Help connecting new TV

[kalynzoo]

I am replacing the Sony Trinitron 24" in front of my 2005 Adventurer. The new set will be a 26" Vizio mounted to a door I made for the hole in the front cabinet. Question: How do I connect to the Winnebago surround sound system? The new TV has an "audio out optical connection", the old TV was connected in the back through a hole cut in the back to a rather large black tube and then to a twin RCA jack.
Has anyone dealt with this?
Help would be greatly appreciated.
Gary

[FIRE UP]

Well Sir,
I can't give you an answer. I hope you get one soon 'cause I'm thinking of the same thing. Our new to us '04 Itasca Horizon, has the original Sony in the front and it too is connected to the surround sound via a switch on the dash that splits it between sound from the dash stereo or, the TV. The TV that's in there works fine but, I know it's heavy and, I just recently purchased a replacement TV for my garage 'cause I moved the one from the garage to the side compartment in the new coach where it's all plumbed for TV/cable/vcr etc.

The one I moved to the compartment is a Vizio and the new one I purchased for the garage is also a Vizio too. It also has all the weird ports on the back so, I'll be awaiting an answer too.
Scott

[TurtleKent]

FYI, I just completed an upgrade to HD TV in my '04 Horizon AD. Our floorplan has the TV in the right side slide behind the passenger seat. When I plugged the surround sound into the TV(Vizio 37" LED), the TV volume control did not control the surround sound. With the side mounting I don't feel I need the surround sound(as you might with the front TV), so I did not investigate further. My HD TV is door-mounted the same way you plan to mount, so the TV speakers project very well in my m/h. Two years ago I converted our previous '02 Adventurer, and Boxed in the new HD TV, which compromised the TV's speaker volume and quality. I'm not sure if I had the same sound system as yours, but it did toggle between the dash radio and the TV. I ended up installing an inexpensive($100) Sony surround sound and 5 speakers, bypassing the factory installed speaker system. I was never very happy with the Sony, probably because of my choice of the Sony system. Good luck with your installation.

[cbeierl]

Here's a link to the thread I just posted detailing my upgrade: Front LCD TV install in 2005 Vectra (Long) .

I just opened up the old Sony TV, unsoldered the Winnebago 'wart' from the speakers and then soldered to the speakers in my new flat panel--it works great!

[ernieh]

If you want to be able to control the Winnebago surround system, your TV has to have a "variable" RCA audio output. You can determine if yours does by checking the audio menu. A lot of TV's only have a "fixed" output and need to have a volume control on the surround system.

Most Sony and Toshiba TV's have the ability to select which kind of output you want. I don't know about other brands.

[cbeierl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ernieh If you want to be able to control the Winnebago surround system, your TV has to have a "variable" RCA audio output. You can determine if yours does by checking the audio menu. A lot of TV's only have a "fixed" output and need to have a volume control on the surround system. Most Sony and Toshiba TV's have the ability to select which kind of output you want. I don't know about other brands.

That's what the Winnebago 'wart' (picture in my lcd install thread) connected to the TV speakers is for. It provides the variable output for the sound system.

[RickO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kalynzoo The new TV has an "audio out optical connection", the old TV was connected in the back through a hole cut in the back to a rather large black tube and then to a twin RCA jack. Has anyone dealt with this? Help would be greatly appreciated. Gary

We probably have the same surround systems and IMHO they are among the dumbest designs I've come across. At least on my surround receiver it has an optical digital audio OUT but no IN. I wanted to run an optical cable from my DVR to the surround but no dice. I can't understand why anyone would want the motor home surround sound receiver to have a digital out but not in connection. I'm currently connecting the TV audio out to the receiver via red/white RCA cables and having to use two remotes... although like the earlier poster, with a mid ship TV we find we rarely use the surround sound unless we're watching a movie or game.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbeierl Here's a link to the thread I just posted detailing my upgrade: Front LCD TV install in 2005 Vectra (Long) . I just opened up the old Sony TV, unsoldered the Winnebago 'wart' from the speakers and then soldered to the speakers in my new flat panel--it works great!

Very cool. And the remote for your new flat panel controls the surround sound volume?

