Televisions

[Larentia]

The world of electricity continues to totally confuse me...

There is an old telly on my boat which I don't use, it's a Hyundai and says 100-240v-1.0A 50/60Htz on it.

I'm looking to replace it with something that has HDMI ports but I don't understand any of the power things with anything (please don't shout at me, I'm not very bright - at all).

The searches I've done here all seem to do with 12v TV's.

I have 240v sockets, an inverter, domestic batteries plus shoreline power.

So does that mean I can't use a 12v TV anyway and need 240v?

If so, this one looks like it doesn't use much power but I really don't trust myself.

http://www.johnlewis.com/lg-28lf491u-led-hd-ready-smart-tv-28-with-freeview-and-built-in-wi-fi/p1981301?imageCount=1

Any advice appreciated

Thank you :)

[Athy]

Not au fait with the electrical jargon, but have you noticed that the TV is a 28" model? Would you have room for something so bloomin' enormous in a narrowboat cabin?

[Larentia]

Yup, plenty of space for 28" TV, I'm quite minimalist and my boat is quite long

[Paul C]

Are you viewing it from about 5 feet away, with it installed on a wall?

[OldGoat]

The world of electricity continues to totally confuse me...

There is an old telly on my boat which I don't use, it's a Hyundai and says 100-240v-1.0A 50/60Htz on it.

I'm looking to replace it with something that has HDMI ports but I don't understand any of the power things with anything (please don't shout at me, I'm not very bright - at all).

The searches I've done here all seem to do with 12v TV's.

I have 240v sockets, an inverter, domestic batteries plus shoreline power.

So does that mean I can't use a 12v TV anyway and need 240v?

If so, this one looks like it doesn't use much power but I really don't trust myself.

http://www.johnlewis.com/lg-28lf491u-led-hd-ready-smart-tv-28-with-freeview-and-built-in-wi-fi/p1981301?imageCount=1

Any advice appreciated

Thank you

You can use 12V AND/ OR 240V IMHO a modern 240V set knocks spots of a 12V unit may cost less

Again IME (we have a big LG at home and the one taken out of the boat was LG as well) - LG have lost the plot in SMALLER TVs , say up to 32" and Samsung are better. That's what's on the boat and used as a monitor on both my and SWMBO's PCs.

This is what we've got, though it was nearer £200 at the time:-

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and-home-entertainment/televisions/televisions/samsung-lt27d390sw-xu-smart-27-led-tv-monitor-10029561-pdt.html

 

Anyway if you're on a shoreline power consumption is not an issue. We haven't and the TV doesn't consume much - the fridge does......

(JL are great, sometimes their prices are OTT..)

 

Is that good enough for now

 

Not au fait with the electrical jargon, but have you noticed that the TV is a 28" model? Would you have room for something so bloomin' enormous in a narrowboat cabin?

Garn - don't be an old dinosaur 28" is luvverly...

(We used to have a 24" LG and w thought that was good - then Currys were doing a clear out of 'semi smart' TVs, so we got a 27" Samsung - being a LED type it's only about an inch wider all round - son not huge. The bonus is that it's HD AND consumes less power)

 

I see the OP agrees...

[Larentia]

I have a shelf with a depth of 32cm over some cupboards... - answer to question about viewing distance!

Edited August 18, 2015 by MissyLisaMarie

[Larentia]

Hi Old Goat,

That Samsung looks very good, prefer that to the LG.

Yeah, I do have shoreline so I know that much isn't an issue (yey!) but I like to roam so was wondering if 240v is a bad option when cruising?

[Paul C]

OK I've no idea really if 28" is too big - after all there's cost, space efficiency and power savings to be had with a smaller TV and if it is just as good, then no advantage for the bigger one?

