Question about TV and intro..

[Ramblingman]

We have been debating the TV thing. I think an LCD panel is a good way to go too. Can get a signal from an antenna or take the input from the iPhone or iPad and play saved movies or stream netflix/hulu etc. At the price of a flat screen LCD these days, it's hard to not treat them as an item you refit every few years.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, John and Karen.

[cdory25]

Originally Posted by Ramblingman

We have been debating the TV thing. I think an LCD panel is a good way to go too. Can get a signal from an antenna or take the input from the iPhone or iPad and play saved movies or stream netflix/hulu etc. At the price of a flat screen LCD these days, it's hard to not treat them as an item you refit every few years.

We are leaning this way too. Still trying to figure out the mounting logistics. I either use the stand and put it on the dash or table as needed or buy a mounting bracket that probably cost as much as the TV. Small boat you know... For now we are just using a laptop tethered to a 4G smartphone.

[jeremiason]

Originally Posted by zeehag

from what i have seen of 12 v televisions, which, btw, do not last long for the dough you pay, seems as if you will do much better with a nice invertor and a regular television.
for those who cannot leave the programming done by government and corporations alike, tv on a boat doesnt get good reception outside a marina, if it is good there.
good luck with your television.

best use on board i have seen to date for a tv is a flat screen tv a friend uses as a puter monitor.

Zeehag... At least in California, when they switched to Digital TV in 2010, reception became much better and we received more channels, almost all in High Definition.

I do agree you can get a better TV and a small 200 watt inverter for cheaper than you can get a 12v TV. That is what we run on our boat.

OMG that is twice in one day I have agree with Zeehag!

[zeehag]

omg!! world will come to an abrupt end..lets see what we can do with this one, lol...

[Dockhead]

It is efficient, and elegant, to run a TV monitor from DC power, which is what it uses internally.

That's the theory. The reality is different. In reality, to save a few watts of conversion losses and inverter overhead, you have to buy a crappy "mobile" TV at triple the price of the equivalent household unit, and your choice of units is reduced by two orders of magnitude. It's not worth it! Just buy a regular household TV monitor, and run it through an inverter.

My El Cheapo Tesco 22" TV monitor is going on 4 years, and has never skipped a beat. True, it is rarely called on to actually be a TV. But my crew and I have enjoyed many a DVD at anchor with it. I think it cost 99 pounds, and I have been running it off an El Cheapsky Russian inverter which cost, I think, 800 rubles, or about $25. This setup is one of the few things on board which Just Works, never requiring me to futz around trying to fix it.

The moral of the story: don't break your head over it.

[Gabrieln]

A few years ago, there were a lot of PC monitors with a built in TV tuner and external 12V DC source. That's my case.
They're quite cheap and work very fine.

My stereo is also an DVD player so sounds pretty good when watching a movie and good enough with the TV line out plugged to the aux-in.

[Ramblingman]

Originally Posted by Gabrieln

A few years ago, there were a lot of PC monitors with a built in TV tuner and external 12V DC source. That's my case.
They're quite cheap and work very fine.

My stereo is also an DVD player so sounds pretty good when watching a movie and good enough with the TV line out plugged to the aux-in.

Now instead of the PC monitors having a tuner it's the TV's having RGB or other inputs.


...and I often agree with Zee cause we are LTYC members.

[ArtM]

Standard LCD televisions and related home electronics are low power and inexpensive, so there is not much need for RV and Marine specific televisions. You could check with RV sources for a dedicated 12V TV if you like. As previously mentioned, though, you are likely to end up with an off-brand of uncertain quality.

The old TV's had a startup burst, then ran on lower power after that. I don't think that is true for the LCD's.

All home electronics are marked with their power consumption. You can reduce the power further by reducing brightness. If you watch TV in the evenings, or in a deep cabin with low lighting I think you'll find it to be pretty efficient on batteries, even accounting for the inefficiency of the inverter.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by cdory25

Hello! I was searching Google for marine TVs and came across this Forum. I joined because what better way to research a subject than asking about it on a forum of like minded folks? A little bit about us...We are John and Karen from Flagler Beach, Florida, USA.

We mostly cruise the east coast inland waterways and are looking to install a TV in our boat. We love to cruise aboard our Honda powered C-Dory-25, a fully self contained pocket trawler. I've seen a few small (15"-19") 12 volt flatscreens with DVD players for about $200.-$300. plus the price of an antennae that will receive local stations. Maybe we need some sort of mounting bracket too? Not interested in anything fancy like Dish or DirecTV since we don't do much ocean cruising.

Just looking for a Internet source and suggestions on name brands? Anything else would be a bonus! I love forums and will try to contribute when I/we can.

Thanks!
John
Blues Cruiser

I have a 13" Dynex and like it very much. It's not a marine TV but has held up very well. The fellow in the slip next to me has the same TV and liks it too. A bracket was very easy to install on the bulkhead -- so easy that even I could do it! It has built-in digital conversion and was well under $200.

However an antenna was a different matter. Couldn't get reception on any standardly available antenna. You'll need one at the top of your mast, and then you'll get great reception to many stations.

[Caracal]

I have hitherto just used my laptop to watch movies on. I have considered a 10inch tablet and mount that to the bulkhead. For my use, that would be big enough, and with a ram mount, it could be used as tablet too when not used as movie screen.

Okay, it would be rather small, but my boat isn't big, and I'm not much of a movie or tv buff.

[bobconnie]

We have been running a 24in Flat screen LCD with the house inverter, which is 3500 watt. We use a standard Marine tv antena and it recieves Hi Def just fine. Works almost anywhere we run if not to far offshore! In the ICW or with in 5 miles of shore. We also have a blue-ray player, and the tv has a usb port so we have the movie thing pretty well covered! Im sure a smaller LCD would work for ya! and the standard marine ants will work for ya Im sure ! We have been useing the tv for over 5 yrs and no problems ! we did buy a Samsung tv so I guess it's pretty fair tv cus it gets a great picture on the antena, and from theblue ray and the laptop also ! Just sayin those 12 volt tvs just don't hold up to well ! just our 2 cents

[ArtM]

Originally Posted by Ramblingman

We have been debating the TV thing. I think an LCD panel is a good way to go too. Can get a signal from an antenna or take the input from the iPhone or iPad and play saved movies or stream netflix/hulu etc. At the price of a flat screen LCD these days, it's hard to not treat them as an item you refit every few years.

I don't know of anyway to get input from an iPhone or iPad, except to use Airplay, which requires more components and gives pretty low-grade results (at least in my tests).

Is there an HDMI adapter for the Apple devices? I might have heard of such a thing, but have never seen one operating.

[motion30]

There are plenty of 12 volt TVs list it on eBay I bought the largest Jensen, they have a variety of sizes and are not off brand. . my satellite system is also 12 volt I try to set my electrical system up so not much need for an inverter

[cdory25]

I seem to have started quite the debate. I like it! When I have shore power I have no problem running a 110 volt TV monitor. My boat is completely self contained with no genset so I was looking for a video solution for when I'm offshore on the hook, thus the 12 volt TV suggestion. I have dual batteries. Will an inverter work with the motor off and if so for how long and what size inverter would I need?

Thanks again!
John
Blues Cruiser