What TV should I get?

Beer, you're not going to see any different to the shock the tv receives whether it is laying down or sitting up. If you have it sitting in a cubby hole I would make sure using either a built in strap OR bungees (or both) that it is secured. I don't know if the way I am writing it is coming through plainly enough about why it is better for the tv to be standing than laying down. If you try pressing on any of the edges you will notice there isn't alot (shouldnt be any) give. However, if you press in on the face or the back you will notice it gives to the pressure. It has to do with the way they are designed. Remember these items now days are built to either be on a stand or be mounted, either way puts the weight/pressure on the edges not on the facings.

There are people who don't have issues with laying the TV down, but doing warranty work I know these were specifics that could end up costing us (my former roommate and I) not only the pay for a job, but possibly even the cost of parts and shipping. Also, several of our jobs were people who as we worked on their tv's (it was usually in house repairs) would talk about how the tv worked fine before they moved. The damage was usually on the board for either the sound, the color, or the motherboard itself where it had vibrated against another part. (it looks like a computer only the boards have a different layout to them)

 

I am considering bringing my Samsung out and using a telescoping mount for it. a 32" tv in the truck would just look awesome, and since I run hard when I get the miles I usually have a little time before delivery that I could get some gaming time in. I am just not sure if I want to risk my tv on the road, or just buy a cheapo for out here.

 

whatever you say, ("when they first came out" was light years ago, btw...) I'm not going to argue with you, even though you are wrong lol
my 22" Vizio LED weighs less than 8 lbs total, and struturally, built like a freaking tank. upright or lying down, if they are going to vibrate parts loose, it's going to happen either way, especially in a POS 12v AC/DC truck stop special. (Hence a "Westinghouse" or "Insignia" TV selling for 1/3 the price of an actual TV brand TV of similar specs)
not to mention a 30-60 degree mounting is going to put way more stress on things than a flat face down placement (tilting mounts, like 90% of all mounting setups anyone?) It is perfectly acceptable to mount them upside down as well.
Care to explain car flip down TVs? They are assembled very compact, all boards on top of one/another and they..."FLIP DOWN"
"THIS SIDE UP" it mainly due to structural integrity of the box.
They want the parts shipped back a certain way so they can rule out shipping damage when they examine/analyze the part for its failure. Again, I really don't care to get into an internet pi$$ing contest, but your 'logic' is more "this is how it worked 15 generations of technology ago, so it must hold true today..." than actual, current technology based fact

 

If your looking for a good tv, check out the 19" Magnavox model. I got mine last Christmas for the truck. I always turn mine over sideways when truck is moving and still works perfectly. I have forgotten to lay it down before I start driving and had it fly off into the floor when I go to turn/stop. I picked it back up an still works perfectly. I think I may have just been lucky those couple times. It is a digital tv with hdmi port an built in dvd.

Model # is 19MD350B/F7 It is just a regular plug tv so an inverter or apu is needed.

Anyways thought I would post that in here. My home TV is a 50" Samsung HDTV which is perfect. I have not used there products in the truck though so can't help but I would think Samsung is great as well.

 

how can I watch local channels on my laptop? is there an adapter I need to buy ?

 

they have tuner cards which you can buy for watching TV on the laptop drop. I have tried a couple and even using top tier systems I haven't found them to be as good for live tv due to the FPS (frames-per-second). You might check sites like
http://www.download.com
http://www.tigerdirect.com/
or my personal favorite for computer components (good reviews and decent prices, plus they stand by their warranties.
http://www.newegg.com/

 

Working on mounting my Philips 19" in the sleeper. Trying to do it with little/no drilling into the truck itself. Will post pics once I have completed the operation (2009 Cascadia)