I received my TV on Tuesday, sadly it has some issues.
So, the picture quality is about what I expected, but is perfectly adequate - so is the sound quality & I understand the reservations some have had with the viewing angle. The DVD drive is a tad noisy but whatever. I've not had a chance to test all the functions (I don't have an aerial in my house) but i've tested with an Amazon Firestick connected and it is seems absolutely fine for a TV to live in the caravan.
The issues seem to be either with the remote control or the TV IR receiver; button presses are not registered properly; the TV has some functions replicated with physical buttons and these work fine.
However, the Ferguson/Cello customer support has been excellent; they called the next day after a late-night email and a new Remote control is on its way for me to try.
So, the picture quality is about what I expected, but is perfectly adequate - so is the sound quality & I understand the reservations some have had with the viewing angle. The DVD drive is a tad noisy but whatever. I've not had a chance to test all the functions (I don't have an aerial in my house) but i've tested with an Amazon Firestick connected and it is seems absolutely fine for a TV to live in the caravan.
The issues seem to be either with the remote control or the TV IR receiver; button presses are not registered properly; the TV has some functions replicated with physical buttons and these work fine.
However, the Ferguson/Cello customer support has been excellent; they called the next day after a late-night email and a new Remote control is on its way for me to try.
CustardAvenger said:
Both our older Beko and 12 month old Panasonic "cheaper end" TVs seem slow on initial start up but once viewing has commenced they respond quickly to inputs from the remote. Our main Panasonic is super quick despite being 10 years old.
otherclive said:
Clive,
Not sure what was going on, but the TV works ok with the new remote.
Now had a chance to test the Ferguson TV in it's new home and it seems to work ok. I think trying to fit a bracket to the side of wardrobe would be more hassle than it's worth, as the TV is at the ideal height on the ledge by the 12v/aerial socket. 22" fits well in that setting and also fits on the "dressing table" by the fixed bed where a second TV outlet lives; 24" may have been too big in that location
Adding a USB memory stick gives limited PVR functions, allowing recording of a programme, but the ability to pause/rewind live TV is a luxury I have gotten used to! I was surprised that HD Channels worked via the Caravan aerial via Freeview. Downloaded an app which indicates where your nearest transmitter is; roughly pointed the mast in that direction and found myself watching Back to the Future 3 in HD - Can't wait for our next trip in 2019!
I think if I were to spend more nights away in the caravan than I currently have the opportunity to, I may have splurged on the Avtex as a higher quality product, but for occasional use for evenings in the caravan, I am very happy with the Ferguson.
Hello Chrisn7,
For a mains operated TV you don't have any external boxes and they are lighter (if that's important).
Personally I use a normal domestic mains operated TV,can't say if it's any better or worse than an avtex tv except it's a lot cheaper !
For a mains operated TV you don't have any external boxes and they are lighter (if that's important).
Personally I use a normal domestic mains operated TV,can't say if it's any better or worse than an avtex tv except it's a lot cheaper !
Perhaps a comparison of domestic verses dedicated tv's would form the basis of an informative article for Practical Caravan, or would they be frightened of alienating their advertisers?
My Xmas present this year from the better half was a TV for our new van, She purchased this one from John lewis https://www.johnlewis.com/toshiba-24w3863db-led-hd-ready-720p-smart-tv-24-inch-with-freeview-hd-freeview-play-black/p3585670
It is Excellent IMO. weighs only 3.3 kilos, low power consumption (19 watts), and looks good in the van, better than the one in the house..
can recommend highly for the money.
Rich
It is Excellent IMO. weighs only 3.3 kilos, low power consumption (19 watts), and looks good in the van, better than the one in the house..
can recommend highly for the money.
Rich
That's what I still don't get. They provide you with a HD tuner (so you can get all the channels) but don't provide you with a screen that is capable of using all of it!
Barney10 said:My Xmas present this year from the better half was a TV for our new van, She purchased this one from John lewis https://www.johnlewis.com/toshiba-24w3863db-led-hd-ready-720p-smart-tv-24-inch-with-freeview-hd-freeview-play-black/p3585670
It is Excellent IMO. weighs only 3.3 kilos, low power consumption (19 watts), and looks good in the van, better than the one in the house..
can recommend highly for the money.
Rich
Looks like a very good buy, a smart tv and 5 year warranty for 129 smackaroonies, what's not to like.
Most likely going to be used on EHU, but for those using an inverter the relatively low 19 watts power consumption does help.
