Flat screen TVs

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Tom

Administrator
Joined
Jan 13, 2005
Posts
51,857
I've looked (several times) at flat screen replacements for TVs in our coach, house, and even our boat. But each time I come home more confused than before. In store displays I see projection TVs, LCD screens, and plasma screens. The projection TVs are by far the bulkiest. I used to think that they made LCD screens only in the smaller sizes but, on my last few store visits, that turned out to be a myth (or technology has moved forward). I've heard that plasma screens don't survive the rigors of traveling down the highway, but is that only an issue when mounted upsside down (the swing-down for viewing variety)?

Anyone able to shed any light on the merits of each type?

TIA
 
LCD is the way to go for RV. Plasma uses too much energy and generates lots of heat. Also they are more fragile and rumored to not like high altitude.

My 30 inch Sharp Aquos is side mounted on the wall between front and dining area windows and has traveled well for the last year.
 
Thanks for that info Russ. I've looked at the smaller (20") Aquos for the coach bedroom, but havn't looked at their 30". Good starting point for my upcoming visit to Fry's Electronics.

Hadn't considered the power consumption of plasma. Not good while boondocking.
 
Tom,

I wanted the 30" Sharp Aquos but it just wouldn't fit in the space available so I settled for the 26". I really like it much better than the standard tube TV. The picture is much clearer, especially any text that is on the screen. Shaun Davis will be installing it in a cabinet in April. In the meantime I'm going to have to move it when we travel as it is sitting on top of the existing TV. :)

 
I'd have to do what Jerry Fitzgerald did i.e. get a TV that fits the space of the existing one, and have Shaun slim the cabinet down.
 
Tom said:
Anyone able to shed any light on the merits of each type?

Tom,
For the house, I did extensive research before I settled on a DLP projection HDTV. It's very light and not deep like the projection TVs you are used to. I got the Samsung 50 inch but there are several other manufacturers. My second choice would have been an LCOS technology HDTV. I would not get plasma. From all the info I researched, the consensus was that a plasma's life is only about 7 years and they cannot be repaired cost effectively.

For the RV, get a LCD HD capable TV. They're light, reliable, great picture and prices are coming down. I picked up a Zenith 17 inch widescreen HDTV around Christmas for under $500 at a discount electronics store in Palm Beach. Extremely happy with it.
 
Thanks Bruce. I was quite impressed with the DLP TVs I saw.
 
We got a 46" LCD HD projector for the living room at home last fall. Like the DLP units, it is a light weight, slim cabinet andan  incredibly bright picture. Not quite as slim as a pure LCD or plasma, of course, but less than half the price as well.  There is absolutely no comparison between an LCD or DLP projector and the "gun" type.
 
You're right in that comparison with old gun proejctors and the price comp with plasma. However, I still have sticker shock.
 
Tom said:
Thanks Bruce. I was quite impressed with the DLP TVs I saw.

There was a test done a couple of years ago. They put a plasma and DLP next to each displaying the same picture. Only the screens were visible so that there was no way to tell which type of TV it was. They asked people which TV had the best picture and the DLP won hands down.

All I know is that now that I have been watching HDTV, regular TV looks like there's something wrong. I'd rather watch a HDTV test pattern than upper body shots of Pamela Anderson......well, maybe not.  ;D

 
My son recently mentioned to me that he saw a system where you paint the screen on your wall and project to it. He said it was very good. I haven't researched it yet but will as I need to do something in our new house. I was leaning toward LCoS as the best way to go.
 
blueblood said:
My son recently mentioned to me that he saw a system where you paint the screen on your wall and project to it. He said it was very good. I haven't researched it yet but will as I need to do something in our new house. I was leaning toward LCoS as the best way to go.

Interesting concept Leo.  Please let us know what you find out.
 
blueblood said:
My son recently mentioned to me that he saw a system where you paint the screen on your wall and project to it. He said it was very good. I haven't researched it yet but will as I need to do something in our new house. I was leaning toward LCoS as the best way to go.

That sounds like a front projection set where you have a projector with high wattage bulb(s) and color filters  either mounted on the ceiling or in/on a piece of furniture on the floor in front of the screen.  I believe that there are now some projectors available that use the chip with the tiny little mirrors rather than LCD, etc.  I can't think of the proper terminology for them.  These projectors were developed for the presentation industry to replace the old Kodak Carousel, etc.  It seems that I remember seeing ads for them that mention that they will work as TV projectors.  What kind of price was involved?  I may be wrong but I suspect that you will be happier with the LCoS system or one of the other flat screen LCD or plasma systems or perhaps the "presentation" projector.

IMHO a projector mounted in front of a screen and located anywhere except on the ceiling would be a drag - the view being interupted whenever someone passes between the projector and the screen. :mad:
 
blueblood said:
My son recently mentioned to me that he saw a system where you paint the screen on your wall and project to it. He said it was very good. I haven't researched it yet but will as I need to do something in our new house. I was leaning toward LCoS as the best way to go.

Well, they make DLP projectors which are mostly used for business presentations and slide shows. Perhaps that is what he was talking about.
 
<<My son recently mentioned to me that he saw a system where you paint the screen on your wall and project to it. >>

They did a story on Tech TV last summer about the paint you use for that. There is a couple on the next beach who have made a screen and painted it. It hinges up on the ceiling, and swings down to view, they have movie night over at their house regularly. Works out really well, since they have a family member in the business and so get first run movies sometimes. We saw Million Dollar Baby on the beach while it was still in theatres up north.  8) You do have to put up with the small sign running across the bottom of the screen every now and them telling you "this copy is for oscar consideration only."  ;D

Colette
 
I don't know if there is a special paint to use, but can tell you my experience with 'screens'. In order to tune and properly focus some diode lasers, I needed a 'target' which would accurately reflect the beam back from about 40' away. Trying various white papers and mirrors proved useless. The solution was literally lying at my feet. While driving one day, I noticed that a road crew had recently painted some yellow and white lines on the road and had coated the stripes with tiny glass beads, similar to those used on older movie projection screens. I scooped a couple pounds of the leftovers and rushed home. To make a long story short, I painted a 4' x 6' panel with FLAT white enamel (gloss doesn't work as well because it disperses the beam in a random manner) and sprinkled a heavy coating of the glass beads on it while the paint was still wet, then rolled it with a smooth rubber roller to firmly embed the beads. Once dry, the panel was gently vacuumed to remove any excess glass and placed against the far wall. Viola! Success! The reflected beam was clear, bright, collimated, and totally acceptable for my purposes. I can't see why it wouldn't be equally good for a projected picture. How do you get the beads? Contact your local highway/streets department; they can tell you who their supplier is or maybe tell you where their next project is so you can go and pick up their 'scraps'. Now the question is: How do you get it onto an already installed vertical wall? You could try a sandblasting gun attached to a compressor operating at very low pressure, or you could just try throwing handfuls of the stuff against the painted wall, OR.... OR.... (Are you ready for this??) OR you could tip your house over 90 degrees so the wall is now the floor and proceed as I did with the panel. ;D 
 
All:

At work we use a 4 lb, 2200 Lumen Sony LCD projector for just about everything we do with three or more people. My office is all windows and we do not have to pull the blinds to see. (Don't know how we existed the past 35 years without Powerpoint) ???

This weekend I looked at a projector that was no larger than 2 1/2"H x 4"W x 4"D that had S video input. That mounted on the ceiling and a roll up screen would go just about anywhere in an RV and sure beat the cabinet size limitation we have now.
 
Back
Top Bottom