# 12 Volt TV/DVD



## nk235 (Apr 8, 2007)

The new boat already has the wires and switch setup for a 12volt tv to be hooked up so I was planning on buying one. Does anyone have any suggestions for a 12"-15" flat screen with a DVD drive built in? Must be 12volt.

I am only going to use it for DVD movies so I could care less about regular TV and the antenna hook up but that is also why I want the DVD player to be built in because I will only be using that and it will be less cluter. 
Thanks


----------



## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

"I am only going to use it for DVD movies "
Then you want a DVD player, which will be 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of a TV with DVD built in. 12-15" would be a bit larger than most of them, try an RV store or a "car stereo" store to buy one for car/RV use.


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

You will pay through the nose for a 12V set...several times the price of an AC set. The best thing to do is to go to one of the superstores and read the power "bricks" on all the AC TV's on display in your size range and read the DC output of those bricks to find one compatible with a 12V input. Cip the leads and wire it into the boat system. 
I will ditto HS's comments on built in DVD's...but if you decide to go that route the same advice applies.

EDIT: Polaroid has a 19" TV/DVD at Circuit City that uses 6 amps at 12 Volts for $349


----------



## nk235 (Apr 8, 2007)

Thanks for the two replies. That one at Circuit City looks nice but I really need a 15" one as it would fit perfectly where I want to put it and a 19" may be too big for my boat. After all I am mainly puting it in for the ladies. My buddy and I don't really care too much for a TV but our girlfriends always say they wish they had one down there. 

I was thinking about the straight portable DVD player route, but all of them seem a lot more clunky and made for folding up or down in certain spots. I want a flat screen tv with a built in DVD because I think it will look a lot nicer, fit in where I want it to go much easier, and in the future if I ever do decide to hook up an antenna to it, I can. I saw on the West Marine website and some other random websites out there that they do have 15" flat screen/dvd combos out there made for 12 volt. I don't mind spending the extra cash for a 12 volt one as I am not that handy in terms of converting a AC one to DC power. I was just wondering if anyone on here had one and if they liked it or not or if they recommend a good brand.

Thanks


----------



## SantaSailor (Dec 26, 2007)

I bought a 17" LCD TV with built in DVD for $379 at Walmart. It was the only one I could find that ran on 12vdc and not 18vdc. But I could not find a 15" that didn't run on 18vdc.


----------



## nk235 (Apr 8, 2007)

Tried looking on the Walmart website and didn't see that one you mentioned. Maybe they stopped selling it. Anyway though what do you think of this one from West Marine:

West Marine: 15" Marine LCD TV/DVD Combo Product Display
0/TV's%20/Primary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/10/0?N=377%20710%201437&Ne=
0&Ntt=TV's%20&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&page=CategoryDisplayLevel1&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=5003&subdeptNum=3&classNum=10877

15" flat screen built in DVD 12 volt DC


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Sorry nk235...but you don't want to buy a NON-HDTV like that West one. 
Just go the the stores and read the bricks! 
Re-wiring is simple. Clip the wire at the brick...that will give you two wires to play with. Bolt on a $5 cigarette lighter plug from radio shack and voila...you have a 12V TV/DVD player.


----------



## nk235 (Apr 8, 2007)

Guess you're right. Did not realize that the West one wasn't HD. I'll have to look into it more and do some research. I really should do it this weekend since its suppossed to be crappy out both Sat and Sunday so installing and then hanging out watching movies on the boat wouldn't be such a bad thing!


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Here's the Poloroid in a 15" set at Target! ...and it is also a 12V power supply.
Polaroid 15.6" 1080i LCD HD TV with DVD - TDX-01530B : Target


----------



## SVCarolena (Oct 5, 2007)

camaraderie said:


> Here's the Poloroid in a 15" set at Target! ...and it is also a 12V power supply.
> Polaroid 15.6" 1080i LCD HD TV with DVD - TDX-01530B : Target


Where do you see that is operates on 12 volts? Something like this might be nice for keeping tabs on the games while I'm at the marina.


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

I went to the polaroid site and opened the manual. It says it is 12V and 5 amps on pg. 53.
Note...it still plugs into wall power...but the "brick" converts it down to 12V for TV operation. Here's the manual:
http://www.polaroid.com/service/userguides/ce/lcd_tvs/tdx01530b-01930b_ug_en.pdf

You may also be able to simply buy a DC/DC cigarette lighter plug adapter if the TV DC plug is standard. Otherwise, you have to cut the wire at the brick and install a cig plug or wire into one of your 12V circuits that can handle an additional 5amp load.


