Updating TV setup

[Ben]

My 1997 Liberty has a TV above the drivers seat and one in the bedroom. The bedroom TV gets it's source from a switcher in the overhead above the drivers seat. The problem is that everything uses the type of cabling that is used for cable TV, which limits what I can hook to it when updating my bus.

Belkin's RemoteTV looks like a good solution. It includes a transmitter that has inputs for audio and video (you can choose between component, S-video, etc.) that you can hook to your primary audio/video source and a receiver that you can hook to a second TV that is up to 350 feet away. It also can send the commands from your IR remote control so you can control your video equipment from the remote TV location.



You can find more about it at the following web site:
http://www.pureav.com/remotetv/

I haven't ordered it yet, but might do so very soon... let me know if you have found a better solution.

[MangoMike]

Hi Ben,

This setup looks very cool. However, since it's wireless do you think there's going to be an issue about interference from the engine? Mike Kerley should weigh in on this subject.

What's your ultimate hookup plan, as your obviously looking to do more than making the remote work from the bedroom.

Am enjoying your blog. Keep up the good work.

Mike

[Just Plain Jeff]

This seems like a very slick setup.

You may find, if you install it, that you will become a real magnet at campgrounds...just like the guy that has the wireless router in his coach.

Everyone wants to park next to him.

BTW, any progress on your vanity plate yet?

[mike kerley]

The TV challenge!

I have tried numerous wireless systems, 950MHZ up to the 6 GIG pro range and was unhappy with all. Surrounded by steal and other electronic gadgets, there are just to many mixes of signals, harmonics and reflections to produce a good clean signal 99% of the time (we try for 100, but settle for 99.9).

I ended up running three new RG-6 cables from the rear of the bus to the front compartment over the drivers seat. Cables were installed by Ken Robertson RV and they did a nice job, sealed everything well and they work. I ran three for the two satellite cables needed for a TIVO unit, plus a second to send RF (tv channel audio and video) from the front to rear or i can run S-video, for a little better picture, on that same cable. I still have the old cable from the rear switcher which will feed whatever the switcher selects to a separate input on the front tv. Confusing? My wife hasn't figured it out yet.

I know have HDTV (with TIVO) off satellite in the front, rear and outside either from roof top antenna (in motion) or separate antenna when parked at one of two home bases. Outside configuration works best when parked because we get more HD channels. Our KVH roof-top unit can be programmed to switch to other satellites for additional HD channels, but then all receivers will be "seeing" that satellite,which may not have the channels someone in the other area wants to watch. So, for now, this works best.

We use a Harmony 880 remote control for the front unit. It has a small sensor which I hid in the air duct over the front area. The IR senders for this unit then are attached to the stereo, the tv and the HDTV direct tv TIVO and the remotes work flawlessly (well almost ). I'm very pleased with the remote operation.

If you are going to try a wireless setup, try to buy it from a store that will allow you to return it if your not pleased. I did, and I did!

[Ben]

What's your ultimate hookup plan, as your obviously looking to do more than making the remote work from the bedroom.

What's my ultimate hookup plan? Well...

1) I want to replace my old B/W backup camera with a newer one and am thinking of installing one of those GPS/Backup camera combo units (the glare on the CRT when the sun comes in the window makes the screen almost useless at times and I wouldn't mind being able to see a little further behind me). If I can find one of those that offers both aux inputs and an iPod adaptor, then I could use it as my primary audio system.



I'd also want to run the sources to the rear so the audio can be synced throughout the bus. I mainly want to do this so that I can still hear the directions from the GPS while I listen to music (my stand-alone GPS doesn't work well this way). I'd also like one that has bluetooth, so it will mute the tunes when my cell rings and will display who is calling and I can use the speakers in the bus as a hands-free kit. Then I could hook that unit up to a few amps to run the 8 speakers that are currently in the front of the coach and add a subwoofer for better base.

For the ultimate GPS setup, check out:
http://www.churchillnavigation.com/at1.html
It only has 1 terabyte of data and costs up to $7000. I'll have to talk them into a sponsorship!

