12 volt flat panel tv?

[mestrezat]

About to set off for some long term off shore cruising. I am trying to make up my mind on what type of flat screen tv to put on my sailboat--Liberty 458. I have a 3000 watt inverter, but would like to stay away from firing that up every time I want to watch tv. Any one have any suggestions as to which way to go? 12 volt or inverter powered? If a 12 volt--any suggestions as to which brand works well and will put up with the ocean punishment?

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by mestrezat

About to set off for some long term off shore cruising. I am trying to make up my mind on what type of flat screen tv to put on my sailboat--Liberty 458. I have a 3000 watt inverter, but would like to stay away from firing that up every time I want to watch tv. Any one have any suggestions as to which way to go? 12 volt or inverter powered? If a 12 volt--any suggestions as to which brand works well and will put up with the ocean punishment?

I had a Sharp Aquos with 12V input power.

[David M]

I just Googled "12 volt television" and came up with a bunch of them. Many seem to be for truckers which makes sense. I think anything like this that is ruggedized and or made waterproof is going to be exorbitantly expensive, just like ruggedized/waterproof laptops and VGA monitors are. Thats a great idea for a boat..a 12VDC television.

[GordMay]

Any boat, worth putting a television set on, shouldn’t require marine "ruggedization" (of that TV).

Here’s a good place to save some money.

[Southern Star]

I purchased a 22 inch, 12 volt 'brand x' LCD television last summer off Ebay (sorry, I can't recall the name at the moment). It was designed for trailer/motor homes and has a metal case and inset bulkhead mount. It was easy to wire up and use with a 12 volt dvd player (clarion). As to durability in the marine environment, who knows?

In any case, they certainly avoid using your inverter and should also prove to be slightly more energy efficient.

Brad

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

I had a Sharp Aquos with 12V input power.

Sorry... I realized this was a hasty post I made.


Go to Best Buy or somewhere like that. *Every* Sharp Aquos has a 12V DC input for a power supply, right off the shelf. No need for overpriced Marine stuff, just overpriced home entertainment stuff!

Look for ones with the "brick" converting 120VAC to 12VDC. Just open up the power cord and wire into the boat's 12v at will.

[Strygaldwir]

I bought a Dell Flat screen monitor. I was originally using the inverter to run it. Then I took a look at the adapter. Dang if it wasn't rated at 12.5 volts! I found a plug at Radio shack, wired a fuse to it, connected it to on of the breakers on my panel. Works great!!! 2 years, no problems!

[Chuck Baier]

we too run our 110 volt off our larger inverter instead of a genset. But the TV, DVD player and DirecTV receiver runs off there own separate 350 Watt Pure Sine Wave inverter that is exclusive to them. This works great and we don't need to power up everything or worry about buying only a 12 volt appliance.

[scotte]

Personally, I would be careful about wiring expensive electronics directly in without voltage regulation unless you know it will handle the sort of voltage transients you'll get...

[Yotboss]

Originally Posted by Strygaldwir

I bought a Dell Flat screen monitor. I was originally using the inverter to run it. Then I took a look at the adapter. Dang if it wasn't rated at 12.5 volts! I found a plug at Radio shack, wired a fuse to it, connected it to on of the breakers on my panel. Works great!!! 2 years, no problems!

I also cruised through a few electronic stores, looking behind all the TVs to see if they were run off a 'brick' transformer. When I found one, I'd look at the voltage. Ended up buying one that had a 12v brick, wired it directly and have enjoyed 4 years of TV bliss.

[fastcat435]

Originally Posted by mestrezat

About to set off for some long term off shore cruising. I am trying to make up my mind on what type of flat screen tv to put on my sailboat--Liberty 458. I have a 3000 watt inverter, but would like to stay away from firing that up every time I want to watch tv. Any one have any suggestions as to which way to go? 12 volt or inverter powered? If a 12 volt--any suggestions as to which brand works well and will put up with the ocean punishment?

We use 19 inch oppo screens with build in dvd player and digital reveiver build in not cheap but they work great on 12 volts
Oppo

greetings
Gideon

[Cowboy Sailer]

What about using a usb TV tuner into your laptop. It is powered by the usb port. The laptop can also feed a larger LCD flat screen and send the audio to a bigger and better sound system. As an example consider the OnAir hdtv tuner available at WalMart. Remember that other countries may use a different tv system like PAL and that the USA is going digital in Feb. 2009.
You might also want to consider a outside antenna with a built in pre amplifier.

[Strygaldwir]

Originally, I had a UPS on my computer on the boat. I had both the monitor and computer connected. I know this is not the most efficient, I can feel the transformers getting warm. That suggest that some of the energy is being converted to heat. This is energy I'd rather keep in my batteries. After monitoring the power usage and exploring a bit more, I decided to try to run them both directly from DC.
The computer requires a DC-DC power supply, the monitor was just a simple wire in. I really wouldn't suggest the UPS route unless you absolutely have to. They are heavy, expensive and require periodic battery replacement. I had a few of them laying arround, so that suggested my solution.

I got a USB TV as a gift. It just plugs into a USB port and allows you to use your computer as a TV. While I was in the marina, it was great. I could get cable and watch TV. There was an antenna, but I only used it to see if it would work. I could get TV, but decided, once again, TV is rather worthless.

By using a computer, I could wire it to the speakers on the boat and use it as a fairly complete entertainment center. I can play CD's, DVD's, TV, navigation, internet video and audio. Only thing I haven't done is hooked the radio into the system.

[Yotboss]

Originally Posted by Strygaldwir

I got a USB TV as a gift. It just plugs into a USB port and allows you to use your computer as a TV. While I was in the marina, it was great. I could get cable and watch TV. There was an antenna, but I only used it to see if it would work. I could get TV, but decided, once again, TV is rather worthless.

By using a computer, I could wire it to the speakers on the boat and use it as a fairly complete entertainment center. I can play CD's, DVD's, TV, navigation, internet video and audio. Only thing I haven't done is hooked the radio into the system.

Coincidentally, Woot.com is offering these today for 40 bucks. Woot : One Day, One Deal (SM)

[Alan Wheeler]

I have a 3000 watt inverter, but would like to stay away from firing that up every time I want to watch tv.

Just because it is capable of supplying 3000W, does not mean it is consuming that kind of power when turned on. It will only consume what ever the load requires. So if you have a TV that is consuming 100W, then the 3Kw inverter will only be consuming 100W plus a small addtional current for inefficiencies.
12V is certainly an option, but you do have to check the the TV is 12V. It is very common to find 16V sets. And also that if you do have a 12V set, that when the charging system is pouring in nearly 15V that the TV can handle that. Today, most sets are now a non-issue with these ranges of voltages, as the manufacturers have realsied the RV market is a major consumer of these smaller flatpanels.