----------



## US27inKS (Feb 6, 2005)

camaraderie said:


> Here's the Poloroid in a 15" set at Target! ...and it is also a 12V power supply.
> Polaroid 15.6" 1080i LCD HD TV with DVD - TDX-01530B : Target


I bought and installed this same TV last weekend. Works great, but I havn't used it with just 12 volts yet. I need to find an old power supply that I can cut the cord off of, then I have to route the wires behind the trim. That's on the list of projects this weekend.

The set cost $299 here in KC, and I bought a small mount that tilts for $29 and the extended warranty for $30. I don't usually get extended warranties, but since it's not in the best of TV environments, and I don't have to do anything to activate the warranty I gave them my money.


----------



## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Cam, bear in mind that "ships power" is not simply 12-volt power.

It is nominal 12-volt power, actually 14.4 when the alternator is running, sometimes higher if other power sources are running, 12.5 with a good battery bank and 12.1 when the house batteries are halfway depleted.

Whether a "12 volt" electronic device will be happy with all that is unpredictable. ICOM's ham radios are designed for mobile use--but at 13.8VDC, and they often have performance problems at 12VDC. "Close" just often isn't good enough. In fact one of their radios is infamous for being desinged with components that are underated for 14.4VDC use, sometimes they simply fail when used in vehicles because 13.8 is marginal and the normal 14.4 is beyond marginal. And that's from a name brand of 'expensive' electronics.

You can either gamble the price of the device, or check with the maker (who will usually say "Huh? Oh, we don't warranty that.") or use a dc-to-dc converter, set for 12VDC output if that's what the gizmo wants.

Something that ships with a car lighter adapter--not just a 12VDC wall wart--is more likely designed to work with the whole voltage range, no gamble needed.

Polaroid, btw, has no relation to the old Polaroid film company. They went broke,liquidated, sold off all the assets including the name. The new owners are a totally new outfit.


----------



## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

*Cam you are totally wrong*



camaraderie said:


> I went to the polaroid site and opened the manual. It says it is 12V and 5 amps on pg. 53.


It's on page 52. 

Just curious, why are you opposed to the non-HD models, such as the one sold at West Marine? It's not like you're going to be getting HD TV anytime soon on the boat, and HD DVDs now have been discontinued (Toshiba gave up).

My problem with the West Marine model is that it's a no-name, and I've not had good luck with less than name brand TV's, stereos, etc. for the boat. Indeed, we have a Jensen DVD player wired to our TV, and it just doesn't work that well. And Jensen is a bit of a name, at least for Marine electronic gear. We've had much better luck with Sony and Toshiba, but finding a 12V model is not so easy. I never really thought of converting an AC model by cutting the wire on the TV side of the brick, but will give that a shot next time we are in the market.


----------



## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

danielgoldberg said:


> Just curious, why are you opposed to the non-HD models, such as the one sold at West Marine? It's not like you're going to be getting HD TV anytime soon on the boat, and HD DVDs now have been discontinued (Toshiba gave up).


Consider it a better investment as by next year analog broadcasts will be discontinued. Which will mean if you by a non-HDTV, then you will have to get a converter box (and even on the RV sites there is no 12V version of such). most if not all of the newer HDTVs have built in HD over air converters thus getting rid of the additional box to do so.

Not sure if the Polariod mentioned does - but that will be at least one thing I'll be looking into....


----------



## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

All broadcasts will be DIGITAL by next year. You will need a digital tuner to receive over the air signals. Note I did NOT say HD. The vast majority of these digital signals will be HD but they do not have to be. Best bet is to buy a TV with a DIGITAL tuner so you do not need a digital to analog converter box. Most DIGITAL tuner TV's are HD but they don't have to be.

Next, I recommend you buy the DVD player separately. Blue-Ray is about to take off and soon all rental DVD's will be Blue-Ray HD. Are the all-in-one TV's Blue Ray DVD or are they standard definition DVD? Eventually you will want a Blue Ray DVD player. Also, if the DVD player breaks down, you take the player in for repair or replace it. If the combo unit DVD breaks down you send in or replace the whole thing.


