First about the box: What surprised me was that the front cover is not on a hinge. You have to take the entire front cover off and hang it under the Storm Shell while you are watching TV. I supposed hinges with it closing in the middle would have been a little large and unwieldy but much handier than my small framed wife trying to manhandle that large front cover. Otherwise I suppose it works well. It is not water proof. The eye holes in the upper corners will definitely be a source of water entering. The fan is on the bottom so won’t be a huge rain concern but it has gaps that will allow bugs and critters to enter.
The installation: It was not bad but there are a LOT of things that need assembled. For that price it seems like some of this items (like the 4 outside latches) could have been assembled at the factory. In addition, I would’ve appreciated higher quality hardware that started much easier. The worst part of installation is the center plate on the front cover. The instructions warn to not over tighten or it will cause dimples. By over tighten they mean don’t go past barely snug. I choked up on the ratchet and essentially just turned the actual socket with my hand. There was barely any resistance and I still ended up with dimples all over the center plate and two studs that snapped completely off. I’m hoping they will sell me a replacement front plate so I can have a do over.
The good parts: They had a clever way way of hanging it on the wall and the tv bracket was engineered very well so hanging both the Storm Shell and the TV were very simple and easy! Also, it is still more cost effective than purchasing a dedicated outdoor TV.
Overall, as I mentioned it is more cost effective than an outdoor TV, the installation overall was not bad and after I seal a couple holes it should do what it’s advertised to do. I have some concerns over how long it will last and how well it will protect the TV and it is really nothing more than a large, thin plastic tote with some engineering to it. I’m still not sure why it cost $600.