2) Replacing the rear car stereo with one that has an aux input (to get the sources from the front of the bus) and adding amps that can handle all six speakers that are in the bedroom (right now, two of them are wired directly to the tv just like in the front of the bus). I might also add a subwoofer in the rear if I can find space for it

3) I want to replace my living room TV with a larger unit that will deliver a better looking image when it's hooked to a computer (more about that in a minute), or when hooked to a high-def source. Right now I'm thinking about a 32" LCD. I just wish they were availble in true High-Def (1920x1080 resolution instead of the 1366 x 768 that all the 32 inchers seem to be). Since it's not truely high-def, that means that every signal will need to be scaled up (from standard def TV and 720P HD) or scaled down (from 1080i HD), so the picture quality will be a lot less than what I really want. I haven't been able to find a 32" monitor with a resolution of 1920x1080, which would be true high-def.

Replacing the TV will mean re-doing some of the cabinet work above the drivers seat, which I'm not looking forward to since the current setup looks so clean. Replacing the TV with an LCD will also open up a bunch of space behind the unit where I hope to store all my hard drives (although it might not be the best spot due to heat, but the guys at Liberty said they would modify the AC output to get some cool air into that area if I need to).

4) Possibly replace the rear TV with an LCD. I haven't figured out how to sneak a 32"er in the back... although I could fix a huge one on the wall between the bathroom and bedroom if I wanted to. I could then use a wireless keyboard to browse the web from that room if I really wanted to.

5) Install in-motion dish that can pick up high-def sources. My coach just has a traditional TV antenna (not Sat dish).

6) Install something that will allow me to record two sources at once (TiVo or the like). The newest ones will allow you to record High-def material. I'd also like this unit to include a DVD burner, so I can off load shows without filling up the hard drive and Ideally be able to watch a different program (recorded or live) on the bedroom tv while something else is being played in the living room.

7) Install a system to access my 2+ terabyte music/movie collection. This could be a MacMini that uses the TV's and a remote to access everything and would display album art, etc. Or, I might use a Sonos system, which would allow me to do everything with a remote control, which wouldn't need the TV's to be turned on to change sources. The sonos system wouldn't help to get my digital movie collection going though since it only deals with audio (but I still need to test it to see if the engine causes interferance with the wireless system that it uses).



That's where the Mac mini might come in. It could serve up all my music and movies and act as a server so I could access all my data from my laptop (I have about 5 terabytes of storage total and would rather not have to manually hook all those drives to my laptop each time I need to access a few files).

8) Install an outside audio system. I have some very small, but great sounding speakers that would fit nicely in a bay and could use the Sonos system to get the tunes out there.

9) I'll use VNC to access the MacMini from the laptop. VNC allows the output of my MacMini to show up in a window on my laptop where I can control it using the keyboard and trakpad of my laptop. That way I don't have to always have one of the TV's on to see the MacMini's output.

10) Install a EVDO router, which will allow me to use my EVDO card to get internet access wirelessly from all of my computers.

I think that covers the first stage of my audio/video upgrade

[MangoMike]

Yep,

That's a little more than remoting the rear TV. You're going to have to expound more at POG as it's all very appealing.

Thanks
Mike

[Jerry Winchester]

If I just bring all the electronic gadgets I have and the cords and some extra wires, maybe Ben can morph it all into something out on the foreskin of technology?

I can't be cutting edge like Mike, but if we can both stay ahead of Jon, then he will have trouble sleeping. He has already lost the avionics arms race with those old steam gauges he has.........

[Jon Wehrenberg]

You guys don't have to worry about Jon.

I was going to ask someone to translate what Ben said into language Lew and I could understand.

I'll be happy if in the next decade or two I can learn how to look at my email when I am on the road. (That's a joke Ben. I don't care.)

[lewpopp]

Hey Jon,....Ben either has a great speach writer or copied something out of a book. Isn't that plagherizing? Nuts, I can't spell it.

I jut installed a shower radio in the shower after the old one finally lost it's range. It cost me $5.04 at Wall Mart. Too high tech for most of you who cannot follow Ben.

Good God Ben, get a job.

[mike kerley]

If I'm cutting edge, its with a "real dull knife".

Its a daily struggle to keep up with the grandkids. I used a slide rule in college!