Living room television

[wingnut60]

My MS has the Sony Wega tv that is a great unit, but it is big and not HD.
Need to replace it. Has anyone with the 36TK3 found an LCD tv that fits?
The opening is 35 1/2"--that doesn't give much of a screen size in a new tv. Thinking about having a larger one that would fit outside the opening.

Seems I have heard that sometimes this combo falls after hard traveling--the bottom bracket looks to be bending, so I need to do something about the weight--this is the time to upgrade to flat screen lighter tv.

Any ideas or suggestions will be appreciated, especially a picture of one that has been replaced.

Joe

[wwc]

Hi Joe,
I did not plan to replace my Television in my 2006 TK3, but Costco seduced me. They put out a flier with a price that had me wavering, then a week later they lowered the price by another 50 dollars and that got me. I put a 40 in Toshiba HD TV in place of the 27 in tube. I also removed the slider to save weight and also because we very seldom used it. My TV is a 40XF550U LCD. Now I had to turn it just a little to get it in the cabinet, but then it fit fine, although very snug. My inside cabinet width was 37 in, the TV was 36.77 in wide. Hope this helps.
wwc
PS The Toshiba was the only 40 in that I could find that would fit.

[bstark]

WWC: Am I ever glad this topic came along and even more glad that you have done the deed! I was getting tired of touring the Best Buy and Future shop places with a tape measure in hand, and after reading your post came to the conclusion that we have never used the slider tray either so out it will go. Well done!

[wingnut60]

Darn that Costco bunch! They know how to sell stuff that people need, and stand behind it better than most. Their extra year warranty has my attention.

Just gotta figure out which one is the right one to buy.

Thanks.

[wingnut60]

wwc: Thank you for the help--got your email, and it looks real good like you did it. I want to keep the slide, not sure about taking it out. Great to know what tv to look for when I get to doing this.

Joe

[wingnut60]

wwc--I remeasured and the cabinet is 37" wide, it is the opening that is
35 1/2" I can see that the 40" would fit, now have to find the best price.
Thanks.
Joe

[wwc]

Joe,
I will share with you what we consider to be a wierd situation, although we are very happy with the results. I was one of the people that could never get surround sound to work. I printed off instructions that others on this forum gave, but I could not make it work. So when I changed televisons, I had no idea that I would ever have surround sound. If you cannot make it work with all one brand, what are the chances with a mix. Well I put in a Toshiba tv, a Panasonic VHS-DVD and left the Sony stereo. Now I can press either one or two(can't remember since I cannot see the remote)buttons on the Stereo remote and I have surround. It works whether you are watching a VHS tape, DVD Movie, or televison program. This was very much a surprise, but one that we have really enjoyed.
wwc

[keithandpenne]

WWC,

Could you post a photo of the TV as you have it installed. We would like to see how it looks as we are looking at replacing ours in the future as well.

Thanks

Keith and Penne

[wwc]

Hi Keith and Penne,
I would be glad to send you a picture, however I am to computer illiterate to know how to post a picture on this forum. Having said that, if you or anyone else would like to see a picture, if you send me your email, I will be glad to send you a picture. You can send me your email on this forum or through a private message.
wwc

[jaoneil]

We put a 37" Phillips in last spring. It fits like a glove in the opening. We did take the slider out because it was too high for the TV. We also used the TV gripper strap just to make sure it doesn't move while traveling.

[Jack in Alaska]

I replaced my original Sony (boat anchor) TV last spring with a 26" VISIO.
The opening width in my cabinet is only 28" so I was restricted.
I think I get and extra MPG on fuel since dumping that heavy old TV.

[Motor31]

I've been doing a bit of shopping on TVs since ours has lost sound on channel 9 anyhow. I saw in comparing the dimensions that a 32" set will fin in the opening (35" x 23.5") without modification. A 37" set seems to be either a tad too wide or tall or both. Since the set in the trailer is only a 27" a 32" set will be an improvement anyhow.

Has anyone gotten a digital converter box yet? I was wondering if it took the place of the antenna too or just plugged in line to change the signal to analog for the TV.

[wingnut60]

Got my old Sony out, put in a Vizio 32" (32LFHD) from Costco--very nice fit and I kept the slideout. Now I just need to figure out how to keep it safe while traveling. Thought about a 40"--did not want that close a fit; thought about a 37"--wife said still too much screen; thus the 32" HDTV LCD.

