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Outdoor TV

September 25, 2014, 12:48 pm

We have a TV on the wall of our patio.  We don't use it that often, but in fall evenings it is sometimes fun to sit outside and watch the baseball playoffs.  Also, that is the only TV we ever allowed a game system so we could always see our kids playing.  The TV  is under a covered area but close enough to the outside that rain will sometimes blow in and get it wet.   It gets really hot a lot, over 115F in the summer.  It is constantly subject to dust storms in the monsoon seasons.

For a while we considered an special all-weather TV like this one.  If the TV had been completely out in the open, we probably would have bought one.  But instead we bought a regular LCD TV -- just something from Samsung I think -- on sale at Amazon.   The regular TV was 1/3 the price, and we figured that even if it died, we would still be ahead having bought two instead of one of the more expensive TVs.

The TV has now been out there for over 5 years and is doing fine.  If you want a TV outside, unless it is directly in the elements, I have found that regular TV's are pretty durable.

 

Tags:
Category: Home Theater

3 Comments

  1. dmk:

    TVs are so cheap now, especially plasma, that you can almost consider them throw-away - so I agree with your strategy. Plasma TVs are a good choice for this application because they are cheap, and getting cheaper, because they are being phased-out (sort of). They give off more heat than an LED TV but this is not a problem outdoors. The glass screen is likely more weather resistant and cleanable than the plastic LED screens. Plasma screens are more prone to reflections and viewing problems related to bright light (sunlight!), so consider the location and shading of the TV. But night-time viewing with dark surroundings would obviously be great.

    September 25, 2014, 5:06 pm

  2. mesaeconoguy:

    The specially tagged outdoor A/V equipment is usually price inflated by about 300%, for inferior weatherproofing.

    You can usually accomplish the same thing either by building it yourself, or doing a spec mod of existing semi-proof equipment. Simple tape or gasket/o-ring insulation.

    If you’re in a reasonably protected space, the major problem to worry about in AZ is heat, not moisture.

    Moisture is the most frequent cause of outdoor electronic death, and we simply are too dry for that here.

    September 25, 2014, 8:21 pm