Cello tv or Avtex tv (1 Viewer)

[Brightspark]

Has anyone purchased a cello tv against an Avtex? I'm considering either the new Cello
19 inch traveller or the Avtex 19 inch. The models both have freeview & sat tuners + dvd player. The cello also has bluetooth & ez cast whilst the Avtex is full HD

Any thoughts or recommendations?

 

[pappajohn]

Anything from a supermarket will be ok at a fraction of the avtex price.
As long as it has a transformer in the power lead it will run on 12v.

Modern tvs all have electronic circuit boards, no glass valves or tubes to damage, so reasonable rough handling and jolting wont do any harm.

 

[Neilfg]

We sold our Cello for an Avtex. We did this as the Avtex was slightly larger, it has Sat recv builtin (future req) and a powered aerial socket, this was a biggy as cuts down on cable clutter.

The Cello was fine, picture/sound ok, remote and menu good, power cable socket a bit wobbly, but everything worked well.

Thinking about it now if the functionality was the same I would just go for the cheaper one.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DanielFord]

Anything from a supermarket will be ok at a fraction of the avtex price.
As long as it has a transformer in the power lead it will run on 12v.

Modern tvs all have electronic circuit boards, no glass valves or tubes to damage, so reasonable rough handling and jolting wont do any harm.

Wot he said! We do have a Cello, but more due to dimensions rather than anything else. Most LCD/LED TV's actually run 12V and are supplied with a transformer to step down from 240v to 12v. All you need to do is get the telly, and then buy a cheap balanced 12v supply plug from ebay (about £5) and you are good to go!

The things we like about our Cello is the ability to plug in an external hard drive to enable full PVR functionality. Also, we have many DVD's ripped onto the same hard drive, so we don't need to carry so many DVD's in the van!

 

[busby]

I bought the cheapest T.V/dvd player Argos had for sale 4 years ago. Its been brilliant all over Europe and still going strong. BUSBY...

 

[Ranger]

We have the 19in Cello and the picture is very good but the sound is rubbish. We use a cheap sound bar which transforms it. We have no experience of the Avtex but it does seem expensive for what it is.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Neckender]

We have the 21inch Cello as above good picture reasonable sound quality.

John.

 

[DanielFord]

We have the 19in Cello and the picture is very good but the sound is rubbish. We use a cheap sound bar which transforms it. We have no experience of the Avtex but it does seem expensive for what it is.

Have to agree, sound quality not the best on the Cello, in fact one of my jobs is to run the sound output to the head unit to put the TV sound out through the van speakers.
We bought our TV from a guy on ebay who sells off bankrupt stock, got a terrific bargain on it, can't remember the price, but it was less than half retail! Only thing was, he stated in the listing he couldn't guarantee brand, I was dead chuffed when I got a Cello!

 

[Big Nick]

We have a 24inch Avtex

Great tv but pricey

In hindsight we rarely watch tv when away in the van so perhaps a cheaper option such as a Cello would of been a better choice though

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Lenny HB]

We have a Cello 19" Traveller, picture is good, sound like all small TV's poor, doesn't bother us as we run the sound via the vans head unit. Only annoying thing is the sat tuner is only capable of storing one set of satellite channels so when you change satellites you have to retune and it takes about 20 minutes and you loose any favourites.

 

[Kool Kroozer]

Please think before buying - we recently was in the same dilemma, our avtex tv/dvd had bit the dust and did not want to pay nearly £400 for an avtex so was looking at all the different options, there are not many available with 12/240v option, and cello did seem to be good, we spent £170 for a 20" tv/dvd cello/goodmans (apparently they are the same apart from the name on the front) what a waste of money it turned out to be, the picture quality was good only if you were sitting directly in front of the screen, any other angle and there were dark shadows and patches on the screen - the seller said this is normal and to not have this the only option was to pay alot more money for a avtex tv (his words not mine) so in the end i returned it for a full refund which he did not quibble over - i then purchased an avtex from John Lewis £370 - my what a difference !

 

[clanjones]

I have the new Cello 19" Traveller II and pretty pleased with it. Have to agree that the sound is poor but I just stream it through a bluetooth speaker which makes a huge difference and is very easy to set up. Recording works well I but I haven't quite cracked the Ezcast functionality but you can always use an HDMI cable if that is essential. I am sure it will work, I just need some more play time with it!
I didn't want to pay £350.oo plus for a TV so this seems to fit the bill. Screen seems fine to me as it is LED and has a good viewing angle as far as I can tell. The remote can be a little slow sometime but all in all quite happy with it.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DP+JAY]

Look at the Enox too, same TV, different badge.

 

[Camper634]

I think Avtex are good but way overpriced.I have an Avtex as the main TV in the van and a cheap one for the overcab.The Avtex takes over 5 minutes to tune in and the cheapo less than a minute.True,the Avtex picture is a bit better but at £200 more it should be.No more Avtex for me.

