TV Upgrade Advice Please

[TravisH]

Hi,

2019 FC. Looks like a 28" Samsung 720 resolution TV. Playing DVDs it's kinda blocky. I don't imagine its the dvd/blu-ray player.

Believe it or not I have NEVER bought a TV in my life! I know next to nothing about them but can recognize a poor picture and surmise an HD 4K or 1080 (I did some reading and see those terms as "better" but...not sure...)

They seem cheap enough to gamble on.

Questions:

Any favorites best bang for the buck? TCL get's high ratings and a friend had one that was quite nice picture. Not sure they have a 28" 4K though...

Is the existing mount universal or will I require a new one or adaptor?

BTW. I can't see how to get the Samsung off! It's against the wall with no option to swivel away to access...I imagine a pin gets pushed or pulled.



Gee.... I hate being so inept about such basic things....

Thanks for any guidance!

Trav

[SeaLevel]

I don't have any answers for you, but I want to see what others have to say. I thought this thread was going to be about (TV) tow vehicles at first glance.

[lsbrodsky]

I have always been partial to SONY, but SAMSUNG does make a decent TV. The problem is that most of the whizz-bang features are in bigger TV's. When I replaced my 28 in the Airstream I went with TCL. You have to think about the source of your TV picture, as well. Most campgrounds with cable have terrible resolution so the TV does not really matter. If you are using your antenna, you often get better resolution but many of the available channels are not hi-def, so again, it really does not matter like it would at home. Basically, 4K is a waste of money for a travel trailer, I believe.
As for the mount, mine is an articulating mount and they are standard for every TV, the screw holes on the back of the TV conform to some industry standard. I understand Airstream went to a fixed mount and I do not know how to remove a TV from that, but the screws should still fit whatever TV you buy. You may want to buy an articulating mount.
Larry

[JonDNC]

FWIW save your money at 28” size 720 is all you need, my bet is either the DVD player or the TV is not showing full resolution. Look in menu setting max sure set to display 720 or higher.

We have a 2019 International Serenity which I think has same Tv. I use an Apple TV for streaming and picture is fine.

[Mollysdad]

Samsung is a quality brand.
Is the picture "blocky" while using cable or antenna?
Even a non BluRay DVD has decent resolution, (480) and shouldn't appear blocky (Like old VHS tapes, remember those?)
I'll bet there's a setting somewhere. Borrow a DVD player from home or a neighbor, and run a simple HDMI to the TV. See how it looks? Work your way back to the source. A HDMI has the same connectors at both ends, so there's no danger of plugging in wrong.
The mount should have a black nylon pull strap hanging under the TV. Pull down firmly, while pulling away from wall. There's a pin on a spring keeping all the arms together for travel.

[TravisH]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

Samsung is a quality brand.
Is the picture "blocky" while using cable or antenna?
Even a non BluRay DVD has decent resolution, (480) and shouldn't appear blocky (Like old VHS tapes, remember those?)
I'll bet there's a setting somewhere. Borrow a DVD player from home or a neighbor, and run a simple HDMI to the TV. See how it looks? Work your way back to the source. A HDMI has the same connectors at both ends, so there's no danger of plugging in wrong.
The mount should have a black nylon pull strap hanging under the TV. Pull down firmly, while pulling away from wall. There's a pin on a spring keeping all the arms together for travel.

Thanks!

I can't find any settings that deal with resolution for dvd/blu-ray or tv.... I found those for color etc but seems like resolution should be automatic...

No mention in the manuals but doesn't seem right..

Trav

[Gigler]

First you need to figure out what you want from a tv and what you expect. Then get on google and do your own homework and make your own decision. Do the work for yourself .

[Gigler]

Originally Posted by TravisH

Hi,

2019 FC. Looks like a 28" Samsung 720 resolution TV. Playing DVDs it's kinda blocky. I don't imagine its the dvd/blu-ray player.

Believe it or not I have NEVER bought a TV in my life! I know next to nothing about them but can recognize a poor picture and surmise an HD 4K or 1080 (I did some reading and see those terms as "better" but...not sure...)

They seem cheap enough to gamble on.

Questions:

Any favorites best bang for the buck? TCL get's high ratings and a friend had one that was quite nice picture. Not sure they have a 28" 4K though...

Is the existing mount universal or will I require a new one or adaptor?

BTW. I can't see how to get the Samsung off! It's against the wall with no option to swivel away to access...I imagine a pin gets pushed or pulled.



Gee.... I hate being so inept about such basic things....

Thanks for any guidance!

Trav

First you need to figure out what you want from a tv and what you expect. Then get on google and do your own homework and make your own decision. Do the work for yourself .

[wdaley04]

Has anyone replaced their Samsung with a Smart TV

[lsbrodsky]

Yeah, my TCL is a Smart TV. Streaming really isn't possible in campgrounds and it uses a bunch of GB on my cell plan. But, the Smart TV has a nice weather App that comes in very handy.
Larry

[kb0zke]

Okay, I'm a smart-alek. Back when HD tv was first coming out, we looked at some. The sales person was very enthusiastic about his offerings. He went on and on about how great the shows were. I asked him if the tv improved the shows. At first he was a bit puzzled, so I asked again if we would be watching the same shows, or better ones. He admitted that they would be the same shows. I ended the conversation with "then what's the point?"