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

All TV's made since march 2007 HAVE digital tuners built in....by law! 

The all in one TV's are all standard resolution (400lines) on DVD's. Eventually all DVD's will be blue ray...but you can also buy one later and plug it in to your dvd/tv if it has an HDMI input.


----------



## ccollins0601 (Dec 7, 2003)

Bluray players are far more expensive than DVD players right now, and on a 15 inch screen you won't really be able to notice the difference between 480 (Standard Def) or 720/1080 (High Def) resolution that much, nor the difference between watching a DVD vs Blu-Ray. As cam said, if you get a brand-new TV the tuner will definitely be digital. 

I would get an HD screen if the price is not a lot more but if not won't be a big deal, so long as the 12v power works as noted in the other posts. As for a player I think you'd be better off getting a separate DVD and if you want you could upgrade to Blu-Ray in a year or two when prices have come down.


----------



## AnnaDor32 (May 7, 2008)

I have followed these coments. I bought a 15" Toshiba w/ DVD about two years ago. It's not HD, but by going to the company's web sight I was able to determine that was a digital tuner thats meets the new standard for receiving signal without the 120V a/c box. Like the posted advisor I noticed the 12Volt power supply while looking at the TV in a Best Buy store. I purchased the extended warrantee because uncertainty about connecting directly to the boat's 12 volt house bank. It works great! 
My question relates to the new digital signal. Will my old UFO antenna work?


----------



## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

AnnaDor32 said:


> Will my old UFO antenna work?


Yes it will - its still over the air and its the decoder that does the work. There are "HD" antennas - but they are marketing scams.


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Actually, IIRC, it was all TVs made after March 2007 were required to have on-board ATSC (digital) tuners built-in.





camaraderie said:


> All TV's made since march 2007 HAVE digital tuners built in....by law!
> 
> The all in one TV's are all standard resolution (400lines) on DVD's. Eventually all DVD's will be blue ray...but you can also buy one later and plug it in to your dvd/tv if it has an HDMI input.


----------



## AnnaDor32 (May 7, 2008)

Thanks Jody. I didn't want to go up the mast for the TV anyway.
Michael


----------



## tjaldur (Mar 1, 2008)

I do agree with hellosailor that 12 volts are hardly ever 12 volts in a boat. The tension will vary between 14,4 volts - 11,7 volts, depending on automatic bilge pump, refrigerator, windlass, starter motor etc. In my opinion, if one is considering using applications that normally uses 220/110 volts, it is better to use a pure sinus inverter. That will give the applications a stable tension/current.

Once having an inverter, the advantages are many. An example may be having a coffee-mill to grind my espresso coffee from whole coffeebeans. Freshly grinded coffee beans just taste so much better. My (1200 watt) windlass has its own 230 amp battery bank close to the windlass, with its own dedicated 20 amp charger. The current is transported to this battery bank in 220 volts. That means much thinner and cheaper cables. 

TV, computer, stereo, coffeemill, other powertools (that require clean current) are getting a stable 220 volts and the cabling and applications much simpler and cheaper. Even the heating of hot water for shower etc.

The inverter gives 1500 watt. The battery bank is 460 amps and it is charged with solarpanels and a windmill. If needed I also use a gasoline driven generator that gives 2,5 kw. But the generator was inexpensive, so the current from it is not stable. The charger is 60 amps and very forgiving conserning varying tension from the generator.


----------



## nk235 (Apr 8, 2007)

Ok so I went shopping around today and before I actually buy anything I just wanted to confirm a couple quick things. I am semi retarted when it comes to anything electrical so please bear with me...

I am planning on buying a tv like this one:

15" Marine / RV LCD TV/DVD Combination System

May not be the exact one but one that has the option for either AC or DC through the connection of a 12volt plug that connects into the cigerrete outlet.

Since my boat is already wired for a 12volt TV/DVD in the spot I want to mount it I was planning on connecting a 12volt recepticle like this:

West Marine: Receptacle - 12V, Stainless Steel Product Display

That way I can just plug the tv's 12volt plug into the recepticle and it should work right? Here are my questions. The two wires that are already run through the boat for a tv are yellow and red. Aren't these both positive? I thought there should be a black one in there for the negative? It seems all I have to do once I get the recepticle is just connect the negative wire to the "-" and the positive to the "+" and that should be it right? Which is which though?

