TV and VCR or DVD question

[Frederick L. Simson]

...but I never play them anymore. They are too bulky. [b]Hmmmm, wonder if those old records could somehow be made into CD's?

Any way, you said your laptop plays MP3's ([b]what are those??????????)

I just spent a lot of money to repair my 1982 Kenwood KVA-503 amplifier in my home stereo system, so I could still play my records and cassettes. To "convert" your vinyl to CD, you just need a readable-writable CD burner on your computer, and a cable to hook up your stereo system's output from your turntable.

As I understand it, MP3 is a "different" format, kind of like an "LP" CD... I don't have any...

[Karalyn]

I just saw this TV online and it says ac/dc. Would that be the 12 volt set up as well as electrical?????? This is only $159. If it works on 12 volt it might be the way to go. This way I have a TV if I am near a city.

Orion 9" Flat Screen AC/DC TV/DVD Player
Orion's TV/DVD combo is all you need for movie and TV entertainment
TVDVD092

[Frederick L. Simson]

ac/[b]dc. Would that be the [b]12 volt set up as well as electrical??????

You go girl!

[Tom Trostel]

Speaking of obsolete, my son was telling me that in a couple of years the broadcast signal for television will change and most of the TVs around now will not be able to receive the new signal. The old TVs will still work on cable or satellite. I can't keep up with all the changes. Man do I feel old some days. Tom Trostel

[Time K]

Karalyn, I think your original question was answered.....at least once!

I think some national office supply stores have DVD players on sale after rebate for around 9.00...yes that's $9.00!

[DonInChatt]

Im glad someone mentioned laptops - since thats what I plan on using. They're small, lightweight and I have noticed several campsites that offer wi-fi internet, which I think will only become more common. On one hand, Im taking work with me, but on the other hand...I can stay much longer and not completely lose track of whats happening at work and in the world! Boy, do I [b]love living in the 21st Century!

Nothing better than sitting around the RV watching the DVD of Laurel and Hardy's "Them Thar Hills"; their adventure camping in a trailer. (Click on Stan and Ollie.)

[Erik J]

[quote]Nothing better than sitting around the RV watching the DVD of Laurel and Hardy's "Them Thar Hills"; their adventure camping in a trailer. (Click on Stan and Ollie.)

Attachment 1439

has anyone installed something like this in their trailer?



it is one of those designed to be run in a car/suv.
i have seen some with a swivel monitor.
i am considering something like this to go in my trailer.
small, light, and... 12 volt

[DaveK]

OK! It's settled. We have you buying a combination TV/DVD unit.

Now...you'll be needing DVDs. Just the classics at first. The ones you can watch over and over and over....

I'm thinking...

Airplane
Animal House
Blazing Saddles
Blues Brothers
Young Frankenstein
Princess Bride
Which Monty Python I wonder....Holy Grail I suppose.

Add:
The Shawshank Redemption
Renaissance Man
The Quiet Man


I'm going to completely disagree with almost everyone here as to the best type of unit. I have an Emerson 9" TV/DVD unit. 12v/120v. It was $139 at Walmart last June. I wish it was an LCD unit and that's my only regret, since prices are coming down. Well ok, I wish it was bigger, but that's not as important to me.

The reason I disagree is because I don't only use the unit in the trailer. Most of the time it sits on the desk next to the computer where I spend most of my free time, and it watches TV for me. A pure LCD DVD player won't watch TV, it will only play DVD's and CD's. Nothing wrong with that, I just like to maximize my options.

Karalyn, the Orion Model you mention is essentially the same as mine. It will run off the 12v battery in your trailer for a few hours, or off standard wall-type electricity (120v) forever. That's the kind of electricity you have at campgrounds or RV parks that provide electric hookups.

BTW, another useful item is an inexpensive set of powered speakers to plug into the TV/DVD's headphone jack to make things sound much better. Back to WalMart, you can get a decent set of Altec speakers with Subwoofer for $24.95. In our wee trailers, that's as much as most non-audiophiles will ever need.

Hope my dissenting opinion was helpful.

[Steve L.]

I used to drag the lap top along for DVD viewing but soon stopped that. I didn't like that it took up table space. The only other likely spot was the stove top, but I usually have it playing while cooking dinner and moving it back and forth from the dinette table to the stove stop is a nuisance. I don't really use the PC for anything else while travelling so I leave it behind.


I definitely didn't want to carry both a TV and a player so a separate DVD player wasn't an option.


I do a fair amount of boondocking so squeezing the most amps out of my battery was a goal so running an inverter and it's built in inefficiency didn't appeal. Plus, I at the prospect of turning 12v to 120v so that the "brick" transformer could turn it back again to 12v for the TV. I run off of 12v even when the trailer is plugged in.


CRT TV's don't use all that much current, but LCDs are better. CRT's are bulky and my aging eyes need something fair sized. I went with a 12" TV/DVD. Plays CDs and MP3s on a CD.


Playing a movie only uses a little under 2 amps DC an hour on my Audiovox. It's hung under the overhead storage in the back corner over the foot of the bed. It swivels so that I can watch in a reclined position. Although I'm like one of those dolls... if I go horizontal, my eyes close.