 

Many TVs are 230V but they have a "black box" which is a transformer and converts the 230V AC to ...... 12V DC. So you can chop the lead, put a plug on it and use it on 12V. I'd not fancy risking it on a brand new telly though, and some don't have the external transformer. I guess its a case of checking, and trying it out. 230V AC isn't a massive issue so long as you have an inverter of suitable size and you have the capability to put back into the batteries, what the telly (and everything else) takes out of them.

[NB Lola]

We use 240 and it's a matter of watching the state of charge (soc) for us, what's that? Get a simple victron battery monitor and it's great , you keep nipping to your control panel to check the battery soc- ours was set up as part of battery replacement therapy, expensive but full of confidence, amazing what you can put in a battery these days! We then don't let SOC to reduce to less than 80%. If it gets near 80 we turn telly off or put engine/genny on, depending on time of day it is of course. In reality we have learnt how our batteries perform and have adjusted our power source management accordingly.

[Larentia]

OK I've no idea really if 28" is too big - after all there's cost, space efficiency and power savings to be had with a smaller TV and if it is just as good, then no advantage for the bigger one?

 

Many TVs are 230V but they have a "black box" which is a transformer and converts the 230V AC to ...... 12V DC. So you can chop the lead, put a plug on it and use it on 12V. I'd not fancy risking it on a brand new telly though, and some don't have the external transformer. I guess its a case of checking, and trying it out. 230V AC isn't a massive issue so long as you have an inverter of suitable size and you have the capability to put back into the batteries, what the telly (and everything else) takes out of them.

V. True, I was initially thinking more about the power side than size, this 24" seems pretty good & is super low on power by comparison.

I do have a battery monitor Lola

 

http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-24cs500b-led-hd-ready-720p-smart-tv-24-with-freeview-hd-and-built-in-wi-fi/p1959443#tooltip

Edited August 18, 2015 by MissyLisaMarie

[bottle]

Let's go back to the original question, whether you can have either 12v or 240 v TV.

 

Simple answer, yes providing the socket for either 12v or 240v is available.

 

Now as to the best It depends on what you want, for instance the John Lewis one is "HD ready" but it is not a true HD. tv as the specifications show

 

Picture Resolution... HD Ready (720p)

 

true HD is 1080p, also

 

Screen Resolution . 1366 x 768 pixels

 

Now it also gives 25 watts as its power consumption, so it will load the batteries (allowing for losses because of the inverter) with 2.5 amps

 

Lets assume you are using nothing else and your battery bank is 100 amp.hrs then the tv will run for 50/2.5 = 20 hours.

{not allowing the batteries to go below 50% SOC}

 

I see you have posted whilst writing this, yes power consumption is one of the main parameters you need to look at, not so important when on shoreline but using it when out cruising more so.

Edited August 18, 2015 by bottle

[b0atman]

My Samsung is 32" and from 5 ft I do not need to wear my reading glasses

[ditchcrawler]

We have a small 240volt tv we run the inverter 24/7 anyway. This week we had the grand kids so got to watch some DVDs (Minions) and I noticed the difference in battery usage.

[Larentia]

Hi Bottle,

Just looking at some now and the smaller Tv's which are HD (now I know the difference - thank you!) mostly seem to use more power than the larger ones....

[ROBDEN]

Have a look at the tvs the supermarkets and Argos are selling.

 

If it plays up whilst travelling you can go into ANY of their stores and they will replace/refund without a problem.

 

We bought one in Lenslade and swapped it in Nantwich.

 

Rob....

[Larentia]

Just looked at Argos thanks Rob, this one seems to be a happy l'il thing

 

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2787369.htm

[OldGoat]

Hi Old Goat,

That Samsung looks very good, prefer that to the LG.

Yeah, I do have shoreline so I know that much isn't an issue (yey!) but I like to roam so was wondering if 240v is a bad option when cruising?

 

I see - true to fashion - that this thread has moved slightly from your original question....

 

The above poses some additional questions to give you a definitive answer.