Second question is the TV I listed says it draws a max of 4.2 amps. Again please don't kill me for asking dumb questions but is this a lot of power or a little? I have 3 group 27 gel cells for my house bank.

Thanks again so much in advance


----------



## US27inKS (Feb 6, 2005)

nk235 said:


> The two wires that are already run through the boat for a tv are yellow and red. Aren't these both positive? I thought there should be a black one in there for the negative? It seems all I have to do once I get the recepticle is just connect the negative wire to the "-" and the positive to the "+" and that should be it right? Which is which though?


The color of the wire has nothing to do with the power going through it. You could have a lavender wire with a hot pink stripe and it really means nothing. Red and black have become "standard" with positive and negative, but you apparently didn't install the wires and there's no reason to trust that the PO wired it right. To test the wires, get a 12 volt test light. Put the alligator clip end on the negative post of the battery, then the probe on the wires one at a time. When the light lights, you've found the positive. Now move your clip to the positive post, and find the negative wire.


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Nk235-


As pointed out above, the "12 Volt" system on your boat doesn't really put out 12 VDC... it can range from as low as 11.6 volts (if you're batteries are close to fully discharged, up to 14.5 volts, if you're system is being charged, say by an alternator. Whether a 12 VDC TV that is using a transformer, which has a much more stable and consistent power output, can work under those conditions without being damaged is questionable. 

The recent changes to the ABYC code have changed the DC ground wire from Black to Yellow. This is because boats with an on-board AC system will generally use Black for the hot AC wiring, and to help reduce the possibility of accidental electrocution due to confusion between the two Black wires.

Your house bank is probably about 300 amp-hours or so... Not using anything but the DVD player, you could operate it for about 30+ hours before you would reach the 50% discharge level. If you've got some sort of passive re-charging source or a decent shore-power based charger for use at the dock, you should be able to get away using it for a couple of hours each night on a weekend trip.


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Yellow or Black is negative on a boat under ABYC standards. Red is positive. Red connects to the center terminal on the plug and yellow to the other "outside" terminal.

A group 27 gel will have about 90 amp hours of capacity so three will have 270 amp hours. You can use HALF of that between recharges or 135 amp hours. 4 hours of TV/DVD watching will "cost" you less than 20 amp hours. 

No dumb questions I've seen...just inexperience. How else can we learn?


----------



## US27inKS (Feb 6, 2005)

Dog, the tv he posted a link to is an AC/DC compatible tv. I would assume that they took voltage variation into consideration when building it. 

I didn't realize that ground had changed to yellow. Nice to know.


----------



## tjaldur (Mar 1, 2008)

Just out of curiosity, how much does a portable computer cost, compared with a TV with a DVD player in USA? Here in Norway the price will be about the same. With a portable computer and an USB TVTuner one has a complete mediasystem. 

Together with my laptop I have an external 19" lcd monitor, an external 300 gig hardisk and wireless keyboard and mouse. That way the laptop is stored and well protected in a bookshelf and I can display TV, DVD, photos or chartprogram on the external monitor and have only the keyboard and the mouse out. If by some freak accident water should enter the steeringhouse, the keyboard and mouse are easily replaced


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

US27inKS-

A decent transformer will have relatively little fluctuation of voltage level in it nowadays. Even if the TV were designed to handle ±10% voltage levels, 14.4-14.6 VDC is well out of that range, and that is what a "12 volt" appliance might see when the boat's system is charging the batteries.


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Tjaldur-

If your goal is to use the minimum of electricity to watch a DVD...the combined TV/DVD player is the way to go. With a a laptop computer solution you suggest, you have to power the Monitor, the external harddrive, the laptop and the external keyboard and mouse...and might be using two-to-three times the electricity of the DVD/TV combo unit.

