12v TVs. Have you bought, upgraded, ditched, or changed to tablet?

Tonks

Tonks

Joined
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Van Conversion
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Since childhood!
(Yes, I know there are violently opposing camps on watching TV in vans, so let's save time by just not posting your personal views on 'to watch' or 'not to watch'. Thanks!)
Today on my journey home I stopped off to buy a TV for my van. When I've had a long and busy day away with the van like yesterday for example, I like a bit of TV as I settle for the night. My iPad is too old to upgrade the streaming apps now, and I'm too old to enjoy watching films on iPhone screens.
But I couldn't bring myself to spend the money. Lots of 12v TVs seem very behind in terms of the tech they have, and although I know you can add Fire Sticks etc, my question is why would you buy a TV that requires this when fully smart ones are available and have been for years?
I'm noticing lots of Avtexs, Cellos etc on FB Marketplace, so presumably their owners have either decided to go the tablet route, or have upgraded, or given up!
I'm interested to know if previous TV owing Funsters have ditched their TV in favour of a tablet, or if they've recently bought a TV, and what were the deciding factors.
(And yes, I have also searched this topic, and read quite a lot of comments on a number of threads. That should preempt a few other questions! 😉)
Ta!
 
WE upgraded a Cello to a Falcon with built in Sat Tuner when we had our Sat dish installed (By Falcon)

Works on Terrestrial as well as built in DVD (Yes I know Ancient) can also stream from a Firestick but not bothered
Does what we want
 
We bought so called smart Avtex ... never again. When it breaks down or we simply cant bear it anymore then a proper smart tv (maybe not 12v though) or normal tv with firestick. Avtex IMO over priced and over rated
 
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I've got a 2nd hand Avtex.. probably over 5 years old..I have a firestick which works well..Netflix,Amazon and IPTV.
I've been onsite since last Friday but haven't used it...it's a great summer so I'm sat outside chatting to neighbours, reading or listening to the radio.. probably use it later in the year when evening gets shorter.
 
Bought a smart Sharpe Aqueos tv. 12v and 240v does everything you need.

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Currently in EU and avtex gets nowt. Anyway mainly watch YouTube at home so our tablets are the favoured option. I have youtube premium and amazon prime so can get most things. Only using the avtex with stuff I recorded at home onto ssd, and a few dvds we haven't watched yet. The 12" tablet sat on the table is effectively much bigger than the TV sited further away.
 
Madcaravanner said:
WE upgraded a Cello to a Falcon with built in Sat Tuner when we had our Sat dish installed (By Falcon)

Works on Terrestrial as well as built in DVD (Yes I know Ancient) can also stream from a Firestick but not bothered
Does what we want
Click to expand...
DVD is actually a factor for me since I'm also ancient(ish!)::bigsmile: so have quite a few of 'em.
 
Folkranger said:
Currently in EU and avtex gets nowt. Anyway mainly watch YouTube at home so our tablets are the favoured option. I have youtube premium and amazon prime so can get most things. Only using the avtex with stuff I recorded at home onto ssd, and a few dvds we haven't watched yet. The 12" tablet sat on the table is effectively much bigger than the TV sited further away.
Click to expand...
Yes, I liked my iPad and it was fine close too, as well as easy to store etc. I've been considering replacing it, but it's a costlier route than the TV! (Mainly because I use Macs for work, so would be staying with Apple products - I know the arguments against this - and an iPad upgrade would involve more than just the tablet!)
 
Dumb tv and Firestick for us…….plus Kindle and magazines/Readly app. (y)

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I'm a DVD watcher and have two 12v TVs with built in DVD.

Most of the movies I like are old and sell for £5 or less on Amazon. Also when in North Devon I visit Barnstable Pannier Market where a couple of stall sell used DVDs for £3.

Other markets are available.
 
We have a 12v TV that we watch, sound is terrible (must buy that BT dongle). but it is data free! We also use an old iPad, especially for YouTube and Netflix. I do have an Amazon Firestick, but, well, you can hear me groan.
 
Avtex and Oyster still in situ but rarely used, Avtex and Firestick better option, however Samsung Tablet tethered to Smartphone is great for personal viewing times.like footie etc...
 
Bought a new Cello for this mh as the old one wouldn't fit the 'slot'.
Swmbo insisted though I never watch TV and she very rarely does when away. Its actually quite good with reasonable sound, has satellite tuner, not used, and a dvd slot.
 
