TVs and Arials

[trevor k]

Hi all
I am new to this forum And looking to purchase a T6 California in the near future, I was wondering if anyone had any advice on types of TVs and arials best suited to the Cali preferably fixed installation to avoid having to put it together every time I park. Any suggestions welcome.

 

[Chinny]

Hi all
I am new to this forum And looking to purchase a T6 California in the near future, I was wondering if anyone had any advice on types of TVs and arials best suited to the Cali preferably fixed installation to avoid having to put it together every time I park. Any suggestions welcome.

Hi avtex are good work on 12v and 240 I've got a 10 inch screen with a cheap one for all aerial £10 and get 50+ channels free view built in got it mounted so no bed to keep putting it away

 

[trevor k]

Thanks for that, just where have you mounted the TV.

 

[MattBW]

Linsar do an affordable12v tv (that can also be used on mains) I think I paid 80quid fo rmine with built in DVD and usb port. Mine isn't mounted as it moves between several vans if I ever decide to take it with me and lives in the bedroom when I don't.

Only downside for me is that the screen viewing angle is very direct, any movement to the side and it gets a bit iffy. Not a problem in a van though.

Edit: updated with thought on the below post teeboy is right I don't really take it with me. I've used it twice in the van.

Does work awesomely with my Raspberry Pi arcade emulator though.

 

[Calihunter]

Hi all
I am new to this forum And looking to purchase a T6 California in the near future, I was wondering if anyone had any advice on types of TVs and arials best suited to the Cali preferably fixed installation to avoid having to put it together every time I park. Any suggestions welcome.

I recently bought an Avtex 18.5cm LCD with built in Freeview and Satelite which also runs on 12v (about 23w). I run it with a small battery powered booster aerial with no problems so far. I can usually pick up 100 plus channels and the picture is excellent. It cost me £120 in the JL sale.
Just one tip if you are buying a TV for the van - Try and get one with a matt screen finish rather than high gloss finish (like mine has) because with the gloss you get light from the windows and reflections on the screen making positioning of the TV more critical. Obviously if you are looking to build the TV in then moving it about wont be an option!
Ps - forgot to mention, mine also has DVD.

 

[teeboy]

Do you actually need a TV in the Van?

I am a massive fan of TV at home and it is on most evenings, so I am not an anti-TV snob.

But I do not miss TV at all when camping and I have just been away for 3 weeks and I was amazed how little I felt the urge to "Catch Up on" when I returned.

If you decide you do need a screen in the van, then you could consider:

- A tablet PC or a laptop with films and TV programs on a disk or memory card
- A tablet PC or a laptop with data for streaming live TV
- A tablet or laptop with TV dongle for receiving live TV

Tablets or laptops have the benefit of being computers when they are not TV's.

Might be worth getting the van and seeing how it pans out.

Someone on here has set up a small projector and projects TV/films into the tent in the evening.

If you do end up with a proper TV, I think some people have rigged up a sort of Arm so you can hide it away in the wardrobe - but then you will need to find a smaller TV I imagine. A braket is shown in this thread: http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/lcd-tv-for-california.3182/

 

[trevor k]

Thank you all for the advice, I will bare it in mind when the van is on the drive and I can go shopping for all those little extras, best take a good credit card.