New TVs don't need a digital converter. Antennas should pick up digital/analog signals the same, I think. Remember ads for color tv antennas--same deal. (How does the supplied Winegard figure out b/w vs color, eh?

At any rate, now have a really nice 27" Sony WEGA Trinitron set to figure out what to do with. And I really like not having that much weight in the cabinet--bottom shelf was bowing downward. Next--the bedroom tv.

Also have gotten Dish new HD DVR in trailer--now if I can only learn how to aim the dish.

Joe

[Jack in Alaska]

Joe,
I use a short piece of swimming pool noodle (green) jambed down along each side of the TV to steady it when traveling. Works great.
I donated my old TV to the Salvation Army.

[ponch]

Mine is a 2005 36 ck3 and I just replaced mine with a LG 32" and it just does fit.

[Carny Bill]

I purchased my 09 without a TV an this fall managed to stuff in a Samsung 46". It was quite a project but got it done. It completely fills in the wall opening that was made for the 40" factory unit.

I must say the samsung A650 TV is quite a unit...what a pix....

[Gemstone]

Finally got rid of the 80 pound 27" living room Sony TV and tray today....what a PITA.
The way the factory had the tray screwed and bolted down was a nightmare. Then there was getting the old power cord out and the new one in, without removing all of the electronic hardware...thru holes that were offset in the hollow wall of the cabinet...grrr
After the screws were removed from the tray bracket, I then tried a 3/8 socket on what I assumed were 2 short lag bolts...too big. Tried 11/64 socket....hummm, too small. Turns out they were 10mm machine bolts, with the nut sandwiched between the layers of the TV shelf. Had to take the moulding off (more screws) to get in between the two sides of the shelf in order to get a wrench on the nut. Might know, they used bolt cutters to cut the bolt to the correct length....so, no removing the nut with my fingers...threads all boogered up...more grrr. Found a strange threaded stud in the shelf behind the TV....nothing attached to it....I assume it is some long since abandoned method of holding the Sony in place with straps ?
The 40" Toshiba that a previous poster managed to squeeze in the empty cabinet space has been discontinued....the replacement 40" unit measures 39"...side to side. No fitting that into a 37" opening....so I ended up with a 37" Visio...which measures 36" side to side and 26.5" tall...which just fits under the top moulding of the empty space, using the foot that comes with the TV. Now to figure out how to secure the TV for travel.....maybe straps over the top, fastened to the strange stud, and somehow attached to the front of the shelf....but it has to pass the "cosmetically correct" test....don't want "D" rings dangling from the shelf.
But the job is 90% finished, just 2 hours x 2 people to get the job done. Could have been done in half that time, had Doubletree properly engineered the original installation. Oh well...now if I can just get used to the wide screen format where everyone looks short and wide....doesn't seem right to use "normal" mode, when you have that big screen looking back at you...

Regards
Gemstone

[jack_diane_freedom]

Installed a 37 inch Toshiba HD and like others it fit like a glove and looks great. I did have to run a video in cable from the surround sound amp in order to get dvd to work.

[Gemstone]

Well, OK....now that we have the nice HD ready TV in place, it's time to upgrade DirecTV with a HD receiver, and HD package in order to get the full benefit out of the TV. So.... the guy comes out today and says he'll need to replace the ends of the RG6 cables that were pre-wired from the factory. Said the old connectors will work, but will eventually fail...seems there is too much bandwidth on HD to allow the old 2005/2006 vintage connectors to function well. Anyone else been informed of this ? Did the installer change out the cable ends when you upgraded to HD ? The dish will also need to be changed out to a 3 LNB dish, that according to him can be a booger to get lined up....anyone want to chime in on aiming and finding the satellites with a HD dish ? Anyway, he had to put the order on hold, as he did not have the new ground platform that holds the new dish...seems it's made of channel iron, and requires 8 concrete block to keep it in place!

Regards
Gemstone

[Carny Bill]

I have been doing HD for over 2 years now, move weekely most the time.
I use the dish 1000, it is no harder to sight in than the old dish500. I use the tripod mount, but extended the legs a couple of feet longer to give it better stability. No concrete blocks needed. Since July I only use this dish when I am under trees as I have the traveler roof top system on the 09 unit. It is a great antenna.
My TV is a 46" Samsung and the pix is fantastic....Bill