Forum Discussion

Noel's avatar
Noel
Explorer
Oct 31, 2015

Need help switching old CRT tv with new flat screen

Did a search but not a lot came up. (Could be me). We have two old 2003 CRT TVs in front and bedroom. Front is not in a cabinet. Has plastic trim on the bottom and a steel cage and tray holding it in place. (As I have been told. Not looked, yet). Bedroom TV is screwed into a frame at the bottom and everything is inside a finished cabinet,with no door.

We have a 2011 Winegard Trav'ler SK003 which does not, I think, receive HD signal. So that means I can buy two LCD/LED TVs that are not HD. But if they come with HD...they will work just fine. Is that right?

Probably 720 x 480 is good. And a 60 Hz refresh rate.

I read on this forum about sound and sound bar tips; viewing angle and the three tuners needed. Also an audio out would be good. Smart TV would be overkill for us Luddites.

For the bedroom TV in existing cabinet (opening is 22.5" wide and 19.5" tall): I have asked around and looked at pics on RV forums and it seems a hardwood plank a bit wider can be attached with a piano hinge and the TV can be bolted to the plank with a wall mount or similar. It will open upward so stuff can be stored behind the TV. Maybe a small hydraulic arm would help. A quality latch or magnets will secure TV when driving. So far, so good ?

Front TV needs a good handyman or cabinet person to do this for me. I am not good at woodworking. After cabinet is constructed and mounted....the same procedure as for the bedroom TV will be used. Sound reasonable ?

I need to replace the old 2003 DirecTV receiver up front and also get a new receiver for the bedroom which does not have one now. I will probably go to a local RV service center and have a lot of this done including cable upgrades if needed and maybe I even need a new cable for the new receiver going into the bedroom. (The bedroom TV now gets only the same picture as does the front TV)

Vizeo and Samsung brands mentioned many times. I am leaning towards Best Buy's Insignia brand as they have excellent 160 degree viewing angles. Plus a 5 year service contract will cost me $40.

As you might deduce, I am not the best in consumer electronics or carpentry....so go easy on me when you reply.

Thanks
Class A

10 Replies

  • Tinstar's avatar
    Tinstar
    Explorer
    Nov 12, 2015
    I've still got my batwing antenna on my m/h and have two LED TV's. I'm about 30 miles north of Dallas and get 25 or 30 HD stations on the batwing.

    I would also look at Sam's Club. I've been able to buy a lot better TV at a lower price than any of the chain stores. I do think the Insignia is a pretty good TV and Best Buy does have some fair prices, especially with the 'smaller' sets.
  • RayJayco's avatar
    RayJayco
    Explorer
    Nov 11, 2015
    The only bad thing that I can say about Vizio TV's is the response time when changing channels and when first turning TV on. Some TV's are instant and some, such as Vizio's take quite a few seconds... (10-15 seconds on a channel change, much longer when you first turn it on...)
    Not important unless you are switching back and forth between games and such, and don't like to use picture in picture...
  • Johno02's avatar
    Johno02
    Explorer
    Nov 01, 2015
    Another Noel here. If the ones you have in there now are working, the new ones will. It is just a simple swap. If Just take out the old ones and throw them away. find flatscreens at Walmart that will fit. Install them the easiest way possible. Keep it simple, they are so much lighter that lots of options can be opened. OTA antennas take whatever the station broadcasts and you can receive. Satellite hookups depend on what the satellite sends and what your dish will receive. I am not qualified in that area. The newer OTA antennas are much better that the older ones, if your is old, just replace the head with a new one. HD broadcasts will work fine on a SD only receiver, just don;t look near as good. Older Analog receivers will NOT pick up Digital OTA transmissions without a convertor.
  • TechWriter's avatar
    TechWriter
    Explorer
    Oct 31, 2015
    Noel wrote:
    Vizeo and Samsung brands mentioned many times. I am leaning towards Best Buy's Insignia brand as they have excellent 160 degree viewing angles. Plus a 5 year service contract will cost me $40.

    Since you may want to use campground cable occasionally, make sure your TV has a QAM ("digital") tuner as not all new TVs do.
  • Bill_Satellite's avatar
    Bill_Satellite
    Explorer II
    Oct 31, 2015
    Noel wrote:
    Did a search but not a lot came up. (Could be me). We have two old 2003 CRT TVs in front and bedroom. Front is not in a cabinet. Has plastic trim on the bottom and a steel cage and tray holding it in place. (As I have been told. Not looked, yet). Bedroom TV is screwed into a frame at the bottom and everything is inside a finished cabinet,with no door.

    We have a 2011 Winegard Trav'ler SK003 which does not, I think, receive HD signal. So that means I can buy two LCD/LED TVs that are not HD. But if they come with HD...they will work just fine. Is that right?

