12 volt LCD TV's
 

Doing some research on adding a TV in the cabin. I have found some old threads on here circa 2007 that talk about a Toshiba that is actually a 12V unit. I was at WalMart last night, and all the TV's they had were 110AC directly into the back (No adapter).

Does anyone have a model number for a TV that uses 12V? I'm going to take a look at Best Buy and see what they have.

google 12 volt tv if you want to see what's out there.

I'd be curious for recommendations on a particular model as well. Something that could take some abuse.

I've see the ones that come up doing a google search. I dont really mind paying extra if it is a good quality unit, but they seem to be about $100 more than standard off the shelf units. If it's as easy as throwing away the ac adapter and hard-wiring the TV, then I'm all about saving $100 bucks.

Why not add an inverter then you could use a regular tv and have the inverter for other things when needed.
I have a 2000 watt one on my boat.

check out ebay there some on there for $250 to $400 but no brands that i have ever heard of before

Well I picked up this unit at Best Buy Last night. It's an Insignia 12V, 19" LED. This is the only 12V unit they have, and it is not sold as a 12V. I just walked through the isles looking at the displays for TV's that used an AC adapter. This was the only one.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Insignia...&skuId=9460754

$204 out the door with a 4 year replacement plan. Figured that would be worth $20 since boating can be a little hard on things :)

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic...

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...ure7773-tv.jpg

I had considered using an inverter, but the power draw would be fairly significant compared to just running the TV. I can run this thing all weekend and not put a dent in my battery.

I have a Sharp Aqous that uses adapter in the power cord to use with AC. I have the TV hardwired to my cabin power thru a fused switch for safety.

I've been considering one of these for the boat:

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/equipment/satgo

A bit heavy at 27lbs, but the thought of early season NFL Sunday Ticket and NASCAR races on the lake sounds enticing :)

Seems cheap enough for all inclusive at $499. I'm guessing it'd get the same programming as my home Direct TV account.

Anyone tried one yet?

Thats a damn good price,another nice thing with all new lcd's is you can plug your laptop right and use it as a monitor as well as a tv..

RT930, are you going to hook up an antenna to the TV, or just run lcds?

I have one. It can be added for the 5 bucks on your home account. It works really nice. Also can be used as an extra box with no lcd in your house and hardwired into your dish.

Wow what a cool idea... would like to know if anyone has one and how well it works.

[/QUOTE]
I had considered using an inverter, but the power draw would be fairly significant compared to just running the TV. I can run this thing all weekend and not put a dent in my battery.[/QUOTE]

I was under the impression that an inverter would have minimal if any draw unless something was operating off of it. Am I wrong again, dang already been wrong once this afternoon.

Rick

The TV part is great, decent quality on the LCD and visible in the day. The tuning it once you get used to it is actually really easy and fast.

I love mine, they also have video out so you can hook it up to projectors for larger viewing if you would like.

I was under the impression that an inverter would have minimal if any draw unless something was operating off of it. Am I wrong again, dang already been wrong once this afternoon.

Rick[/QUOTE]

Rick,

You are correct, the inverter only draws power when its operating, but it takes power to invert the voltage.

The link relates to solar, but it's all just ohm's law. With this TV, i will use about 2.3 Amps (25W / 12 * 1.1) at 12V DC. To run an inverter, I would loose about 20-50% of the effeciency.

http://www.affordable-solar.com/inverter.how.to.htm

Nothing at all wrong with the inverter set up, but it was a freebie finding a TV that was 12V.

Not sure on the antenna. I might try just hooking up an antenna and hiding it in the side of the boat. I don't really want an external TV antenna. DVD's / ipod is the main goal right now.

Thanks for the input bmtbandit. Video out option on that Direct TV deal would then also allow a permanent mounted LCD tv in the boat. Nice!!

And its already 12V.

Really appreciate the review :) Thank you sir.

12 volt, and battery as well.

RT930turbo,

Thanks for the inverter reference; good reading and simple enough for me to understand. Direct TV info and review was helpful as well.

Thanks,
Rick

mounted with front speakers on each side of the cockpit, w/ rear speakers as well. Almost sounds like surround sound. The headunit plays DVD's, so it is wired to the TV also