Question about TV and intro..

[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

[Sailtexas]

Welcome aboard ! I buy the smaller tvs on sale and consider them to have a four year lifespan. Try frys.com or any other large electronics retailer with an online presence. Small mounts are available too, and I prefer the fixed mounts. Good luck!

[Amapola]

Welcome aboard. We have a regular TV on board and use it with the inverter. We once had a marine AC/DC TV on board but it crapped out in no time.

[cdory25]

Looking for a marine or RV television as we have no genset, just dual batteries. Plus I want something that won't break if it's jostled. What brand crapped out so I know to stay away? We do have a small Inverter I have used for my computer, but only while running. It's the size of a pack of cigs so don't if it would work. I'll experiment...

Thanks!
John
Blues Cruiser

[Tim R.]

Make suer the TV your choose has a built in tuner. Not all do. Try some of the trucker's supplies website. They usually have good deals.

I agree with SailTexas. Don't expect too much life out of one of these.

[motion30]

search eBay for a 12 volt TV I own a small 15 inch set and now I own a 32 inch Jensen 12 volt TV

[MarkSF]

I just bought a 19" from Walmart (Emerson) for $100. It's fine although the sound is a little tinny. For movies I just connect the TV to the aux-in on the stereo.

A blu-ray player was another $100 (not necessary for a 19" TV, but I have blu-ray movies and wanted compatibility).

An inverter for both was $40.

I used a Philips HD rabbit-ear antenna ($10 from Walmart) under the dodger - works great for off-air HD (and non-HD, presumably)

I'm not sure the specialist 12V products are necessary.

[cdory25]

Originally Posted by motion30

search eBay for a 12 volt TV I own a small 15 inch set and now I own a 32 inch Jensen 12 volt TV

ebay is an excellent source! Lots of different brands in our price range with cheap warranties and DVD players. Now to decide QuantumFX, NAXA, Symphony, Jenson, etc. Most are available at Amazon.com too.

Thanks!
John

[motion30]

if you go to BestBuy or Walmart to look at their TVs on display you may be surprised and find a 12 volt model there that's not advertised as such look at the power cord for the wall wart.

[nhschneider]

When we were in New Zealand, we bought a 12vdc TV-DVD combo with the label of RSE (those initials, I was to learn later, stand for Rear Seat Entertainment, which brought back memories of high school - but I digress. Regardless, those are some memories!). They market the TV as being manufactured specifically for the marine and RV industries with substantial engineering going into it to make it rugged. We've had our for a couple of years now and it's been fine. One of the features we like about it is that it has a USB port and you can play movies directly from a flash drive.

Fair winds and calm seas.

[Tim R.]

Originally Posted by motion30

if you go to BestBuy or Walmart to look at their TVs on display you may be surprised and find a 12 volt model there that's not advertised as such look at the power cord for the wall wart.

This is a good idea but make sure you check the TV for acceptable input voltage. Your boat could be supplying over 14v if you are running your engine or shore battery charger. Might be too much juice for an unregulated TV.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Glad you are finding info here. What will you do for antenna?
kind regards,

[cdory25]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Glad you are finding info here. What will you do for antenna?
kind regards,

I guess I can buy a marine TV antenna from Overrtons for around $120 or some of the portable marine/RV TVs have rabbit ears. They also sell a small antenna for $10. That's probably the one I'd try first.

Being a snowbird of sorts, I'm getting ready to haul her out for the summer and head north. By the time I get back down in the fall some new technology may be out there.

Thanks!

[onestepcsy37]

we went to best buy and bought a simple lcd tv, 15", a cheap dvd player, and a flat antenna. total cost about $150. works well.

when shopping, look at the power label (usually on the back of the set). it will tell you how many watts of 120vac you need. the tv alone needs 30 watts so it will run on any cigarette lighter inverter. the dvd player needs a bit more (60 watts comes to mind). a 100 to 150 watt inverter should run everything.

when you're traveling, you'll have to 'retune' the tv to find whatever local signals are available. i like the tv mostly for the visual weather reports.

[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.