By Adrian Cochran, Oregon Motorcoach Center
So, you’ve owned your motorhome for several years
now. Over the years you have done an outstanding job of keeping it maintained
by having it winterized yearly, keeping up to date on scheduled maintenance,
replacing slide room seals as needed and making sure your leveling system is
staying “level” headed. All of this work done to keep your home or your home
away from home in tip top shape right? I will probably have many of you
scratching your heads in just a second when I ask the next question. So when
was the last time you checked on your Audio/ Video system? Are you scratching
yet?
Yes believe it or not, you’re a/v system is equally
important in the upkeep of your coach. Now granted, it’s not going to keep you
from your next outing but it could mean the difference in future relationships
if not performing up to par (that was a joke). Technology advances at such a rapid pace that it is almost impossible
to stay on top of the latest and greatest in the world of Televisions and sound
systems. But thanks to experts in their craft, a good qualified service
technician and service center is really all you need. I know, when you think
about having a slide room adjusted or chassis work done, you probably don’t
think much about issues or upgrades to your onboard entertainment system but
believe it or not that can be done at the same time.
So
what is the latest and greatest you ask? You’ve
probably heard tech terms like VOD, streaming, 4kTV, Dolby TrueHD, or DTS
Master audio. To elaborate on this without making it too confusing we must step
back a little in time and see where consumer electronics stood during the production
of your motor home. I won’t touch high definition here but I will say that most
televisions that were installed during this time were somewhat capable of
displaying an HD image but nothing close to what displays are capable of today.
The satellite receivers also required a nest of cables to get you the most out
of your TV, and they were hot.
When
you immerse yourself in a movie, it can only be as good as the playback
sources. If you have an older television in your coach, you
may only be getting a playback of 720p or 1080i or less. If you recently
upgraded to a Blu Ray DVD player, you are not getting to see the movie the way
it was intended because your flat panel possibly (if original with the coach) cannot
handle that type of display resolution. Flat panels now have the capability to
be able to play back movies at a 1080p resolution with a refresh rate of 60,
120, or even 240 HZ. Don’t forget about 3D either, that technology is just
breaking out of the theaters and into homes. Although you have to deal with
those cumbersome glasses still. 3D can add a whole new realm to your favorite
movies and it’s becoming more and more a standard feature in TV’s and Blu Ray
players.
So,
if so much is available in televisions now as compared to a handful of years
ago, is the same true for surround sound? The answer is
yes, and believe it or not your current Audio/Video receiver could be hindering
more than helping your situation. From the sound quality standpoint Dolby
Digital was already a mainstay in most home theater equipment but even now the
formats available are more advanced and capable of playing back full
uncompressed lossless audio information just as the song or soundtrack was
recorded. Confused yet? Let me expand. When you plug in your iPod to hear your
favorite music those files have been compressed so you have the ability to cram
a huge amount of music into a very small space. In cramming all of those files
in a small space, sound quality takes a hit because bits and pieces have to be
cut out of the original recording to make it fit. Now when it comes to audio
video receivers, the decoders that are built in to decipher the correct sound
format have come a long way in a short period of time.
When surround sound was first evolved (way past the
days of quadraphonic) you had Dolby surround technology which incorporated two
stereo front speakers and a monaural rear channel that two speakers could share
with limited frequency response. Then there was the development of Dolby Pro
Logic, which although almost identical to the latter format, incorporates a
center channel decoder thus moving from four speakers to five but leaving a
mono rear channel with limited frequency. In the last ten years or so Dolby
Digital became the common place in A/V receivers delivering five separate full
bandwidth channels (20Hz to 20Khz.) and the .1 low frequency or bass channel.
People
became immersed in a new way to listen to movies. Within
the last couple of years we’ve been seeing the addition of more rear speakers
with Dolby Digital EX which adds additional information to a surround back
channel. I know, it’s a lot of information to absorb. Now we introduce Dolby
True HD, which can carry up to fourteen channels of sound. The difference being
the new movies that appear on Blu ray can be decoded in a pure format (if
available on the disc) meaning, just as
it was recorded with nothing lost from compression like the files on your mp3
player.
