12v LCD TV's

[GrantS]

Hi,

Don't know if anybody can help, but i'm looking for a cheap Lcd tv (preferably with integral DVD Player) that i can run on 12v.

(Ignoring the ones that are actually sold as 12v, as they are usually overpriced)

I have read some info on other forums and have also had this confirmed by one of the Guys in the Marina at WRC (because he has one) that Tesco are/ were selling a Mains operated 15.4'' Lcd Tv with integral Dvd payer that had an external PSU (Power Supply Unit). The actual supply to the Tv from the extenal PSU was in fact around 12v, so the PSU could be left with the packaging and a new lead made up to feed the 12v straight to the TV.

Well, i went to Tesco today to look at this set, only to find that has just a mains lead, and connects to the TV with a 3 pin IEC socket.

Therefore it's PSU was integral...............Not good

Now,i could take a gamble and buy it, hoping that it just has a Transformer inside and then supplies 12vdc to the rest of the set (if i'm very lucky.)

But, if it has a switch mode PSU with several different +V rails, then this would cause me a lot of hassle.

So, unless someone has already had one apart and knows what they have inside, i'm not gambling my money.

Can anybody tell me where i can buy one of these sets that have an external PSU please and preferably one that has around 12vdc coming out on the secondary

Many thanks

Grant

[DaveS]

Mine is exactly what you want, if you can still find one in-stock anywhere, as its a discontinued model, albeit not that old.

15" LCD, 12V i/p (or main via psu), with built in digital tuner, HD, built in DVD player, and HDMI, SCART, RGB in, Comp Vid in, and digital out etc.

Hitachi HT 15WBVBDVD

[GrantS]

Starting to get a picture here after making many phone calls to retailers. (Excuse the pun)

It would appear that most small Lcd tv's about a year ago had external PSU's, but now they all seem to be integrated.

I would suspect that the power comsumption for these sets has maybe got less, thus having smaller PSU's to run them.

I know that Tesco's 15.4'' set is only 60w, so thats basically a light bulb.

If nobody can help with this one, then i think i will have two options -

[*] Buy an inverter

[*] speak to one of my old friends who is still in the Tv trade to find out what make / model would be suitable for supplying 12v onto the pcb.

Thanks Dad, but that model isn't available anymore

[w44nty]

We have a Cello tv for our caravan which runs off 12 volt,it has an adapter in line,also comes with a 12v cigar lighter lead,it has never let us down and is a nice picture,only problem no DVD or freeview,which do not worry us as we use a sat dish.

It was only £99.99

[Soundings]

As has been said earlier in this thread, 12 volt models seem to be overly expensive. I have always used a domestic 240 volt version via an inverter. The drain on the batteryu is no more (or not significantly so) than a 12 volt.

[Jim]

Hi Grant,

I use flat screen TFT monitors as part of our CCTV product range and some of them do still have external 12vdc PSU's. I'll email our two main suppliers and see what they can get their hands on if it will help. Not all of them have built in TV receivers but I'd say about 35% do...try looking at the LG website as well and look for the Flatron range which I'm sure all have built in TV receivers.

For some reason, small TFT monitors are not cheap (unless they are poor quality) and for example, I bought a 17 inch unit for 4 quid more than a 15 inch last week. This will scare you, a vehicle reversing monitor with 7 inch flat screen costs me £240 and that's without the camera and connecting cable.

[Gordon]

I reckon the simple answer is a cheap inverter, something like this.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Inverter-12v-230v ... 53e2464cb9.

Check the consumption of the TV first though as I have no idea what they consume and whether 150 watt is enough.

The days of internal transformer type supplies have long gone and as you say they are all switch mode things giving a variety of outputs. I use a Tescos DVD player on the boat , £14.95 and when I got it home was miffed to see that it was 240 volts in so I bought one of these types of things except it was £3.95 new on ebay, it works fantastically with the DVD

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAR-PLUG-DC-AC-PO ... 3f002801f3

[GrantS]

Ok thanks Jim.

Tesco's want £120 with a Integrated Dvd player and if i go down the inverter route, probably going to be another £25 - £30 for a cheap inverter.

I appreciate that you get what you pay for, but for the boat it just has to be reasonable.

The cheap screens tend to have poor viewing angles, poor contrast ratios and slower refresh rates and may not be as reliable, although whether you pay £100 or £8000, theres no guarentee of reliability.

I have also realised that i really need an inverter on the boat anyway, so may go down this route in the end ?

I have until the end of this week to decide, as i am unfortunately running out of time to get this sorted.

I'll wait to see what develops on this thread or if something comes up at your end Jim then i will make a decission at the weekend.

Thanks for the inverter link Gordon, thats pretty cheap. As long as the tv doesn't mind a dirty sinewave then a cheap inverter might be ok.

Thanks for the input so far Guys

Grant

[Guest]

We have Akura and I think DMC tv's on the boat both have 12v external power supplies which we did not use. We bought both from Makro.

Jonathan

[GrantS]

I had forgotton about makro, we have an account with them as well.

Akura are ok, as they have been making budget Tv's etc for years. A lot of lower range mainstream manufacturer's Tv's for example Toshiba are actually Akura inside.

I used to repair brown goods for a living, but got out of that line of work 15 years ago and i remember working on Akura products then.

Jonathan

[Jim]

Hi Grant,

The Tesco price looks okay to me and to be honest, even if I got you one at trade price, I'd not get close to that. It seems that you aren't to bothered about quality but I'd think the Tesco unit would be good value. PS, don't just look at refresh rate, look for response time as well

[DaveS]

It would be good to know if anyone is running an LCD TV of an inverter, without any problems, such as hum on the sound etc.

I say this because most popular 240v A.C. to 12V DC inverters do not have a true sinewave output. That is to say, that its 'dirty A.C.' that comes out.

Some equipment may not like this.

True sinewave output inverters, are many times the price of those that aren't.

So, if any of you guys are running LCD TVs on circa £25-£30 inverters, without experiencing problems, then that has to be the 'way ahead' for Grant.

Dave

[Mowjo]

This is my new one, probably not the cheapest but the picture quality is brilliant and it has everything built in including Freeview, the only downside is the sound isn't the best I've heard and the 300 games it comes with are like the old Amstrad games, but they still manage to keep my grandkids quite,,, http://www.wedodigital.co.uk/product/20 ... -dvd120bp/

Regards Frank,,,

[Antares_9]

We used to run our Humax with external PSU via an el cheapo inverter that I got for charging mobiles. There was a bit of noise but it worked. It was perfect if I used the ships 240 ring main when on shore power. The 12v output lead was a bit odd in that it had 2 off + and 2 off – pins, both supplying and returning voltage so I thought I was stuck with it. I found a gash lead of exactly the type on an old router and hard wired it to 12v and the performance is much better both on shore power with the charger active and at anchor when it’s at a lower voltage.