The 12v smart TV’s are typically not as well developed as the likes of Samsung, Philips etc. and that’s why you see the poor reviews. They don’t have the financial backing and infrastructure to compete.

We have an Avtex, but the dumb version with onboard DVD and both Terrestrial and Freesat. We plug in an Amazon stick as it works, and works well. Amazon pour millions into development and support which you’ll never get from a small market brand like Avtex or Cello.

We are happy with the combination, the TV works well and we get smartness that works…

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I’ve got an old Avtex tv and and a Firestick which works very well,and has made the Oyster satellite redundant. An iPad is great for using for personal use,but to small compared with a tv if we are both watching it.
 
We have a samsung S7 5G for watching a little live tv F1, motoGP, I player but we use a laptop/ hard drive for watching DVDs.
I am hanging my nose over the Samsung S8 as has a larger screen but they are expensive.
 
We have a TV we have had for 15 years, it has a dvd player which these days we never use, I have an old phone (Samsung S5) that I connect to the TV with a lead and I download things to watch before we go away and I can use it on WiFi to stream as well. We have no intention of replacing the tv until it stops working
 
We gave up on a tv completely in our new van and now stream through our phones, both have unlimited data, and watch on our iPads, mini for Helen pro for me. Watching sport on the pro is fine, we can both watch from the front seats, picture size adequate.
 
Be even better when the new ‘supersized’ iPad Pro is released (14-16”….);)

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I have just bought a Medion 12v tv from Aldi. So far, it has been brilliant, cannot recommend highly enough. Good price too, £120 on Ebay.

John
 
Certain LG tv/monitors are 19vdc input using an external power supply, and can be picked up dirt cheap from ebay.

I use a 21"one powered by a 12v dc/dc converter and works perfectly
 
DumfriesDik said:
We have a 12v TV that we watch, sound is terrible (must buy that BT dongle). but it is data free! We also use an old iPad, especially for YouTube and Netflix. I do have an Amazon Firestick, but, well, you can hear me groan.
Click to expand...

The sounds on my lounge TV wàs terrible. On inspection there were two internal speakers about the size of a 10p, pointing out of the back!

Purchased a mini soundbar, 9" long, it was less than £20, problem solved.
 
I won't buy a Smart TV as the software is not supported long term like say a Firestick or Roku device that turns any TV into Smart.

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We have older Avtex with firestick works well.
I certainly wouldn’t bother chopping in the tv for a new smart model until it finally pops it’s clogs🤔
 
Have an avtex and also now have a chromecast linked to my mobile phone as a hotspot so effectively a smart TV now.

was initially disappointed with Avtext in the quality of the picture but found you need to spend a bit of time calibrating the screen (colour temp, sharpness, noise reduction, contrast and brightness etc etc) to get the best out of it. Also you need to do this on each of the input settings….so when you have the Tv selected, go into settings and really spend time getting the pic right, then select the DVD, do it again and again for HDMI1 (for the Chromecast). The settings are individually stored against each input. Now much better viewing experience!
 
On my own so can watch a lot of TV. Avtex 24" with dvd which I got cheaper as current model off ebay second hand to neplace a 19" avtex that came with van but seemed a bit small. Coupled with firestick that the avtex USB seems to power ok and a mifi I find I mostly watch netflix or prime stuff, rather than free view. Need to work out how to sideload sky go onto the stick.

Dvd is useless. Most of stuff I have on disc is blu Ray.

When looking at TV choices, whilst many other 13v models were available claiming to be HD standard most seemed to be less than 1080p.
 
We have an Avtex we put in our first Motorhome in 2011, when we full timed. We watch a lot of tv, as my husband has social anxiety, so often likes to be in the van. It has a DVD player which we now use VERY occasionally, & a Firestick which keeps it up to date. I wouldn’t buy a smart tv, as they don’t keep the software up to date , as has been mentioned. The Avtex is still going strong, but I’ve probably jinxed it now! 😀
 
My Avtex is for sale in the classifieds, if anyone's on the lookout for one...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Avtex 199DSFVP-v2 Connected TV + Firestick

For sale is my lovely Avtex 19.5" connected TV. It is the current model as listed on the Avtex site: https://www.avtex.co.uk/l320trs/199dsfvp This TV was in my van for just 1 week. I don't watch much television, so it was a frivolous purchase. It's in...
www.motorhomefun.co.uk www.motorhomefun.co.uk

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