What size television

I am looking at purchasing a flat screen TV for my 32ft trawler but unsure of what size to get.
I don't want it too big but not too small either.

What size TV have you found suitable for your boat??

I am thinking 19 inch LCD

Allan

Allan,
We installed a Sony Bravia 26N4000 about a year ago. These are LCD and also have a bit if surround sound built in with a subwoofer at the base. Sony had some great discounts- I believe because most folks want to install their own surround sound. For us it was great to have the better sound it came with. The subwoofer is built into a base - so no hanging flat on a wall. It has slots in the bottom as I recall that allowed me to bolt er down to the top of the original TV shelf. It's not a huge TV but fits nicely in our saloon. With the Blue Ray player it makes for some great movie watching. We also pull in lots of digital channels at the boat with just a standard antenna.

Put in a 19" Sharp LCD DVD combo mounted on a swing out arm mount so it can be oriented to wherever one is sitting. Attached a couple of hook and eye catches to keep it in place in a seaway. Picture is pretty good. Sound is pretty feeble but adequate.

We have a 19" also with base. When we use it we put it on the counter across from the sette. when we're moving it is lying down in the aft cabin. Our previous TV bit the dust when we were waked in FL. wasn't well secured.
Steve W.

AllanY wrote:

I am looking at purchasing a flat screen TV for my 32ft trawler but unsure of what size to get.
I don't want it too big but not too small either.

Click to expand...

The bigger the better.* No matter what size you get you will wish you got a bigger one later (if you have room for a bigger one).* So you might as well start out with as big a screen as will fit (both the space and the aesthetics).

In terms of brands, there are a bunch of them and many of them look pretty good.* But having been employed in the film/television business for over forty years, I can tell you that most people in the business go for Sony.* This was true back in the old Trinitron days of the 70's and it's still true today.* When we went shopping for an HD the other year we shopped real carefully.* We'd seen very nice looking Panasonics at friends houses and were really tempted to go that route. But in compariing most of the brands out there with the Sony Bravia, in the end we coughed up the extra money and went with the Sony.

Good friends of ours (he's a director of videography with his own production company) just bought a fifty-something inch Sony LCD/LED and it's stunning.* Best picture I've ever seen.

26

Is it possible to get anything (TV wise) in 12V these days?

Allan, We have a 23" in our MT 34 and it is quite sufficient.
[url]http://tinyurl.com/28d2w93[/url]

Conrad

These are 12 volt http://www.majesticinternational.com.au/canada.html built for marine use. I have been thinking the same way.

I installed a 23" JVC combo (tv/DVD) from Sams Club. I like the size viewing from about 6 ft.
It was a cheap one - my thinking is 2 fold. It's more likely to get stolen than one in my house and the harsh marine environment does not play well with consumer electronics.

Funny thing happen though. I thought is was OK sitting on the cabinet until after a run one day I found the TV on the floor. We had gone up on plane and it had fallen off onto the carpeted floor. Picked it up, turned it on and it worked fine. Very lucky.

We do not lock our boat when un-attended. The sliding door entry into the boat would probably cost thousands to replace, far more than anything worth stealing on the boat. I also have fuel shut offs to both engines that would take a thief some time to find if he hot wired the boat. Just my thoughts.


-- Edited by timjet on Sunday 31st of October 2010 06:31:34 AM

What about the fact your insurance is void if the boat/home is not locked?

Conrad wrote
"Is it possible to get anything (TV wise) in 12V these days?"

This site has all sorts of 12v stuff including TVs.*

http://www.12volt-travel.com/

Steve W.



-- Edited by Steve on Sunday 31st of October 2010 08:06:22 AM

I agree with Timjet. We also bought cheap TV/Dvd combos that work well ($203 at Walmart).
They are perfectly suitable for onboard use. A wall mount bracket completes the installation. So far they have been in 20' plus seas with no problems.

Any time I put household items on the boat, like TV's, I always buy the extended warranty. They're a terrible buy if the stuff is going into a house but like someone else mentioned, the marine environment doesn't play well with consumer electronics. I've come out ahead over the years by doing this. Something to think about.

Oh yea, bigger is always better.

-- Edited by Keith on Sunday 31st of October 2010 09:12:49 AM

That's what we did on the Sony's. We actually got one for the master at home and one for the boat at the same time. In three years when the EW ends I thought I would swap them with each other and hopefully the marine environment TV will live a longer life in a dirt house.
Course I use a lot of industrial cleaners and spray a lot of paint and seldom wear appropriate safety gear

I FORGET , but either the plasma or LCD can not take freezing.