As a bald answer it's NO, not a bad option

BUT that's based on how big your battery bank is,

Whether or not you cruise every day

what other electrical equipment you have (washing machine, microwave )

and so on.

 

Tell us what other equipment you have that you use daily and how many batteries you have (their capacity would help)

 

For our use (cruise most days, occasionally stop for a day or so)

the tv (watch from 20:00 until late) really isn't an issue and we have a recorder connected as well.

The 24V fridge consumes much, much more.

 

Your latest suggestion - 22" is a bit small and pokey, 24" would be better - that did for us, for may years, being LCD it got warm, the sound was abysmal and it took more power than its replacement. It still was adequate...

 

If you want something cheaper then Currys (I only choose them because they have a large range of tvs on offer - and you can see many of them in action) - have several models from 22" upwards start price £149.

A smart TV is not much use on a boat - the Smart functions that is, unless you have high speed mobile internet On a small tv there's not a lot of difference between HD ready and full HD.

 

 

Edited August 18, 2015 by OldGoat

[ditchcrawler]

Just looked at Argos thanks Rob, this one seems to be a happy l'il thing

 

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2787369.htm

Same price at Tesco and you get points

 

 

 

Your latest suggestion - 22" is a bit small and pokey, 24" would be better - that did for us, for may years, being LCD it got warm, the sound was abysmal and it took more power than its replacement. It still was adequate...

You wouldn't like mine then, it fits in the cupboard

[Athy]

 

 

 

 

Garn - don't be an old dinosaur 28" is luvverly...

 

It's not a question of being an extinct reptile - just that a 28" telly (I assume that this is the diagonal measurement across the screen) could be overpowering in a small room such as the lounge of a narrowboat. That's slightly bigger than the 26" which we have in the lounge at home (we don't have tellies on our boats), which seems quite large enough.

[Larentia]

I have 4 x 230Ah AGM domestic batteries & 120A Victron charger/inverter (plus travel pack generator). I don't cruise every day because of work, usually long weekends. Work is location based so, so long as I'm near my car, it doesn't really matter where I am.

Have fridge, washing machine (used at mo when on shoreline only), microwave (not used other than as a bread bin!).

Guessing the sound from the 22" wouldn't be so great. Budget not really an issue tbh - when I get a TV I won't change it for years so not on a bargain hunt, more so something that makes sense power-wise (original point of post!) and is quite good (where post is drifting towards maybe...).

Otherwise just use power to charge phone/iPad though I do that when driving as much as I can. I drive lots.

[OldGoat]

It's not a question of being an extinct reptile - just that a 28" telly (I assume that this is the diagonal measurement across the screen) could be overpowering in a small room such as the lounge of a narrowboat. That's slightly bigger than the 26" which we have in the lounge at home (we don't have tellies on our boats), which seems quite large enough.

 

Until late last year, I would have agreed with you utterly. A 32" LED in one's lounge seemed adequate and the same for the boat. Then we went shoppin' (?possibly time to change?). Got seduced - as one does when 'not really looking'. I wouldn't have a plasma and a 50" plus would ruin the layout. Our local Currys has a long wall and a half of TVs. Amongst huge and overpriced monsters there were a few, just around the right size and 'cos everyone 'wanted' a smart tv , 'slighty less so' boxes were at a good price. Measuring up we found that a forty two incher would fill the space of the aforementioned 32".

 

We watch some 10 -12' away so the picture is clear wi'out me glasses....

Similarly on t'boat, lighter, brighter and a little larger. I suppose we sit 6-8 foot away o a dinettes and the TV is arranged to swing out on a bracket from the wall.

 

You get used to a little bit of luxury.

[OldGoat]

I have 4 x 230Ah AGM domestic batteries & 120A Victron charger/inverter (plus travel pack generator). I don't cruise every day because of work, usually long weekends. Work is location based so, so long as I'm near my car, it doesn't really matter where I am.

Have fridge, washing machine (used at mo when on shoreline only), microwave (not used other than as a bread bin!).

