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Water/weatherproof enclosure for LCD TV and components

post #1 of 12
3/18/11 at 11:52am
Thread Starter 
Hey all, this is my first post and I'm kind of an idiot, so please be gentle.

I have a roofdeck in the great City of Chicago, and being the TV junkie that I am, I'd like to be able to actually experience the few brief months of nice weather while still basking in the sweet sweet glow of television. Although I would also be viewing this a night, I feel I would want to enjoy it an equal amount during the day, thus no Projector for me. So I'm looking to put something around a 55" LCD out there.

Obviously I'd need to enclose this in some kind of water/weatherproof box and this is where I'm seeking advice. My plan is to have a rather large wooden box (maybe 5' x 3' x 6'?) with the TV mounted on a mount (novel I know) to the back of the inside. Then have a Sony CT-150 mounted below (again to the back of the box) and then below all this (perhaps slightly raised off the ground) the subwoofer for the Sony CT-150, a Wii, a DVD Player and a media sharer of some kind (probably WD TV Live with custom firmware). I'm thinking of building a slanted (45degree) roof on the top, extended past the ends of the box. Right now I'm thinking of using 3/4" wood (cedar probably) using tongue and groove joints at the seams of the wood and caulking/urethaning the ever-loving poop out of it. There will have to be one entrance for a power cord and the RJ-45 running from my central media storage computer. Obviously I would need to make sure I chaulk/waterproof the opening for the cords and the areas I drilled through for the mount and soundbar but the real issue is actually WATCHING the TV. So the best idea I can come up with is making the front panel of the box swing open, but I envision making the "latching" of this swinging door weatherproof will be a bit difficult (read: I'm stumped).

So I guess my question is: Does anybody have any experience with this? Anybody got any thoughts about those parts I think I've figured out and the "latching" mechanism? I've looked into outdoor TV's, but that still leaves the issue of where to house the components (although that would be a whole lot easier) not to mention the outrageous prices.
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post #2 of 12
3/20/11 at 4:03pm
just buy an outdoor tv and put the components inside, if you want sound buy some good outdoor speakers, no point in reinventing the wheel when someone else has already done the hard work for you
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post #3 of 12
3/20/11 at 4:18pm
Thread Starter 
Not interested in paying the 5grand necessary for an outdoor TV nor running all the wires for the components AND changing to RF...
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post #4 of 12
3/21/11 at 11:03am
well remember if you intend on leaving the tv out there all year round it will be wet, there is no chance of you keeping it completely dry, it will be hot, cold and everything in between, it will face the sun, the wind, and everything else. You'll get early evening condensation on it, the sun will hit in the middle of a hot humid summer and turn the inside of the tv into a steam bath.

You need something meant for outside.
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post #5 of 12
3/21/11 at 12:33pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, I appreciate the advice and you're probably right, but I'm flat out not interested in spending 6500 on just a TV. Although I DEF should've explained that I was planning on taking the TV inside during the Winter, so its just the 3 seasons I'm worried about. Maybe I'm just naive, but I'm pretty confident that a waterproof box can be built. It'll only be open and the electronics plugged in when the weather is nice and locked up (hopefully airtight) when its not in use. But again, perhaps you're right and while I am in no way interested in dropping the 6500 for an outdoor tv, maybe I should splurge on an LCD Enclosure. Of course this would STILL entail me purchasing another receiver (around 400-600) and an RF transmitter (250?) that I wasn't budgeting for. Well I suppose I'll post back here with what I end up with but if anybody else has any input it would be greatly appreciated.
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post #6 of 12
5/4/11 at 8:04am
Thread Starter 
Though I didn't pony up for an outdoor TV, I did in essence heed your advice and abandon the "waterproof" box idea. I bot a steel LCD enclosure (meant for outdoor signage) and will be running a power cable and an HDMI cord inside where all the components will be housed. I will post pics when the work is completed. Thanks again for all your help and I look forward to sharing the final product.
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post #7 of 12
10/6/11 at 9:42am
Try ddb unlimited they make outdoor enclosures that are weatherproof and have heating and cooling. They can make them custom to fit your needs. Some of them have clear lexan glass in the front. They are made from aluminum so they are lightweight but still secure. I can't post the link, it won't let me, but it's just ddbunlimited and then your basic address format.
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post #8 of 12
10/17/12 at 7:53am
DOOH Limited offer a protective outdoor LCD enclosure, the specs can be seen at http://www.lcdenclosure.co.uk/LCD-enclosures.html these are available throughout the USA and are very affordable - we saved over $300 on one we purchased.
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post #9 of 12
10/22/12 at 8:06am
I searched outdoor tv enclosure in google and found this company. Along with a thread someone started here on avs about a company called "the tv shield". There website is here http://thetvshield.com....im looking to buy one soon and hoping someone on here has some experience wth it already?

