TV and Kitchen updates '99 Patriot Thunder

[JimCasazze]

Ok, so when we decided to purchase our Patriot Thunder - Kathy informed me that what I thought were nice mirrored walls in the galley were on her list of things that had to go.  Well two weekends ago, she reminded me that I hadn't addressed that issue yet.....

I sugested to her that the 20" Sony TV above the drivers seat was actually a more important upgrade which we should really consider doing first.  

So, guess who won this one?

Ha - we both did.  In a very productuve 2 days we tore the old mirror off and replaced it with a very nice new glass and stone tile.  We also replaced the 20" TV with a nice 32" HDTV.  While I was at it, I installed a Yamaha 7.1 AV receiver, REL 3 subwoofer, a remote IR extender and new Bluray player.

All I can say is:  WHAT A DIFFERENCE!

We will finish the tile grout tomorrow and have a few tweeks to the A/V system, but overall we are very happy with the outcome.

I've included a few photos of the upgrades which are 95% complete.

[Larry Fisk]

Nicely done, looks great. Thanks for sharing your nice upgrade!

[Edward Buker]

Nice upgrade. Probably took as long to choose the tile as the install took... enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Later Ed

[JimCasazze]

Ed,
The tile selection went pretty quick, but after it was done - it took 3 days for selection of the new  kitchen faucet!!! (not shown)
Jim

[Jim Shaw]

Really like your TV upgrade. I could see that you hinged the left side, but was unable to see how you secured the right side when it was closed. It looks like you used plywood to mount your bracket on, what thickness did you use?
Jim

[JimCasazze]

Jim - I used 5/8" plywood for that backboard, primarily because I has some laying around.   I don't know if I'd use 1/2" as I think that would be a bit undersized for this application.  The mount itself was purchased at Walmart for about $40.00. It is a flush/tilt mount.  If you'd like the part # I can get it for you.

I am still tweaking this project, so I didn't finish the plywood with formica or paint yet.  The original latches used to hold the door closed were 3/4" plastic levers that turn to cover the plywood from opening.  The plastic did not work out, so I have temporarily replaced them with 1" angled steel corner braces fitted with a single screw so they can turn.  They work great and despite the fact you really can't see them - need to be replaced with a more "finished" solution.

When the door is closed, it sits flush with the face of the old cabinet and is stopped in the back by two of those above mentioned steel corner braces which were bent to the correct angle.  Again, this is a work in progress which will most likely be replaced with a inner wood trim strip.

I'm currently waiting on a different HDTV before I finalized things as there is a nice 1080p 120hz LED for the same price I payed for the 780p unit.  The new unit has wireless internet Netflix, etc so I will be exchanging TV's in the next week or so.

I plan to eventually add a nice wood trim strip around the entire front edge of the HDTV to give it a custom built in look.  If you have any specific questions or need some photos, feel free to email or pm me.
Jim

[Keith Oliver]

Jim
I have a 98 Contessa with the same TV cabinet as yours, above the driver.  I have installed a small flat screen TV and thrown out the 20"CRT TV that was there.  I have an issue with the viewing angle on the small flat screen TV, as it must be tilted within about 10 degrees, or you don't get true colour.  The side viewing angle doesn't seem to be a problem.  As a consequence of that issue I am considering moving the TV from over the driver to the little cabinet behind the Passenger seat, but I have no idea if I will be able to find and route the wiring without a major re&re of roof and wall panels.  I would prefer that location, as it eliminates neck craning from the couch, so 3 can watch in comfort, instead of only one.  I tried this out for the Stanley Cup finals, and was happy with the location.

Whatever I do will include an upgrade to the 32" size and the small one will go to the rear of the coach, where there is another old CRT unit that needs thowing out.
If I can't easily get the wiring moved, I need to know from your experience, whether you have the vertical angle of view issue, and if so, how you dealt with it.
I also like your wife's choice of tile. Very nice.  There are many good reasons wives are sometimes called SW (she who must be obeyed).

[Jerry Carr]

Nice Job I think that you have added a very modern look to the kitchen

[JimCasazze]

Jim,
Since my last post, we swapped out the 720p 32" HDTV with a 1080p 120Hz unit as planned in my last post.  The difference in picture quality is stunning.  In fact, it is actually too real for film (movies) and I have to soften it to avoid a "soap opera look".

To answer your questions:  we have a very small 1-3 degree tilt downward, which is sort of how the TV wants to sit with the low profile flush mount we used.  We have absolutely no issues off center or sitting down with viewing this display panel.  I have moved around, up and down, etc have found that in our case - for any seating angle except the drivers seat (which I haven't attempted), the picture does not suffer any noticible loss.   When sitting on the couches (we have one on each side) you do have to turn your neck to watch as you mentioned, but that hasn't been much of an issue so far.  In fact we pretty much lay down to watch at night anyway.
 
Regarding the rerouting of cables:  I found that I could pretty easily move the cables from the old TV location to anywhere in the front cabinets or the cabinet over the door (where my Tank monitors are located, etc).  However, to get to that cabinet behind the passenger seat, it was a problem.  On our coach the front (over door) cabinet is not connected to the next set of cabinets rearward.  There is a space of about 1 inch between them.  I could have used a hole saw and ran a pipe between them, but decided that wasn't necessary.  All of my components are now located either behind the HDTV or in the overheads up front.  

Not shown in my photos is the recent addition of dual cooling fans.  I replaced the leftmost overhead door with a new one that I constructed and stained to match.  The top cab area seems to get very hot (here in FL) even without any electronics running.  Turn on some HD stuff and you can't even put your hands on the cabinets.  NOT GOOD.  By adding dual DC fans, the air in that area gets changed about 4-5 times per minute and the electronic equipment stays at a decent temperature.

Hope this helps and please PM me with any specific questions you might have.
Jim