Granted, the laptop setup gives you a bit more flexibility, but at a cost. It is both more expensive in terms of electricity used and capital expenditures.



tjaldur said:


> Just out of curiosity, how much does a portable computer cost, compared with a TV with a DVD player in USA? Here in Norway the price will be about the same. With a portable computer and an USB TVTuner one has a complete mediasystem.
> 
> Together with my laptop I have an external 19" lcd monitor, an external 300 gig hardisk and wireless keyboard and mouse. That way the laptop is stored and well protected in a bookshelf and I can display TV, DVD, photos or chartprogram on the external monitor and have only the keyboard and the mouse out. If by some freak accident water should enter the steeringhouse, the keyboard and mouse are easily replaced


----------



## nk235 (Apr 8, 2007)

Thanks everyone for all the info and suggestions / ideas. I am glad I posted on here before running out and trying to set this up...and probably blowing out something expensive. I think I am going to hold off on the TV thing for another week or so until I can think of something that will really work and be safe to all the equipment.

Thanks again though


----------



## US27inKS (Feb 6, 2005)

sailingdog said:


> US27inKS-
> 
> A decent transformer will have relatively little fluctuation of voltage level in it nowadays. Even if the TV were designed to handle ±10% voltage levels, 14.4-14.6 VDC is well out of that range, and that is what a "12 volt" appliance might see when the boat's system is charging the batteries.


I agree that this could be a problem for a tv like the one I bought, which came with a 12 volt power supply and was designed to run only from that. The tv he gave a link to was designed for the marine/rv environment and was designed to run from the 12 volt power supply that the vehicle provided. Surely when the engineers designed it, they knew it would be seeing anything from charge voltage to low batteries.

From the product description: AC or DC Power Operation with Included Cords (Watch TV in Truck, Car & Home).


----------



## recycle (May 6, 2008)

*Tv*

Try a search for the ac/dc tv and I think you'll find them on truckers web sites. There was a bunch of sites a while ago on the yahoo Tartan site


----------



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Brick?*



camaraderie said:


> Sorry nk235...but you don't want to buy a NON-HDTV like that West one.
> Just go the the stores and read the bricks!
> Re-wiring is simple. Clip the wire at the brick...that will give you two wires to play with. Bolt on a $5 cigarette lighter plug from radio shack and voila...you have a 12V TV/DVD player.


Ok I have to ask & I know I should know, What is a brick? are you talking about an inverter?

Ed


----------



## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

EdHouston said:


> Ok I have to ask & I know I should know, What is a brick? are you talking about an inverter?
> 
> Ed


The external power supply, is commonly called a brick as it resembles one in weight and dimensions!


----------



## tjaldur (Mar 1, 2008)

Sailingdog:

You are of course right conserning the consumption of electricity. The LCD-monitor use about 40 watt, probably the same as the TV/DVD player. Then the consumption of the laptop that uses about 36 watt more. The external harddisk is only used for transporting a movie to the laptop.

This is not a big issue on board my ship, since I have running water, a refrigerator, bilgepump etc. so the average consumption is a steady 100 - 120 watt. So now that I am mooring and living in the boat, the generator works around 3 hours a day.

My point being that since I am using a laptop for chartreading, internet, writing etc. the laptop more or less runs continuously anyway.


----------



## jackytdunaway (Sep 11, 2006)

I have a 15" Polaroid LCD tv and a seperate in dash type DVD player. i have a house bank of (2) group 27s. i can go out in the morning and run the radio all day, the TV some and then that night watch a DVD for a few hour and never have had a problem. My TV cost 150.00 at Circuit City in late 2006 and had a 120 volt cord on it but also had a place for 12 volt. I made a 12 volt plug and it runs straght off the battery.


----------



## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Jack-
"i have a house bank of (2) group 27s. i can go out in the morning and run the radio all day, "
Obviously you are not playing the radio LOUD ENOUGH. Four hours with a good loud car stereo ought to kill your batteries well enough. If it doesn't, TURN THE VOLUME UP and try again.[g]


----------



## Valiente (Jun 16, 2006)

Something not mentioned here is the need to "marinize" consumer electronics by putting coatings on some connectors, conformal spray on circuit boards, etc. I am still learning about this, but hope to extend the life of some devices through the simple expedient of keeping damp, corrosive sea air away from circuitry.

If you are bypassing the power supply, you've probably invalidated the warranty anyway, so you might as well finish the job!


----------



## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

BTW - there is a huge misconception in "marinized" electronics... if you actually use it regularly - or in cases of a TV / MOnitor that even when powered off still is powered... you will most likely never have an issue. Now if you mount in a cockpit or weather prone area yeah - taking apart the units and spraying with "electrical insulation" or silicone... is worthwhile.. However corrosion for the most part occurs when there is electrical INACTIVITY between disparent metals not during actual activity ...


