OnBoard Entertainment Electronics -Thoughts

[RWS]

My 33' Express cruiser presently has no televison whatsoever.

She has never really had a TV, however the PO had her wired with COAX and at before Hurricane Charley, she had a TV antenna on her arch.

She sports a ten+ year old Jensen stereo cassette player with a non working external CD changer. It is matched to a two channel 300 watt amplifier. It is a matched set, came in one box.

The AMP powers a pair of 6" coaxial speakers and a pair of Bose outdoor speakers in the cockpit.

Additionally there are four non amplified speakers in the cabin (two in the fwd compartment, 2 in the salon) each of these has it's own volume rheostat control.

The interior speakers work fine but lack a richness in sound. Don't know how old they are (at least 12 years) or what the specification is. They just sound "flat".

I have added an cigarette lighter FM modulator to access iTunes via the radio.

I am thinking about adding a small flat screen TV or maybe an additional smaller one for the enclosed fwd cabin.

Looking for suggestions and ideas.

1. Should I get 2 Digital TVs, one blue ray player and an a good quality digital antenna?

2. Although the sound system works fine and we no longer need the defunct cd changer, should I upgrade the sound system and amp and interior speakers?

3. Should I do some sort of digital sound interface connection between the sound system and the video?

4. Plugging in the iPhone and running iTunes or Pandora through the FM radio has been a pleasure.

5. With everything being digital now, other than the use of an iPod/iPhone "dock" I am really out of the loop.

Other than using the internet "personal hotspot" available through the iPhone, there is no WIFI capability on board. No router, no ports, no wiring, no anything.

She is kindasorta running on 80's technology at the present.

We do take a laptop on board when going out on an overnight. That way if the weather gets bad we can pop a movie in and have some on board entertainment other than playing cards, Rummicube or scrabble.

I am interested in increasing the entertainment options when out on the hook which is generally not near any real civilization (Cayo Costa - Peican Bay FL)

I do not want a satellite and am on a reasonable budget.

Do I go rogue Wifi?

Do I add an onboard router?

Leave the sound system alone? replace the tuner/receiver? keep or replace the amp? upgrade all 4 interior speakers?

digital antenna?

options, ideas ?

I really appreciate your reading through all this information and value the input.

THANKS !

[yorklyn]

Just add a bigger cooler and a few more rodholders! who needs all that electric crap on a boat!

Just started thinking about the same things for my project. I think I'm going to stay away from "marine grade" components other than the exterior speakers. There is a lot more available that way. I am going to look for a reciever with a built in sat radio reciever built in, a simple plug in jack for ipod or pandora , a built in CD/DVD player (I want to be able to attach this to 2 flat screens inside and have the option to move a tv from the cabin to the cockpit on occasion as we sometimes sit outside for a movie every now and then). I would like to find a "package " set with reciever ,Amp , and interior speakers but I think I'm just going to call "crutchfield" and explain to them what I'm looking to do. I am not keeping any of my old stuff as everything is over 10 yrs old. I plan on adding a Lorance HDS2 Gen2 Chartplotter/sonar etc which I can also add a sat radio hub and somehow link it thru the radio. This would allow me to control the radio from the helm without a seperate controller. I'm not doing anything with wifi at this point

[alexander38]

+1 on Hds...get the 10 inch you'll love it..

[koviak]

Also agree with Yorklyn,go on line to Crutchfield to design a system. I have bought a few stereo systems thru them with good results. They also can help with selection as to what exactly you are looking to do. I replaced the stereo in my 10 meter when I bought it (7 yrs. ago) with a Kenwood unit but left the original equalizer and speakers. Wish I would have waited to get all the latest features but it is what it is. As for the TV, I have a 19" TV/ DVD in the vee berth connected to a Shakespeare omni-directional digital antenna on the arch. Actually works good and can get all the local stations.