Thanks,

Rick

[FrankO]

I have an HTV700DP by Sony as my Home Theatre Sound System that came with my unit and all I did was connect the digital out of the TV to the Sony box. I have to use the Sony volume control but the sound is great. I have a Sony 32" HD TV that I installed without any mods to the exterior of the cabinet.
Frank O.

[cbeierl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickO ... Very cool. And the remote for your new flat panel controls the surround sound volume? Thanks, Rick

Yes, just like the original Sony the TV remote controls the volume to the TV speakers and therefore also the coach speaker system because it's fed in parallel with the speakers via the 'wart'.

[Clay L]

This may not help the TV volume control problem but it will convert the optical/digital output to analog R/L audio. HERE

[grtharris]

Gary, you will have to buy a digital optical to rca converter to use the analog suround system. Just google for the digital optical to rca converter.

[cbeierl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grtharris Gary, you will have to buy a digital optical to rca converter to use the analog suround system. Just google for the digital optical to rca converter.

That's not the only option. You can use the Winnebago wiring from your Sony just as I did. Connected directly the the speakers on your new TV it provides volume-controlled analog audio via the RCA connectors .

[two2go]

If you (OP) don't have your answer, post your Vizio TV model no. and maybe that will get a more specific recommendation.
My Vizio TV has both fixed and variable analog output jacks as well as a digital. But probably not all are the same.

[FIRE UP]

Gents,
This is more of a message alert than a "related answer to the thread" type thing. While the main TV in our newly purchased '03 Itasca 36GD works quite well, I've toyed with the idea of changing it to a newer model of LCD or LED design. And, while watching this thread and reading Chris's and looking at his install sequence photos, I became even more interested in the change over. So, off to Costco to check out what they have to offer in those aforementioned styles.

After some extended zig-zagging back and forth in the isle looking at LCD screens and LED enhanced screens, we decided on a 32" Visio. We really liked the brightness of the screen and enhanced colors vs many of the LED models. Soon we were at home unboxing the new 32" LCD and it landed on a perch in the garage, where it was intended to go, but, with intentions of later migrating it into the main spot in the front of the motorhome when the timing was right. But, here's where the issues began.

First was the fact that the TV takes nearly 15-20 seconds to turn on. Then, the picture comes on and the sound follows about 5-8 seconds later. Once programmed, I had all the channels available from our cable company. But, when changing channels, it took around 5-8 seconds to change then, another 5 seconds to bring on the sound for the new channel. The picture was also not near as clear, vibrant, bright and nice as the one in the store. I made all kinds of adjustments and by the time it was bright enough to watch, the color was way off and no matter what I did, it would not look natural for flesh tones etc.

And, one more thing, when I went to digital channels, the sound on the program was so low, I had to turn up the volume ALL the way. And when the advertisements came on, it was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay tooooooooo loud. So, the wife and I did what we should have did before we purchased it. We went in and found a bunch of reviews on that and other models of Visio TVs. Well Gang, as far as the model we had, about 7 out of 10 reviews were bad and, they took the TVs back. We read other reviews on other models of Visios and while many were favorable, much of them had issues. So, ours went back.

During the reading of the reviews, the Samsung units came out with much higher ratings and more favorable views. We purchased a new 32" LCD Samsung and soon it was home, in the garage on the same perch. Well gang, this is way better, operates better, better control of the sound, comes on in about 7 seconds along with the sound, and channel changing is around 4 seconds with immediate sound. And, I had to make no adjustments to the picture, it was very close to the vividness and brightness of the sample model at the store.

Now, I'm telling you all this because, I, like many of you, will want eventually to change the TVs out in the motor homes to newer higher quality, lighter, and more advanced sets. So, some of you that have already done the change out to the newer sets, I hope yours are working as you expected. To others, this is just a message to assist you doing your homework and see if the model your looking at has a good or bad rep right from the git-go.

I had a 2 year old Visio that I removed from the garage and installed it in the side compartment of the new Itasca, it seemed to operate fine and didn't have the issues of the newer model. So, hope this helps some before you make your purchase. Take care.
Scott