To the question about how to get the current television off of the mount, yes, there is a "hidden" release somewhere. I did it once, several years ago, but I don't remember now what I did to get it to release. Yes, we replaced that thing with a swivel mount, which made things a whole lot easier.


I wonder, though, if a swivel mount is a good idea in a trailer. I would be afraid that the bouncing on rough roads would eventually break something.

[kittmaster]

Originally Posted by wdaley04

Has anyone replaced their Samsung with a Smart TV

The thought process here is that the TV itself can be "dumb" because the BLURAY player is smart. It supports Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube etc.

I have a 2019 Serenity and I'm beyond a tech nut....the TV is more than fine for 720p and 1080p content....4K, forget it, not needed on that small of a screen....it would be downsampled anyway just to be able to get something usable to see.

The BLURAY also has a USB port that you can stream MP4 and MKV files from an external hard drive. We do it all the time.....and images on both the 28 and 24 inch TVs both render properly.

Check the settings of the TV and the output options of the BLURAY player.

[Kim06]

Originally Posted by wdaley04

Has anyone replaced their Samsung with a Smart TV

Just had to replace my 28" Samsung as it decide to just shut off on its own. I had to unplug it to reset it. When I would turn it back on, it would work for 3 - 5 minutes, then shut off. It would only work on antenna and not with a cable input. Long story short, after several hours of troubleshooting and eliminating all possible issues, I was left with the only solution ... the TV failed.

Bought a replacement, now all is good. The replacement I purchased in a 32" Samsung. Amazon, $189.00. The direct replacement was $485.00.

I had to relocate the mounting bracket down about an inch and a half. Had to drill a couple of holes in the metal bracket as the wooden mount is glued to the wall the held in place by six screws.

To get the TV off the wall there is a small "L" shaped lock at the top of the mount. Swivel it up so the short leg is up. Lift the TV up and off the bracket.

It is a smart TV and works great on antenna, cable and streaming with WIFI.

[jeffmc306]

Originally Posted by wdaley04

Has anyone replaced their Samsung with a Smart TV

Wdaley04, we replaced the 28” with a Samsung 32” 1080 Smart TV and love it. The 28” was “repurposed” to our kitchen in the house.

I installed a DAC converter to get the audio back to the RCA connectors for the Polk Audio system. Just got back a week in Colorado and really enjoyed the bigger screen and it fits!

[Iansk]

Alright, I’m going to be “that guy”...

The best television replacement for your camping trailer is none at all. Simplify and ditch it all together. Watch a campfire (channel 1), listen to the birds, play cards with your companion, read a book, crochet, whittle, be.

For us, camping equals connection to each other and leaving the stimulus we left behind, behind. To be fair, we rarely watch TV at home so it’s easier for us to not notice it isn’t there.

I’ve seen smaller trailers than mine with four tv’s and that just boggles me, I can’t imagine putting one in. But again, that’s just me. I’m no Luddite mind you, I just don’t see the point of complicating a perfectly complex process any more.

With undying respect to everyone and their decisions,
Ian

[RV4Mark]

Jeffmc306,
That’s an awesome setup! Nice job. How do you get content to your Apple TV? Do you use P2P Airplay from your idevice? I want to do the same thing once my AS arrives, but I have not decided between using P2P AirPlay and streaming content from my iPhone, or using a MiFi Hotspot and having the AppleTV stream directly.

[aftermath]

Originally Posted by Iansk

Alright, I’m going to be “that guy”...

The best television replacement for your camping trailer is none at all. Simplify and ditch it all together. Watch a campfire (channel 1), listen to the birds, play cards with your companion, read a book, crochet, whittle, be.

For us, camping equals connection to each other and leaving the stimulus we left behind, behind. To be fair, we rarely watch TV at home so it’s easier for us to not notice it isn’t there.

I’ve seen smaller trailers than mine with four tv’s and that just boggles me, I can’t imagine putting one in. But again, that’s just me. I’m no Luddite mind you, I just don’t see the point of complicating a perfectly complex process any more.

With undying respect to everyone and their decisions,
Ian

I agree with you...to a point. We are not video people. We basically watch the news, college basketball and football of all sorts. We hardly ever watch the tv when we are camping. But, we do like having it when we travel. Tuning into the local news when you are in podunk city is a learning experience you just can't get anywhere else. You can hear about the local happenings, the local weather and all sorts of interesting stuff and even get to hear from some of the local celebrities.

[jeffmc306]

Originally Posted by RV4Mark

Jeffmc306,
That’s an awesome setup! Nice job. How do you get content to your Apple TV? Do you use P2P Airplay from your idevice? I want to do the same thing once my AS arrives, but I have not decided between using P2P AirPlay and streaming content from my iPhone, or using a MiFi Hotspot and having the AppleTV stream directly.

Thanks RV4Mark! Airplay works great to share content from your devices. I think a MiFi Hotspot would be a great way to go but haven’t tested it yet.

Good luck with your new Airstream and have fun personalizing it!

-Jeff

[JonDNC]

I have both airstream connect and a Verizon mifi that I use when camping. Both work well depending on the site. I stream via an Apple TV. Sometimes one is significantly better than the other. Most of the time both are better than campground WiFi

[kb0zke]

As you can probably tell from my smart-alek answer above, I'm not much of a television fan. However, we have been in places when the television was a necessity. I'm thinking of spring in Oklahoma. When there is a tornado flying around, I want to know exactly where it is and where it is going. Otherwise, the thing is more of a nuisance than anything else.