[jhalb]

I think the Bose speakers are fine but I would add a powered sub to balance the sound. i don't like the bass overkill but do like to feel the bass. I have a 19" flat screen in my forward cabin and a 23" DVD combo mounted on the wall between my dinette and the head. I take the 19" outside and use on my wet bar when needed. My boat was wired with an AB switch so I can switch between my arch antenna and the one I have mounted on my dock roof.

[Commissionpoint]

RWS-

For your inside speakers which sound flat:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/ ... ers/Marine

To upgrade the head unit: (Since you mentioned Pandora and iPod use):

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/ ... EH-X6500BT


If you want a Blu-Ray player just get yourself a Playstation 3. You can play Blu-Rays, DVD's, Audio CD's, and games if you have kids or neices/nephews, etc. Also the Playstation will allow you to store movies and music on its internal storage and reduce the clutter of having discs on board. I have one hooked up to a 32 inch HDTV in my dinette area. A simple HDMI connection takes care of the wiring issues. It works real good for a one piece solution to a variety of entertainment options for both myself and my guests. I think I will be putting a second HDTV in the forward stateroom this year. A smaller one. (A heads up is that the Playstation 4 is coming out at the end of this year in case you want to hold off, but the PS3 is plenty powerful enough for the boat, espescially if you don't have a lot of experience with these types of systems and are just getting your feet wet for the first time.) I will also use the HDMI inputs on the HDTV (it has 4) to enable the use of a laptop or a tablet as a sort of "VCR", which just adds the the options the system is capable of.

Amplifiers? Well, on the boat I don't really have a lot of use for them. A decent head unit will drive average sized marine type speakers just fine. Now, if you were planning on putting in some heavy sound system components you would probably want to think about upping the wattage a bit. Just keep in mind the amperage draw if you decide to get an amplifier. Tunes are good, having enough juice left at the end of the day to start the engines is better IMO.

I dunno too much about digital TV antennas. Broadcast TV is not available where I live or boat, so its a non-issue for me. I did pick up a Shakespere AM/FM antenna to help out with picking up radio stations (I like Alice Cooper's syndicated radio show at night when I am out on the lake), so we'll see how that goes this year. Hell, anything has to be better than what was there before.

For the television reception issue I am leaning towards a KVH solution. I like the M1DX model for the F-32:

http://www.kvh.com/Leisure/Marine-Syste ... -M1DX.aspx

I hope that helps you get some ideas going. Let me know if I can help out in any way.

[prowlersfish]

It spite of some ads you may see you don't need "digital" TV antenna , If you have a analog TV antenna it will work fine . there is no difrence . Digital tv is great .

[alexander38]

We spend a lot of time on the hook, hiding on rivers...here's our set up one 17' Sky-view TV with a DVD player in it got it from Target online it's AC/DC (never used it AC) a remote control digital tuning antenna from radio shack. XM sat radio. We have shows that we buy whole seasons of to watch. Then there's Crown and Coke, Hard apple ciders and of course a good Blonde Woman !

[Commissionpoint]

Another option is a Smart TV, wireless boadband, and Netflix and/or Hulu Plus.

[rbcool]

Having lived aboard my Tri for almost 2 yrs we found a great need for good entertainment. Commi is dead right about Pioneer!
I replaced the outdated fm/cd in the saloon with the highest power Pioneer unit I could find....many inputs as well. I disconnected the speakers in the aft cabin because who the hell listens to music when your supposed to be sleeping? I have a great pair of speakers on the command bridge that rock it while underway with no need for a sub-woofer. The original speaker volume control for the bridge still works perfect since I keep the wire contacts lubed with Fliud Film.
As far as TV...24" in saloon, 20" in aft cabin, 20" in FWD cabin...all HD. I have the biggest powered Shakespere antenna I could find, never have problems finding 20 ch or more. I can also download HDTV programs or movies on my Android phone and play through any of the TVs.
In a few weeks I'll be adding a dedicated sound system on the bridge w/ 4 speakers...2 for the helm area and 2 for the bow area for bottom fishing.
I haven't found the need for a Sat radio system since my Android has many options.
I guess it really depends on your uses, needs, personal style and party habits...maybe a "Pros n Cons" list is in order?