Latest Coronavirus Project: Outside TV

nvanprooyen

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I thought about doing this in the AT&T thread since there was a lot of talk about streaming devices and cord cutting...but what I'm trying to do is a little different.

I've got this older LCD TV that I don't really have a use for, or really care if it gets damaged by weather, so I was thinking about wall mounting it in my back patio by the pool (it's covered pretty well so unless the wind really starts ripping and blowing rain in, it should be pretty protected).

My requirements are:

- Need to be able to install a VPN on whatever I hook up to it.
- Need a browser, and likely the ability to stream acestreams.
- Plex would be nice.
- Might install something like Kodi.
- Possibly will try getting stuff like Netflix, Hulu running (maybe via Kodi). But I don't care too much about this.

What's my best bet? A newer gen Raspberry Pi with a case to protect it from the elements? Something else? Any advice appreciated.

CC: @Crystallas
 

Crystallas

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I thought about doing this in the AT&T thread since there was a lot of talk about streaming devices and cord cutting...but what I'm trying to do is a little different.

I've got this older LCD TV that I don't really have a use for, or really care if it gets damaged by weather, so I was thinking about wall mounting it in my back patio by the pool (it's covered pretty well so unless the wind really starts ripping and blowing rain in, it should be pretty protected).

My requirements are:

- Need to be able to install a VPN on whatever I hook up to it.
- Need a browser, and likely the ability to stream acestreams.
- Plex would be nice.
- Might install something like Kodi.
- Possibly will try getting stuff like Netflix, Hulu running (maybe via Kodi). But I don't care too much about this.

What's my best bet? A newer gen Raspberry Pi with a case to protect it from the elements? Something else? Any advice appreciated.

CC: @Crystallas

The Pi will give you options sure. So will a few Amlogic devices. Nothing you're asking for requires a lot hardware-wise. It only requires your willingness to reflash and load the OS the way you want it.

You can buy a number of weatherproofing gels, seal the TV. Heck, any electronics, but mind you, sealing speakers in an outside TV can get tricky and muffle the sound, so you'll want to use your snazzy outdoor speakers instead. Also, you may still want to get a sheet of acrylic, do a quick wire dislike-pos type heater to bend it into a V to act as a roof + screen protector of sorts, because the front bezel of most TVs flex a little, and they are done for in any storm. Good news, do this right once, you can always just keep the acrylic/plexiglass for future TVs.
 

Burque

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I thought about doing this in the AT&T thread since there was a lot of talk about streaming devices and cord cutting...but what I'm trying to do is a little different.

I've got this older LCD TV that I don't really have a use for, or really care if it gets damaged by weather, so I was thinking about wall mounting it in my back patio by the pool (it's covered pretty well so unless the wind really starts ripping and blowing rain in, it should be pretty protected).

My requirements are:

- Need to be able to install a VPN on whatever I hook up to it.
- Need a browser, and likely the ability to stream acestreams.
- Plex would be nice.
- Might install something like Kodi.
- Possibly will try getting stuff like Netflix, Hulu running (maybe via Kodi). But I don't care too much about this.

What's my best bet? A newer gen Raspberry Pi with a case to protect it from the elements? Something else? Any advice appreciated.

CC: @Crystallas


Had a friend who did this in Arizona because he was always outside, so why not watch the football games from the pool etc....

I do not know about any of the hook ups you want, but Arizona does get nasty dust storms, wind, etc. He mounted it to an exterior wall and then made a box to go around it with doors that could close. That TV worked fine until he moved. Basically he did like a 1x4 frame and then a couple of doors. The internal speakers were never damaged, nor was the screen. that was with dust storms, misters and ceiling fans etc. It worked really great actually.
 

HeHateMe

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I thought about doing this in the AT&T thread since there was a lot of talk about streaming devices and cord cutting...but what I'm trying to do is a little different.

I've got this older LCD TV that I don't really have a use for, or really care if it gets damaged by weather, so I was thinking about wall mounting it in my back patio by the pool (it's covered pretty well so unless the wind really starts ripping and blowing rain in, it should be pretty protected).

My requirements are:

- Need to be able to install a VPN on whatever I hook up to it.
- Need a browser, and likely the ability to stream acestreams.
- Plex would be nice.
- Might install something like Kodi.
- Possibly will try getting stuff like Netflix, Hulu running (maybe via Kodi). But I don't care too much about this.

What's my best bet? A newer gen Raspberry Pi with a case to protect it from the elements? Something else? Any advice appreciated.

CC: @Crystallas
This is relevant to my interests. I have an old GATEWAY plasma SD tv that I put out with the trash and nobody took it for a week so it's in my garage. It weighs about 800 lbs. Thinking about making it into a garage TV.
 

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