Yeah, LOTS of the "110vac" units are internally 12vdc. Some, though, are 18vdc, so just check the specs on the black external power box. It will be clearly marked.

My Magnavox was clearly marked as 12 volts, but didn't work out. I will stay away from a Magnavox if I ever do it again.

Thanks guys.

I am going to go look at the Toshiba. I thinks it is just what I am looking for. The built in DVD makes it no fuss no muss.

US1 Fountain: Your installation looks great!

Good thing about modern inverters though, if you fall asleep with the tv on, you could run the battery dead. With the inverter, it will beep when at 11V, and at 10.5 or so it will shut down completly, leaving a charge in the battery. I've had my stereo on for a day, and played the playstation for an hour, and watched a movie before bed, still had plenty of battery juice left for the morning start. My tv has the 12v conveter, and supposedly the PS2 has a 12v adapter available too. But i used the inverter anyways, and i like it.

I actually really like having a separate DVD head unit along with an LCD monitor or two. I often run with my favorite music DVD ( Eagles Live Farewell 1 ) playing through my sound system. That way I can utilize DVD's for sound only if I want. And, if there's ever a problem with the DVD player in a TV it's usually a lot more problem than a separate unit. Either way is OK but separate pieces might offer a bit more flexibility. I also have a switch that turns off the two amps in the cockpit leaving only the cabin system on when I'm at anchor.

The only logical reason I could see to use an inverter is if you just can't possibly find a 12VDC TV/DVD player.

If your battery gets down to 10.5 volts you won't be cranking too much motor in the morning. And, a 12VDC TV will not pull much more than 1 amp per hour @ 12VDC so you could run it for a few days on only one battery. Plus, it's common to keep a starting bank isolated from the house bank.

Just things to consider.

Here's a coulple of pics. of my Toshiba

I have the Polaroid FXM-1911C 19" LCD w/ built in DVD, USB, and picture card reader wired direct to 110v for shore power only. I also wired it for cable to the back of the boat by the shore power hook-up. Works awesome! Circuit City $399. Wall mounted it in the cabin with thru bolt mounts. Sturdy and strong!

Dave

I have this same Toshiba (12v 15" TV) that I used to just carry on and plug in my old boat with shore power & genny (330ss). I now have a 292 fastech and am ready to hard wire and permenantly install the TV.

Am I correct in my understanding that I should just cut the power cord, remove the transformer, and hard wire to one of the fuses in the panel/ or just directly to the house batt? Can I hard wire to the back of the nearest cigarette lighter? or perhaps to the stereo fuse on the rear panel? I dont want it to kill my batteries when the TV is not in use... I have a Guest onboard charger and am planning to add shore power and a/c and thought I would start with the TV 1st. Please forgive my electrical ignorance, and any help is appreciated.

I was considering this one. Not too bad and should be a true 12V.

http://www.roadtrucker.com/12-volt-l...dvd-player.htm

Anyone have any experience with these? I know its lesser brand, but for the money...I can buy a spare!

Yes, you could do that. I just bought the plug that goes into the TV from Radio Shack and hard wired that to a 12VDC switch on my panel. I wired it to a switch instead of direct so I could shut off the power to the TV when not in use so it doesn't always have a small current draw for the memory. I didn't want to cut the cord up incase I wanted to remove the TV from the boat at a latter date. Only a $1 or so for the plug and then some wire.