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Replacement for Jensen Entertainment Center

BruceMc
Explorer III
Explorer III
If you've replaced your CD/DVD/Radio double-din entertainment center setup, what did you replace it with, and would you have gone with something else?

I have 3 requirements:
HDMI(ARC)
DVD player
A remote that is more than those thin bubble button thingies...

I have a Jensen JWM6A that skips when playing MP3 disks, and the video output, while set to 1080p, look like a blurry 480 signal. This is the last Jensen product that still marginally functions in our Sunseeker, and I'd like to be completely Jensen free.

This is what I've found, and I'm not terribly pleased with any of them:

1) Pyle... Need I say more?
2) Jensen... Not much of a step up from Pyle
3) iRV
4) Magnadyne
5) Others?

I see mixed reviews on all of them.

I know this has been discussed in previous threads, but many are several years old, and the units being discussed are long out of production. I'm seeking information for the 2020's!

Thanks in advance!

(Note, I've posted this on Forest River Forums as well; if you browse that forum and think you are seeing double...)
2016 Forest River Sunseeker 2250SLEC Chevrolet 6.0L
13 REPLIES 13

BruceMc
Explorer III
Explorer III
BTW, the sound is much better than the Jensen. I had replaced the interior $15 Jensen speakers with a nice set of $200 Yamahas, as stated in my original post. The outside speakers were always muted, while the Jensen over-drove the interior speakers to the point of making them buzz at the peaks. The iRV drives both fairly equally, and the sound from the Yamahas is very pleasant.

Pairing with the phone is simple - select BT, and look for the iRV on the bluetooth list on the phone. Tap, and you are connected. The Jensen took a 12 step program, then would forget the pair in a day or three. I gave up.

The physical build quality of both the Jensen JWM6A and the 32" TV is very good, but the electronics and software rates far below physical build quality.

The iRV is not near as well built, as the silkscreening on some buttons are a bit crooked; the issues I had with the fascia as mentioned, and the rear power and speaker connectors were sub-par. After I mated them for the bench test, it took quite a bit of work to extract them, and that was with tools. The metal opening around the connectors was too small to allow the latch to fully unlatch. After coaxing them out, I snipped the tips of the catches so they could be extracted without issue in the future. The HDMI and antenna connections were fine.

The only Jensen product remaining is the in-dash double din, that failed a little over a year after we purchased the Sunseeker. I rarely used it anyway, the GPS map was very hard to read, as if someone designed the graphics on a 40" monitor, then didn't consider visibility on a 6" screen. It occasionally has a windows error pop up, so I understood the issue; it was based on some embedded windows OS. Probably CE.
(Remember windows ME, and NT? We used to combine the three - CE-ME-NT)
2016 Forest River Sunseeker 2250SLEC Chevrolet 6.0L

BruceMc
Explorer III
Explorer III
Given my requirements, I was limited to the units designed for RVs. I researched a lot of the automotive head units, and not a one has an HDMI(ARC) port. Many of them have analog video inputs for backup/side/etc cameras, but that's not acceptable for my application.

No one on this board or on ForestRiverForums could provide a brand & model of an automotive unit that met my requirements, though I received similar responses on both boards much like some of these replies.

I ultimately purchased an iRV32V2. This unit is currently in production and has up to date specs, and has fit the requirements nicely.

The only issue I've had so far is finding the random function when playing music CDs. Other than that limitation, everything is easy to use and easily accessible, with a couple of exceptions.

While researching this unit, there were three main objections:

1) Reliability, both infantile and adolescent failures
2) Very poor remote functionality
3) No adjustments for base, treble, balance

While I don't yet have a track record for the reliability, everything worked fine out-of-the-box, with the exception of the remote. More on this later, however...

If this unit fails over the next year or two (as did my Jensen JWM6A within a few months of life), I'll respond to this posting.