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

One other point... most non-marine electronics don't appreciate a conformal spray coating, since that increases heat retention and often can cause said equipment to die from overheating instead.


----------



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

US27inks,

have you had a chance to try the Polaroid unit runing off your onboard 12v system? So far this seems like the best deal going. I thought I could fit the 19" screen but the boat seemed to shrink when I took the box in the cabin. Target was out of the 15" size so I'm waiting for them to re-stock. On the other hand if you "fried" your tv then I won't bother 

thanks
Mike



US27inKS said:


> I bought and installed this same TV last weekend. Works great, but I havn't used it with just 12 volts yet. I need to find an old power supply that I can cut the cord off of, then I have to route the wires behind the trim. That's on the list of projects this weekend.
> 
> The set cost $299 here in KC, and I bought a small mount that tilts for $29 and the extended warranty for $30. I don't usually get extended warranties, but since it's not in the best of TV environments, and I don't have to do anything to activate the warranty I gave them my money.


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Mike-

Very wise to let US27 be a guinea pig.


----------



## US27inKS (Feb 6, 2005)

I bought the extended warranty. I can be very brave on someone elses dime.

I should be able to get it rigged over the long weekend.


----------



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

For sure, the extended warranty seems like a good deal on these things.


----------



## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

"he extended warranty " If you are rough on stuff, or plan on blowing it up, sure.<G> But for most of the electronics chains, they make more money on the extended warranty than they do on the product sale itself. Think about that.

Many credit cards will double the manufacturer's warranty, up to an additional full year, for free. That's a much better deal.


----------



## US27inKS (Feb 6, 2005)

I agree that with very few exceptions you are right. My intended use for this product, and the ease of purchasing and activating the warranty got me to buy it.

I've got my TV in essentially an outdoor environment, mounted inches from the companionway. It gets hot in the summer and freezes in the winter. If the rain blows sideways, some water will get under the companionway hatch and on the TV. On top of that, I fully intend to run this tv from a power source other than the provided power supply.

For 30 bucks and zero effort for warranty activation, I get 3 years of anything goes wrong and they fix it satisfaction. In this case, I'll take the warranty.


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

There are some situations where the extended warranty makes sense, especially if it is a no-questions asked type extended warranty. 

I would agree with HS that normally they're a huge profit center for the store otherwise.


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

I have some rather extensive insider insight into electronics warranties. Of course, price and coverage differ and one has to read the fine print carefully as only the WRITTEN contract may be relied upon. In general, these are not good ideas for consumers and quite profitable for the stores...typically much more so than the products that are sold! 
The exceptions (if the price and coverage is reasonable):
1. Mechanical Devices...DVD's, tape players camcorders etc.
2. Plasma TV's, Rear Projection TV's and DLP projection TV's IF and ONLY if the bulb is covered by the warranty. 

For appliances...refrigerators with icemakers are worth the warranty. Forget everything else.


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

iPods are a good item to get covered.... since they're subject to a fair bit of abuse and have a mechanical hard drive in them. But the aftermarket extended warranties are usually better than Apple's since they have fewer restrictions on repair.


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Well...the hard drive ones are probably worth it...but you also should only get a policy that does battery failure replacement and accidental damage coverage. Battery failure and ABUSE are the two major reasons for replacement. There ARE warranties sold which cover replacement for OOPS I SAT ON MY IPOD...as well as normal failures. Usually they limit replacement to ONCE.


----------



## nk235 (Apr 8, 2007)

Off the topic of sailing but on the topic of warranties...I bought a motorcycle this past weekend to get to and from the boat and the dumbass finance woman tried selling me a $2,500 warranty for a $7,000 bike! She only told me about it after 30 minutes of arguing with her. Otherwise if I didn't look into everything which I allways do I would have got this"warranty package" just added onto the purchase of my bike and they were going to hide it in the payments. 

Then she tried lowering it to $1,200 and told me I was an idiot for not taking it. 

It's so true though - thats how all the stores make their money. Even at Best Buy and Circuit CIty and the Apple stores the sales people don't get paid commision but they do get paid commision on selling the extended warranties so they push for it like crazy. Pain in the ass. BUT for a marine TV I 100% agree with US27Inks as it is only $30 and it is on a boat. 

