Can anyone recommend a good 12-volt TV monitor?

[foojin]

Hope this is the appropriate forum...

We live aboard and are tired of hauling out the laptop every time we want to watch a movie or TV show.

We are looking for a thin, 12-volt screen with a USB slot and capable of playing video files off a flash disk. An 18-22 inch monitor would fit, the thinner the better.

It doesn't have to have a TV tuner. We don't really watch TV enough to justify hooking up to cable.

Any suggestions/makes etc. much appreciated.

[SVTatia]

I did a search for 12 v screen:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-tv-13052.html

[rwidman]

West Marine and defender sell them. Complete TVs with tuner.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by foojin

........... It doesn't have to have a TV tuner. We don't really watch TV enough to justify hooking up to cable.
.

You wouldn't be hooking up a cable box to a tuner anyway.

Buy a complete TV with the inputs you want and you can install an antenna to pick up over the air broadcasts. News, sports and entertainment. Some 12 volt sets come with built in DVD players so that covers all your options.

[accomplice]

Many regular TVs have DC inputs. If the TV doesn't naturally take 12-13VDC, you can use a DC-DC converter. Nowadays, most TVs will play off a flashdrive or stream over a wifi network.

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by foojin

Hope this is the appropriate forum...

We live aboard and are tired of hauling out the laptop every time we want to watch a movie or TV show.

We are looking for a thin, 12-volt screen with a USB slot and capable of playing video files off a flash disk. An 18-22 inch monitor would fit, the thinner the better.

It doesn't have to have a TV tuner. We don't really watch TV enough to justify hooking up to cable.

Any suggestions/makes etc. much appreciated.

I'm looking as well. I have heard/read positive things about Best Buy's Insignia brand (Insignia 19" Class (18.5" Diag.) - LED - 720p - HDTV Black NS-19D220NA16 - Best Buy). They aren't 12v but supposedly you can cut off the brick and wire it in directly. And at $80 you can afford to replace it when the marine environment gets to it.

Anyway, I've got one I will be installing May so we will see how it goes.

[foojin]

Originally Posted by Macblaze

I'm looking as well. I have heard/read positive things about Best Buy's Insignia brand (Insignia 19" Class (18.5" Diag.) - LED - 720p - HDTV Black NS-19D220NA16 - Best Buy). They aren't 12v but supposedly you can cut off the brick and wire it in directly. And at $80 you can afford to replace it when the marine environment gets to it.

Anyway, I've got one I will be installing May so we will see how it goes.

Appreciate the link, Macblaze. Sounds like an amazing deal. Have heard the same thing about cutting off the block and wiring directly. Thanks

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by foojin

.................... Have heard the same thing about cutting off the block and wiring directly. Thanks

Yea, that one has been making the rounds of the web forums.

Unlike the power at your home or business, the "12 volts" on your boat can go upwards of 14 volts when the batteries are being charged. If the TV is expecting 12 volts out of the power supply and gets over 14 volts, bad things can happen. And many times, that TV power supply isn't putting out 12 volts anyway. It could be 19 volts.

Cutting the power supply off a 120 volt TV set and wiring it directly to your boat's DC system isn't the best idea out there. Buy a TV made for a boat (or a truck).

[Pizzazz]

Most TVs that take external 12V power input from a brick have internal regulators that take care of slight variations in voltage. I had an Insignia 24" TV that I wired by cutting the brick cord and I would leave it on during battery equalization (16V) without any problems. Buying a marine TV is just a hype. They are the same TVs just rebadged.

[skipgundlach]

search for w32pamela - Bob Stewart, of Marine PC's & WiFi by IslandTime PC, a frequent commenter, who has listed such monitors in the past...

[roland stockham]

whatever you look at take a clamp meter along and check how much power it draws. From experience a lot of the 12v options for equipment then put the supply through a cheap internal converter which is much less efficient that you main D/C A/C converter that runs the boats A/C power. I have seen stuff that takes twice the wattage on D/C. Also You converter give a well regulated supply and cuts out any potential power surges from things like pumps, fridges etc cutting in and out

[toddster8]

For entertainment, I'm kind of leaning toward a HD projector. A pull-down screen that disappears when not in use would be larger and yet much less obtrusive in the salon than a monitor. (Unless you want to watch in the middle of the day.) And for the more powerful units, there is the possibility of taking it up on deck and projecting onto the genoa...

[seaman-lew]

we have had Jensen for 3 years and have been happy with it

[Moontide]

The energy star tv's are very efficient. Might it be easier to just get a 110 volt and run from an inverter Presume you already have an inverter if you're using a computer in board.

I think my 50" uses 1/10th of a,watt when off. Some times I don't turn off the breaker or unplug it (or fall asleep in the middle of a movie) but I can live with that kind of parasitic drain.

I agree 12 volt is smarter energy wise but the advantage is way less than it used to be, even when allowing for inverter losses.

Bill

[Moontide]

Projector and pull down will be my replacement when the current 50" one dies. will open up a lot of wall space to put other crap on. bit tge crap will look better than the blank screen.