Regarding the remote, it was easy to determine the cause of poor performance. The aperture for the IR receiver was obscured with a small hole containing a tiny pink plastic filter. This filter was mounted on the finishing fascia, but if the remote was used any time the fascia was absent, all worked well, and from quite a distance. The issue is not the remote, it's poor fascia design.

As far as the lack of tone/balance adjustments, while the manual doesn't really mention how, it alludes to the fact that the volume knob is also used to select and adjust treble, base, L-R and F-R balances.

In fact, this is actually on of those multi-function knobs. To adjust other functions, just push it in momentarily. Initially, it appears not to do anything, other than change the display to say Volume:n (where n is the current level). Rotate the knob to reveal the next function - Base, then Treble, then Left-Right, and finally Front-Rear. Easy!

Changing the mode via the Mode button never displays the DVD or audio CD selections. Instead, just insert a DVD or CD, and the function and display changes to serve that function. The unit never searches for a missing CD or DVD if there's not one in the drive, unlike the Jensen.

While in DVD function, the "Menu" button on the remote is supposed to bring up the DVD menu, but I always get "invalid key" in that function. This is the second of two puzzlers, the other being the lack of a randomizing function for music.

Enough about the unit. You want installation pictures!

Bench testing:



New unit perched in opening designed for the Jensen:



New filler that was a dinette drawer face in it's previous life:



IR receiver fascia hole and removed filter:



Modification:



Unit mounted, facia not yet installed. The unit is in stand-by mode, clock displayed, but fairly dim:



I had to do some other work on the fascia to get it to mount correct, and snap into place. Once those minor mods were complete, then it all snapped together and looks good. Again, in standby with a dim clock display:



When on, this has a lot of blue lamps, which seems to be the current fad for automotive head units. Blue is the worst color in the world for night vision, but I guess they expect the cool kids with a billion blue lumens lives in the heart of the city - where it takes a lot of light to be seen....



This may be a minor distraction from that 32" TV a few feet away...



More pictures, as always: Entertainment Center

(Note, I also posted this reply on ForestRiverForums.com, in case you visit that site and thought you'd already seen this post!
2016 Forest River Sunseeker 2250SLEC Chevrolet 6.0L

way2roll
Nomad III
Nomad III
I had one I replaced on a previous MH that did exactly what you wanted. Can't remember the model but it was a Pioneer. I had no idea what I was was looking for, just what I wanted. Called Crutchfield and they provided a few units that had exactly what I wanted.
2023 FR Sunseeker 2400B MBS

BruceMc
Explorer III
Explorer III
So far, all I've found is either the above mentioned RV units, or when reviewing the specs for automotive head units, I find many play DVDs if they have a physical slot, but they play it on the built in screen. Many have A/V in/out, but it's all analog. The inputs are primarily for rear/side/front view cameras, and the output is, perhaps, for that big screen in your buzz rocket...
Many units are sans CD/DVD player, and I can understand that, for those who are always connected.

I've not found a single automotive unit that has HDMI.

In the home entertainment space, I've found lots of units, but they are designed to set on/in your furniture and connected to other devices, including a CD/DVD/Blueray player. I've yet to find one with a built-in physical player, but I've yet to really explore this area.

It may very well be that I cave and buy an iRV or something similar, much like what LJAZ did. I certainly need to replace the Jensen.

Anyone have the iRV 31 or 32v2 unit? Thoughts?

I'll update this thread when I decide what to do/what I've done...

