Gangster White Walls, TV Antenna in the Back

I see a lot of audio posts, anyone with a video set up in their truck? If football stadiums ever allow fans back in I'd like to get an antenna installed for watching the early/games while tailgating. I'd also like to have it so that my kids can watch TV on road trips. I'm not skilled enough to do this myself so I'll hire an expert but I'd like some ideas for the best setup.

 

Most higher end radios these days have HDMI inputs that will let you hook your phone up. Then nearly all of them have analog video outputs for hooking up rear monitors (headrests, overhead, etc)
Some high end models even have HDMI in AND out so you can hook your phone up and mirror it to the back seat display.

as far as antennas and stuff like that, they’re more like the Dish satellite domes (look up the Tailgater) and they’re fairly large to be hooked up on the truck.

 

Thanks, I definitely would not get enough use out of it to subscribe to satellite.

 

You could bring a typical OTA antenna to pick up local stations, but you’ll also need
-tv with tuner
-power inverter
-coaxial cable
-enough room at the tailgate to set up an antenna and cords and tv and all that

and the downside of an antenna is that you’re never guaranteed to get what you want. If your game is on ESPN, you’re outta luck already. If it’s on a local channel (abc, nbc, cbs, etc.) then you may need a large antenna.

for example, I live in Tuscaloosa (university of Alabama) and for me to watch the Bama-Georgia game tonight, I have to watch it on CBS through an antenna. A pretty large antenna high up in the attic. Because the CBS tower is all the way in Birmingham and there’s no local CBS station here in Tuscaloosa.

so if you can’t watch it from your phone, it’s not worth doing honestly. Upgrade your plan to unlimited data if it’s not already, buy the overpriced adapter from Apple if you have an iPhone, and buy a cheap Insignia TV from Best Buy. Throw those in the truck on game day.

oh, and don’t forget a way to power everything

 

Good thought about needed to have it so that I can connect from my phone. I live near DC so there is always a strong signal and if I'm tailgating I would not be too picky about what game is on since the real game I want to see will be inside the stadium. Power is probably the bigger issue I'll have to work out.

 

GoalZero and several companies are making high-capacity batteries with inverters built in (Yeti lithium 1500, etc) so that would be my preference. But they are PRICEY. Your only other option though is gas generators

 

Yeah, ouch, $450 for the one that will power a TV for three hours. Thanks for the tip.

 

If you do anything outside though, totally worth it. If you do any camping, or have a large yard and want to bring a tv outside (I don’t imagine so in DC) or even if you just travel with tech toys (drones, cameras, iPads, computers, etc) and can use one of those batteries to keep your devices charged while the truck is off. All depends on your lifestyle really. Don’t see it as only for tailgating.

 

Definitely not something that I would normally justify the cost but I do like putting my mid life crises money into my truck.