UtahBear
Member
Wanting to replace the trash tcl with a smart tv. Have a 2021 2600RB. Any sugesstions?
Tony_in_AZ
Senior Member
I bought a Samsung brand smart TV of the proper size I needed... There have been minimum problems with the Samsung brand for us. Your mileage may be different.
retired_engineer
Senior Member
How timely. I was finally able to finish up my soundbar and TV replacement today. I went with a 32" Samsung and ran into the following situations:
One problem I had is the mounting plate covers the optical output that I use to connect the soundbar. I drilled a hole which gave me access to the connector. However depending upon the optical cable you have there might not be enough room between the mounting plate and arm plate so an addition hole in the arm plate might be required. My connector and cable are small enough they fit without further modification. The plate also covers the RCA audio & video hookups but since I don't use these I don't care. All of the other connections are on the side so have no interference problems.
The other problem is the exiting arm mounting location resulted in the bottom of the TV being two inches below the opening. In the case of our 22MLE the wall backer runs the full height of the TV cabinet. As a result it was straight forward making a drill template and moving the arm up to where the TV fit evenly in the cabinet.
It turned out to be a bit more work than I had planned but I am satisfied with the results. If I had a better work space I probably would have cut the TV mounting plate down rather than drill holes. It is excessively large for the size TV
in the trailer and would work better with a size more appropriate to the TV.
One problem I had is the mounting plate covers the optical output that I use to connect the soundbar. I drilled a hole which gave me access to the connector. However depending upon the optical cable you have there might not be enough room between the mounting plate and arm plate so an addition hole in the arm plate might be required. My connector and cable are small enough they fit without further modification. The plate also covers the RCA audio & video hookups but since I don't use these I don't care. All of the other connections are on the side so have no interference problems.
The other problem is the exiting arm mounting location resulted in the bottom of the TV being two inches below the opening. In the case of our 22MLE the wall backer runs the full height of the TV cabinet. As a result it was straight forward making a drill template and moving the arm up to where the TV fit evenly in the cabinet.
It turned out to be a bit more work than I had planned but I am satisfied with the results. If I had a better work space I probably would have cut the TV mounting plate down rather than drill holes. It is excessively large for the size TV
in the trailer and would work better with a size more appropriate to the TV.
UtahBear
Member
Thanks for the info. I think the Samung would be the best.
UtahBear
Member
Thanks for the reply. I have Samsung in my home and think that will be what I will do here. Have a great day.
I have a Samsung in the house, as does my son. Both of us have issues with bright spots on the screen after 4 years. Very annoying as it makes some pictures very ugly. Also, my particular TV just blanks out after a time for several seconds. When it comes back on it is paused several seconds ahead. I have to rewind to see what I missed.
Thread moved to Electronics.
Rob
Rob
Yes, TCL's (especially the GD OEM) are not as nice as the LGs, Sonys, Samsungs, etc. However, the TCL 40" I got my dad from Walmart in 2012 is still working today with no issues in original color or performance. They are a relatively low price TV that provide fairly basic viewing experience - especially the GD OEM models. That being said...
We replaced our GD OEM 40" TCL with a 43" TCL Roku Smart 1080p LED in 2021. Had to adjust the OEM VESA wall mount (up approx 2") to center it in our entertainment cabinet. At the time, it was the best fit option to replace our OEM TCL with a Smart LED TV.
Our 43" TCL Smart TV has worked flawlessly since. We hooked up our mini NUC computer, Dish 211k, and GD coax to it. We can also use Smart View to display our cell phone screens as well if needed.
Our old GD OEM TCL 40" is now used as my wifes computer monitor for her laptop when working while camping in our 5er. Again, it works great as a simple monitor, and we used the leg stand mounts from the new 43" to stand it on our dinette table for her use.
As for movie sound, we pipe it through our GD OEM Furrion 3300 stereo. We replaced the RV ceiling speakers with Dual Electronics 3way speakers and they do a good job for stereo sound from anything connected and/or played through the 3300. Quite the sound improvement over the OEM speaker setup and we can still use the OEM Furrion installed equipment to do so.
pappcam
Senior Member
Isn't that TCL a Roku TV? I have a 2023 2970RL with the 40" TCL and it has Roku built in. I never use that part because I have a Fire TV stick hooked up to mine anyway.
What happened to it?
