# Outdoor tv



## DSchlauch

Anyone have experience with outdoor tv's? Recommendations on what to look for, what to avoid?


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## falconsfan

I recently built a screen porch. I chose an inexpensive 55 inch tv. In my research 'outdoor' tv's are very expensive vs regular tv's. I just figured it would last 3-4 years and I'd buy another. Bought a cover from Amazon to keep the pollen and dust off it.


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## DSchlauch

I'm going to be putting one under a covered portion of my pool house. It seems the price for outdoor tv's are about double of a comparable tv for indoor use, I'm guessing due to being able to handle the temp swings, humidity etc .... I've thought about using a normal tv and seeing how it goes, but I would definitely like to buy once ..


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## Ware

+1 on just going with an inexpensive TV. I left a cheap TV from Sam's Club on the patio at our old house that was a few years old and still working fine. The one before that was also just a regular TV and it worked great for a number of years until it blew over during a storm (I didn't have it mounted). I am mounting an inexpensive TCL 4-Series on the patio wall at our new house. If it is protected from direct rainfall, I don't think it's worth paying more for an "outdoor TV". I would just buy a cheap/Black Friday TV with the understanding you may have to replace it every few years. :thumbup:


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## DSchlauch

Thanks for the input @falconsfan and @Ware , guess I'll go with something like  this  and a cover and see how it goes. Not that I want it to fail, but I could buy 5 of them for a comparable 55" outdoor model like  this . If it craps out after the first rain maybe I'll reconsider. Thanks again.


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## Ware

DSchlauch said:


> …I could buy 5 of them for a comparable 55" outdoor model…


 :thumbsup:


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## PNW_George

I have a 55" Samsung Q80R 4K TV that I planned on putting in our Master Bedroom but we never watch TV in our room so I moved it to my basement office and realized I never watch TV there so I ran a COAX cable to a crawl space opening and just carry the TV outside to the patio and put it on a storage cabinet that I can move anywhere I want when I want to watch something and bring it back in and store it when finished. They are very light and easy to move and probably a better picture and cheaper than a dedicated outside TV.


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## CLT49er

Timely topic for me. Will be building a wall cabinet for an uncovered porch. Will use an older tv.


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## DSchlauch

PNW_George said:


> I have a 55" Samsung Q80R 4K TV that I planned on putting in our Master Bedroom but we never watch TV in our room so I moved it to my basement office and realized I never watch TV there so I ran a COAX cable to a crawl space opening and just carry the TV outside to the patio and put it on a storage cabinet that I can move anywhere I want when I want to watch something and bring it back in and store it when finished. They are very light and easy to move and probably a better picture and cheaper than a dedicated outside TV.


What about those speakers you have mounted outside? How is that system set up?


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## PNW_George

DSchlauch said:


> PNW_George said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have a 55" Samsung Q80R 4K TV that I planned on putting in our Master Bedroom but we never watch TV in our room so I moved it to my basement office and realized I never watch TV there so I ran a COAX cable to a crawl space opening and just carry the TV outside to the patio and put it on a storage cabinet that I can move anywhere I want when I want to watch something and bring it back in and store it when finished. They are very light and easy to move and probably a better picture and cheaper than a dedicated outside TV.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What about those speakers you have mounted outside? How is that system set up?
Click to expand...

The speakers are part of my whole house sound. I use zone two on a receiver, an external amplifier and a speaker switch that balances impedance. It could play the TV audio if I wanted but I don't bother. I had a matching soundbar I could have used but I gave it to my son since for what I use it for the internal speakers work fine.


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## FATC1TY

Ware said:


> +1 on just going with an inexpensive TV. I left a cheap TV from Sam's Club on the patio at our old house that was a few years old and still working fine. The one before that was also just a regular TV and it worked great for a number of years until it blew over during a storm (I didn't have it mounted). I am mounting an inexpensive TCL 4-Series on the patio wall at our new house. If it is protected from direct rainfall, I don't think it's worth paying more for an "outdoor TV". I would just buy a cheap/Black Friday TV with the understanding you may have to replace it every few years. :thumbup:


Same here. I have a covered portion of my patio, snd my tv hangs from the ceiling in the corner. I don't cover it or anything and bought for a few hundred bucks at Costco. I could replace it many many times over for what an outdoor TV costs. I'd also say that my LG LED looks way better than the outdoor TVs as well.


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## FATC1TY

DSchlauch said:


> Thanks for the input @falconsfan and @Ware , guess I'll go with something like  this  and a cover and see how it goes. Not that I want it to fail, but I could buy 5 of them for a comparable 55" outdoor model like  this . If it craps out after the first rain maybe I'll reconsider. Thanks again.


I feel like the cover could cause more harm if you live in a humid environment, but YMMV.


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## DSchlauch

I picked up a 55" TCL 4-series for just over $350 this weekend. Ordering a mount this week.


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## Ware

DSchlauch said:


> I picked up a 55" TCL 4-series for just over $350 this weekend. Ordering a mount this week.


Nice! I have the 65" version on our patio.


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## DSchlauch

Went with a ceiling mount so I can sit under the covered part of the pool house and watch or turn the screen to face the pool. Going to have to put me an outlet in the ceiling.


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## thebmrust

What about a projector?
Granted, new TV's have significantly better contrast and brightness than a comparable projector. Outdoor projectors are also stupid expensive. But, it might still work for some people in certain situations.


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## SOLARSUPLEX

DSchlauch said:


> Went with a ceiling mount so I can sit under the covered part of the pool house and watch or turn the screen to face the pool. Going to have to put me an outlet in the ceiling.


Please take the legs off that if its the final mount!


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## DSchlauch

SOLARSUPLEX said:


> Please take the legs off that if its the final mount!


 :thumbup:


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## Grumpy Camel

Ware said:


> DSchlauch said:
> 
> 
> 
> I picked up a 55" TCL 4-series for just over $350 this weekend. Ordering a mount this week.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nice! I have the 65" version on our patio.
Click to expand...

Nice! My setup and patio looks exactly like this (minus the sound bar). @Ware do you have a cover to protect it from rain? Im concerned that strong winds could blow some water over.


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## Ware

@Grumpy Camel no cover. That spot stays dry.


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## TulsaFan

Ware said:


>


It's no Triplex roller, but that chair looks comfy! 

We have a Toshiba Fire TV that we picked up during a past Prime Day for our patio. When it dies, we'll replace it with another.


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## rockwalltxguy

I just bought a cheap 4K Vizio but my porch is fully covered. I almost pulled the trigger on a outdoor tv but then realized I could buy 5 or 6 normal TVs for the price of 1 outdoor tv. If I was hanging it outside exposed to the elements that would be a different story.


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