TV and peripherals question

[zoemorn]

This is a newbie question:

How do you generally hook up peripherals to TV such as DVD/Bluray players, sound systems, video game consoles and such?

Do you hook them up straight to the TV itself (traditional methods) or do you connect to some type of routing center in the RV?

or can someone direct me to the AV RV forum..

[HMXDave]

There are several ways to do it depending what you want or have. If you have 2 or 3 TV's and would like to view your DVD/bluray or satelite on different TV's, they will have to be routed through a switcher. This allows you to have watch a DVD on 1 TV and satelite on another without requiring 2 DVD players and 2 satelite recievers. You can also have the same thing playing on all TVs if this is what is required at the time. (ie watching the game on an outside TV whilee BBQing and having it playing inside as well) I think I would wire game consoles directly to the TV that you will use...but I haven't crossed that bridge as the DW and I are likely not to start gaming when we camp....I understand the need to entertain kids on the road though. LOL.

[1ciderdog]

I don't know what type of RV you have but on my motorhome I replaced the front TV and when I bought it I made sure it had side connections. I can plug the game box or camera, etc. into the side and play them on the larger screen. But as mentioned above it you want to view on other TV's you need a different setup.
Bob

[wa8yxm]

The answer is more or less "All of the above are correct"

In my coach, by default, "Some sort of routing device" Flexvisin is one name fo rit, I call it a "Box of many buttons". Not all motor homes or trailers have this but it lets me route one devce to, in my case 3 different TV's (Actuall more but that's a longer story and after market mods) or Sat TV to one, Over the air to another, DVD to a 3rd and a few more options as well.

HOWEVER.. When possible I will hook direct to the MAIN Tv due to picture quality.

Of course that's the wife's TV, convince her to use A/V in instaead of channel 3.. NOT going to happen.

[zoemorn]

Thanks for all the inputs (get it? inputs)
I'm still in the shopping phase. But as I look at different models of 5ers, some tv setups appear that it would be difficult to hookup various AV devices, game consoles and such.
HMXDave - yea if it was just for vacationing then I'd agree with you that a game console shouldnt be needed. But we're looking at Fulltiming, so it will be a home for us.
Do most setups have cable mgt options? Are you able to run cables within the cabinetry and walls somehow?

[alvinc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoemorn Do most setups have cable mgt options? Are you able to run cables within the cabinetry and walls somehow?

Most RV's will have cables, usually just RF (RG-59) pre-run in the walls and/or ceiling. It is relatively difficult to run additional wires after the fact. You can be creative and use the basement and over-head bins, but most ceilings are laminated with foam in the middle that make running additional wires almost impossible.

All but the cheapest RV that has more then one TV as delivered will have a switching box that allows you to select cable/antenna/sat/DVD for each TV. This will work for broadcast TV or HD, but is not good enough for high resolution video games.

If you are buying a new rig it will likely have an HDTV with 1280x720 (720P) or 1920x1080 (1080i or 1080p). This delivers a great game playing platform. However you will need to connect the game directly to the TV, via one of the auxiliary input ports.