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12v or 240v television?


Tasemu

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Hi there! I read a lot on here that it is a decent idea to go 12v with as much as possible when possible. I'm wondering if this extends to TVs as well. I see 12v tv sets out there, is this a good idea to get for my boat or should I be sticking with 240v here. Cheers!

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5 minutes ago, Tasemu said:

Hi there! I read a lot on here that it is a decent idea to go 12v with as much as possible when possible. I'm wondering if this extends to TVs as well. I see 12v tv sets out there, is this a good idea to get for my boat or should I be sticking with 240v here. Cheers!

Many of us now have mains through inverter 24/7 365. Mains equipment throughout the boat is humungously cheaper with much more choice. Just as a for instance a 12 volt fridge and freezer alone will be so expensive that buying mains ones will allow to buy a good quality inverter.

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Our boat does not have a mains line, we are also continuous cruisers for the foreseeable future. Eventually a mains line will be added in but not for a while. Sorry I really should have specified that earlier.

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19 minutes ago, Tasemu said:

Our boat does not have a mains line, we are also continuous cruisers for the foreseeable future. Eventually a mains line will be added in but not for a while. Sorry I really should have specified that earlier.

Many 230v TVs actually have a 'brick' in the power line that reduces the voltage to 12v DC look at the supply line for any TV you are looking at - if it has a 12v transformer then you can run it straight off your 12v supply.

 

BUT they do not like 14 volts (ie when the engine is running) and can emit the 'magic smoke' so I would suggest you get a 12v to 12v stabilised supply (a couple of £s on ebay)

We have a 230v TV with a stabilised power supply and it has worked perfectly for many years.

 

If you do happen to put too many volts into it - all is not lost as you can get replacement smoke :

 

Image result for magic smoke lucas

  • Greenie 1
  • Haha 2
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Does this look like a decent tv to get? Do you guys see any glaring issues? I think it may come with a regulator in the cigar charger.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/TVs-Televisions/24-Cello-12-volt-C24230F/B00MR2FR3Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1549706692&sr=8-4&keywords=12v+television

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4 minutes ago, Tasemu said:

Does this look like a decent tv to get? Do you guys see any glaring issues? I think it may come with a regulator in the cigar charger.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/TVs-Televisions/24-Cello-12-volt-C24230F/B00MR2FR3Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1549706692&sr=8-4&keywords=12v+television

Yup - that's the sort of thing.

But too expensive and currently unavailable on Amazon.

 

£20 cheaper

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00V3LTETI/ref=psdc_560864_t3_B00MR2FR3Y

 

I keep telling the Missus that an extra 2" wouldn't make any difference.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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6 minutes ago, Tasemu said:

Does this look like a decent tv to get? Do you guys see any glaring issues? I think it may come with a regulator in the cigar charger.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/TVs-Televisions/24-Cello-12-volt-C24230F/B00MR2FR3Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1549706692&sr=8-4&keywords=12v+television

We have had a Cello tv for a few years, and whilst it is ok, it isn't imo as good as the panasonic 240v one we have.

Edited by rusty69
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9 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

We have had a Cello tv for a few years, and whilst it is ok, it isn't imo as good as the panasonic 240v one we have.

In what way is it not as good, picture quality or signal sensitivity or operating features?

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2 minutes ago, Keeping Up said:

In what way is it not as good, picture quality or signal sensitivity or operating features?

The screen viewing angle isn't as good, and the sound quality is poorer. Both, however acceptable to us, the sound issue can be improved by using an external speaker. 

 

Ours is a few years old, maybe newer versions are better. 

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Get a decent 240v TV. I made do with 12v TVs for several years and the picture was 'not of the best'.

You get a lot more choice - not to mention a better prices if you keep all options open.
We now have and have had Samsung TVs - ex Curry's customer return 27" tvs on the boat (and at home as PC monitors). They take very little power and the picture and sound quality are 'excellent'

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Thanks. As an ex tv service engineer I find I am overly sensitive to picture quality problems and can't bear to watch if it's not perfect. Our current tv is a Sony but it's getting a bit old now so I've been looking around at alternatives. One problem there aren't many good quality tv's with a small (22") screen that we want.

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1 minute ago, Keeping Up said:

Thanks. As an ex tv service engineer I find I am overly sensitive to picture quality problems and can't bear to watch if it's not perfect. Our current tv is a Sony but it's getting a bit old now so I've been looking around at alternatives. One problem there aren't many good quality tv's with a small (22") screen that we want.

I have no experience of them, but the avtex tvs are supposed to be good if you must have 12v. Expensive though. 

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1 hour ago, Boater Sam said:

Many TVs run on either 12DC  or 240AC with a power box in the mains lead. Bush models seem to do this but not mention it in the blurb.

For me the whole point of a 12v TV is the low power draw. Mine draws less than 2amps. Do the 240v/12v TVs typically draw as few amps when operated on 12v compared to a dedicated 12v TV?

 

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46 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Have you ever measured the 'losses' of both of them ?

I bet there is not much difference, be interested to be proven wrong tho.

So would I, sometimes a cheap small one is far less efficient than a large good one. I take it both the small and large are connected via a changeover switch.

 

1 hour ago, Tasemu said:

Our boat does not have a mains line, we are also continuous cruisers for the foreseeable future. Eventually a mains line will be added in but not for a while. Sorry I really should have specified that earlier.

If you don't have mains your stuck with 12 volts

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Our telly came from Aldi and is  excellent for the price. It can be used on either 12v or 240v but we use it on 12v. We added a cheapo soundbar which improved sound dramatically. Full time liveaboard, we have no shore power as such, but use a genny for charging on winter nights, mainly solar/engine in summer when out and about (health permitting!)
I have tried to move away from 240V stuff on the basis that when (not if) our inverter implodes, we are stuffed if all appliances are 240V. (This happened to a guy on our marina on Christmas eve!) We still have a 240V fridge/freezer and washer, but the fridge might well go to 12V when current one expires. Depends on deals available when the time comes.
There is no "one size fits all" with these things, so many variables in lifestyle etc.

Edited by Guest
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