eddie
LIFE MEMBER
Right, so had my new van a couple of weeks and have started sorting things out.
Personally I hate things that don’t work properly or well. Sometimes we have to put up with cranky performance when a technology is new but luckily we don’t know any better so it doesn’t matter! Mobile phones for example.
When they first came out they were huge and had a very short battery life and very limited coverage around the Country.
If we used them now we would be pulling out hair out but then.. Boy what a great toy.
I have given up buying DVD’s an CD’s This started as self defence from my children! Well, I say children four grown up men, that happily pick up Dads new DVD, remove the disk and either take it home or to their rooms leaving me to look forward to watching the said DVD the following weekend, relaxing with a drink or two. The weekend comes, I persuade my wife that watching “Megadeath Alien Killers” is better than “strictly” and get the case out! Only to find it empty and “Mr Nobody” has borrowed it!
So, to be able to simply buy and download films and music straight to my iPhone is excellent. It is normally with me so we can listen to and watch what we want, when and wherever we are.
The downside is the quality and the leads needed to make this happen. But there is a way to get HD quality without the need for leads and adapters!
In the Sun Voyager I have installed a satellite system, with a twin LNB. On Ebay I purchased a 2nd hand Sky Plus HD box with 180GB storage drive. I have a Sky Multi room viewing card which costs us £10 per month so I get all of our subscribed channels when away in the motorhome without any upset for those left at home and any hassle or work for us.
When this was being installed we also mounted a Apple TV HD unit which will communicate through a wireless network to my iPhone and my iPad
Then via a HDMI cable, the system plays my films and videos on the TV in HD. To facilitate the “wireless bit” we set up a “pseudo” wireless network using an Apple Airport Express .
Both these units are small and have been easily hidden in a false panel so are out of sight. They are both 220 VAC but this doesn’t matter as the TV and the Sky Plus box are also 220VAC so the use of a pure sine wave inverter to power all this was a logical conclusion.
When a little more time is available we will be installing a HDMI splitter/amplifier as I intend to connect the rear TV up with a HDMI connection so I can lay in bed and listen to all of my favourite music or watch a pre-recorded late night film, and simply control this from my iPad or iPhone.
The front system is connected to a Bose sound dock, which sounds great and was a lot less work and not intrusive, unlike my first idea for a surround sound system.
I am sure that this will bring howls from the purists that “don’t go camping to watch TV” but I don’t care. I don’t go camping to watch TV but when I do want to watch TV I enjoy it and it adds to the whole “home from home” ethos in my opinion.
Blowing a gale outside, Torrential rain lashing the side of the motorhome, curled up on the settee, a bottle of wine with some nibbles watching a great films with Lyn, my wife, for me is a great way to spend an evening!
If anyone is interested in doing this I am happy to help them either ask on here or email me at eddie@vanbitz.com:thumb:
Personally I hate things that don’t work properly or well. Sometimes we have to put up with cranky performance when a technology is new but luckily we don’t know any better so it doesn’t matter! Mobile phones for example.
When they first came out they were huge and had a very short battery life and very limited coverage around the Country.
If we used them now we would be pulling out hair out but then.. Boy what a great toy.
I have given up buying DVD’s an CD’s This started as self defence from my children! Well, I say children four grown up men, that happily pick up Dads new DVD, remove the disk and either take it home or to their rooms leaving me to look forward to watching the said DVD the following weekend, relaxing with a drink or two. The weekend comes, I persuade my wife that watching “Megadeath Alien Killers” is better than “strictly” and get the case out! Only to find it empty and “Mr Nobody” has borrowed it!
So, to be able to simply buy and download films and music straight to my iPhone is excellent. It is normally with me so we can listen to and watch what we want, when and wherever we are.
The downside is the quality and the leads needed to make this happen. But there is a way to get HD quality without the need for leads and adapters!
In the Sun Voyager I have installed a satellite system, with a twin LNB. On Ebay I purchased a 2nd hand Sky Plus HD box with 180GB storage drive. I have a Sky Multi room viewing card which costs us £10 per month so I get all of our subscribed channels when away in the motorhome without any upset for those left at home and any hassle or work for us.
When this was being installed we also mounted a Apple TV HD unit which will communicate through a wireless network to my iPhone and my iPad
Then via a HDMI cable, the system plays my films and videos on the TV in HD. To facilitate the “wireless bit” we set up a “pseudo” wireless network using an Apple Airport Express .
Both these units are small and have been easily hidden in a false panel so are out of sight. They are both 220 VAC but this doesn’t matter as the TV and the Sky Plus box are also 220VAC so the use of a pure sine wave inverter to power all this was a logical conclusion.
When a little more time is available we will be installing a HDMI splitter/amplifier as I intend to connect the rear TV up with a HDMI connection so I can lay in bed and listen to all of my favourite music or watch a pre-recorded late night film, and simply control this from my iPad or iPhone.
The front system is connected to a Bose sound dock, which sounds great and was a lot less work and not intrusive, unlike my first idea for a surround sound system.
I am sure that this will bring howls from the purists that “don’t go camping to watch TV” but I don’t care. I don’t go camping to watch TV but when I do want to watch TV I enjoy it and it adds to the whole “home from home” ethos in my opinion.
Blowing a gale outside, Torrential rain lashing the side of the motorhome, curled up on the settee, a bottle of wine with some nibbles watching a great films with Lyn, my wife, for me is a great way to spend an evening!
If anyone is interested in doing this I am happy to help them either ask on here or email me at eddie@vanbitz.com:thumb:
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