Guessing the sound from the 22" wouldn't be so great. Budget not really an issue tbh - when I get a TV I won't change it for years so not on a bargain hunt, more so something that makes sense power-wise (original point of post!) and is quite good (where post is drifting towards maybe...).

Otherwise just use power to charge phone/iPad though I do that when driving as much as I can. I drive lots.

 

Great - with that quality of information and your resources, then you'll hardly notice the power that the TV takes.

 

Some gratuitous information:-

 

Sound - The volume from the 27" (better than the 24") isn't great. Just about OK for standard definition channels but (for some peculiar reason) poor on HD. Lord knows why we watch HD - all the informed / perceived advice says you can't tell the difference - but we both swear it's crisper and definitely better if there's any action movement in the scene (Tennis etc)

The 27" has 2 x 10W output

The 32" has 2 x 20W output - much better, but I don't listen to the TV in the study - used as a PC monitor.

 

Vision

As above, but 'HD ready' on a TV means that it only receives the standard tv channels but if the screen resolution is '1080P' you'll get HD from a DVD or suitable set-top-box.

If you keep a tv for ever then it makes sense to consider a set with '100Hz' processing or better.

 

Time-shifting.

Streaming TV from t'intenet may not appeal to you - a lot of folks on this forum do (some even admit to 50" tvs....). Of not -

We find that programs we want to watch invariably clash - so I've invested in a recorder. With that we can record two (HD) and watch another. Something to watch on those dead days in the week.

I use Humax Fox recorders (later one's aren't as good) and an ex BT Humax YouView box. No as good as the former but can be cheap from eBay.

 

Enough..

 

edit: Well no it's not.

You first post says '..... 100 -24V - 1.0 A Assuming its 1 amp maximum at 100V that is 50 Watts which is twice the power that a new LED tv would take

 

I also meant to mention that to counter the poor power of the 27" tv, I've just bought a sound bar. I always thought these were rubbish - 'cos how do you get loads of sound plus bass out of 6 tiddly 'speakers.

I've got a Phirrips HTL2111A from ebay - £35 squids delivered, even the grade C one that I bought didn't have a scratch on it, just a scruffy remote control

plays sound from the tv,

or Bluetooth,

or USB.

and the sound is amazing; strereo or surround sound

Doesn't take much power.

Played some Bach organ music and the pedal (low bass) stops rattled the unit on the desk.

I dunno why folks bring them back - the only downside is that you can't easily see what function you've selected as the LEDs on the top aren't vey visible. It only works through a remote.

AFAIR - it defaults to optical input from the tv and medium volume.

 

what I bought (as above)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Philips-HTL2111A-05-40W-2CH-Bluetooth-Wireless-Soundbar-Speaker-/351324958492?hash=item51cc996f1c

 

 

Oh - and the 32" is 4" wider and 2" taller than the 27" - norra lot.

Edited August 18, 2015 by OldGoat

[Larentia]

Much appreIated info Sooo, I'll look for HD proper, still not sure of size, still a bit puzzled by the power stuff but I think what matters is how many watts are used when it's switched on, which varies from 20 to 40, so I'm thinking less than 30 as being good/better/preferable.

Mostly, I spend my evenings cooking, reading, dreaming, listening to the radio & sleeping - lovely non-technical things

[matty40s]

I recently bought a 32" Samsung LED smart TV 240v. Power draw is minimal.

It is brilliant, i can watch movies stored on hard drives, mirror my phone or laptop screen and watch any TV online using my phone as the dongle.

I sit over 20 feet away so TV is right size - it is on a swinging bracket so it can go out into cratch area on a hot day so we can sit on the towpath and watch England Thrash the Aussies in style.

[bottle]

How far should you sit from a TV?

 

Article, calculator here: http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/Article/How-Far-Should-I-Sit.php

 

You may be surprised,

 

ps. many other sites available just google... tv viewing distance