# 12V Televisions - why so expensive?



## Tezmcd (Aug 3, 2009)

We have just bought our first motorhome and pick it up next Saturday

I have already been looking at all the toys I can start buying and did a search on 12V TV's for the camping and leisure market - boy was I surprised. Like everything else camping / caravan specific the prices seems crazy.

For example a 12V 15" specialist TV is about £300 with DVD and freeview built in. I think I have a way around this but need a bit of advice.

I went to Tesco where they sell a 15" TV/DVD/Freeview combo standard TV for £120 - however it is the type that actually runs off 12V via a standard 240/12V power supply. Can I simply cut the end off the 12V lead that goes betwen the TV and the power supply and pop a standard 12V caravan plug on the end of it - then simply plug it in to the standard 12V motorhome electrics???

I would also be interested in peoples general opinion about the high cost of caravan / camping specific equipment - even a standard 2 gallon plastic bucket sems to treble in price when bought from specialist retailers!

(I am guessing weight is a major factor, but with just 2 of us in a 5 berth motorhome for weekends only this will never be an issue in our case)


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## Dide (Aug 19, 2009)

Hi TEZMCD, I totally agree with you , but if you google MEOS -DVD154B I think you will be surprised. I have just ordered from fleabay, this model , total cost inc PP= £213. 

Lots of threads on this great site re small TV`s, but be careful- some tv`s use more current( not good in a M/home) and need 12v exactly, not 14volts as when you are charging your hab battery.

I will let you know what its like when it arrives.!!

David and Di


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## richardjames (Feb 1, 2006)

Tesco do a 12volt 15.6 with DVD @ £130 comes with 240volt to 12volt so all you need to get is a 12volt stabilized connection - I use one and it is very good


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## CliveMott (Mar 10, 2008)

Some up market motorhomes use mains TV,s and have a small inverter lurking nearby just to power the TV, Sky+ box etc.

C.


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

One of the reason might be that a 12v TV is designed to run off a battery and can tolerate a larger range of voltages to allow for battery discharge and charge, typically from 11.8volts to 14.2 volts. It maybe the type which run from converters will not have this kind of tolerence. Suggest if you can you verify the tolerance of sets intended for the mains but equipped with a converter before you cut out the converter because it is certainly possible to damage them with an over voltage..

peedee


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## homenaway (Jul 27, 2005)

Hi,

We have recently bought and are now using a Tesco Technika 15.6" tv and it's fine on 12 volts BUT I bought an Amperor stabilised 12v power supply for about £40 from Snellyvision as a precaution. No need to cut any leads as the power supply has the correct plug fitted.

TV performance has been good up to now with good picture on analogue and digital and reasonable viewing angles. DVD ticks a bit with some discs but otherwise its fine.

At present we use an SLX indoor amplified aerial which has mains and 12v input which was ok in Southern Scotland (solely Digital there now) once I had waggled the aerial around a bit. 

I haven't yet tried the tv with my Maplins Comag satellite set up.

Some of the obscure brand tv's in the dealers look very similar to the Tesco one (but not Avtex of course!)

Steve


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## Mike48 (May 1, 2005)

_I would also be interested in peoples general opinion about the high cost of caravan / camping specific equipment - even a standard 2 gallon plastic bucket sems to treble in price when bought from specialist retailers!_

Welcome to the World of Motorhoming. Everything you buy in the way of accessories is extortionate.


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## ozwhit (Feb 29, 2008)

im so pleased with my avtex 153 not cheap but excellent service and guarentee g


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## oddball135 (Jul 30, 2009)

Hi, I have said this in other post, we do not go down the 12v road, as you have said they cost a lot.
We buy normal 240v telly, and we have got a 150w inverter, I payed over £60 for this inverter, but that was 10 years ago, now you can get a small inverter for about £25, and the inverter comes in handy for so many other things.

Hope this helps


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## Tezmcd (Aug 3, 2009)

Dide said:


> Hi TEZMCD, I totally agree with you , but if you google MEOS -DVD154B I think you will be surprised. I have just ordered from fleabay, this model , total cost inc PP= £213.
> 
> Lots of threads on this great site re small TV`s, but be careful- some tv`s use more current( not good in a M/home) and need 12v exactly, not 14volts as when you are charging your hab battery.
> 
> ...


Thanks Dide - took a look at that and at sub £200 it seems good value compared to messing around with a standard TV and a hashed together stabiliser arrangment - I think I might just spend some hard earned on one


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## Snelly (Aug 20, 2005)

Hi

This subjects been covered before, but to summise:

Leisure tv's are more expensive because...

