Smart TV

[Kakapattar]

Hi! Anyone recommend a low powered smart tv for the long winter eves? 12v or 240v?

What requirements would I need?

I have solar plus an inverter 

I prefer not to run engine or generator every night! Ta!

[Russ T]

If you want 12V,have a look at Cello. They are budget TVs,with not the best sound,but a soundbar makes them ok.

 

 

 

There are probably better options if you have an inverter on for other reasons 

[Tom and Bex]

The new Cello TV's have much better speakers now!

[StephenA]

3 hours ago, Kakapattar said:

Hi! Anyone recommend a low powered smart tv for the long winter eves? 12v or 240v?

What requirements would I need?

I have solar plus an inverter 

I prefer not to run engine or generator every night! Ta!

 

 

Why does it need to be smart?

[EventualBoater]

11 minutes ago, StephenA said:

 

 

Why does it need to be smart?

Interesting question. 

Are you talking get a standard tv and a fire stick, chrome cast? (Assumption of course)

Would this be beneficial overall?

[Tony Brooks]

I am not sure low powered and smart TV sit well together. As far as I can see smart TVs are just computers that are optimised for rendering digital content plus a digital TV receiver, and often plus an analogue TV tuner (for worldwide sales).

 

The OP would, I think, need a way of getting the internet to the TV for the smart features to work, so that is a further power requirement. I accept the fact they are posting suggests they already have that facility, but its consumption needs adding to the TVs.

[Llamedos]

37 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

 

The OP would, I think, need a way of getting the internet to the TV for the smart features to work, so that is a further power requirement. I accept the fact they are posting suggests they already have that facility, but its consumption needs adding to the TVs.

They all connect to WiFi now, so assuming you have a 4g or 5g router on your boat you're fine. Marina WiFi is more of a challenge as in my experience it's rarely good enough to reach a wall mounted TV which inevitably is lower down on the boat when in use than your phone or tablet.

10 hours ago, Tom and Bex said:

The new Cello TV's have much better speakers now!

Just had a look. They look impressive for the price you can run them on 240v or 12v too and only 26w consumption when in use. I'm thinking of swapping mine now. 🤔😂

[Rob-M]

We use a Samsung monitor and Roku Streambar, both running on 240v as that is the easiest in the location they are in the boat.

[robtheplod]

2 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

We use a Samsung monitor and Roku Streambar, both running on 240v as that is the easiest in the location they are in the boat.

almost identical in use here, but ours run on 12v.... the Streambar is excellent - shame Roku dropped it!

[Tony Brooks]

33 minutes ago, Llamedos said:

They all connect to WiFi now, so assuming you have a 4g or 5g router on your boat you're fine.

 

The low power point is that with a dumb TV they could turn their router off to save a very small amount of power, but they can't do that if they are using the smart features on the TV. They also need to be aware that if they are using a 4 or 5g router they may find moorings where the signal is insufficient to stream TV, or they may suffer a lot of pauses for buffering. The data rate of mobile internet seems very dependent on the number of users connecting to the local mast - as discussed in a number of other topics.

[EventualBoater]

37 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

The low power point is that with a dumb TV they could turn their router off to save a very small amount of power, but they can't do that if they are using the smart features on the TV. They also need to be aware that if they are using a 4 or 5g router they may find moorings where the signal is insufficient to stream TV, or they may suffer a lot of pauses for buffering. The data rate of mobile internet seems very dependent on the number of users connecting to the local mast - as discussed in a number of other topics.

Quality will affect as well. Reducing the quality of the image will help will buffering. 

Reducing off full HD down is barely noticeable at times. 

[IanD]

44 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

The low power point is that with a dumb TV they could turn their router off to save a very small amount of power, but they can't do that if they are using the smart features on the TV. They also need to be aware that if they are using a 4 or 5g router they may find moorings where the signal is insufficient to stream TV, or they may suffer a lot of pauses for buffering. The data rate of mobile internet seems very dependent on the number of users connecting to the local mast - as discussed in a number of other topics.

I've never had any problem anywhere on the system streaming HDTV over the internet, whether in marina or towns/cities or out in the sticks -- yes data rates can drop at busy times when there are lots of users, but a drop from (for example) 100MBps to 30Mbps makes no practical difference. But this assumes you have a decent router/antenna setup -- if you don't, dropping from (for example) 10Mbps to 3Mbps does make a big difference.

 

From what I've seen, especially out in the middle of nowhere you have a better chance of getting usable TV via the internet than via a TV antenna.

 

Most people nowadays do have a router onboard for internet access, and they only consume a few watts -- though I'm sure some antediluvian boaters think this is a waste of power... 😉 

Edited July 24 by IanD

[MrsM]

We've got a Falcon smart TV with DVD player in our van. Pretty good piece of kit. 

 

[robtheplod]

15 minutes ago, IanD said:

I've never had any problem anywhere on the system streaming HDTV over the internet, whether in marina or towns/cities or out in the sticks -- yes data rates can drop at busy times when there are lots of users, but a drop from (for example) 100MBps to 30Mbps makes no practical difference. But this assumes you have a decent router/antenna setup -- if you don't, dropping from (for example) 10Mbps to 3Mbps does make a big difference.

 

From what I've seen, especially out in the middle of nowhere you have a better chance of getting usable TV via the internet than via a TV antenna.

