12 volt TV recommendations

[spospe]

We are after a 12 volt TV - DVD player for the 'van, about 10 to 15 inch screen size. It must do digital and all the european TV transmission standards.

 

Can I have some personal recommendations please? (I have seen the commonly available models and know where to buy from, but what I am after is practical feedback as to how you found the set).

 

Are Avtex really the best ones?

[AndrewJo]

Our artex went up the creek with little use

We brought it about 2 or 3 years so it was out of warranty

Just brought a meos here’s the link (for an alternative)

 

http://www.wedodigital.co.uk/product/2074/meos--20.0-hd-ready-freeview-tv--dvd-player/meos-dvd192b/

[ChrisK5]

We use Avtex TV's we have 2 in our motorhome and never had a problem with them.

I would buy another one.

[Guest peter]

Just use a domestic LCD. But use it with an inverter a I do. Much cheaper and just as good. Get a crank up satelit dish as well if you want to get all the europen channels as well. That's what I've done nd it works very well, I also have a dvd player as well.

[747]

Quite a few TV`s up to 15" run off 12 volt internals anyhow. Some of them have a 240 volt lead with a transformer on it. I have never had one but plenty of other people seem to manage with them.

 

Like everything else in the Caravan and Motorhome department, prices are ridiculous for 'dedicated leisure items'. You should get a TV/DVD combo for under £100.

[spospe]

Andrew&Jo

 

Thanks for the lead, the specification of the 13.3 inch model looks good to me. Has anyone got one?

 

I don't really like the idea of separate TV and DVD, hence my interest in one unit to do the lot (including playing CD's!)

 

Michael

[Robinhood]

On the basis of price, and supported by the fact that I also already had a voltage regulator, my latest such purchase was made from the many TVs targeted at the domestic market, but running off 12V with an external 'power brick' transformer.

 

In the 15" or so range however, I found a significant variance in the quality of sound, and the viewing angle (particularly vertical) of many was very poor (If you're going to mount where the set is going to be viewed at an angle, this is very important). Quoted power consumption also varied enormously.

 

After extensive research, I eventually bought a Tesco's own 15" (Technika) which had noticeably better viewing angles than other sets I'd looked at, and also coincidentally the best sound. Power consumption was also acceptable. I was surprised at it's relative performance, and at less than £100 it was much cheaper than any of the 'leisure market' sets. (a similar set with built in DVD was £20 more).

 

Be aware that actual viewing experience seldom reflected the quoted figures for performance. IMO there is no substitute for seeing the set in action.

 

BTW, unfortunately, the current Tesco set is not the same - it changed appearance shortly after I bought mine; the internals may be the same, but I can't vouch.

 

On a price basis, I would recommend a similar approach with a small domestic-targeted set - but I would counsel research, and use of a voltage regulator (or if you wish an inverter as already mentioned in another post).

[Overdrive]

I initially bought a 14 " Samsung 240v CRT which fitted the vans TV cupboard perfectly - only used when we were hooked up on site. With advent of digital and my daughter wanting to watch DVDs, the cupboard was to say the least getting very crowded and awkward to find loose connections etc.

 

So took the plunge this year and bought a 15" Avtex with built in Freeview and DVD. What a difference - tuned in perfectly in UK, France and Italy this year on 12v - in fact managed to get more chanels in the van that my father-in-law did in his house in Italy!!

 

First outing out we left the remote at home - and found it very difficult to navigate the screen menus without.

 

The only other issue has been mounting the TV - it would not go in the dedicated TV cupboard, so had to mount under. This is better on your neck for viewing comfortably and has gained us a cupboard! But had to hunt around for and Avtex TV mount which they had discontinued.

 

Very pleased with the Avtex LCD picture from all angles, and colours vibrant - signal via normal Status arial and 12v booster at the moment.

 

Teenage daughter happy watching DVDs on the move too!

 

David

[t5tripper]

Hi there, we purchased an Avtex TV/DVD combined which has an aerial powered off the TV. It's absotuately brilliant and we have had no problems at all with it. It is far superior to the other TV's that we looked at, for example, you don't have to be sat straight in front of it to see the picture, the quality is just as good if you are sitting slightly to one side. The sound and picture quality is great and whilst I paid more money for it than other TV's I think it was worth the extra money. We bought from a company called anr leisure (link below), boy did this chap know his stuff, he was really helpful and answered my long list of questions. The TV arrived the next day and honestly we are really delighted with it. Comes with remote control and record facility on to USB, we were given a USB free. Well worth the money and I would highly recommend.

 

K

 

http://www.anrleisure.co.uk

[t5tripper]

I also should have added we have had no problem either on mains or 12v and I believe some of the cheaper models do not work so well on 12v but that's only what I have gleaned not got any first hand experience.

 

K

[spospe]

t5tripper

 

Do you mean that you record onto a PC's hard drive via the usb connection, or that your set takes memory cards such as SD, Micro SD or CF and you can record onto these?

 

Thanks to you all for the help so far.

 

Michael

[Mickydripin]

I have the Avtex W152D seven in one and it is great it has a one button set up so you are not messing about trying to get your channels and it has its own portable areial with a booster built in (Tho that is extra) we brought ours three years ago and when we are not using it in the van which is not a lot latley my wife uses it in the kitchen it should cost you around £299 but is well worth it I got mine from Empire stores and it came with all the cables some people do not give you the 12V cable.