BTW, I've already replaced the speakers with a nice set of Yamaha units:



and I'm nearing completion of the new entertainment center setup:



More pics, if you haven't already seen them.... New cabinet for TV in overhead.
2016 Forest River Sunseeker 2250SLEC Chevrolet 6.0L

LJAZ
Explorer
Explorer
When the Jensen unit in my trailer would no longer play DVD's I spent a ton of time researching to find a quality brand to replace it. Only to find, as you have, that the brands available for RV's are all pretty much junk. If I wanted quality I was going to have to get separate components and do a bunch of modification to fit and wire them up. In the end I decided to just get a newer model Jensen from Crutchfield. It was cheap enough that I could just live with it until it broke and throw it away for new one. On the plus side it was the same dimensions as the old one and the wiring harness connectors were identical so It was literally plug and play. 5 minutes start to finish.
2011 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab 4X4
2009 Funfinder 210 WBS
Prodigy P3

StirCrazy
Nomad III
Nomad III
I find rv sound systems are garbage. what I would do if it mattered that much to me is get a good quality sound bar set up for the tv and replace the radio part with a deicent quality car sterio. I don't worry about the blueray as I have a Iptv box that I just bring with me if I know im going to have internet , if not we can watch dvd's if we have to, but don't realy turn on the tv unless we are using it as a house for work or kids sports.

Steve
2014 F350 6.7 Platinum
2016 Cougar 330RBK
1991 Slumberqueen WS100

BurbMan
Explorer II
Explorer II
We gave up on DVDs this go round...I installed a 50" smart TV and also a bluetooth adapter for the audio-in on the RV stereo. Using a mobile hot spot I can stream anything I want off of any of my subscribed services, plus I BT connect the TV to the stereo for surround sound. No worries about HDMI ARC.

dieseltruckdriv
Explorer II
Explorer II
It drives my wife crazy that a 2018 5th wheel doesn't have a Blue Ray player in it. I actually want the same thing the OP wants. I want the ARC and since I have our tv running through our rig speakers instead of the much crappier tv speakers, I would also like to upgrade with the same parameters.

Definitely watching this one to see if anyone comes up with something other than what has been mentioned.

Edited to add: I have the exact same model as the OP also, but don't find the remote "terrible".
2000 F-250 7.3 Powerstroke
2018 Arctic Fox 27-5L

goducks10
Explorer
Explorer
My Jensen has HDMI ARC. I can and do run it through a Samsung sound bar I installed that feeds the Jensen TV.
Only draw back is it's not BRay compatible. But then again the Jensen Tv isn't all that great. Good enough but that's it.
We don't watch movies much, mostly TV from our Dish sat. Probably only used the TT house speakers a half dozen times since 2019. Soundbar with wireless sub and Pandora or Sat TV is our go to.

BruceMc
Explorer III
Explorer III
Telling me I have "thousands of different models to choose from" doesn't help; do you have general recommendations for an automotive single or double DIN radio that has HDMI(ARC)support?

Replacing the Jensen with an automotive radio would be more than welcome, if it supports video playback and audio return channel (the ARC part of HDMI(ARC)), AND has a respectable remote - not a slab with bubbles.
2016 Forest River Sunseeker 2250SLEC Chevrolet 6.0L

Skibane
Explorer II
Explorer II
Why not just make a mounting plate to fit an ordinary double-DIN automotive radio in there?

You would have thousands of different models to choose from - many of which also have a GPS receiver, wifi, bluetooth, multiple video inputs and outputs, etc.

My personal favorites are the "full Android" models that use some flavor of Android as their operating system. This allows you to run just about any Android app in existence on them - navigation, MP3 and video players, weather radar, pdf file viewers, Spotify, Pandora, etc.

Grit_dog
Nomad III
Nomad III
Skip the RV specific junk and just pick out whatever car stereo fits you needs.
Been a while since I was in the car stereo stuff, but Sony head unit we put in our boy's car a couple years ago is great and I replaced the cheapo "RV" stereo in our new camper with a Kenwood.
Can find anything anywhere on the net, but 30+ years later, I still like Crutchfield for price, service, good install kits (not a concern with a camper).
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

way2roll
Nomad III
Nomad III
I have found that when I have pretty specific requirements for audio/video equipment, Crutchfield always has an answer. Their customer support is really knowledgeable and steers you to exactly what you need.
2023 FR Sunseeker 2400B MBS