Tired of replacing tv's outdoors. Im just like the original poster. Would be nice to just complete my outdoor entertainment area.
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post #10 of 12
12/5/12 at 8:21am
Thread Starter 
Just to tie this up: I left my Armagard enclosure outside during the winter (VERY securely wrapped up in industrial plastic) and when I opened it up this spring there were weird white streaks on the plastic viewing window. During the winter the US representative of Armagard that I had purchased the unit through had left the company so I had to trouble shoot with customer service in England. It was a somewhat annoying process given the time difference and the fact the the head customer service representative (and I think only) wasn't a native english speaker, but after sending them some pics, they ended up sending me a replacement viewing window that I would have to install myself. Given how huge/heavy the enclosure was and how far away the company was headquartered, this seemed like the most likely solution. But it was more than I was willing to do, viewing a regular TV through the viewing window of the enclosure made 2 layers of reflections and one layer to dull the brightness and SunBrite had just come out with a "consumer" model.

I bot the Sunbrite and that is unquestionably the way to go. The screen is 1000% easier to see and viewable at all times of day, whereas it was very difficult to see the TV inside the enclosure during the day. And with the lower prices of the Sunbrite consumer level models its barely, if at all, more expensive to go this way. I ended up selling the Enclosure at a 75% discount to what I paid for it to a like-minded individual on craigslist. I had to go this route, since it wouldn't be unfeasible to profitably ship it. The guy who bot it viewed it exactly as I did, a stop-gap to hold him over til he saved up enough for a outdoor TV of his own. The specificity of both our needs was somewhat astonishing and very fortunate. I was very clear that I felt at the price I was selling it provided a good value as a hold-over but I wouldn't recommend it as a permanent solution. He agreed and we've kept in touch. He since told me he got a great deal on a pro model of Sunbrite also on craigslist so he's in the same boat I was before I sold the enclosure to him.

Anyways, long story short (too late I know), I wish I'd heeded the original advice of @bluewaves and gotten the outdoor TV in the first place. Though they were MUCH more expensive at the time I was looking to purchase, it offers the FAR superior solution. Now with the cheaper models of outdoor TV's its a no-brainer. Unless you can find an outdoor enclosure for a STEEPLY discounted price on craigslist, I would recommend staying away from them at all costs...
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post #11 of 12
12/5/12 at 1:19pm
I think we should keep in mind what part of the country you are in.
I am in AZ, and have an outdoor exposed LED TV with a custom cover from all weather covers, with two additional
home depot BBQ covers over that clamped below and have had no problems through the 118 degree summers,
frost nights and monsoon rain.
I could replace that TV tearly and be ahead comapred to the all weather models out there.
DMC
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post #12 of 12
2/27/13 at 8:17am
Yeah I was suprised to hear this info. Upon checking I guess you consider affordable for a 46inch 2795 + shipping. Thats no where near affordable for me unfortunately and armagard was a highly expensive and heavy option. Thats why im still eyeballing the tv shield. They also have a flip up screen so you can view a tv direct. My goal is to get a matte screen led tv and just turn the brightness up. I think this is going to be sufficient as well its going to cost way less considering the rock bottom prices you can find a 46inch tv now. Which does fit there units. But you had me excited I was hoping sunbrite came to there senses and produced an affordable tv. Oh well...
Quote:
Originally Posted by sethfeinberg View Post

Just to tie this up: I left my Armagard enclosure outside during the winter (VERY securely wrapped up in industrial plastic) and when I opened it up this spring there were weird white streaks on the plastic viewing window. During the winter the US representative of Armagard that I had purchased the unit through had left the company so I had to trouble shoot with customer service in England. It was a somewhat annoying process given the time difference and the fact the the head customer service representative (and I think only) wasn't a native english speaker, but after sending them some pics, they ended up sending me a replacement viewing window that I would have to install myself. Given how huge/heavy the enclosure was and how far away the company was headquartered, this seemed like the most likely solution. But it was more than I was willing to do, viewing a regular TV through the viewing window of the enclosure made 2 layers of reflections and one layer to dull the brightness and SunBrite had just come out with a "consumer" model.

I bot the Sunbrite and that is unquestionably the way to go. The screen is 1000% easier to see and viewable at all times of day, whereas it was very difficult to see the TV inside the enclosure during the day. And with the lower prices of the Sunbrite consumer level models its barely, if at all, more expensive to go this way. I ended up selling the Enclosure at a 75% discount to what I paid for it to a like-minded individual on craigslist. I had to go this route, since it wouldn't be unfeasible to profitably ship it. The guy who bot it viewed it exactly as I did, a stop-gap to hold him over til he saved up enough for a outdoor TV of his own. The specificity of both our needs was somewhat astonishing and very fortunate. I was very clear that I felt at the price I was selling it provided a good value as a hold-over but I wouldn't recommend it as a permanent solution. He agreed and we've kept in touch. He since told me he got a great deal on a pro model of Sunbrite also on craigslist so he's in the same boat I was before I sold the enclosure to him.

Anyways, long story short (too late I know), I wish I'd heeded the original advice of @bluewaves and gotten the outdoor TV in the first place. Though they were MUCH more expensive at the time I was looking to purchase, it offers the FAR superior solution. Now with the cheaper models of outdoor TV's its a no-brainer. Unless you can find an outdoor enclosure for a STEEPLY discounted price on craigslist, I would recommend staying away from them at all costs...
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