Cutting the "Brick" off of a TV

JerryS

JerryS

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May 17, 2010
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I hope that someone with more knowledge than I can step in here and help if I am wrong about, but, this is what I understand about the "Bricks" that people talk about on LCD TV's:

(Again, if someone knows more than I do, step in here and say so, because I am not an expert on this subject - don't assume that I know what I am talking about :smt001)

Ok, I lot of you want to put TV's in your boats and you are looking for a TV that operates on 12V DC. You see in discussions on the forum about TV's that have either a "Brick" in the power cord or don't have one. And then someone will say that I have a 12V/120V TV that has one power cord with a "Brick" that plugs into 120V and I have a power cord with an "accessory" plug on it that plugs into a 12V DC outlet (ie: cigarette lighter).

That is all fine and dandy, it means that the TV can be run off of either 120V AC or it can be run off of 12V DC. The so called "Brick" in the 120V AC line is actually a bridge rectifier that converts 120V AC to 12V DC. (Like your battery charger, converts 120V AC to 12V DC to charge your batteries). So, you could actually just cut the "brick" off of that 120V power cord and wire it directly to a 12V DC power source.

If a TV does not have a "brick", then that means that the DC converter is in built into the TV.

So, guys are looking for the "Brick", assuming that they can just cut the "brick" off and it will be fine. So, the question is whether there is a problem with that!

I say, yes there is if you buy a TV with a "brick", but, the literature does not specifically say that it is a 120V/12V TV.

I happen to have a 19" LCD TV at home that has a "Brick" on the power cord, but, it was not advertised as a 120v/12v TV. So, I can just cut that "brick" off and wire it to 12v DC right? Wrong! The specs on that "brick" say 120v AC input and 19v DC output. That TV set obviously is designed so that something in it requires 19v DC to operate. The rating on that "brick" is 19V DC at 3.42 amps. (Ie: the power consumption is 65Watts). I have an 19" LCD TV on my boat that requires 12V DC at 5 amps (ie: power consumption of 60Watts).

So, if you are contemplating buying an LCD or LED/LCD TV and it has a "brick" on the power cord and does not specifically say that it is a 120v/12v TV, do not assume that it will operate on 12V DC by cutting the "brick" off.

Also, beware that if you cut the "brick" off, you are going to need to put a fuse in the line or it will be unprotected. So you need to know the current draw of the TV.

TV003.jpg
 
JerryS said:
I hope that someone with more knowledge than I can step in here and help if I am wrong about, but, this is what I understand about the "Bricks" that people talk about on LCD TV's:

(Again, if someone knows more than I do, step in here and say so, because I am not an expert on this subject - don't assume that I know what I am talking about :smt001)

Ok, I lot of you want to put TV's in your boats and you are looking for a TV that operates on 12V DC. You see in discussions on the forum about TV's that have either a "Brick" in the power cord or don't have one. And then someone will say that I have a 12V/120V TV that has one power cord with a "Brick" that plugs into 120V and I have a power cord with an "accessory" plug on it that plugs into a 12V DC outlet (ie: cigarette lighter).

That is all fine and dandy, it means that the TV can be run off of either 120V AC or it can be run off of 12V DC. The so called "Brick" in the 120V AC line is actually a bridge rectifier that converts 120V AC to 12V DC. (Like your battery charger, converts 120V AC to 12V DC to charge your batteries). So, you could actually just cut the "brick" off of that 120V power cord and wire it directly to a 12V DC power source.

If a TV does not have a "brick", then that means that the DC converter is in built into the TV.

So, guys are looking for the "Brick", assuming that they can just cut the "brick" off and it will be fine. So, the question is whether there is a problem with that!

I say, yes there is if you buy a TV with a "brick", but, the literature does not specifically say that it is a 120V/12V TV.

I happen to have a 19" LCD TV at home that has a "Brick" on the power cord, but, it was not advertised as a 120v/12v TV. So, I can just cut that "brick" off and wire it to 12v DC right? Wrong! The specs on that "brick" say 120v AC input and 19v DC output. That TV set obviously is designed so that something in it requires 19v DC to operate. The rating on that "brick" is 19V DC at 3.42 amps. (Ie: the power consumption is 65Watts). I have an 19" LCD TV on my boat that requires 12V DC at 5 amps (ie: power consumption of 60Watts).

So, if you are contemplating buying an LCD or LED/LCD TV and it has a "brick" on the power cord and does not specifically say that it is a 120v/12v TV, do not assume that it will operate on 12V DC by cutting the "brick" off.

Also, beware that if you cut the "brick" off, you are going to need to put a fuse in the line or it will be unprotected. So you need to know the current draw of the TV.