    Probably 720 x 480 is good. And a 60 Hz refresh rate.

    I read on this forum about sound and sound bar tips; viewing angle and the three tuners needed. Also an audio out would be good. Smart TV would be overkill for us Luddites.

    For the bedroom TV in existing cabinet (opening is 22.5" wide and 19.5" tall): I have asked around and looked at pics on RV forums and it seems a hardwood plank a bit wider can be attached with a piano hinge and the TV can be bolted to the plank with a wall mount or similar. It will open upward so stuff can be stored behind the TV. Maybe a small hydraulic arm would help. A quality latch or magnets will secure TV when driving. So far, so good ?

    Front TV needs a good handyman or cabinet person to do this for me. I am not good at woodworking. After cabinet is constructed and mounted....the same procedure as for the bedroom TV will be used. Sound reasonable ?

    I need to replace the old 2003 DirecTV receiver up front and also get a new receiver for the bedroom which does not have one now. I will probably go to a local RV service center and have a lot of this done including cable upgrades if needed and maybe I even need a new cable for the new receiver going into the bedroom. (The bedroom TV now gets only the same picture as does the front TV)

    Vizeo and Samsung brands mentioned many times. I am leaning towards Best Buy's Insignia brand as they have excellent 160 degree viewing angles. Plus a 5 year service contract will cost me $40.

    As you might deduce, I am not the best in consumer electronics or carpentry....so go easy on me when you reply.

    Thanks


    1) You are correct, the Winegard SK-2003 is SD only and cannot be upgraded to HD without replacing the entire mount (on the same base ring and using the same cabling).
    2) You still want to get the best TV you can afford with 1080 so you get that awesome OTA TV picture while suffering with satellite SD. Get as big a TV as possible as the SD picture will still be in the 4:3 (nearly square) format leaving large black bars on each side of the TV which are unusable.
    3) If you have any plans to update your Winegard in the near future then I would recommend getting an HD receiver which will work perfectly with your current SD antenna but allow for a future upgrade when you just can't take SD any longer! H24 would be my recommendation. The H25 will not work without some modification and neither will the Genie (HR44).
    4) You will not need any interior cabling upgrades unless there is no coax cable running to the 2nd TV, but it sounds like there is. Even if you have RG59, that will be fine inside.
    5) Walk to one side of the TV you plan to buy. Generally you should be looking for a TV with a 178 degree viewing angle for the best possible viewing experience.
    6) The service contract is just an insurance policy and the insurance company is betting against having to pay off. $40 to cover a $200 TV with the 1st year or 2 actually being covered by the manufacturer? Is that really a good bet? You decide.
    We have Visio TV's and I can not recommend them highly enough. We actually got rid of a perfectly good TV and replaced it with our 2nd Vizio.
    7)You will be tempted by the price of a 780 Insignia but don't fall for it. Get a 1080 with a 120Hz refresh rate on your bigger, most used TV. The OTA picture will be simply awesome.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Oct 31, 2015
    Noel wrote:
    Vizeo and Samsung brands mentioned many times. I am leaning towards Best Buy's Insignia brand as they have excellent 160 degree viewing angles. Plus a 5 year service contract will cost me $40.
    Also pay attention to sound. Flat panels don't have very good sound on their own - especially the cheaper brands- so you'll likely be augmenting with a small sound bar.

    You do not need a service contract. They just don't break. Now someone will post that they do.
  • rgatijnet1's avatar
    rgatijnet1
    Explorer III
    Oct 31, 2015
    Number one.....the old CRT's are heavy so be prepared or get someone to help you remove them.
    Most of the newer LED LCD tv's are HD capable so that should not be an issue.
    If you watch a lot of sports, a faster refresh rate is better.
    Viewing angle isn't as important as it used to be. The newer TV's have a pretty wide viewing angle.
    If you are going to hook it up to your existing amplifier and speaker system, then most of the new TV's have this capability. If not, you may want a TV with speakers on the front, especially if you are going to build it in to a cabinet.
    When running cables the TV input and receiver output will dictate what you need.
    If you are a Sam's Club member, go in to their store because they usually all have a huge TV display area for TV's of all sizes. Take you tape measure with you to find the one you need.
  • rk911's avatar
    rk911
    Explorer
    Oct 31, 2015
    an HD television will receive a standard def (SD) signal just fine...no worries.

    and while you're at it if you are also looking to replace your over-the-air antenna understand that there is no such thing as an HD over-the-air antenna. whatever you're using now for OTA TV will work just fine with the new TVs. some unscrupulous sales critters will try and sell you an HD TV antenna but it's a scam.

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