“Best” tv for offgrid?

[Nan_wpg]

Looking for ideas for a decent Tv for our non grid cabin. Current Tv is a plasma I think. It’s drawing almost 600 watts.

and by “best” I’m referring to lowest power consumption I.e led, plasma, oled, etc.

needing one with a usb input as we use some type of program to,watch movies. Currently use a laptop (which,is older and uses power as well). Would rather load it,onto a usb stick in lieu of laptop

 

[Brett V]

What size are you looking at? I have a 52" plasma and 60 inch OLED here in my office, both make great space heaters. Upstairs is a 75" Sony LED tv that pulls about 275 watts. You can get some smaller tv's that draw just a few watts.

 

[AntronX]

I had 32" Samsung LCD TV running on 19V DC using 25 watts at decent brightness. The winner so far is 24" Acer LCD monitor pulling 6.5 watts on 12V displaying surveillance DVR feed over HDMI.

 

[45North]

I have an older 22in Samsung that uses a wall wart, but I assume it can be run without it ie. Directly from 12vdc.
Isn't this how RV entertainment units work?

 

[AntronX]

I have an older 22in Samsung that uses a wall wart, but I assume it can be run without it ie. Directly from 12vdc.

That depends. My 24" Acer monitor comes with 19V adapter but will run down to 10V. Samsung TV refused to run below 16V so I powered it via dc boost converter making 19V from 12V.

 

[Nan_wpg]

What size are you looking at? I have a 52" plasma and 60 inch OLED here in my office, both make great space heaters. Upstairs is a 75" Sony LED tv that pulls about 275 watts. You can get some smaller tv's that draw just a few watts.

I think current Tv is 65, maybe 55”. Can go smaller. But not too much. BIL would be upset if we go too small.

i “could” plug in a killawatt meter in Costco but I’d look silly, lol.

hoping to draw less than 600 watts.

 

[MichaelK]

I got a 43" Samsung Crystal that has performed nicely. Consumes ~12.5W. I also have mine connected via a laptop for watching movies, via the HDMI port, and also have a digital TV antenna up on the roof of the cabin (Coax connection). Can receive free digital TV from the major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. Also get a cowboy channel called "Grit" and MeTV. With MeTV, I get Gilligan's Island, so I'm good.

I also recently got StarLink, so now I can also receive the digital streaming services like NetFlix and AmazonPrime.

 

[nycamper62]

This thread caught my attention, borrowing a friends compact digital tv to see if I can get a certain channel this weekend. If so - superbowl at camp.

 

[MichaelK]

Here is a fun website for finding TV stations your antenna can zoom in on.

https://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Looks like a significant number of stations with an antenna pointed SSE or so. I used this same tool to point my antenna, and got excellent results. TV for free! Keep in mind that I have an antenna that clears my roof by ~ 10', so at least 28' above ground.

 

[45North]

Yes, most north American stations are still transmitting over the air, ota. And most tvs have a digital tuner built in. Height is good but rabbit ears will work too, if you're close enough to the stations transmitter.
Picture quality is better than cable!

 

[Crowz]

All of ours are LCD from 32 to 65 inch and none of them pull hardly any power. I would just look for an LCD of whatever size you need. The plasma route definitely was a bad idea offgrid for wise.

 

[Bluedog225]

From memory, Costco 32”, pulls 40 watts, $119. Small victron inverter and digital antenna on a long piece of bamboo.

 

[Skypower]

Year old Sony 65” 240 watts
Zero problems, no glitches when I switch from grid to batteries. Great reception on antenna and very good utilities for apps. You can greatly improve voice if you go to audio and crank up “enhanced dialogue”. Unless you like sound effects and reading lips, or text.

 

[nycamper62]

I used the rca app which is clunky but good enough to find signals within 50ish miles.
The good news is after moving the antenna about a half dozen times, about a dozen local channels are available.

 

[CapnGimp]

I have a Sceptre 40" LED that I bought from Wal Mart for around 170 bux with an added 4 year insurance plan. Uses around 40watts and I run it pretty much aroound the clock using it as a tv with a usb ROKU stick, a monitor for my Mac laptop and as a monitor for my desktop during the daylight hours. I also have a Satellite dish with a receiver/dvr that I have Galaxy 19 pulling in my fav channels that is on fulltime also. My internet is by Hughes net. It is RARELY cloudy here for more than a day or two. This works for me.

 

[wheelman55]

Here’s a link to some good info on watts used. I’ve personally had good luck with Samsung 4k tv’s.

https://esavingsguide.com/how-many-watts-does-a-tv-use/

We are 100% off grid.

 

[Nan_wpg]

All of ours are LCD from 32 to 65 inch and none of them pull hardly any power. I would just look for an LCD of whatever size you need. The plasma route definitely was a bad idea offgrid for wise.

Plasma was a hand me down (from an offgridER? Lol) before we went “solar”

 

[SeaGal]

low-power watching movies together... sorted...

 

[Lt.Dan]

I have a 2 year old 75" Samsung QLED TV in our living room, full tilt, with full brightness is under 200w. I wouldn't worry about type anymore, anything new is going to be leaps and bounds better than Plasma.

 

[Tomthumb62]

I have 32” HP monitor that uses 35W. Not sure how technically different a TV is from a monitor. Likely though if you want lower wattage you’ll need to go with a smaller screen. Just move your chairs or couch a bit closer. Living on grid has made us oblivious to just how much energy we consume and our buying choices reflect this. Do you NEED a 72” screen or it just a symptom of keeping up with the Jones’?