new camper no TV only composite cable from entertainment system

[C-Rad]

Just bought a new Heartland Prowler 26PBHS. it did not come with a TV. Has the location that can face the living area and then rotate 180 degrees so you can view from the master bed. The entertainment system seems to be an all in one, stereo, CD player with aux input and bluetooth capability and plays DVD's. But the only cable coming from this system from behind the panel is a standard composite RCA cable for left/right audio and yellow vid. The panel is made to host a 32 inch flat screen. Now unless I start shopping for a used TV, just about any cheap 32 inch flat screen will not come with a whole host of connections. As they phase out old tech just about every TV has just HDMI. So after research I did find that there are RCA input to HDMI output converters that require its own power source via USB connection. few and far between as most converters are one way for conversion from HDMI to RCA output. So that requires another 50 bucks or so. My big question is why would they only use such antiquated tech for video to a TV. What brand TV usually are installed at factory for heartland travel trailers. So just a general question to see if anyone is attacking this dilemma the same way.

Thanks
Conrad

 

[danemayer]

Hi Conrad,

Congratulations on the new Prowler and welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

Before you go too far with converters, check the manual for the DVD player to see if it has HDMI out. Most do, so you may just need to get to the back of the unit.

 

[windviewer]

If the audio unit is similar to the one in our 2015 20P RBS Prowler (a Jensen AWM965) then you are out of luck. These audio units are pretty limited in ability. For your reference, the online jensen manual can be found at http://www.jensenrvdirect.com/downloads/dl/file/id/528/awm965_owners_manual.pdf which has the internal wiring diagram. You can't do much with it; it is a pretty low end audio system (IMO).

Good point you have made that the newer TV's only have HDMI - I'll have to watch that when shopping for a cheap LCD 32 TV. I can use our old SONY 32 inch LCD (2004) which has the appropriate old connections but it sucks 155 watts of AC instead of the current 40-50 watts the newer LCD TVs use (and it weighs 50 lbs!)

 

[C-Rad]

If the audio unit is similar to the one in our 2015 20P RBS Prowler (a Jensen AWM965) then you are out of luck. These audio units are pretty limited in ability. For your reference, the online jensen manual can be found at http://www.jensenrvdirect.com/downloads/dl/file/id/528/awm965_owners_manual.pdf which has the internal wiring diagram. You can't do much with it; it is a pretty low end audio system (IMO).

Good point you have made that the newer TV's only have HDMI - I'll have to watch that when shopping for a cheap LCD 32 TV. I can use our old SONY 32 inch LCD (2004) which has the appropriate old connections but it sucks 155 watts of AC instead of the current 40-50 watts the newer LCD TVs use (and it weighs 50 lbs!)

I don't believe its a Jensen. I will look over the manual for the entertainment system again. I'm sure I will be able to cobble something together. Thank for the ideas. Never had a TV the campground so not a priority yet.

 

[Roguegt]

When I first bought my Wilderness it came with some off-brand 32" TV for an un-Godly price. but it integrated with the Jensen controls / DVD unit installed in the camper. I said nuts to that!! A simple inverter install and you are in the "Home" TV world. Something like a 32" Samsung LED Smart TV that weighs 8lbs and is 27W becomes a reality. The TV can be had for mid 200 price range and a 500 - 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter for about the same. This will open a whole new realm of TV possibilities for you regarding the RCA inputs.
One word of caution. If you have a flat wall mount be sure the RCA connections and all other connectors enter from the side of the TV as there won't be room behind the TV for cables to protrude.