Any experience with Jensen 19" LED LCD TV

[LeonW]

Lindy and I ordered our new 17b Escape a week or so ago. We will be picking it up on June 21. Many of the places we like to camp won't have electricity, so we ordered the dual batteries, solar panels, & LED interior and exterior lights. But, we also like watching movies in the evening, so we are going to have a TV and DVD player.

We have been looking around for 12 volt TVs, and it looks like the 19" Jensen LED LCD would work well. Here's a link to the TV we are considering:

http://www.jensenrvdirect.com/jensen...ed-lcd-tv.html

These TVs use LEDs as the light source behind the LCD display. According to the Jensen website, the TV draws 44 mA when in standby mode (although we would probably just power it down), and 1.7 A max when running.

I have some questions for you wise folks:

• Do any of you have any experience with Jensen TVs, and if so, could you give me a quick review?
• Given the power usage, do you think we would have a problem if we spent a couple of hours watching a movie
• What are you using for a DVD player? There are some Jensen 12v DVD players that seem made for RVs. Are there other alternatives?

Thanks much for any insight. I will probably post a complete list of options in another thread, just to see if we missed anything important.

Leon Webster
St. Paul, MN

[Vermilye]

I don't think there will be a problem with a couple of hours watching TV as far as the batteries are concerned. I used a laptop that drew 9 amps @ 12V for a couple of hours per evening with the same set up you have, and as long as there was decent sun I was back to 100% by noon. I suspect the TV & DVD player draw even less.

Can't help with that model TV, but another approach would be to install an inverter to make 120V AC from your batteries, giving you a wider choice of TVs. I use a 250 watt inverter to grind coffee, warm up an electric blanket, etc and find it useful enough that I just finished installing a larger one so I can run my drip coffee maker in the mornings...

[RickM]

9 amps! Wow, you must have one super-duper high powered chip.

[Vermilye]

It's a 17" 2.66GHz i7 Mac Book Pro. That's 9 amps at 12V, not 120V. I have a 12v power supply for it so I don't have to fire up the inverter...

[gbaglo]

I had a 100 watt inverter and bought a one-cup drip coffee maker that took 25 watts ( as I recall ).
I ran it through the cycle once with plain water to clean it and then again shortly after.
Melted the cigarette lighter plug from the inverter.

If it had been hard-wired it probably would have been OK.

baglo

[Roger from Florida]

Hi Leon:

I did some research a few months back and I will be purchasing a 19" Jensen model JE1912LED for my Escape 5.0. Truly this television is very durable and made exclusively for recreational vehicles. Jensen is a division of Audiovox and I believe the audio system option installed by Escape is also Jensen. This television model only comes in 12 volt and has no base stand. The model you stated includes the base stand. The television (JE1912LED) is meant to be mounted with a wall bracket. The best price I found was from www.americanrvcompany.com. The price is listed at $289.12. Not sure how much it will cost to ship.

Good luck and let me know if and what you decide on buying.

[JeffZ]

We have one in our RV.. It performs well and of course runs off 12V - Now you could just buy an LCD TV and just hook it up to a small inverter/converter.. That would probably cost less and work well..

[LeonW]

Thanks much for the information, especially Roger's hint as to the lowest price. That is about $40.00 cheaper than the price I found on Amazon. I thought about getting an inverter, but I think it would be cleaner if we can just wire it into the trailer wiring.

As I recall, the reviews on the stereo that Escape offers as an option are not so hot, which is unfortunate. so I am going to keep looking for a good DVD player / stereo. Ideally, it would play DVDs & CDs, have an hdmi output, and have a good input for an iPhone or an iPod. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

best,

Leon Webster
St. Paul, Mn

[gbaglo]

Others ( not me yet ) on this forum bundle all their entertainment requirements with the purchase of an iMac Pro. CD / DVD drive, streaming video, email, photo and video processing and web browsing.

It makes sense to me.

baglo

[JeffZ]

Originally Posted by LeonW

Thanks much for the information, especially Roger's hint as to the lowest price. That is about $40.00 cheaper than the price I found on Amazon. I thought about getting an inverter, but I think it would be cleaner if we can just wire it into the trailer wiring.

FYI - Depending on the power requirements of the LCD TW (which could be less than 100w) a small inverter capable of handling it would be the pretty small footprint. My guess it would hold with velcro to what ever it attached to and also be able to power a laptop or charge a cell phone. Ours was just about the size of a 1 1/2 decks of cards placed side to side.