Surround Sound System Connection

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
I think it would be a good idea. I would also like to know how to hook up the surround sound to the television, maybe some turn signals of the sides of the coach and any other goodies forum members have come up with.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Tom and Cooper,

I'll go ahead and take a stab at this one. Hopefully others will join in so we can really nail this one down.

I think what you both are asking is for the ability to play the TV sound through the stereo receiver. If this is the case, then this will be easy as I am doing this in my coach, but I forget if it came that way or I added it.

  • You will need a 6' stereo audio jumper with RCA male connectors on each end, a flashlight and a couple of small tie-wraps
  • Pull the TV set all the way out and turn it all the way to one side
  • Using a flashlight, locate the "Audio Output" jacks on the back of the TV
  • Connect one end (both the left/right connectors) of the stereo jumper to Audio Output jacks on the TV set
  • Feed the other end of the stereo jumper from the TV cabinet into the cabinet containing the stereo receiver
  • Carefully lift up and pull forward on the stereo receiver. Mine was Velcroed to the shelf. If needed, rig/build a support arm/shelf under the receiver, outside of its cabinet so you can rest the receiver on it in the "pulled out" position
  • Find the AUX Audio Input jacks on the back of the stereo receiver
  • Find and pull forward, the stereo jumper that you fed the end of through into the stereo receiver cabinet
  • Connect the end (both the left/right connectors) of the stereo jumper to the AUX Audio Input jacks on the stereo receiver
  • Using the tie-wraps (or similar), tie off the jumper behind the TV in the pulled out position in such a way as the TV will slide back in and swivel without crimping the wire. You can usually follow the Antenna wire path. Behind the receiver, of needed, tie off the jumper to another wire (not speaker wires though)

A couple of cautions:
  1. Be very careful when pulling out and returning the stereo receiver unit. I found that the speaker wires are very precarious. I ended up un-hooking and rewiring everything and when I did this, I bundled up the speaker wires and tied them off to give them better "pull-out" protection
  2. Be aware that running TV audio through the stereo receiver "may" introduce some delay, especially in any surround mode. If the TV control on the TV itself is up at the same time you are playing TV audio through the stereo receiver, you may here this delay in the form of an echo (difference in time). Just turn the TV volume control down
  3. Finally, unless the TV itself has a surround decoder built-in, you aren't really passing the surround channels to the stereo receiver. Just standard stereo. But it will still play through the external ceiling speakers (all or some depending on the surround setting used on the receiver)

I hope I am right about the above as it is to the best of my recollection.

Let me know how you come out.

Jim
 

BigBlue

BigBlue
If you are using a satellite receiver, another way is to take take the audio out of the satellite receiver and feed it to the surround sound receiver and feed the video out to the TV.
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
Thanks Jim and Big Blue,
I will be using satellite so I will probably be going in that direction. Just trying to figure out which satellite system is best. At this time I am leaning towards Direct TV. Now all I need is for the weather to get better so I can do some work.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Tom,

When you are adding the satellite receiver and using the AUX Audio Input of the A/V receiver to route satellite audio through the surround system, consider adding an A/V switcher. They're pretty cheap. Then you're set when it's time to add a VCR, an iPod, a satellite radio etc. The A/V switcher will make up for the lack of inputs on the A/V receiver and TV.

On the other-hand, one could simply replace the A/V receiver with a better one for $200-$300. I went the cheap route since I already had the A/V switcher.

Have fun!

Jim
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
Jim,

Thanks for that little tidbit, more money to spend. I went to Camping World and bought the same satellite you have and I am leaning towards Direct TV but my only concern is the use of two satellites. Is this an unfounded concern and what provider do you have?
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Tom,

I am using Dish Network but for no particular reason.

As it turned out, with Dish, if you look at the programming on both their satellites (112 and 119 I think), 98% of what I wanted was on the one satellite so for me, having a single feed was a non-issue for me.

Maybe that's how you'll decide on which provider to go with - by reviewing the programming, by satellite to determine where the stuff you want is.

