12 volt flat panel tv?

[db27513]

hey everyone - new to group. I have a Catalina 30 I keep near New Bern NC. I just installed a Skyworth marine ruggidized flat screen on the bulkhead, with an articulating mount. It is great - has all kinds of inputs, screen is beautiful, and it only draws 60 watts (10 amp/hrs per movie I figure). Very happy with it so far. I keep it bungee'd down, as I just crossed the Pamlico Sound and was beaten up a bit, but came out fine.

Amazon.com: Skyworth 19" AC/DC HD LCD TV/DVD Combo- SLC-1963AW: Electronics

Question: Im looking into antenna I can hoist - anyone have any experience with a good one I could hoist? Uni directional or multi?

Thanks
Dave in NC

[svbillabong]

We've used the SyncMaster 150MP for almost five years with no problems, even though it isn't marinized. It takes a true 12 volt input, so I run it through a regulated supply (designed for car computers) that keeps the ever changing battery charge voltage at exactly 12 volts for the monitor. Jensen makes a VERY nice 12 volt one (See the Flat Panel section) and they have a 15" and 19" version..

A small Portable DVD Player is great, uses very little power and can be moved around the boat for the most comfort (ie. into the cockpit breeze when it 100 down below). KT even uses it for Yoga and exercise videos. The one we use has USB and DivX support and is multi-region (Very important if traveling overseas). You can put a slide show on a USB memory stick and bring it back into the village show them (they LOVE it). We also convert our movies to DivX on the laptop and watch them on small DVD player via the USB stick. If needed, we can also plug the video out into the larger LCD and the sound into our stereo for full theater effects or add headphones and watch a movie in bed while the other is reading or on watch. We shy away from using our computers for DVD watching because it seems like overkill to use such a precious resource that is almost impossible to get repaired/replaced in the remote locations we love.

We also know people who swear by the Video Ipod. KT and I can crowd around the portable DVD player and still feel comfortable. I think would be nearly impossible to share the ipod without a remote screen or a pair on binoculars each.

[waterworldly]

I really like the flip down option, but how of a screen can I get? Also, is there really that much electrical savings? I would like the biggest screen possible and wonder if I can get 24+ or if a regular panel would use that much more electric.

[Acoustic]

I bought this Polaroid TDX-01930B: 19" HD LCD TV/DVD Combo unit and ditched the "wall wort". It runs perfectly on 12v and I paid about $320.00 with shipping.... Deals can be had on these but they are getting a little scarce. Oh and the unit is HD 1080i..

[cooper]

Acoustic that is exactly what I want , and funny even exactly where I want to put it. R/H side forward entrance to fore berth.? But can you use it as a monitor from the computer as well?. I would like to be able to switch between so that I could be on the pilot berth in the saloon and see the chart plotter action if need be....

cheers

[rossir]

what about getting a tv tuner plug-in for you computer - for a mac, check out the elgato eyetv hybrid, 2008 edition - it supports free over the air hd broadcasts and also plugs into cable.

[mestrezat]

I bought a Sharp 24" for my boat. It came with a normal 110 plug. Is it possible to change it over to a 12 volt plug so I can get off the 110?

[Pblais]

Is it possible to change it over to a 12 volt plug so I can get off the 110?

We run ours from a small 300 watt inverter. Ours is a 15 inch Polaroid. You need to use some type of inverter. Still cheaper than a real 12 volt DC set.

[paul_61109]

I found a website for truckers and travelers / motor home owners through msn while searching for a 12 volt lcd tv. The website is 12volt-travel.com. They have a pretty nice selection of crt and lcd flat panel tv's prices are fair and they claim that all of their selection will work fine after february of 09'.

I bought my tv from them and I am pleased. The order process was relatively painless and the shipping was fast. I modified one of my cupboard doors to install my tv. I bought the 13" naxa nx550. I removed the center panel of the cupboard door and attached the tv from the rear of the door. Like a picture in a frame. It looks super cool and I have had no problems since.

Hope all this key poking helps someone!

Paul Chilsom

PS. While you might get just as good of a picture and built in DVD in a 110v flat panel using an inverter and save a few bucks on the purchase of the TV you will draw A LOT more 12 volt power going about it this way. Out of all the 12 volt lcd TV's I found on the website I mentioned none of them drew more than 8 amps with the DVD player running. On 12 volts dc that's only about 96 watts. Most 13" lcd 110v ac units I've looked at drew closer to 200 watts of dc through an inverter.

[Acoustic]

Originally Posted by Pblais

We run ours from a small 300 watt inverter. Ours is a 15 inch Polaroid. You need to use some type of inverter. Still cheaper than a real 12 volt DC set.

Paul your TV is very likely a 12 volt TV! My Polaroid is! Read the output voltage on the "wall wort"...

It is stated by many companies, and correct using their lab testing methods, that inverters are about 10% inefficient when converting from 12 volts DC to 120 volts AC. I was curious, and had a sinking feeling, that 10% was a very optimistic number when using the general every day items one might choose to use on a boat such as an LCD TV..