They are better protected against shock and vibration (panel, circuit boards, dvd player etc)

They have built in voltage regulation (one of our sets can cope with 10-18v)

The screen panel is generally better quality than the cheap ones you pick up from tesco, with wider viewing angles and better resolution

Some leisure sets have added extras such as card readers and fm transmitters, handy for viewing your pics taken while away or transmitting the tv sound to the motorhomes radio for better quality sound.

All being said, leisure tv's have come down a lot recently and you can pick a very nice mid range 15 inch set up for around £250


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## GerryD (Sep 20, 2007)

Snelly said:


> Hi
> 
> This subjects been covered before, but to summise:
> 
> ...


Shane,
To some extent I have to disagree with you. 
You are absolutely right about vibration being the enemy of a TV mounted in a road vehicle and for this reason I would always advise dismounting the TV for travelling. Our goes back into it's original box as it is designed to protect the TV whilst travelling.
All flat panel TVs run from a built in inverter that has the effect of stabilising the voltage within the TV. We have very few returns from customers who have bought TVs for use in leisure vehicles and they have subsequently failed and we have had no returns where the inverter has failed due to unstable input voltage. We sell thousands of TVs every year to the leisure industry as do all other major retailers with minimal failures. The experiences of many contributors on here would give testament to that.
I could never recommend spending double on a TV that is allegedly "designed for the leisure industry" when the retail own brand product is highly likely to have come from the same factory in China or Turkey.
Gerry


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## Mike48 (May 1, 2005)

Gerry. From previous posts I understand you work in the TV industry. Just for information, and in my very limited experience, I have not found vibration to be troublesome. My flatcreen Sharp TV has been wall mounted for a few years and has travelled at least 25000 miles all over France ans Spain with no problem. Perhaps I have been lucky but I'm not aware that any others who leave their TVs mounted have experienced the problem you mention.


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## GerryD (Sep 20, 2007)

gelathae said:


> Gerry. From previous posts I understand you work in the TV industry. Just for information, and in my very limited experience, I have not found vibration to be troublesome. My flatcreen Sharp TV has been wall mounted for a few years and has travelled at least 25000 miles all over France ans Spain with no problem. Perhaps I have been lucky but I'm not aware that any others who leave their TVs mounted have experienced the problem you mention.


Gelathae,
They possibly are not a problem, however I would personally advise against it.
Gerry


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## Dide (Aug 19, 2009)

Two more points worth consideration, most "mains" domestic TV`s are power hungry, compared to a portable intended for, dare I say it- portable use.
The other factor is , you get owt for nowt, and everytime you convert 12v to mains or visa versa, you lose due to less than 100% efficiency of inverters. In our humble setup we only have one 85AH battery and it has to last!!

My pennyworth !


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## Tezmcd (Aug 3, 2009)

Dide said:


> Hi TEZMCD, I totally agree with you , but if you google MEOS -DVD154B I think you will be surprised. I have just ordered from fleabay, this model , total cost inc PP= £213.
> 
> Lots of threads on this great site re small TV`s, but be careful- some tv`s use more current( not good in a M/home) and need 12v exactly, not 14volts as when you are charging your hab battery.
> 
> ...


Just ordered the 19 inch widescreen version of the MEOS - it got great reviews - hopefully I'll find out tomorrow if its all as reviwed

thx Dide


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## Brownfools (Sep 15, 2008)

Hi,

We have been using a Tesco one for about 18months. We also demount it for travel. We just put the original foam end surrounds back on, use a flat piece of foam to protect the screen and it lays in whatever space is available - often on the rear bunk, bur sometimes in a cupboard.

No problems so far. When the telly is only half the price of some of the "leisure" ones you're quids in the moment you pass 50% life expectancy of the "leisure".

Go for it!

D.


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## oldun (Nov 10, 2005)

oddball135 said:


> Hi, I have said this in other post, we do not go down the 12v road, as you have said they cost a lot.
> We buy normal 240v telly, and we have got a 150w inverter, I payed over £60 for this inverter, but that was 10 years ago, now you can get a small inverter for about £25, and the inverter comes in handy for so many other things.
> 
> Hope this helps


A 240V TV powered by an inverter is very very inefficient especially is you are using an inverter that can supply much more power than is needed.

My 500W inverter has a fan running all the time even when no load is being drawn.


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

My cheapo Alba sits in the office and provides me with a background noise. Sometimes interesting.It travels upright between cushions in the mh and has done for about 5 years.
Cost less than £125 and works well. If it breaks it has not cost the earth to relace.


dave p


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