Sorry for getting off topic but the damn woman with the bike wasted an hour of my life with that warranty bull crap so I had to rant about it somewhere


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

nk235...confirming the high regard we all have for motor vehicle sales people...right up there with boat brokers!

Just as an aside...the other source of profits for electronics stores are cables. They are at least 3-5 times overpriced. Never buy cables where you buy your hardware and don't believe the hype about one cable being better than another. For example...the CHEAPEST 3' HDMI cable Best Buy sells is $50!! They will recomend the $99 one!! You can buy perfect HDMI cables on line for less than $10. There is nothing special about them...they all must pass an entirely digital signal and they either WORK or they don't work.


----------



## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

Cam,
Does the type of metal connector plating make a significant difference in the quality of audio/video signals? A couple years ago when purchasing new home theater components, I was urged by the store's A/V tech-geek to use only cables with gold-plated fittings . . . they weren't exactly bargain priced.


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

TB...over time standard chromed terminals can corrode a bit so I DO like gold tipped BUT...you don't have to pay a lot for such cables. The HDMI under $10 cable I use DOES have gold tipped. It is kinda like gold plated cheap jewelry but it does not corrode over the long term so that is good. Here is a good example of a complete A/V component video audio cable set of GOOD quality with gold terminals for $8 bucks instead of the $100+ the rip offs want.








3ft PYTHON COMPONENT VIDEO + AUDIO INTERCONNECT


----------



## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

Thanks for the link cam, I've saved it to favorites.

Unfortunately though, the $100 + damage has already been done . . .  bastardos sujos! (as Giu would say  )


----------



## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

I haven't yet plugged it into the 12V side yet, as I will probably buy one of those dc convertors to match the 5ma output of the brick. But, I installed the 15" Polaroid (that was discussed earlier that can be had for around #300) on the boat on one of the swivels that target sells as well. 

I have to say - its not too bad. There is a bit of loss on black (such as watching Pirates of the Caribbean - the night scenes had that grey shadow at certain angles. Without having a tv antenna (wonder if branching off the VHF would work), I coiled a spare cable around in a circular fashion and attached it to the antenna in. Manged to pick up all of the local HD channels with no problems and man what a picture...I don't do HD at home - so this was my first experience with HD - pretty impressive especially over the air with no real antenna to speak of...

So, just thought I would jump in on this one and give some feedback on the unit. I'd give it 3.5 stars on a 4 scale.


----------



## jackytdunaway (Sep 11, 2006)

What model Polaroid did you get?


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Thanks for the report Jody...good to hear the TV both works on 12V and performs well for the $$.


----------



## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

One other item.

It saves the channels scanned / last viewed even after being disconnected from any power source. Which to me is a great feature as even the tvs I have at home do not do that. Ref the Polaroid tv from target..as previously discussed


----------



## Trekka (Jul 16, 2006)

I'm coming in late on this thread but have a little info and experience. 2-3 yrs ago I bought a 15" Panasonic LCD for about $175. It runs on a 15vDC IP that is 60W powered by 100/110/120vAC source. 
It is our soon to be obsolete tv standard, but this was 3 yrs ago and cheap enough if I ruined it. I paid $14 for a full warranty beyond Panasonc's for two reasons. One, it extended the warrenty and specifically added covered damage from water and humidity, and other thangs that are of little concern to those in dirt dwellings, but quite plausible on a boat. It had all the inputs, component, S-Vid, composite, DA. I powered it by plugging it into a little cig lighter AC convertor I bought for maybe $15. Worked great. I then got a little $28 DVD player that uses all of 1 amp, plays all formats (except HD), has component vid and DA out. It plugs into that same little gray cig lighter invertor (2 sockets) and works fine. No complaints.

This year I bought a 19" HDTV with the ATSC (digital) tuner. It wants to see a little more power, 70W and is AC only. It runs on the same little invertor. I have a bigger 800W invertor I could use, but this little one does a fine job, rated at 70W nominal, 100W max, amd 140W surge.

And for those of you who don't have these new ATSC (HD) TV's, you are missing a lot. Most stations are already, have been for awhile, broadcasting digital channels for a long time now. Major stations b'cast multiple digital channels.You may find your PBS station is now 4 digital channels, local network affiliate may have a full screen regional doppler radar 24/7, etc. 

