Best way to watch movies while dry camping

If I can see it and hear it, I'm good. Whether camping or at home.

Salvo wrote:
All movies produced these days are in HD.

However ... they are not delivered to the customer in HD resolution unless they are on a BluRay disc.

Now, many (if not most, nowadays) DVD players "upconvert" standard definition source information (what's on a non-BluRay disc) for simulated HD viewing by adding image pixels in between the actual image's pixels to make the image look smoother ... kindof as if the image actually had the real number of pixels per inch of a true HD resolution movie.

For small screens at normal small-screen viewing distances - or for large screens at further than normal large-screen viewing distances - standard definition upconverted to simulated HD can look "pretty good". Even standard definition movies left at standard definition pixel-counts can look good enough for most folks when viewing the screen further back than normally recommended for good immersion into the scenes on the screen.

Some folks are sensitive to image quality more so than sound quality. Most folks value sound quality as more important than image quality. True HD source material fully reproduced on the screen with no compromise is the goal of some - such that they are viewing movie scenes as if actually present right in the scene. This requires equipment that reproduces image source material with all the sharpness, detail, color intensity, color purity, contrast, contrast ratio, and black levels that the viewer's eye is capable of perceiving. Good enough is not always good enough.

HD is not the issue. All movies produced these days are in HD. You now need some type of box (be it a dvd player, a laptop with hdmi connection, or what I got - WD TV Live) to convert the movie file format to streaming video that the tv can accept.

Sal

wbwood wrote:

2oldman wrote:

wbwood wrote:
Why would you care if it's HD or not while camping?

LOL. Interesting comment.. do your eyes get worse?

With digital TV's nowadays, I don't see the big deal with whether its HD or not. The resolution is outstanding. Especially while camping. Should be happy just to be able to watch it none the less.

I am sufficiently satisfied with 720p on my little 22" lcd no name Khonka that came with the 21 foot travel trailer. I only wish it ran on 12v, but I bought a $30 120v 175w modified sine wave converter that runs it just fine, no buzzing sounds or anything. With parasitic of about 1.2 amps in 12v, add in the antenna booster and the tv, and I am drawing about 4.2 amps off my battery. 9 or 10 amps to watch a movie, no big deal.

2oldman wrote:

wbwood wrote:
Why would you care if it's HD or not while camping?

LOL. Interesting comment.. do your eyes get worse?

With digital TV's nowadays, I don't see the big deal with whether its HD or not. The resolution is outstanding. Especially while camping. Should be happy just to be able to watch it none the less.

wbwood wrote:
Why would you care if it's HD or not while camping?

LOL. Interesting comment.. do your eyes get worse?

Well put. I was thinking we want HD TV for the same reasons we're not in a tent anymore.

We don't watch much TV. Usually half a movie per night (one hour). If there's TV reception, we'll watch the nightly news. Out in the boonies, we like to keep abreast of current affairs.

Sal

profdant139 wrote:
Although I am not a big TV or movie watcher, I understand why someone would want HD while camping. It's the same impulse that (for example) drives us to drink good Zinfandel while camping, whereas we drink ordinary red wine at home. We love the contrast between the howling wilderness outside the trailer and the very civilized dining experience inside the trailer!

And to anyone who correctly observes, "Wait a minute, that's not roughing it at all!," I would say "That's exactly the point."

Your Aaxa pico projector recommendation is absolutely outstanding and right on. I read about them and bookmarked their WEB site immediately.

These appear to be an EXCELLENT ultra-low-power video solution for RV (and home) use!! Almost any size screen on tap inside or outside of the RV with only one tiny little projector to carry along - you just have to have a surface to use for the screen.

What type of surface do you use - a light colored wall, etc.?

P.S. Our home theater is still (in this day and age of flat screens) a red/blue/green high definition rear projection system!

After much consideration, there was only one rational choice for the many miles of washboard FS roads and 4x4 trails my unstoppable, globally-unique 4WD zombie apocalypse class B would face - a mini LED projector. Those things have come a LONG way in the last few years.

There are many brands, but I chose Aaxa. It fits in my coat pocket, draws about 40 watts, and throws any size image I want. In the house, it does 60 inches very nicely in a dim room. In the rig, it does 32 inches very well in most any light conditions.

Takes SD cards, USB, HDMI, and standard AV. When we get rolling, I take it down in 10 seconds and put it in a padded Rubbermaid box, safe from bumpy roads. Hook up a laptop or whatever to the HDMI and run the audio to an external stereo (it has a speaker, though) and you have a wicked setup.

It's also proven useful in many rental cabins and outdoor viewings. Rarely have I found such a perfect solution to anything, and it was a lousy 260 bones. Can't beat that with a stick.

I have a 12vt/110 led/dvd combo widescreen 15" in our hybrid. No problems watching movies inside or outside off the battery.