Recommendation for outside setup?

[malbec]

I thought I would throw this out to the board to see what kind of creative ideas/solutions/links you might have.

I live in an area that will hit 99 degrees with 98% humidity in the summer and minus 10 degrees with a 30 below windchill in the winter.

I have a hot tub outside on my patio. I use it year around. I would love to put a TV out there with a wireless extender (I am well aware of the wireless MVP issues (have first hand experience), but I think I can make it work with the appropriate bridge).

Thoughts/recommendations on an outside TV/Extender setup? I found a "weather proof" TV trolling the net, however the price tag was such that I thought I could blow through a few regular TVs cheaper. I also found a place that offers a weather proof box to house the TV. Anyway, I was curious what else might be out there if I asked... (BTW, I am stuck here, so the move suggestion is off the table for quite some time I am afraid).

[GTwannabe]

Do you have room for a projector? Shouldn't be too hard to build an insulated, heated box to protect the projector from the elements. It would need some kind of thermostat to open air vents once the projector started heating up.

Do you have a photo of the patio area?

[Conejo]

I had to replace a hot tub cover last year so took a look at the latest offering... I thought I was hip and cool until I saw the 800-gallon hot tub, incorporated 20” flat-screen riser TV, six-speaker surround sound system... where the H was this when I was younger! Life today is WASTED on the young.

Then there was this: Hot Tub With 61-inch HDTV Built In as seen on Gizmodo


CAUTION: the controls on your hot tub are LOW VOLTAGE or AIR DRIVEN switches for a reason. Putting most any type of LCD or PLASMA screen near water can be lethal. Even with low-voltage model there are step-up transformers running the backlighting that can give you a scare. Isolation is key.

I think GTwannabe has an excellent suggestion there. Projector. Make the screen as big as you want and keep the damn electronics behind a glass front cabinet safe and sound.

Although a woofer under the water might be neat, add some 'red color tub lighting' effects when you play that JAWS HD-DVD.

[sainswor99]

Another option might be to build a mobile unit; not as convenient, but maybe more practical in the short run. Keep your TV, MVP, and wireless bridge housed on a cart that can be rolled into place and powered on.

Stu

[CollinR]

Does it have to be wireless?

Otherwise I'd use a wired MVP and a Firefly. Get a pawn shop CRT and wall mount the thing. 1 run of Cat5 and a balun and you are good to go.

If you do that you can amplify the MVP's output and send it to may rarely used locations. The Firefly has pretty impressive control range so you can probably control it from most if not all of your home.

[sandor]

with those extremes of temps, remeber that you will most likely be outside of operating temperatures for most electronic products, voiding the warranty. i'd still go for it if i were in your shoes, but just remember that things may not work as advertised.

[autoboy]

Do you have a window nearby? You could put a flatscreen in the window and run outdoor speakers. Otherwise, I like the idea of a portable system because you really woudn't want to leave anything out in that weather for long.

On a side note, I always wanted to pull a few tiles out of my shower and put a clear glass tile in place with a flatscreen behind it so I could watch the news in the morning while in the shower. Much better than a stupid shower radio!