And turning off analog may come sooner then Feb '09 in some markets. There is a provision in the ruling that allows a community to do the switch earlier if all the stations in the reception area have already been doing digital transmission and have shaken out their issues. Wilmington, NC is being spoken of as possibley switching off analog this September.


----------



## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

Update on the Polaroid 15" from Target that was discussed and I bought. I used an old laptop brick and cut off the DC side. The cord has two ferrites built-in which I advise if you are running the cable from your DC circuit panels to the TV. This was my requirement as the TV is mounted at the Nav station and the cable is adjacent to all the other components like VHF etc..

It runs great, but I think the TV has internal regulators as well. When powered on, and the DC system is powered by the AC/DC Charging System a small effect is seen on the amp meter on the DC side. It definitely draws more than say VHF, 10 Halogen Lights, and all the nav instruments combined. But, as less overall voltage capacity is present - it starts drawing more and more amps on a sliding scale. And also note, that it draws amps even when powered off (the tv by its power button). If you rig it to a cicuit breaker, which is what I do - then you can bypass this use of amps by the tv. It always stores channels etc, so having any power at all to it is not required. 

It is definitely a luxury item, and while I didn't measure the exact amps, I did compare - having on what I usually have turned on (stereo, lights, C-80 etc), versus having it on (the tv)- and it draws about as much as what everything I would typically have running combined, plus a bit more. 

Just some observations, in case someone hooks it up and doesn't have the meters etc to track what it draws and the likes...


----------



## US27inKS (Feb 6, 2005)

Thanks Jody. Very good info. I still haven't got around to wiring mine up to the DC panel. I have limited space on my DC panel so I figured I could wire it in to the anchor light, as I doubt anyone will be watching it under way. If I were in a bluewater boat, and in blue water I may feel differently, but I'm not so I don't. Shutting off the anchor light switch will kill power to it and save my batteries.


----------



## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

US27inKS said:


> Thanks Jody. Very good info. I still haven't got around to wiring mine up to the DC panel. I have limited space on my DC panel so I figured I could wire it in to the anchor light, as I doubt anyone will be watching it under way. If I were in a bluewater boat, and in blue water I may feel differently, but I'm not so I don't. Shutting off the anchor light switch will kill power to it and save my batteries.


Just put in (if you have room) a regular dongle switch with a (I think 5 amp) inline fuse) if you are going to run it off the DC panel and tie it to your anchor light. Personally, I would select some other one like your main cabin lights and use the switch. The reason I say that is that the anchor light is still an integral item that you do not want to have blown because of some TV, and it is possible that the light's rf interference (particularly true of any led and halogen lights), as well as the tvs rf interference could possibly cause some issues with the anchor light and vice versa.

If you do tie directly to the anchor light (or off the main cabin lights), and tv starts acting funny add a 1 amp inline fuse on the negative side closest to the panel - it will basically act just like a ferrite. That is also, why my powercord that I run for the tv, has those ferrites in place at both ends - to minimize any of that rf getting around.

I place on the circuit panel, one for the additional protection (and if it trips its easy to reset), third its a very conscious decision to turn it on as the panel door has to be open) and lastly I have a 40+ circuit DC panel - so I have the room to dedicate it.


----------



## negrini (Apr 2, 2008)

Jody, is your TV a plain 4:3 or widescreen (16:9 or so) ?


----------



## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

negrini said:


> Jody, is your TV a plain 4:3 or widescreen (16:9 or so) ?


It does both as far as I know...

Link to click


----------



## badsanta (Oct 16, 2006)

I have seen them listed on ebay some with the DVD built in. I bought a 12 volt dvd player on ebay for 60 bucks plays cd, mp3, dvd also bought a fold down TV for a car, Works great. Mounted it upside down and on a bulkhead the out side is hard plastic when I want to watch it I rase the cover (it swivels) turn it 180 degrees and fold closed. The tv is now exposed I reverse it to close and it protects the screen as the hard back is exposed.r


----------



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I used a smaller TV on my boat. Just 15" with a wall mount. It has a built in dvd player and the new ATSC digital tuner. Most of the 12 volt lcd flat panel tv's I found have a built in dvd and the whole unit draws around only 5 amps!

I picked mine up at 12volt-travel.com


----------