Now that we covered the technical side of the
spectrum let’s get back to you! Audio issues with your
entertainment system can be a little more difficult to pinpoint compared to
determining the age of your TV. If you answer just a few simple questions you
can find out if you just need a tune up or have to consider replacing your
current unit. First, how does it sound? Let your ears do the work, if something
does not sound right chances are it probably isn’t. If you notice any
distortion or notice that a particular speaker is not working at all when you
playback a familiar source (something you’ve listened to enough to know) then
you may have deeper issues than you think. Let me interject here that, unless
you have current high end components that you’re in love with and don’t want to
lose, try and avoid thinking about “…..can it be fixed?” Repairing a piece of
audio equipment can be time consuming and costly depending on the problem
sometimes equaling what you may have paid for the unit when it was brand new. In
this day and age of “disposable” electronics it’s more cost effective to
replace than repair unfortunately.
Second, not including aerial antenna or cable from a
park connection, when you watch your satellite receiver or a DVD and yes, even
a VHS tape, do you have to change
through multiple inputs on your TV and then sound settings on you’re a/v
receiver to accomplish your activity? It may be time to upgrade. Audio video
receivers today allow a wide variety of different components to be connected
and just a single HDMI cable to be connected to the TV. In doing so, all the
switching is done through the A/V receiver, using it as the centerpiece for
your system. I know all of the techies out there are saying “What do you mean
it’s been that way for years?” Yes the capability has been there but A/V
receivers today have the capability of upconverting all incoming signals from
source components like the old VCR from 480i (video tape resolution) to 1080p
(full high definition) and outputting the signal to your beautiful new 1080p
flat panel with just a single HDMI cable interlinking the two devices.
If you answered yes to either of the previous
questions, it is definitely worth having your system looked at by a qualified
service center with an experienced Audio Video technician. Don’t be afraid to
ask whoever it may be looking at your system about their qualifications and/or
experience. If the person is reputable, he or she will have no problem
answering that question. Don’t worry if all they have is on the job experience,
sometimes that’s the best way to learn this industry as long as they are
seasoned in the field or working under someone with a good background in the
world of Audio Video installation. Don’t ever be afraid to question.
A
couple of other things I wanted to bring up for you.
When you use your entertainment system, do you ever notice how warm it gets?
Heat is the number one issue with premature component failure. I know there
aren’t very many options when it comes to space for your components but even in
the smallest compartments they can be cooled sometimes with a little forced
help. I have never seen a single piece of equipment physically “burn up” from
getting to hot but I have touched some components that have left their mark,
that’s too hot! Audio video equipment should never be too hot to touch even
those pesky satellite receivers. If you can reach into your cabinet comfortably
enough to reach the tops of the components with the palm of your hand they
should feel mildly warm to the touch after being on for quite awhile. Anything
hotter than that requires some sort of venting or forced cooling via
temperature sensor and fan(s) to move air. It will prolong the life of your
components even if there is a trade off for a little fan noise (usually not
much) during a movie.
Of
course the other battle is space. How can you have the
best up to date equipment if it won’t fit in your existing cabinet? Part of a
good A/V tech is working with the customer and any other facet of integration
from the cabinet maker to the interior designer to find the right solution so
in the end you can have what you want. Very seldom does there ever come a time
where we have to say, no that can’t be done. Some installations may be more
labor intensive than others but the end result is always the satisfaction
knowing the customer is happy with the outcome. The installation is the easy
part of it, keeping customers well informed is what separates the good from the
best. So if you are interested in an upgrade take a minute and examine your
space and don’t always assume that just because you measured it that it won’t
fit, let us take a look.
I
know for some people all of this can be overwhelming but that’s how I keep my
job!
As a custom A/V integrator, it’s my job to look at your A/V system no matter
how current it may be, and let you know how it is performing. It is also my job
to make recommendations about upgrading or what can be done to make it work
better. So the next time you come in to Oregon Motorcoach Center, don’t forget
about your A/V system with the rest of your maintenance.
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