We are going to replace the TV that's in the rig. It's an old 12V flat screen with no streaming capabilities. The trouble is 12V TVs are expensive and dumb (I haven't found one that can hook up to the internet to stream without using my computer).
I'm thinking about using a small inverter from the 12V circular outlet (the cigarette lighter outlet for us older folks) so that we can plug in a 120V TV that has the features that we want. I found this unit on Amazon 150W Inverter (https://www.amazon.com/APINEE-Primium-Inverter-Laptop-Tablet/dp/B0774SCCND/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3IKZ2DA6ZOB8Y&keywords=30+watt+power+inverter&qid=1655610893&sprefix=30+watt+inver%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-7)
What are we missing or not thinking about?
Hi Peter; If you plan on recharging a laptop computer also you might want to stick with a true sine wave inverter. I've heard that some computer power supplies have a problem with modified sine wave inverters. Amazon.com: PowerBright Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter 150 Watt True Sine... (https://www.amazon.com/PowerBright-Power-Inverter-Continuous-Charging/dp/B07QDBQHFB?th=1)
My 120v AC tv a 24" Samsung has no problem with a really inexpensive 75 Watt. inverter. RonB
Our 2015 RB has a Jensen 12 volt flat screen TV. It’s mounted to the left of the overhead bunk. We use a Sony Blu-Ray 12 volt player that has streaming capabilities if internet service is available.
Picture quality of both devices is good. Here’s a link to a Jensen 12 volt RV TV on Amazon. Price seems reasonable.
Amazon.com: Jensen JTV19DC HD Ready 19 Inch 12V DC RV LED TV with Integrated... (https://a.co/d/bO6PZH7)
Kent
My preference would be to find a 12V TV. This doesn't have to be marketed as such. I found one in the regular TV section at Sams Club a few years ago. The key is to find one where the power brick converts wall powers (120V AC) to 12V DC before sending it to the TV. Then you can get an adapter to power it directly from the 12V outlet.
It _will_ work to convert 12vDC coach power to 120vAC and then back to DC power for the TV, but it's a bit circuitous.
The trick is to find a TV that is native 12VDC. Many are 18V or something higher.
Rich
Was very tempted to go the inverter route with this Samsung 4K 32” (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093CP66L7/?coliid=I1R6OZZ5OXK175&colid=33BJW3WMBTTP4&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it) since I have plenty of power now. Heck, if I had a 120 outlet by the TV I would have already done it.
Bought a Roku stick to make the existing dumb Jensen smarter for this summer, then evaluate whether that is good enough.
Bought a Roku stick to make the existing dumb Jensen smarter for this summer, then evaluate whether that is good enough.
The 28 inch Jensen (model JTV2815DC) that came with the LD actually has a great picture but the sound quality is awful. I had a Samsung sound bar that I bought but never used when I had a sticks and bricks so I mounted it along with a Roku (see pic below). The Roku is that small box mounted under the sound bar. If I was to do it again, I’d buy a shorter sound bar. This one is wider than the TV and barely squeezes in the allotted space. It does sound good though.
- John
Edit: The sound bar came with a 120V AC power brick that output 14V DC. I bought this DC Power Splitter Cable (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M7N1GOH) on Amazon and split the power going to the TV. Everything just plugged in with no wire splicing. Works great.
We are going to replace the TV that's in the rig. It's an old 12V flat screen with no streaming capabilities. The trouble is 12V TVs are expensive and dumb (I haven't found one that can hook up to the internet to stream without using my computer).
A Roku streaming player is a good way to make a dumb TV into a smart TV. All that’s required on the TV is an unused HDMI port and an unused USB port for power. If you also have a WiFi router and a local network in the coach, you can mirror any Apple, Android or Windows device to the TV. I have a sound bar attached to the TV (see post #6) and I run a Plex server on a Raspberry Pi for my rather large video collection. But that’s a long discussion and better served by PM if you have interest. Just remember that unlimited cellular data plans aren’t really unlimited. If you use too much data they will either slow you down to a crawl or shut you down completely.
- John
If you do a search on here you should find my post on this. I used a 12 inverter and bought a 24” Vizio LED TV which uses much less consumption and has built in streaming and great picture. You will prob need to modify the metal wall mount like I did. Works great and such an upgrade.
Is it a smart tv i havent been able to locate a 12 volt smart tv.
Jody
Given how privacy-invasive smart TVs are (for example, last year Vizio made nearly half of its profits not from selling TVs, but from selling TV owners' viewing histories to third parties!), I'd go for a dumb TV plus a Roku, as John suggested. At least that way you can unplug the thing when not needed, and have your privacy back.
Another vote for a Roku device for streaming. I have four of them in the house but haven’t felt the need (yet) to put one in the RV but it’s only a matter of time. Of course you will need WiFi to run it.
The problem with Roku its another powered device.
Jody
The problem with Roku its another powered device.
Jody
Jody,
All Roku’s streamers, except the Roku Sound Bars, are powered by a USB cable. The players come with a USB wall wart but you don’t have to use it. Instead, just plug into the unused USB plug on the back of the TV. It will only come on when the TV is on and uses around 0.5A. If you are really budgeting your power usage, you could pull the USB cable out of the Roku and still watch OTA TV.
- John
Is it a smart tv i havent been able to locate a 12 volt smart tv.
Jody
Jody, I cannot find a smart 12V tv so I'm going to use a small inverter and plug into the round 12V outlet and then use a 120V tv. The wattage of the sets is really small so It will be fine.
I put a link to the inverter I'm planning to use in my origianl post.