 

Most people nowadays do have a router onboard for internet access, and they only consume a few watts -- though I'm sure some antediluvian boaters think this is a waste of power... 😉 

I've never had any issues streaming TV on our travels with the exception of the straight, by Shugborough Hall/Great Haywood.... its bad there!

17 minutes ago, MrsM said:

We've got a Falcon smart TV with DVD player in our van. Pretty good piece of kit. 

 

The issue i found with these (not specifically this item), is that the OS is usually poor/slow to start with, and often discontinued after a very short period making the whole device unusable. If you can split your screen with the OS then you'll get longer life.... Roku/Firestick etc...

[Rob-M]

Also, if one breaks you are only replacing part of the solution.  Our Now TV remote recently packed up at home and it was cheaper to buy a new Roku stick than a new remote but the old TV is still going.

[Llamedos]

32 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Also, if one breaks you are only replacing part of the solution.  Our Now TV remote recently packed up at home and it was cheaper to buy a new Roku stick than a new remote but the old TV is still going.

Yes I use a Roku box both at home and on the boat - very good indeed.

1 hour ago, IanD said:

 

 

From what I've seen, especially out in the middle of nowhere you have a better chance of getting usable TV via the internet than via a TV antenna.

 

 

I predict the TV transmitter network will be gone in 10 years time, everyone will stream.

[JoeC]

I bought an Avtex TV four years ago but it did not have Channel 4 nor Channel 5 so I bought a Firestick to go in the back. It now has C4 though. If I had realised this before hand then I would have just bought an ordinary TV and Firestick.

[robtheplod]

1 minute ago, JoeC said:

I bought an Avtex TV four years ago but it did not have Channel 4 nor Channel 5 so I bought a Firestick to go in the back. It now has C4 though. If I had realised this before hand then I would have just bought an ordinary TV and Firestick.

This often occurs from I can gather. Odd licensing issues means some of the unbranded OS's dont have things you'd expect, or dont have all the features.... i went through about 3 of them before giving up and ditching them for a Roku...... one TV i had dropped YouTube overnight and could not be updated to get it again - turns out the YouTube app had been updated and it was no longer compatible.....  you take a risk with unbranded.....

[Tony Brooks]

I must say that my LG smart TV has been fine in respect of the online TV channels, and I understand WebOS is an LG development which they have now opened to other makers. The remote that came with it was so small the buttons were hard to access, so I always clicked into YouTube, Amazon and such like. I just bought a large generic "do anything" remote and reprogrammed the FAV button to access the smart features' menu, but as channel 100 on Freeview puts you straight into the main TV channels menu (BBC Sounds, ITV, CH4, CH5, BBC Iplayer, UKTV) I only need that button to access a radio player app or when exploring other items.

[IanD]

3 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

I must say that my LG smart TV has been fine in respect of the online TV channels, and I understand WebOS is an LG development which they have now opened to other makers. The remote that came with it was so small the buttons were hard to access, so I always clicked into YouTube, Amazon and such like. I just bought a large generic "do anything" remote and reprogrammed the FAV button to access the smart features' menu, but as channel 100 on Freeview puts you straight into the main TV channels menu (BBC Sounds, ITV, CH4, CH5, BBC Iplayer, UKTV) I only need that button to access a radio player app or when exploring other items.

Do bear in mind that Freeview (hybrid terrestrial/streaming) is going to get wound down/vanish at some point, Freely (internet streaming only) is effectively taking over from it.

 

If you do buy anything "smart" nowadays and want it to be future-proof, Freely is a better bet than Freeview.

[Kakapattar]

11 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

I am not sure low powered and smart TV sit well together. As far as I can see smart TVs are just computers that are optimised for rendering digital content plus a digital TV receiver, and often plus an analogue TV tuner (for worldwide sales).

 

The OP would, I think, need a way of getting the internet to the TV for the smart features to work, so that is a further power requirement. I accept the fact they are posting suggests they already have that facility, but its consumption needs adding to the TVs.

Hi! Thanks for your comment! I’m looking to use hotspot so I can view a larger screen.

What I meant by ‘low powered’ is less

draw from the batteries! 

1 hour ago, IanD said:

Do bear in mind that Freeview (hybrid terrestrial/streaming) is going to get wound down/vanish at some point, Freely (internet streaming only) is effectively taking over from it.

 

If you do buy anything "smart" nowadays and want it to be future-proof, Freely is a better bet than Freeview.

Ok! Thanks for your reply! I thought of a larger screen than my iPad but maybe the iPad is less hassle!🤔

18 hours ago, StephenA said:

 

 

Why does it need to be smart?

 

5 minutes ago, Kakapattar said:

Hi! Thanks for your comment! I’m looking to use hotspot so I can view a larger screen.

What I meant by ‘low powered’ is less

draw from the batteries! 

Ok! Thanks for your reply! I thought of a larger screen than my iPad but maybe the iPad is less hassle!🤔

WiFi connection and personal hotspot!

18 hours ago, EventualBoater said:

Interesting question. 

Are you talking get a standard tv and a fire stick, chrome cast? (Assumption of course)

Would this be beneficial overall?

Personal hotspot from iPhone so need

wifi connection 

[cuthound]

On 24/07/2026 at 08:21, robtheplod said:

almost identical in use here, but ours run on 12v.... the Streambar is excellent - shame Roku dropped it!

 

WiiM make a streaming (sound only so you will need a Fire stick or similar) soundbar with a display, but it is not particularly cheap.

 

https://petertyson.co.uk/wiim-bar

Edited July 25 by cuthound
Clarification