Mine works perfectly and is a smart tv. Came standard as I am sure yours did
retired_engineer
Senior Member
I don't know about the OP but I don't like the Roku TV software or the remote. I prefer Samsung's software and like having a full function remote. Our TCL also had a squiggly line of broken pixels. Rather than replace it under warranty with the same thing we opted to install a Samsung of the same model we have in our exercise room. From the little I've used it during setup it appears to have a better over the air receiver and the overall picture quality is better.
UtahBear
Member
Thanks for the reply. I know I need to do more research. I like the idea re the ceiling speakers.
Also thanks for your service.
Also thanks for your service.
True. The TCL remote and associated "limited" software/functions are fair game when compared to other manufacturers. But do handle "basic" TV operations fine....
Our Solitude 373FB had two TCL dumb TVs with virtually NO frills - not even Roku or Amazon Fire TV. We replaced our living room TV with an LG Smart OLED and are very happy with it. Don't really need Roku or Amazon Fire Stick with it (though we have both not connected).
Like retired_engineer I had to modify the mounting plate to accommodate the 120 VAC connector plug as well as the optical connector on the back of the LG TV using a side-grinder. I made a cardboard template of the TV and taped it to the backing plate to make the necessary cuts and drill appropriate bolting holes.
We are full time and travel extensively. We prefer to use Over-The-Air TV channels as well as Internet channels that are available native to the TV Via LG/Pluto giving us about 290 internet channels. Over-The-Air channels obviously varies by location. I also use the USB port and cast from tablets and phones to the TV for various entertainment.
We also purchased a LG 2.1 sound-bar that we enjoy which is mounted using Command Strips at the base of the fireplace with the wireless sub-woofer behind the recliners at the opposite side of the room.
We don't use the bedroom TV much so I haven't bothered to replace it. I have contemplated putting a TV in the pass-thru storage area for outside viewing but every time I think about it I think it would defeat the beauty of being outside while camping so I forget the idea for a while.
Like retired_engineer I had to modify the mounting plate to accommodate the 120 VAC connector plug as well as the optical connector on the back of the LG TV using a side-grinder. I made a cardboard template of the TV and taped it to the backing plate to make the necessary cuts and drill appropriate bolting holes.
We are full time and travel extensively. We prefer to use Over-The-Air TV channels as well as Internet channels that are available native to the TV Via LG/Pluto giving us about 290 internet channels. Over-The-Air channels obviously varies by location. I also use the USB port and cast from tablets and phones to the TV for various entertainment.
We also purchased a LG 2.1 sound-bar that we enjoy which is mounted using Command Strips at the base of the fireplace with the wireless sub-woofer behind the recliners at the opposite side of the room.
We don't use the bedroom TV much so I haven't bothered to replace it. I have contemplated putting a TV in the pass-thru storage area for outside viewing but every time I think about it I think it would defeat the beauty of being outside while camping so I forget the idea for a while.
We bought a Vizio (from WalMart) when we replaced ours. Only issue we had was our TV is on an elevator and the holes on it did not match the holes on the TV. My husband had to get some aluminum strips from Home Depot and made some adaptor bars.
RV2600RB
Senior Member
The previous owner of ours installed a Sony that is larger than the opening. Nice picture and sound.
Rich
Rich
Hate to break it to you all but the notion that TCL is inferior to Samsung or LG is simply untrue. They all have levels of quality. TCL entry level TVs come with the campers. TCL makes the panels for Samsung. It’s really about what level you purchase. The 6 and 7 series from TCL are amazing. You just pay for a name on the higher end models. I don’t know how anyone can pick an LG over a Roku though, we have an LG and the os is the worst of any tv we own.
I believe most are referring to entry level OEM GD TCLs..... and IMO, their software and remote functions are fairly limited compared to others.
However, true, my upgraded 43" TCL Smart 1080P Ruko is a much better TV than the base GD OEM TCL level. And TCLs are less expensive than similar comparable TVs.
Due to my size requirement and current availability at the time, is the only reason why I went with TCL. Otherwise, probably would have looked at "other" TVs.
Watch more CG cbl, sat and OTA.... dont really care for Ruko all that much. More important to me is TV picture quality and software adjustability. I use a Harmony remote to set my buttons up the way Iike (and operate all IR devices: Furrion 3300, fireplace, Dish, TV, and a wall heater).
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