We have two avtex both came with caravan from new. They are now about ten year old but still good . However I cannot play " alexa" because they do not have a HDMI socket
They fixed that short coming a good few years back, ours an L186 DRS must be 5 or 6 years old and features twin HDMI inputs.
I have a Polaroid branded TV/DVD from Asda
Its light and runs off 12V - and i paid £20 for it off FB marketplace!
Its light and runs off 12V - and i paid £20 for it off FB marketplace!
Cello are UK firm. Good to support them but having Samsung in the house we have the same in the van and separate blu ray player. I would always but a household tv and couldn't justify the amount Acted charge. I'd just get a satellite box if I was desperate. If at curry s do built in DVD players and some cheaper Argos offerings but tv experts Samsung LG , or son y for me.
Unless you go off grid and need the 12 volt bit any make and model should work for you. Ours is years old, a Toshiba from Tesco. It works fine but the choice was simply down to the fact that the last TV failed while we were away and the Tesco was the nearest place selling them.
As we proved for many years, even if going off grid which we usually did, then still there is no need for anyting other than a mains TV, if using as in our case a small pure sinewave inverter. More power hungry with the addition of the inverter loses but even that can be a small amount when well matched.
We only switched to having a 12 volt TV [from Grade] when it was part of the van build, then when that model failed for the second time, then out of warranty we went to our Avtex hoping for more reliability and the welcomed wide screen.
No most at least are assembled in the North East of England. They've been on TV a bit due to lockdown -sale increased but parts supply difficult!
My wife got suckered into buying an Avtex at the caravan show. Apart from having the 12v option we don’t ever use it’s just a small television with poor sound and average picture. The previous tv, a Teknika from Tesco is relegated to our kitchen, picture and sound better than the Avtex although beloved insists otherwise. Same as the ultralight vacuum cleaner she bought the year before, and the portable air cooler, she’s a salesman’s dream
We couldn't see why Avtex were so expensive, and the dealer recommended a Vision Plus TV which was about £100 cheaper, and has all the functionality of an Avtex, After two years we're very happy with it, reasonable sound, good picture, wide angle etc. They only do a 19" or 21" but we wouldn't want larger than 21" in our van.
My wife receive some money for 25 years service (Nurse) Some years ago
We brought LG Lcd HD Widescreen Free view Dvd built in but it still great .very quick setup .
We would buy a Avtex Tv you get what you pay for..
We brought LG Lcd HD Widescreen Free view Dvd built in but it still great .very quick setup .
We would buy a Avtex Tv you get what you pay for..
Mmm not really; there are very few worldwide manufacturers of LCD tv screens, and fewer still for OLED; LG Samsung, Toshiba etc are the well known names and LG for OLED . So Sony and Panasonic buy in their OLED screens from LG and then stick their own electronics/software and speakers on it. An Avtex TV is a kit of parts and yes they may buy in the best bits eg A+ rated and high resolution LCDs but their screens and electronics are not imo going to be superior to Sony, LG, Samsung and the like-the main players in high quality TVs worldwide-they may well be Sony LG or Samsung electronics rebadged-you'd need to take the back off and have a look as a brief internet search shows they hide their sources quite well. If you want best quality go for the best from the main specialist TV manufacturers and pay as much as you can. If you want convenience you then compromise and of course a 21" screen can get away with a lower quality of resolution simply because of its size. The big players seem to be moving away from smaller screens as the bigger sales(profits) are for the larger cinema style screens for the household market. Avtex seem to claim their TVs are more rugged than standard and this may also be true; there are ways eg extra reinforcement of chassis (as seen in some laptops) extra sealing from water ingress ie as seen in some laptops and mobile phones, and suspension or absorbing methods for printed circuit boards which may be thicker etc etc. BUT without dissecting a what appears to me to be VERY expensive Avtex unit I don't know. I for one am very happy with my Samsung 21" HD TV and blu ray player and treat them with reasonable care- ie when travelling the TV sleeps in the bed between duvet and mattress! I did break our first one-my hand slipped after a very frustrating journey when everything seemed against us, rushing to put it on the wall bracket and I put my fingers hard into the screen which would then only work in patches-expensive holiday that one!
Our BEKO is quite old now but still works fine. It has inbuilt dvd and a range of input sockets ( hdmi,scart,usb). It has Freeview but needs a satbox if using sat. It doesn’t have 12v but that’s never been a restriction. It has a padded protective travel case and when en route it travels on the bed under some bedding.
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