Outdoor TV...is a true outdoor model necessary?

[jlt19]

We'll be putting up a tv next spring under our covered deck. It'll be in an area that won't get hit with either wind or rain, and we plan on building a moveable brace for it as well. Basically it'll sit up against the roof when not being used. We'll bring it in for the winter months.

True outdoor tvs are insanely expensive. Like 10x what a decent sized regular one is. Would a regular tv last at least a few seasons? Based on prices, I would almost prefer to buy new every 2-4 years at $250 vs $2500 up front.

What do you have in your outdoor paradises?

 

[santacruzpool]

I have been using a standard TV outside - I even left it out all winter last year (we are in a much milder climate). It has survived 3 years just fine - we get tons of rain and wind here (40+ inches last winter). I use one of the cheap waterproof canvas covers on it when it is not being used.

In addition, ours is not covered with a roof or overhang at all - it sits on a post of our slat pergola - so yours should be just fine under an overhang/covered patio.

Here is what I have found - find a TV with the highest brightness you can find in your budget:
Check for help with brightness.
https://www.rtings.com

Fortunately it is easier to find cheap bright TV's now as the newest 4K HDR TV's have higher brightness in general due to the HDR picture.

Our original TV was a cheap cheap 40" Toshiba - it is still just fine. This spring I found an awesome deal on a 49" 4K HDR TCL Roku TV for $185 on closeout at Target - It is much nicer than the Toshiba 1080P set we had. The biggest improvement is the brightness. I was watching football and cycling yesterday in basically full sun and it worked great.

If you want to spend even more money there are some really nice sets from Sony and Samsung with better anti-glare/reflective screens that can help in bright environments.

 

[Brentr]

Any led or lcd tv will work. This is a 55 inch Samsung my son gave to me and he had it for several years. The led TVs are brighter and has less glare. I suggest picking up a cheap tv off craigslist to see if that works for you

 

[Divin Dave]

Ive had a regular TV under my patio for years. No problems at all.

 

[frogabog]

My dad put a little wall mount TV in his spa gazebo/back porch and it was fine for well over 15 years. It was protected from the elements for the most part, but also technically outside. Most the year here it's moisty/rainy/40-50 degrees.

 

[Kjp300]

65 inch Hisense for 699. I don’t take it in and we get pretty rough winters here. I figured I could buy 5 of these for the price of one outdoor. Works and looks great.

 

[ckendalls]

We have a 55 LCD out in the open lanai (under roof) in hot humid Florida. I watch baseball from the pool. I may bring it in for Dorian though...

 

[JJ_Tex]

My open box special from Best Buy worked great on our covered patio for 7 years, until my ding dong brother in law tried to turn it on when it was 20 degrees outside last Christmas.

 

[Blancmik]

As a new pool owner, I purchased a cheap 50" Hisense 4K TV from Target for ~$200. It's under cover in my screened patio, but exposed to the Florida heat and humidity. My thinking was that I would buy a cheap TV, so if I only get a few years out of it, no harm no fowl. I have had it up for about 5 months now with no issue.

We have the TV on a swing arm mount. The sound bar is mounted under the TV. We love watching movies while floating in the pool

 

[jlt19]

Love all these set ups, especially since all are affordable tvs! Hope everyone in Dorians path stays safe!

 

[Brentr]

As a new pool owner, I purchased a cheap 50" Hisense 4K TV from Target for ~$200. It's under cover in my screened patio, but exposed to the Florida heat and humidity. My thinking was that I would buy a cheap TV, so if I only get a few years out of it, no harm no fowl. I have had it up for about 5 months now with no issue.

We have the TV on a swing arm mount. The sound bar is mounted under the TV. We love watching movies while floating in the pool

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I spy pool salt Luv the cat

 

[jimim]

We have installed tons of tvs up north outside. Come of our customers leave them out over winter if under cover even though I don’t want them to and only 1 or 2 have died but after multiple years. You won’t have a problem I would assume.

 

[jimim]

65 inch Hisense for 699. I don’t take it in and we get pretty rough winters here. I figured I could buy 5 of these for the price of one outdoor. Works and looks great.

Off subject but what was ur wood material for ur ceiling and back wall? I just finished my ceiling and bathroom this summer for my build and had issues cause of the crazy humidity this summer even though installed right and staged properly outside before install.

 

[Kjp300]

Ceiling is cedar and back wall is shiplap painted white. Builder built a lot of the bar from left over pieces of wood. This is our third season and no problems so far. There is a bathroom and storage shed behind the bar.

 

[RMcGirr83]

Put up an Onn myself earlier this year. No problems to date and it, finally, rained for a good hour yesterday afternoon. Sideways rain and while TV got a bit wet, after letting it dry over night until noon today, turned it on and zero issues.

 

[TexasPool128]

My open box special from Best Buy worked great on our covered patio for 7 years, until my ding dong brother in law tried to turn it on when it was 20 degrees outside last Christmas.

Are you not supposed to turn them on when they're cold?

 

[JJ_Tex]

Are you not supposed to turn them on when they're cold?

Based on my experience, no

He turned it on and 30 seconds later there was a loud pop and that was it for the tv. The year before, he used up all my firewood building a bonfire that was too big and caught my grass on fire. I cant wait until this Christmas.

 

[PointeTaken]

Are you not supposed to turn them on when they're cold?

I’ve turned TV’s on in early-morning freezing temps many times while tailgating for late-Fall games and never had a problem ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

As to the OP’s situation, rest assured, you should be fine. We had a Vizio mounted on our screen porch for 3 years at our old house. It only came down one time and that was to power wash the siding. Now that we are in our new house, it will resume it’s duty on this screen porch once I get some other projects out of the way. Outdoor TV’s seem like a silly gimmick; I suppose maybe they’re useful for direct exposure to the elements?

 

[smracing]

If you can find one, the plasma TVs are easier to see during the day. My first plasma made it 7 years until wasp spray wiped out the reflective coating.

 

[RMcGirr83]

Plasmas are pretty heavy compared to lcd.