Television - 12 volt or 120?

[Bionic_Man]

Bought our trailer new back in 2002. We rarely use the TV, that just isn't the type of camping we do.

That said, wife wants to upgrade (the TV) to something more modern - mainly with the intention of connecting it to a iOS device and streaming something that we have downloaded off Netflix or Amazon Prime. I am already limited by the "box" that was built for the old TV technology, basically limiting me to a 28" TV, but I am also trying to decide on power source.

I just have the standard two 12 volt batteries in the RV. We probably camp with electricity 60% of the time. I have a built in generator, as well as take a Yamaha 2000 if I think I might need to just charge the batteries.

Most trips without electricity are 2-3 days.

I do not have solar, and don't really plan on adding it. I do not have a built in inverter.

Where the TV goes, I have both a 12 volt outlet, as well as a standard 120 AC plug.

My question is, am I better off searching out a TV that will run on the 12 volt outlet, or would I be ok buying a standard TV and using a inverter on the occasions we are using the TV when we don't have shore power?

There are a lot more options (and they are about half price) if I stay with a standard AC television.

[dedmiston]

This thread was bumped by a spammer, and then it went kinda nutty.

Closing.

[RLS7201]

delwhjr wrote:

RLS7201 wrote:


I wonder if the 12v units, given they are built for RV's, are made more robust to handle the banging around. 110v TV just sit on a stand or hang on a wall.
Any one with a dead one ever open it up? Are the electronics all potted up? Mounts more robust? This would account for higher $ along with way lower production numbers.

I have worked on many and participated in reliability studies on many brands of televisions. The RV ready units are no more robust than any other unit. The RV ready moniker is just hype. An example is the Jensen units which are in name only. They were bought out by Audiovox early 2000s. They survive only as a name owned by ASA electronics today. The product is low end Chinese manufactured.The chassis is mostly plastic and has little support for the display.
Now having said that, it is important to realize that most of the televisions today are made by only a handful of companies trading under many names(some of which used to be big names like GE RCA Zenith). Look at the sets in person and chose the one that looks best to you and check the reviews. Vizio, Sharp, Samsung and Sony seem to be well liked. Now go for the price and if needed get an inverter for the unit you like.

I did not write what you have in quotes.
My handle some how got attached to some one else's words.

Richard

[delwhjr]

RLS7201 wrote:


I wonder if the 12v units, given they are built for RV's, are made more robust to handle the banging around. 110v TV just sit on a stand or hang on a wall.
Any one with a dead one ever open it up? Are the electronics all potted up? Mounts more robust? This would account for higher $ along with way lower production numbers.

I have worked on many and participated in reliability studies on many brands of televisions. The RV ready units are no more robust than any other unit. The RV ready moniker is just hype. An example is the Jensen units which are in name only. They were bought out by Audiovox early 2000s. They survive only as a name owned by ASA electronics today. The product is low end Chinese manufactured.The chassis is mostly plastic and has little support for the display.
Now having said that, it is important to realize that most of the televisions today are made by only a handful of companies trading under many names(some of which used to be big names like GE RCA Zenith). Look at the sets in person and chose the one that looks best to you and check the reviews. Vizio, Sharp, Samsung and Sony seem to be well liked. Now go for the price and if needed get an inverter for the unit you like.

[BurbMan]

We recently upgraded the home TV to a 4K smart TV and had no use for our Roku box. The Roku uses a wall adapter that coincidentally converts to 12v.

I found this 24" 1080p TV for $109 that you can power either with 12v or 120v. I have it connected to 12v along with the Roku and it's fantastic.

My previous experience is that 12v "RV" TVs were overpriced junk, but the picture, tuner, everything about this TV is awesome! Having the Roku box onboard effectively makes it a smart TV. The Roku is mounted upside down on the bottom edge of the TV with 3M tape.

[wa8yxm]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I have a belief that the better AC TVs are. W a y better than their 12 v cousins.

I have used a number of both 12 volt and 120 volt TVs

One of the more interesting things
Except for a Samsung or two.. many of the under 25" 120 volt used a Power Brick (the one I'm watching just now a Sansui does not, neither does the larger one in storage (likely made by the same company under a different label as the same remote works both) ....

But the Samsung used a 14 volt brick, was very happy with 12 as generally the tolerance is eithe -/+ 10, or 20 percent (1.4 or 2.8 volt)

[2oldman]

Bert the Welder wrote:
Funny enough, I'd pay a premium for a TV the ISN"T smart!

You can find lots of them at a Salvation army store.

[Alan_Hepburn]

Most TVs are 12V already - they plug into your 120VAC wall outlet, but that plug goes to a transformer, the output of which is most likely 12DVC, which then plugs in to the TV.

[Bert_the_Welder]

Tom_M wrote:

RLS7201 wrote:
Which 12 volt TVs are junk? Can you give us some examples of failures and which components failed? I'm sure you've had some personal experiences with said failures. Please enlighten us.

Richard

I guess 'junk' is a bit harsh. I did purchase a Tyler brand TV from Amazon two years ago and the picture quality was so bad that I returned it. Some common brands for 12 volt TVs are Jensen, SuperSonic, and AXESS. Doing a search on Amazon I could not find one that was a smart TV. You are paying a premium price just for the 12 volt capability. My present TV in my RV is a 32" Vizio and I'm using a 300 watt GoPower PSW inverter. No load current is about 0.25 amps. Claimed efficiency is 80% to 90%.

Funny enough, I'd pay a premium for a TV the ISN"T smart!

I wonder if the 12v units, given they are built for RV's, are made more robust to handle the banging around. 110v TV just sit on a stand or hang on a wall.
Any one with a dead one ever open it up? Are the electronics all potted up? Mounts more robust? This would account for higher $ along with way lower production numbers.

[Tom_M1]

RLS7201 wrote:
Which 12 volt TVs are junk? Can you give us some examples of failures and which components failed? I'm sure you've had some personal experiences with said failures. Please enlighten us.

Richard

I guess 'junk' is a bit harsh. I did purchase a Tyler brand TV from Amazon two years ago and the picture quality was so bad that I returned it. Some common brands for 12 volt TVs are Jensen, SuperSonic, and AXESS. Doing a search on Amazon I could not find one that was a smart TV. You are paying a premium price just for the 12 volt capability. My present TV in my RV is a 32" Vizio and I'm using a 300 watt GoPower PSW inverter. No load current is about 0.25 amps. Claimed efficiency is 80% to 90%.

[RLS7201]

Tom_M wrote:

A lot of 12 volt TVs are junk and cost more than a comparable 120 volt name brand version.

Which 12 volt TVs are junk? Can you give us some examples of failures and which components failed? I'm sure you've had some personal experiences with said failures. Please enlighten us.

Richard

[pianotuna]

BFL13,

In case you forgot--Mac computers may not do well with MSW. And electric sleeping blankets don't do well either. The price difference is simply not so great as it once was. I've replaced my 400 watt MSW with a Victron which I paid $79 usd for. My only complaint is it weighs 7 lbs.

[2oldman]

BFL13 wrote:
He calls an AH an "amp".

and says "amps per hour", many times. It's likely a cheap MSW will overheat and possibly destroy the wart, not sure what happens to the battery.

[BFL13]

BB_TX wrote:
Some good info on inverters.

Inverter questions answered

He says a MSW inverter will destroy a laptop's battery. I never had that happen to mine.

He calls an AH an "amp" by saying 1 amp per hour is 24 amps per day.

[BB_TX]

Some good info on inverters.

Inverter questions answered