Look on ebay you get some bargins on there Empire stores are on there as well

[Patricia]

I bought a domestic TV for the bedroom - it was about £100 and the sound is diabolical.

 

Presently I have a Sharp TV in the m/home - a superb picture but it does not record, or have a DVD slot nor is it digital (all of France will be digital by 2011) so I am interested in this thread. However, I was surprised to notice that Avtex only have a one-year warranty, not two.

[thebishbus]

Hi .The Avtex tv we bought from John Lewis, came with a 5 year guarantee on the tv section, and 2 years on the DVD. :-)

Brian B.

[nuevoboy]

I'm currently looking to buy a TV too and am impressed by the Avtex W103D, which is only a 10" set, but like those mentioned previously, it has in built DVD, autotune, in built card reader and record to USB or hard-drive.

It would seem that there is a 3 year extended warranty on the new sets too, so can't see much to complain of.

The previous owner of our 'van has provided a wall bracket with the standard fixing holes, so I'm curious as to why one of the poster's above (sorry, can't scroll now to find out who) required a dedicated Avtex mount, as I believe all the Avtex TV's have standard fittings.

[Laika 4.1]

Hi we bought a 15" Alba flat screen tv aprox 4 years ago from Makro with in built dvd player for £139 95 inc vat and its been excellant . we run it on12 volt through the small transformer thats included can be used as computer screen also ' hope this helps.

[StewartJ]

Hi all newbie here, bought a 19" Avtex for our new MH in September as we wanted option of Analogue as well as digital freeview for those iffy area's ie seemingly as soon as one goes north of the border.

 

Well impressed and our dealer matched the online price here:- http://www.12vtv.co.uk/tv_dvd.asp?cat=22

 

As already mentioned viewing angles are brilliant as is sound quality, also it reads the files ok on my 2.5 inch portable hard drive playing Divx movies and the like without a problem.

 

As said, you pays ya money, incidently I have a 19" Tescos Technica TV in my cabin onboard ship and it is very very good, its just that the Avtex beats it hand down in every respect.

 

Stewart

[spospe]

Thanks to all for the feedback so far, can I ask if anyone has tried the Meos range?

 

Michael

[Mike88]

I have the latest MEOS 13.3 with DVD. If you are able to watch the TV when sitting with the screen at eye level the picture is excellent. The sound is not too good though (tinny) and in my view unsuitable for playing CDs; its adequate for TV and DVDs.

 

The main problem is the viewing angle. I find it impossible to watch the TV when I'm lying down; all you see are pictures resembling photo negatives. You really need to sit with the screen at eye level to get an acceptable picture.

 

I shall replace mine with something else and reluctantly the over expensive Avtex seems to be the way forward providing I can get one to fit in my TV cupboard.

[lennyhb]

I would go for a domestic one plenty of them run of 12v. Our van came with a 17" Camos I'm not impressed with picture is acceptable but not that good & sound is crap (we run through the van's surround sound system), when you consider it's at least 3 times the price of a domestic TV a real rip off.

 

 

[Overdrive]

Hi nuevoboy

It was me that wanted a dedicated Avtex mount. In order to mount our Avtex TV under the cupboards the fixing is at 90 deg to the TV (Bracket No AK563) The only mount I could find was an Avtex one at a reasonable price £8.95. Most standard mounts fix to a vertical panel or have an extending arm from vertical.

 

David

[spospe]

Thanks again to all and especially Mike88 for his comments on viewing angles. This is the kind of information that I really need to make a good decision. Thanks also for the suggestions to use a domestic set instead of a dedicated leisure market item. Time to visit a few shops methinks :-)

 

Thanks again ......... Michael

[t5tripper]

Hi, you record programmes, a bit like sky plus on to a USB but the tv needs to be on standby and if you happen to turn TV off it wipes off the instruction to record. You choose through a planner and pick what you want to record, put your TV on standby and then it records on to the USB, you can then watch it back via TV. We have done it the once and it was pretty successful.

 

The good thing about the TV is that it is built for being transported about, so more robust than say a TV you would have in your bedroom. It also appears to be one of the better ones if you use 12v and the aerial power is taken directly from the TV so no separate plug for it (obviously an avtex aerial. It was a right mine field when I was trying to find one, I wanted one that would go the distance and so far, touch wood this is doing the trick

 

K

[Mike88]

One further point which I omitted from my above post. If you opt for an Avtex I would suggest buying it online from John Lewis as they offer a free 5 year guarantee as opposed to the usual 1 year and that is a good deal given that the TV is subject to being shaken around and operated in very high temperatures if, like me, the TV is used extensively abroad.

 

There is a very good review of the Avtex on the Snellyvision site (google) which suggests that the viewing angles are as good as you are likely to get.

 

Personally I would not use a domestic set as they are not designed to operate on 12v although most can but those that do are not designed to deal with the voltage fluctuations found in 12volt batteries. Some might disagree but this information came to me by e mail direct from Sharp.

 

[spospe]

Thanks again to you all, at the moment it's looking like the Avtex 163DR from John Lewis. I will report again here when we have had some experience of using it (going to York in the 'van in early December for 40th wedding anniversary and I will need something to watch ;-) )

 

PS why is it that I don't see the spelling mistakes until after posting?