For what it's worth, I believe some TVs use 9v DC. I assume that when they run off of 12v, the conversion to 9V is in the 12v plug. It's a minor transformation (DC to DC) so it doesn't have to be one of those "bricks". I offer this because going to the Shack for a cord in these cases may not work. Getting the TV vendor's supplied 12v cord is the safest, if not always the cheapest, option.

[Steve L.]

Add:
The Shawshank Redemption
Renaissance Man
The Quiet Man

Oh Sure! If you're going to go ADULT on us! Some of us are trying to go through our second childhood!

[Brian B-P]

...in a couple of years the broadcast signal for television will change and most of the TVs around now will not be able to receive the new signal. The old TVs will still work on cable or satellite....

Good point, but...

The change is to [b]digital transmission. It is cable and satellite that made the change first: modern satellite systems are all-digital and reception requires a specific receiver which puts out signals to go with various types of TVs, and a similar box is required for the digital channels on cable. The latest phase is digital transmission over-the-air (to your antenna) - this is how all of the broadcast high-definition stations work, and all stations will go that way eventually. In the U.S., the change is mandated by the federal regulators; in Canada, the government is allowing the industry to choose when to change (but sets the technical standard for the broadcast format).

For now, stations which broadcast [b]over-the-air in digital on a new channel usually continue to broadcast in analog (the old style) on their original channel. Eventually, they will shut down the analog transmitters and anyone with an analog-only TV (which is just about everyone today) will need to get a new TV, or a new separate tuner. The separate tuner should be cheap and readily available, since you can already get this sort of thing to use with your computer (usually for analog stations).

This changeover was supposed to be well underway by now, and perhaps even complete this year, but in Canada there are only about 4 cities with any digital over-the-air broadcasts, and no station with digital only. I'm considering buying a new TV for the house, and I'm not worrying about getting a digital tuner.

[DaveK]

Oh Sure! If you're going to go ADULT on us! Some of us are trying to go through our second childhood!

Heh heh. My wife says I'm 53 going on 17.

[Karalyn]

Again thanks everyone for your input! I am thinking TV/DVD if set up is not to bulky. Led TV does sound like a lot less to carry around. I will need to check out some more stores. and sure do have a lot of ideas now to toss around.
THANKS MUCH!

[Alan P.]

I've just bought a laptop and had previously bought a Wonder TV tuner. The antique laptop I bought it for didn't have appropriate specs so I couldn't use it till now. It works really well on the new laptop, using a set of slide on rabbit ears as an antenna. The laptop has a DVD and 14" screen so I figure with WIFI as well I have a multi purpose tool.

Anyone know if there is a way to set up an antenna that would be not too space consuming and inconspicuous inside my Surfside. There used to be flat "T" shaped wire antenna's you could attach to the wall. I'm assuming that such an antenna inside should work as well as outside with a fiberglass trailer. I'd like to be able to just plug it in and not have to "tune" the antenna. Am I dreaming? Do you always have to tune an antenna depending on geographic orientation. Or could you have a loop right around the trailer or a big loop at l least that would work equally well if you parked facing to any point on the compass?

Anybody out there know about this stuff?

I really want to be able to watch the CBC news when in Canada and PBS in the US.

[Benita]

Just wondering. Does anyone have a Skybox satellite system?

They are designed for SUVs and RVs.



One would fit the flat roof of a Fiber Stream. For the rest of you, it would take some engineering to affix to an egg.



Audiovox Skybox

[Benita]

I went simpler.

Audiovox TV/DVD/MP3 player 10.2 inch

[Nancy in Oregon]

We are not big on watching TV so putting lots of $$ into a TV/DVD combo that was small and light weight was not a viable option for us. We used to take my laptop camping. We just used it for playing DVDs; getting into email or on the Internet was not something we wanted to do while weekend camping. The computer and case was always in the way when it was in the trailer.

Last year, I purchased a Sony DVD player at Walmart for between $100-$150. It is small, light weight and packs away in a drawer. As a bonus, we also use the DVD player on long air plane flights, when we are on business staying in hotel rooms and our daughter uses it when she has to sit up all night with patients.

Nancy

[Kevin A]

We are not big on watching TV so putting lots of $$ into a TV/DVD combo that was small and light weight was not a viable option for us. We used to take my laptop camping. We just used it for playing DVDs; getting into email or on the Internet was not something we wanted to do while weekend camping. The computer and case was always in the way when it was in the trailer.

Last year, I purchased a Sony DVD player at Walmart for between $100-$150. It is small, light weight and packs away in a drawer. As a bonus, we also use the DVD player on long air plane flights, when we are on business staying in hotel rooms and our daughter uses it when she has to sit up all night with patients.

Nancy

Karalyn,
We met last weekend at Lanesboro and you may have seen our LCD/DVD player setup in our 13' Burro. We bought a Polaroid 10" screen model that has DVD/CD/TV/AM-FM/MP3. It is mounted under our upper cabinet over the sink. We can watch from the front dinette or from the rear seats/bed. It has great sound and swivels 270 degrees for maximum viewing. I put a bungee cord around it when driving so that the screen doesn't accidently drop down and bounce (it was originally intended as an under-cabinet kitchen model where the kitchen doesn't move!). The cost was a bit pricey (I think it was around $300 at Circuit City), but it is permanently installed and I don't have to haul anything anymore. We love it!