My DW and I are going to spend a couple of months on the road and I would like to get a digital TV that we can easily use and enjoy.In our small Class C I figure 19-24" is plenty big.We have one of the old bat wing antennas on the roof with an amplifier switch to boost over the air signals. I also have a cable plug in port on the RV side if cable is available.What things do I need in a TV... A smart TV? What hookups/ports are suggested?Is there a specific brand or model that is best?The DW has a hearing problem and a lot of TV's have bad sound. Do I need to get a sound bar or do some TV's have good audio.In viewing we will only be about 5' away. Should we get 1080 PPI?Figure LED would probably be best with thin screen. Are there many over the air stations still in existence. We camp 50% in State Parks and 50% in RV parks.Appreciate any and all suggestions. In looking online there do not seem to be many small TV's anymore. Is there a good place to buy?

TVs are really subjective. Some like the color saturation of one brand over another. Most all of them sre made in China of similar components. Go to a vig box store and compare them from 6 feet away. Pick the one you like best.

The cheapest are not usually the best. Go to Best Buy and look and listen to them. Sony, Samsung might be a place to start. Some have rear facing speakers. Front facing will be better. Don't need smart unless you are within reach of good wifi which most CGsDo not have. There are more OTA stations than ever.

Make sure your sound {speakers} come out front and not the bottom to the floor are to the back of TV I also have a hearing problems and I have to use a head set to hear.

I would look for something like this:Refurbished VizioFrom that distance your sound should be good, but you can always turn on closed captioning, or add some small front-facing speakers. I find the closed-captioning helpful with British series, LOL.In that size you are going to get 720 pixel max, and it's all you need. Stick with a good brand like Vizio, RCA, or Samsung. Don't bother with a smart TV unless you have some way to get unlimited high speed data. That will be expensive on a cell network, and non-existent at campgrounds. There are TONS of over-the-air channels. Of course what you can pick up depends on location, terrain, Weather, and antenna abilities. I'm 50 miles out of Nashville and can get all the broadcast stations there, except some of them pixellate dependent on weather. If you can get any, you will be amazed at how much better the picture is than that from your HD satellite or cable provider.

Samsung seems to be getting high reviews BUT it would pay to visit your neighborhood TV store to see the various models in action.

What is the best small TV for an RV ? | Good Sam Community

33 Replies

northshore
Explorer
Nov 17, 2015
I'll second the Element from walmart $98.00 cheap and works good, plus its 12 volt
John_S2
Explorer
Nov 01, 2015
Wow,
I am a happy camper at this time.. Hopefully it lasts.

Just replaced the Wineguard batwing antenna with the newer version head - The Sensar IV.....

Went from 44 channels in my driveway to 66 channels. Quite an improvement.
The picture on the little Hitachi looks great.....

Think I am now set in this area for our next big trip.
Kit_Carson
Explorer
Oct 30, 2015
MrWizard wrote:
its Vizio

not vizeo or visio

we have one..32" Vizio
Roger that!! Another vote for Vizio
OutdoorPhotogra
Explorer
Oct 29, 2015
hope it works out for you. Enjoy!
John_S2
Explorer
Oct 29, 2015
Ordered the Wineguard Sensor IV replacement head and plan to replace the old head on my batwing. Might help improve the signal reception some. I hope.... :)
TomG2
Explorer
Oct 28, 2015
To offer an alternative, why not consider a Hauppauge WinTV adapter? They contain tuners and have DVR capability. Very compact and the ability to play prerecorded TV shows without being connected to antenna or Internet is cool. The laptop screen is adequate for close quarter viewing in a RV.
paulcardoza
Explorer
Oct 28, 2015
Things to consider:

Picture Quality - At the size you are looking at, ANYTHING will be fine. 720 or 1080 choice is irrelevant with TV's below 40"

Inputs/Connections - Make sure you'll be able to connect anything you might desire. Streaming Box, DVD, etc.... Some cheap TV's have very few input connectors.

Sound - Make sure it plays loud enough for your needs. Some have terribly low volume.
John_S2
Explorer
Oct 28, 2015
Well I finally decided on the TV for our RV. Checked many out at various stores but ended up at Sam's club. I bought a small 24" Hitachi Alpha series digital LCD/LED model.

It is small, lightweight. Good picture (1080) and very good sound. You can really blast the sound so my DW should be able to hear it.
It is fairly simple and straightforward to setup and use. It has an earphone jack and enough connectors to satisfy me. It probably does not have QAM but I figure I can live without it.

Really hard to tell what sets have and do not have as they do not give any technical specs on the boxes. Instead they just give you the very obvious specs in several languages.

Going to see about changing the antenna head on my old wineguard batwing antenna. Sounds like the new antenna heads really improve some of the OTA reception.

thanks so much to everyone for the many great suggestions and tips.

John S.
bbaker2001
Explorer
Oct 28, 2015
we use Visio Samsung has rear speakers. still we use a portable Bose unit for sound. we do camp where there might be power. we use a spare battery to power the TV and dvd player via inverter and can watch about 10 hrs between charging.
tatest
Explorer II
Oct 28, 2015
There are no really high quality TVs made in that size today, so brand might not matter too much.

In that size, resolution higher than 720 P is a waste of money, you will not see the difference at any normal viewing distance. LED back-lighting is preferable to fluorescent, the technology is sturdier for the vibration/handling involved in RV travel.

If going only in the RV, smart TV is not worth the extra cost, some part of which is licensing for software and media access. Smart TV means capability to do its own Internet video streaming from network cable or WiFi, and you need streaming bandwidth (at least 0.5 Mbits for standard definition) and you are not going to find that very many places. You will be lucky to find a consistent 0.05 Mbits anyplace someone is offering "free" Internet.

I would not worry too much about digital cable capabilities, as this is not a service I've been finding on an overnight basis at RV parks, and never in public campgrounds. If staying long term somewhere, you might be able to buy service direct from the locally franchised cable company, but then you usually need a "cable card ready" TV, or need to rent their cable box, because everything is encrypted. Most cable companies, the rental price for the card and for the box is the same, typically $5 a month.

That all being said, 32" or smaller, I would probably buy a Samsung because they've pared those sizes down to one or two "no compromise" models using the best LCD screens available, but then I would likely be ending up paying for the "smart" capabilities not so useful in the RV. But when I stop using it in the RV, it would be a great TV for one of the grandkids.