Depending on how and where yopu voyage this might be a concern?

Got a 19 inch combo DVD player and it's perfect. It also runs on 12v.


-- Edited by Fotoman on Monday 1st of November 2010 07:20:22 AM

this is the only picture i have on my iphone but you can see the 37" tv mounted on the port side.. theres alot of room in my boat for mounting so i went as big as i could. with direct tv hookup too. bigger is better so fit the biggest one you can. boats alittle messy

I agree with Marin and Albin...the bigger the better!!!!

Albin43,
How are you able to posts pics with your iPhone ? I haven't figured that one out. Can't respond to a PM either.

Albin43,
Sorry but I can't respond - I wil download iPhone 4 when I get a chance. Sorry to hijack the thread. Photobucket also requires the update. When I try to start a new topic or respond to a PM the "curser" never pops into the text box. Again- sorry to hijack the thread but my laptop is at the office.

Conrad wrote:

Is it possible to get anything (TV wise) in 12V these days?

Click to expand...

Why spend the money. When an inverter does the same. A 12 volt will only *be a TV with a built in inverter.


I have a friend with a monitor/*TV*that hooks into his GPS.
It's really cool to watch the plotter and fish finder on a big screen 42"
He also added engine room camera and a reverse angle camera*for backing up.

SD**


-- Edited by skipperdude on Tuesday 2nd of November 2010 09:08:14 AM

-- Edited by skipperdude on Tuesday 2nd of November 2010 09:09:52 AM

skipperdude wrote:Why spend the money. When an inverter does the same. A 12 volt will only *be a TV with a built in inverter.

Click to expand...

Correct! That's exactly what I did and when cruising it runs off the inverter.


*

skipperdude wrote:


Conrad wrote:

Is it possible to get anything (TV wise) in 12V these days?

Click to expand...

Why spend the money. When an inverter does the same. A 12 volt will only *be a TV with a built in inverter.


I don't think that's the case.* More likely a 120 volt TV will have a built in or external transformer to reduce the voltage to something around 12 volts DC.* Your inverter will have some inefficiencies and will make for a "sloppy" installation with extra boxes and wires. A native 12 volt DC TV makes for a ckleaner and more efficient installation, provided you can find one that meets your needs.

I installed a "Skyworth" brand 19" TV/DVD combo on my boat.* It's a 12 volt TV but it comes with an external transformer in case you want to use it on 120 volts AC.* I dont.





I have dressed the wires better since the photo was taken.* The TV works fine.

*

Why spend the money. When an inverter does the same. A 12 volt will only *be a TV with a built in inverter.


SD**

Not true. Mine has a transformer between the 120V plug and the TV.

*

Huh. I have a little Xantrex inverter and a TV/DVD player combo. Sam's club 19 Inch
$248.00
Works fine.

SD

We have a 50" plasma at home w Direct TV and watch mostly news. First year we were in Alaska we watched lots of many channels and got movies from Craig every week. Wore off in about a year. When my stepdaughter moved up here from Washington all she talked about was cell phones, my space and all that other trivial stuff. Now she's got a life and no time for all that stuff. She's involved in other stuff*** ...real life. I personally can't relate to idea of having a TV on one's boat. I think it's ridiculous much less making a discussion about what size to get. Do you guys realize you're addicted to TV?


-- Edited by nomadwilly on Tuesday 2nd of November 2010 11:35:57 AM

everyone uses there boat for different things, i liveaboard so its redculous to have a tv? do you have a tv at home?

I go to the boat every weekend . shovel off the snow make a pot of coffee And work on things. The Dickenson keeps her nice and warm.
Can't get TV. So pop in a movie and away you go.

SD*

No. Certainly no. And Albin 43 I'd have a TV if I was a live aboard as well. And SD, no on your use either. I'm talk'in about the gotta have stuff people. Some people will have something vogue even if it's basically useless*** ...just to have it. This is a part of the lifestyle we fled when we moved to Alaska. When cell phones were new a lot of people talked on the phone just to be seen (and heard unfortunately) with that new and cool thing. And a lot of people surround themselves w as many of these trinkets, mannerisms and activities as possible. I think being cool is about as dumb as one can get. Would anybody guess I'm 70 yrs old?I'm sure that has something to do w it. It looks like I'm becoming a grumpy old man but I think I'm getting smarter too.

-- Edited by nomadwilly on Tuesday 2nd of November 2010 04:10:34 PM