 

[Easyliving]

We've had a 19" Cello tv for 3 years or so. Very happy with the picture, sound seems okay to me. We only use it in the van and it works fine on 240v or 12v.

Cello claim their tv's are British made too which makes a nice change!

Paul

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[themogs]

We've had both, but had to return the Cello because of the sound quality..poor !!
The Avtex IS way overpriced, but the quality is superb.

 

[SuperMike]

In the lounge area a 37" LG. Great picture, loads of sound. Been fitted to the wall for just over 5 years now and done many miles. It has been, still is, great.

In the bedroom area a 24" LG. Great picture, loads of sound. This was a replacement for a Sony, which had poor software and popped off after just a couple of years. This LG has been going now for three years.

So I vote LG.

 

[Jaws]

We have had three Avtex units.. ALL failed just outside warranty .. Every time the bill was a lot of money ( I really cannot remember but over £150 )
The last occasion I told them to keep the bloody thing.
Bought a 22" Cello .. That was about 4 years ago and it is still working just fine


@SuperMike , can you give the model numbers of those you have please.
I like LG stuff but have never found any that are not mains only

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Zigisla]

Does anyone rate the Vision Plus Range? Seems to be in the middle price range and has all the fetures of the Avtex. It will be the TV fitted to my unit, but if it is really pants, I will ask for it to be replaced. 3 1/2 weeks to go

 

[Lenny HB]

LG's are very good, but no 12v as far as I'm aware, my little job in Bournemouth that I finished last night was installing 24 x LG 43" LED Signage monitors, very impressed with them.

 

[scotzsue]

Have avtex now previous was a cello, sound went just after it came out of guarantee. Celo not avtex.
we previously had a curry's own make 12V tv which was brilliant pity I was messing and put my foot through the screen. Would have had another but the dont do the 12V one now, or didn't last time we looked.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[robnchris]

We bought an Avtex 19" 7 yrs ago, £350 ish it has been in 3 motorhomes and always performed without a problem, we use it with a Sumvision Cyclone media player coupled with a 2tb hard drive so 100`s of HD films to watch for those wet dark nights.

Sound and picture quality is excellent, ok not the cheapest TV on the market but considering we paid £55K + for the motorhome I don`t see the point in filling it with cheap accessories.

 

[GeebeeJaybee]

We have just replaced the Avtex TV's in our MH with the Cello Traveller. It is amazing - picture much better, playback great and hardly any energy use. Plus much cheaper!

 

[Speve]

Cello traveller gets our vote we have had two over three years both still fine. Why spend more?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Lynne Steele]

we are pleased with our Cello too, perhaps if tv was really important to us we may have spent more, but we are more than happy with Cello, records too. We got ours really cheap from Debenhams.

Lynne

 

[Rugeley Tim]

We had an Avtex previously but it gave up the ghost so we pitched for a much cheaper Cello, have to say that whilst the picture is ok (just) the sound is very 'tinney' and overall I much prefer the Avtex.

 

[Lenny HB]

We have just replaced the Avtex TV's in our MH with the Cello Traveller. It is amazing - picture much better, playback great and hardly any energy use. Plus much cheaper!

Our 19" only takes 1.5 amps.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[GeebeeJaybee]

Our 19" only takes 1.5 amps.

I think ours is 1.7 but it is a larger screen (22" I think).

The overall size of the unit is only actually the same as the 15" avtex ones we replaced - although these were older so chunkier. It fits into the TV cupboard, just!

 

[Brightspark]

Thanks for all the replies, a great help in deciding. I think that now the cello comes with 'bluetooth ' to hook up a wireless speaker(s) will transform the sound out of a small unit. I am trying to get away from the sound through the cab speakers as alot of the sound is buffeted by the seats and resonates in the doors. Although we are not deaf we end up having the volume set too high that it can be heard outside!

 

[SuperMike]

@SuperMike , can you give the model numbers of those you have please.
I like LG stuff but have never found any that are not mains only

Sorry, but as others have said both LG's are mains only and when off of hook up they run via the inverter. But, with a big battery bank and 400w of solar, I don't care. Further running them from inverter has never presented any problems. The bedroom one will run almost all night, because Management will drift in and out of sleep and just leaves it on. So, the Sky box is on as well, as will be one of the wall lights in the bedroom. I just disappear under the duvet. All that running, is small change against Managements medical stuff. But even on an overcast day the battery's will be back by lunchtime and on a sunny day by 9am. If things get a bit depleted, then it's out with my little shhhhhhhhhhhhh Honda. If things get very bad, then I start up the 5.5kw Onan, then everything is charged up toot sweat, and I also have the camping area all to myself.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}