Magic34
Member
- Jul 7, 2015
- 149
- Boat Info
- Former 44 Sundancer Owner
- Engines
- Currently Self Powered
Replaced the main TV and DVD player this last weekend on our 44 DA. I've received a lot of great info on this site so hoping this may help someone in the future. I'm not a mechanic or carpenter, I just like to figure out how to try and do something myself when I can.
This all started because the cheap DVD players used from factory were junk, all 3 do not work in the boat. So finding a DVD player that fits the hole cut for the cheapo $20 factory DVD player was the hardest part. I looked everywhere and walking through walmart on black friday, they had a pallet of these Sony DVD players for $45/each, I bought 3. (Sony BDP-S2500).
Brought the DVD player out on the next trip and noticed that the only connection on the DVD player was HDMI. Had a cable and went to install only to find that the main TV in the boat didn't have HDMI. Project put on hold until this next trip. bought a Vizio D24 (http://www.walmart.com/ip/VIZIO-D24-D1-24-1080p-60Hz-LED-Smart-HDTV/49239323)
Took the old TV out, bought some M4 - 50mm machine screws for the mounting (edit: you need the 50mm, the 40mm are not long enough). I used the same holes that were drilled into the bracket. There is a gap, so I bought some plastic spacers that I put between the bracket and back of the TV around the screw. This helps keep anything from flexing, needed 1.5" in spacers... home depot only had 1", so I bought 2 per screw and cut 1 in half.
The TV fits and closes back up into the ceiling just fine with about 3/4" to spare between the TV and top of frame, no issues of it hitting. I do have a gap now on the bottom. I'm going to do 1 of 2 things... either make a flush black panel to help eliminate the depth of the gap, but ideally I'm looking for a 22" sound bar I can install just under the TV so we can improve the sound quality for movies.
I used a 10' HDMI cable and started at the TV and ran it to the DVD, 10' was barely enough, I recommend 12', although 10' will get you there. Once you figure out the path, the fish is easy, but it took me a little bit to get it through the right path, used a hanger. Other than the HDMI cable, no new wires are necessary other than the power cables. The power cord from the old TV was the same as the new one, so I just used that.
The DVD player took more effort. The Sony DVD play is like 3 mm wider than the hole of the previous DVD player. It is possible that it may fit perfectly in another hole if the saw was on the outside of the line when being built at factory. For the galley, I removed the old DVD player but kept the wood bottom. On the side that is less noticeable, I filed the wood down at an angle. The DVD fits into the hole sideways, so you can get it in there, then rotate it and silicone it down to the wood. I didn't want to file the laminate, so I did the wood behind the laminate. Again, I filed it at an angle so I could pull the DVD player more into the hole. The finish of the filing is now smooth, so the only thing I need to do now is paint the bare wood flat back to match everything else.
All this started with a junk DVD player, but I'm happy with the newer TV and DVD player. 2 more TVs to replace and installing the other 2 DVD players and I'm done with all 3. I'm going with 20" TVs for the master and aft cabins.
This all started because the cheap DVD players used from factory were junk, all 3 do not work in the boat. So finding a DVD player that fits the hole cut for the cheapo $20 factory DVD player was the hardest part. I looked everywhere and walking through walmart on black friday, they had a pallet of these Sony DVD players for $45/each, I bought 3. (Sony BDP-S2500).
Brought the DVD player out on the next trip and noticed that the only connection on the DVD player was HDMI. Had a cable and went to install only to find that the main TV in the boat didn't have HDMI. Project put on hold until this next trip. bought a Vizio D24 (http://www.walmart.com/ip/VIZIO-D24-D1-24-1080p-60Hz-LED-Smart-HDTV/49239323)
Took the old TV out, bought some M4 - 50mm machine screws for the mounting (edit: you need the 50mm, the 40mm are not long enough). I used the same holes that were drilled into the bracket. There is a gap, so I bought some plastic spacers that I put between the bracket and back of the TV around the screw. This helps keep anything from flexing, needed 1.5" in spacers... home depot only had 1", so I bought 2 per screw and cut 1 in half.
The TV fits and closes back up into the ceiling just fine with about 3/4" to spare between the TV and top of frame, no issues of it hitting. I do have a gap now on the bottom. I'm going to do 1 of 2 things... either make a flush black panel to help eliminate the depth of the gap, but ideally I'm looking for a 22" sound bar I can install just under the TV so we can improve the sound quality for movies.
I used a 10' HDMI cable and started at the TV and ran it to the DVD, 10' was barely enough, I recommend 12', although 10' will get you there. Once you figure out the path, the fish is easy, but it took me a little bit to get it through the right path, used a hanger. Other than the HDMI cable, no new wires are necessary other than the power cables. The power cord from the old TV was the same as the new one, so I just used that.
The DVD player took more effort. The Sony DVD play is like 3 mm wider than the hole of the previous DVD player. It is possible that it may fit perfectly in another hole if the saw was on the outside of the line when being built at factory. For the galley, I removed the old DVD player but kept the wood bottom. On the side that is less noticeable, I filed the wood down at an angle. The DVD fits into the hole sideways, so you can get it in there, then rotate it and silicone it down to the wood. I didn't want to file the laminate, so I did the wood behind the laminate. Again, I filed it at an angle so I could pull the DVD player more into the hole. The finish of the filing is now smooth, so the only thing I need to do now is paint the bare wood flat back to match everything else.
All this started with a junk DVD player, but I'm happy with the newer TV and DVD player. 2 more TVs to replace and installing the other 2 DVD players and I'm done with all 3. I'm going with 20" TVs for the master and aft cabins.
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