I thank-you for sharing the results of your investigations with us!

Quote:
Originally posted by dtbw
If this is of interest, I will email you how we did installation.
Yes, please!

Quote:
Originally posted by dtbw
I am picking up our Bambi mid week and I will take some detailed pics of the mount, TV and DVD player and add them to my posted pics.
I look forward to seeing them. Also note Yargseth's alternate installation location for his TV -- on the side wall.
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Old 09-16-2003, 08:40 AM   #16
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Swing mount vs articulating mount

In looking at Yargseth's LDC TV mount, the TV is in a similar location, but the mount attachment location and type is different. His mount is a swing mount attached to the adjacent wall. This type of mount allows the TV to swing left to right, but not up and down (can't tell from pic, but I will assume that it does have a ball swivel where it attaches to the TV which allows you to adjust the viewing angle...a necessity with an LCD TV). In a fully articulating mount such as I used, the TV can be adjusted in any plane, limited only by physical obstructions such as the wall, ceiling, cabinet. Both are excellent methods of mounting an LDC TV and it is a matter of choice. I preferred the ability to have totally freedom of adjustment, but the cost is somewhat higher. The fully articulating mount is also available in a wall mount version, so if you are timid about pulling the refrig out a bit to mount the type I used, that is another option.

It does not appear that Yargseth's installed a quick release between the mount and the TV. I think this is really a must have. In either type of mount, there is significant leverage potential and the forces created while traveling can be significant. The quick release option that I installed is key locked, so it makes theft almost impossible while attached), yet lets me remove the TV in seconds for travel or use outdoors (BTW, I also installed a 12V wireless video/audio system, so that we can watch DVDs outdoors without having to string wires (other than a 12V connection or using the 120V to 12V adapter).

Although Yargseth's choice of a DVD/VCR combo gives him an additional choice of media (VHS), it also requires a 110V invertor to run when AC power is missing and it is significantly larger than the 12V DVD player that I installed. It also appears that his TV is 120V vs 12V (ie nothing is plugged into the 12V outlet in the pics). I am planning to retrieve the Bambi tomorrow, so I will post the pic NLT Thursday (also I will take pics of the dumpvalve setup as well as the clearance measurements).
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