A seperate page because it is just that complex. I'm the first to admit it. I need to be entertained. I need movies in full surround sound with pictures to match. I need to see the beads of sweat running down that QB's face on the blitz, I need my CSI fix.

 

My wife's requirements are much simpler. She needs to watch something else when football is on.

 

The TV we chose for the living room is a 52" Sharp Aquos direct view LCD. It weighs 147 lbs and has mounts on the back of it in a small square pattern. The TV will act like a large weight on a moment arm placing a lot of stress on those mounts, so an alternative mounting plate was built using the back mounts and the brackets that mount the TV to it's free standing base. As of 8/2008, the TV has 20,000 miles on it without a hiccup.

 

Unlike your house, you have multiple sources for television signals. Most stick houses have a single source, either cable, satellite, or over the air.

 

In the RV, you most likely will have a CG cable feed and a UHF/VHF antenna. You may also have a satellite cable system. This cable system can deliver HDTV as well as SDTV (standard) signals.

 

Television signals are changing dramatically. Within the next 2 years, TV as we know it will no longer exist. Today most cable providers and over the air transmissions use analog SDTV (Standard Definition Television). By February 2009, analog SDTV will be no more. Televisions that do not have the ability to decode digital SDTV will need additional tuners.

 

Cable and satellite companies offer HDTV packages in addition to their SDTV packages, and many major network over the air broadcasts are already being delivered as HDTV signals. The HDTV signal is digital, it is different from the digital SDTV signal. The digital SDTV signal is in 4:3 aspect ratio, meaning it is 4 units wide by 3 units tall. HDTV on the other hand is in 16:9 resolution, also called wide screen. Watching SDTV on a widescreen TV is a compromise in either aspect ratio, or full use of the TV screen.

 

We want to receive both in the 5th wheel. This is not all that easy to wire.

 

Most RV's are wired to receive a few signals and send them to the various TV's in the unit. This is done through a video distribution switch. The problem is that the video distribution switch is designed to route the TV signals over RG-6 Co-axial cable (Coax). Coax is the old cable TV cable and the same cable that comes from the UHF/VHF antenna.

 

This doesn't work for today's home theatre installations. Just as a sample, here are the connections I already use in my current home theatre.

 

DVD Video to Widescreen HDTV over HDMI cable.

DVD Audio to AV Receiver over optical cable.

DVD Video2 to Widescreen HDTV over S-Video cable.

Broadcast HDTV Video to Widescreen HDTV over component cables.

Broadcast HDTV Audio to AV Receiver over digital RCA cable.

Cable TV coax to Widescreen HDTV over Coax.

Cable audio from TV to AV Receiver over stereo RCA cables.

 

Notice that there is very little coax in this set up.

 

HDTV Satellite reception is from a tripod Direct TV dish. More info here.

Over the air SDTV and HDTV from a standard amplified UHF/VHF antenna.

Campground Ground Cable from a RG-6 co-axial connection in the hookup bay.

The UHF/VHF antenna will mount on the back of the 5th when necessary. Either the over the air antenna or campground cable will be in use.

 

The cable and antenna feeds will be routed into a wiring closet. The CG cable and the UHF/VHF are an either or scenario with a cable splitter sending the signal to both the bedroom and the living room. The two feeds from the satellite dish will be fed directly to the LR TV and the MBR TV.

 

So,

 

Both TV's receive a coax cable from the satellite dish.

 

Both TV's have a Satellite receiver box.

 

Both TV's have their own DVD player.

 

Both TV's can decode digital signals.

 

Both TV's receive a multiplexed cable for the wiring closet for Antenna or Campground Cable.