LCD Tv Inside Cabin

[Mnemonic]

Hey, I was thinking about getting a LCD TV put into my cabin, and I was just wondering which was the easier way to go... they make flip down 12v tv's made for cars that go up to 15" screens, but I was thinking if i got a 17" LCD TV that takes 110v, I could just use a power inverter to power it, right? These LCD's dont eat that much voltage/amperage anyway.<br /><br />It is in a dry spot in the cabin, so i dont think the LCD has to be weatherproof, considering i have regular car speakers in the cabin and they havent died on me...<br /><br />What do you think, guys? (and girls)

 

[amirm]

Re: LCD Tv Inside Cabin

My preference is a standard set driving by an inverter as you say. You get cheaper prices, much better variaty of units to choose from, etc. <br /><br />Note that you will lose some efficiency this way. The inverter is about 80% efficient and the TV power supply probably the same. So all in all, you lose some 40% efficiency. A TV that feeds directly from 12v, will probably lose less than half of this.<br /><br />So I would pay a lot of attention to power usage of the set and how much brightness it has. The latter btw, is quite important as many TVs become quite washed out in the sun. You would want a TV that puts out more than 400 "nits" of light (most LCD TVs should be OK, computer monitors not).<br /><br />Also, you may want to look for a TV with a backlight level adjustment. This way, you can dial down the power hungry part of the TV when watching in the shade/at night. My Sharp LCD had a nice button on the remote for this which was nice.<br /><br />Finally, you should know that people try to steal these TVs from boats like there is no tomorrow. Even hard attaching them does no good. Here, an embedded car version comes out ahead as there is not as much of a market for them. What I did was that I covered my with fabric (sort of like an instrument cover) which my wife made. You may want to do the same or hide the unit somehow.<br /><br />Amir

 

[amirm]

Re: LCD Tv Inside Cabin

Oh, one more thing. Most low-cost inverters put out a "modified sine wave". This is market speak for the inverter basically putting out distorted squarewave which is a far cry from a true sine wave that you get out of your wall outlet.<br /><br />Fortunately, despite what you hear in the marine stores, most switching power supplies on electronic equipment tolerate such distorted input power although they do run hotter than normal. But just to be sure, make sure you can return both the inverter and/or the TV if the combo does not work. The chances of you running into this problem is 20 to 30% so don't take this for granted.<br /><br />Finally, do a quick math on the amount of juice this poppy uses. A TV rated at 100 watts, will chew up 8 amps at 12 volts. add 40% for the losses mentioned above, and you are up to 11 amps. Without some kind of charger, you won't run long on your standard battery.<br /><br />Good luck and feel free to ask any other questions you might have....<br /><br />Amir

 

[cuzner]

Re: LCD Tv Inside Cabin

I bought a 15 inch Audiovox off e-bay.Actualy bought for bedroom, but noticed after receiving it, it is realy 12 volt, with a transformer built into the base, and a 12 volt plug into the tv.alot of electronics are being built this way. I now have it in the boat, replacing 8 inch I had there.It will probably save money if you stay away from the flip down.Most are monitors and you have to supply a seperate tv tuner, add a built in dvd and your pay 600-700$ Total cost for my set-up with 12 volt dvd around 250$(canadian)with a wall mount for the tv.<br /><br /><br /> Jim

 

[amirm]

Re: LCD Tv Inside Cabin

Jim, I was going to suggest the above but one has to be careful. The 12v coming out of the power supply for the TV is usually highly regulated (assuming it is a DC power supply). If you go direct from your boat, you wind up with variable voltage from 12 to 13.6 volts and potentially nastly spikes when you start your engine. If it is a cheap TV and you don't care, you can operate it this way and see what happens. If it is something more, then you would need some form of regulator. <br /><br />Building a 12v regulator is not hard but by the time you go through that hassle, especially if you don't have an electronics background, you are better off with the brute force of inverter+standard power supply.<br /><br />Amir

 

[Mnemonic]

Re: LCD Tv Inside Cabin

I picked up a 15" Philips today for $299.00... not a bad price, picked up a VESA 100 swivel mount for it, so i can watch it in the cabin, and it also swings out so you can see it on the deck...<br /><br />Just gotta buy the inverter - this says it takes 100-240vac, with consumption of 60w. should i get a 400w inverter so i can hook up other things (Like a playstation?)

 

[amirm]

Re: LCD Tv Inside Cabin

Yes, you need a higher power unit for the PS2. Note that our PS2 was the only unit that I found that needed clean power and would not work with at least the inverter we had. So as mentioned above, be sure you can return the inverter if it doesn't work, or get a sine wave one.<br /><br />From what I recall, the PS2 is less than a 100 watts so you really don't need 400 watts but it should work still. Make sure you put in a hefty input wire as the thing will pull some 50+ amps to put out 400 watts. I think this calls for 10 or 8 guage wire.<br /><br />Amir

 

[Mnemonic]

Re: LCD Tv Inside Cabin

Amir - I bought a simulated sine wave 400w inverter from ebay. My stereo guy is on the boat today wiring the stereo and im gonna hvae him run a 8guage wire to where the inverter is going to be.<br /><br />So i have the tv, which is 60w, and the PS2 which is 96w, Should i be fine? Or do i have to run the ps2 on a separate inverter?

 

[gewf631]

Re: LCD Tv Inside Cabin

Probably too late (and too expensive), but how about an All-Weather Outdoor LCD Television <br /><br />

<br /><br />Near as I can tell, it's about $3,000 for the 20" model (TV, that is)

 

[Mnemonic]

Re: LCD Tv Inside Cabin

Ed - Woah... Thats alot. I spent $299 on my 15" Philips... if it dies it isnt too big of an investment.. <br /><br />I think the All weather one is still 110v, so i would still need a inverter, making it still totally not worth it.

 

[amirm]

Re: LCD Tv Inside Cabin

A 400 watt unit should be more than enough to power the PS2 and TV. Just to be safe though, I would turn one one unit, wait a couple of seconds, and then turn on the other. That way, the surge from one won't tax the inverter too much.<br /><br />Amir

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: LCD Tv Inside Cabin

Is the Phillips an LCD? They don't degauss - no spike. Don't know about the PS2.

 

[craig240DA]

Re: LCD Tv Inside Cabin

Anyone try one of the LCD TVs with built in DVD player?

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: LCD Tv Inside Cabin

I was looking at 15" LCD with the built in DVD but the couple I saw up here in Best Buy and Future shop were a little strange on the back to allow for the DVD player so the normal standard 4 holes for a wall bracket were not there and instead you had to buy a special (special = $$$) bracket for it so since I already had a wall mount I just ended going with a 15" LG and I'm using a little portable DVD player when required....just make sure you check the back if you are looking.