This questions was posed a few days ago on another forum so I did a little photo experiment to help show just how inefficient inverters really are in the "real world"..

Originally Posted by seadaddler

Just wondering which one waste more 12 volts using a 12 tv with a converter or
a 120 TV plugged into a 2500 watt inverter built into the boat.
Nick

To accomplish this test I used our 19" Polaroid boat TV that runs on either 12 volts or 120 volts (not sold as such). What I really wanted to achieve was less "lab" or "theoretical" numbers and more "real world" on a device that can operate on both DC and AC and one that would give a steady output from which to measure. I could have used a laptop computer but any one who's used one knows that the current draw is highly variable and NOT at all steady. My Macbook Pro uses between 3.1 amps (with the lid closed) to 7+ amps depending on the software and program it's running. So a laptop was not used because I could not get a steady current draw from it.


To make sure my TV was consuming a fixed amperage I loaded a DVD into it and then paused it at exactly the same spot in the "Elmo" disc of my daughters. All other devices and charging sources were turned off including my solar panel. The Xantrex XBM battery monitor read 0.0 amps before turning anything on.


The on screen shot is showing the TV paused and running off of 12 volts DC:

Here is the Amp Load at 12 volts DC:





This photo shows the DVD paused in almost the exact same spot though this time it's running on 120 volts AC through my larger 1200 watt inverter.

And the amp draw! There is no trickery here and the Xantrex battery meter is not lying. Running this same exact TV on 120 volts AC through a 1200 watt inverter uses 5.8 amps per hour vs. 3.9 amps per hour!!

When compared to running this SAME EXACT TV on 12 volts DC the inverter has a 32.8% efficiency loss or a far cry from the 10% inverter inefficiency claimed by most manufacturers using very non-real word lab numbers..??






Yes, if you're wondering, I do have a lot of junk on the boat! Big deal... It does make for some interesting experiments though.

For this second test I used my smaller 400 watt inverter. This is the one that I power my laptop and camera chargers with. My reason for doing this test is to show that an inverter sized closer to the load can sometimes be slightly more efficient and that perhaps different brands of inverters can offer slight advantages in efficiency.

Once again the screen shot:

And the result!

So maybe it's not that much more efficient but 6 tenths of an amp hour is nothing to snub your nose at. The 400 watt inverter ran the TV using only 5.2 amps per hour and was a mere 25% inefficient. Again, this is a far cry from the 10% claimed by many manufacturers.

This certainly was NOT a very scientific experiment but rather a REAL WORLD experiment designed to show what one item, a TV designed to run on both 120 volts AC and 12 volts DC, will do run both ways. It is important to note that most all LCD TV's run on DC power whether it is converted internally or externally using a "wall wort". The clincher though is that not all LCD TV's run on 12 volts and some may need 19 or 24 volts..

As far as I know I have never seen an item designed to run on both AC and DC tested in the real world on a boat with a real system and not in some theoretical BS mathematical equation that shows a misleading 10% inefficiency with the inverter run a full load!

It is clear to me that if you have the option to buy a device that will run on 12 volts DO IT!!

Inverting power from 12 volts DC to 120 volts AC is a terribly inefficient way to power devices off your boats house bank of batteries! I'm sure inverters vary in efficiency as my two inverters do but I'd be very surprised to see an inverter meets the claims of 10%, in the real world, using the same device on both 120 volts AC and 12 volts DC..


Sorry for the rant!!

[Zoomie]

I also use a SynchMaster 150MP both as a TV, DVD viewer and as the wall-mounted display for a laptop based GPS. It's pretty rugged.

[paul_61109]

Yup. Most inverters seem to draw more power than they need.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Acoustic (Main Sail)

...Inverting power from 12 volts DC to 120 volts AC is a terribly inefficient way to power devices off your boats house bank of batteries! I'm sure inverters vary in efficiency as my two inverters do but I'd be very surprised to see an inverter meets the claims of 10%, in the real world, using the same device on both 120 volts AC and 12 volts DC.

The efficiency of an inverter usually ranges from 85% to 95%, with 90% being about average (10% inefficiency).
Efficiency ratings are usually specified with reference to a resistive load, such as a heating element; but with some applications the efficiency is more accurately broken into two parts – the efficiency of the inverter, and the efficiency of the waveform.

Waveform efficiency means that most motors, and many electronic appliances, run better and use less power with a true sine wave. Typically, an electric motor (such as a pump or refrigerator) will use from 15% to 20% more power with a modified sine wave, than with a true sine wave.

Under-sizing the inverter will cause overloading and shutdown or power limitation, while over-sizing will see standing losses increase, reducing overall efficiency and increasing the purchase costs.

Similar to Accoutic's test, using a 1000 watt inverter to power a 20 watt radio may actually be using 30 to 40 watts from the battery, as the inverter itself is eating up a lot just to run (standing loss, or idle current).

Most inverters are most efficient in the 30% to 90% rated power range, often quoted as 50%.

[GordMay]

See also Chuck Husick’s excellent article:
The infinite shore-power cord.

The infinite shore-power cord. | Articles & Archives | Ocean Navigator