Jim
 

phranc

Well-known member
Hey all,, We have dishnetwork also and use a direct tv dish, this is a 18 in,single lnb,dish. When camping we point it at sat 119. Now i'm sure we're missing some programs , but it doesn't affect any programs that we regularly watch,including HBO.Like Jim said ,a non-issue
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
Jim and phranc,
Thanks for the replies. I am looking at Direct TV because it has OLN and RV Today is on that channel. Does anyone have any issues with taking a receiver from the house to the coach? I have read, rv.net, about the satellite companies calling the house to see if all receivers are actually where they are suppose to be. Circuit City has told me there is no problems with Direct TV.
 

BigBlue

BigBlue
We took our receivers along with us after we sold the house. The only issue we had was getting the local networks. If you're full timing, you have to fill out a waiver and then you can get the east coast and west coast feeds for $4.95 a month. PBS is also classified as a local channel and in our case, we can't get PBS because Emery, SD doesn't have local PBS as I understand it.

Our antenna is one of the 3 satellite antennas and I haven't had any problem getting it set up. I'm at the point where I'll set it up for a one night stay.
 

phranc

Well-known member
Tom ,, I take the model 322 from 'spare' bedroom and use it on camping trips ..when done with trip I return it to bedroom. It Is hooked to a phone line when at home and I will get the warning message for a few days after returning home . To paraphrase message .. this unit must be connected to working phone line to avoid a $4.99 charge........I could see Dish picking up on this and calling to verify if unit is in my home and not at neighbor etc..
Not sure what I will do if that scenario takes place ..
Also I'm not that pleased with the 322 model as it has 2 feeds and I only have 1 to give to it,, So It frequently has to do a switch check.. I chose that model because I wanted to feed Lr and Br in the RV.. That has turned out to be a complicated issue. Plus portable dish for the RV also only has 1 feed as does the internal wiring of the RV..
The good part is ,I use a home made stand for dish ,made from PVC and the dish mounts upside down . It;s relativly easy to align and real nice to have all the TV we need where ever we are and not have to pay a campground charge ..
 

Phil Smith

Retired South Carolina Chapter Leader
Tom,

I've been using DirecTV for nearly 10 years sharing one of my home receivers with the RV. Never had a problem. Last November I bought a new DVR/DirecTV receiver and took one of the old ones from the house to dedicate to the camper. No problems at all with the people at DirecTV when I told them this was my plan. I told them this receiver would not ever see a phone connection.
Phil
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
Ok everyone, thanks for all of the info. I know I will have more questions, I am just waiting for warmer weather so I can put my satellite dish on the coach. I will have to get satellite before the end of Feb, the date when the specials are over with. I do have one last question though, do the satellite receivers need to be hooked up to a phone line? No one has ever made mention of this until I read about that in a Direct TV brochure yesterday and reading about it today here. As you can see I am totally new to this.
 

davebennington

Senior Member
Tom,

It is my understanding the only reason you need to be connected to a phone line is so Direct tv can bill you for pay for view selections. If you do not have a phone line and want to view a pay for view selection you have to call them or use the internet, this cost more I think it is a dollar extra. I believe the extra charge is for a human interventon. Someone will correct me if this is wrong. I do not have a phone line on any of my receivers.


Dave:)
 

Firebug

Member
Tom of Ypsi,
We use Direct TV and it doesn't matter where the box is. We take the one out of the house and use it in the camper. The key to the reception is the control card in the box. As long as you pay the bill and line the dish up with the satelite; the card will let the box work.
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
Thanks everyone,
I do have a phone and I thought the line would be needed for pay per veiw but I was not really sure. Glad that part is cleared up.
 

phranc

Well-known member
Tom , Our stuff thru Dish is rented/leased and they would like to have it connected to a phone line .. I'mm not sure how it would work if you owned the equipment outright. Perhaps that is how some are saying they do dot have to have a phone connection. I kind of wished that I had done some more research before we jumped in. Altho the Sat signal and service sure is satisfying
 

Princess Kathleen

Well-known member
Direct tv

I have direct tv in my home and it is not contacted to a phone line. I select pay per view using the internet at no extra charge..charge it to your account/credit card/bank account....

I glad y'all had this discussion....it has helped me in determining what to do about direct tv...now I need to find a satellite spotter:D
 

Cooper

Well-known member
Trailer Life has a vendor in for this month that has the whole setup for house and trailer (with stand) all on one bill. It also has free DVR's for 3 rooms
 
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