TV003.jpg
Click to expand...
It's funny you posted this. I went to Best Buy, 3 wal marts, target and others last night looking for a "brick"tv. I found a couple and 1 said 24v output and the other said 19v. I was going to post this today, but you beat me to it...lol
 
It may be outputting 19v, but does that mean that's the Tv's requirement? It may have a range.
 
Hampton said:
It may be outputting 19v, but does that mean that's the Tv's requirement? It may have a range.
Click to expand...

You would have to determine that from the manufacturer. It could have an operating range of say 9V to 19V - who knows.

At any rate, if it could run at say 12V, then you have to fuse it accordingly. ie: if the tv consumption is 60W, then at 12v you need 5 amps and at 19v, it would draw 3.16 amps. (P=I {current} * E {volts})

You can always get something to step the voltage up, but, how many people would have any idea what that might be? I'm just trying to point out that you need to be careful with what you are buying. Someone could buy a TV, whack the brick off and then say whoops. But, again, I don't profess to be the expert!
 
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I cut the wall wart of My 19" Polaroid a few years ago and direct wired it with an inline fuse on the positive lead. No trouble so far with lots of use underway and at the dock. The power cord was marked with a white stripe indicating positive. I just do not like the inefficiency of inverters. Your results may vary.
 
Quint4 said:
I cut the wall wart of My 19" Polaroid a few years ago and direct wired it with an inline fuse on the positive lead.
Click to expand...

Cutting the "wall wart" off is fine, but, what I am talking about is the DC input requirement of the TV.

I didn't bring it up for discussion, but, an LED/LCD backlit TV is not only thinner and lighter than a comparable LCD TV, but, it also more effecient. A 19" LCD TV is going to use about 60 watts whereas a comparable 19" LED/LCD TV is going to use about 24 watts. So, using an inverter to get 120V is going to be a minimal loss of efficiency versus going to a LED/LCD TV.- IMHO
 
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From what I've read inverters are about 60-80% efficient in turning 12v to 110 (80% for the high end inverters). I just hate the thought of the wasted battery power. Truth be told lots of people use them and are just fine.....so I'm probably over thinking it.
 
JerryS said:
Cutting the "wall wart" off is fine, but, what I am talking about is the DC input requirement of the TV.

I didn't bring it up for discussion, but, an LED/LCD backlit TV is not only thinner and lighter than a comparable LCD TV, but, it also more effecient. A 19" LCD TV is going to use about 60 watts whereas a comparable 19" LED/LCD TV is going to use about 24 watts. So, using an inverter to get 120V is going to be a minimal loss of efficiency versus going to a LED/LCD TV.- IMHO
Click to expand...

Just for S & G's I wanted to check out the power consumption ratings and what I found by looking at the Vizio website is that the LED/LCD has a higher power consumption than does the equivalent LCD model. Interesting! Have any of you seen different?
 
At Ease said:
Just for S & G's I wanted to check out the power consumption ratings and what I found by looking at the Vizio website is that the LED/LCD has a higher power consumption than does the equivalent LCD model. Interesting! Have any of you seen different?
Click to expand...

Yes, I was looking at an LTC Brand 19" LED TV. It has a power consuption of 2 amps at 12V (ie: 24 watts). My Naxa 19" LCD uses 5 amps at 12v (ie: 60 watts) So, I guess you just have to do your homework if "hook time" is a concern.

19'' LED TV / DVD PLAYER
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Do the above specs read Pal/Secam? Will the monitor and DVD player work with NTSC signal and NA region codes? (I beleive Pal/Secam is the broadcast standard in France and some SA countries. NTSC is the standard in the US.)
 
Stations do not broadcast NTSC anymore - all digital broadcast replaced this.

One additional note on powering from 12V. There are a few things to be aware of.
1) Will the 12V input handle the very common 14.2V that will be on the boats 12V while charging.
2) Although not common, a condition called "load dump", can send 80V on the 12V if the alternator loses its load (the battery) due to connection issues. Automotive electronics are designed to handle this - the 12V input on a TV probably isn't.
 
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So digital broadcasting is the same here in the US as it is in Europe and SA? I thought there was still a big difference in the broadcast signal whether analog or digital. I like the unit above, just want to make sure I don't buy something with unexpected issues. Thanks for the tips, I've been running the genset for the kids to watch tv. This seems much better and cheaper!
 
I don't know if that TV would work in the states
 
Personally, I wouldn't waste my time installing a new TV with a built it DVD that doesn't support Blu-Ray format. Every other component we own supports BR, all of our Netflix disks are BR and the current setup on our boat does not. I'm not worried about the playback quality, but more the convenience of using our BR media. Typical in the marine industry, they'll lag behind current electronics technology by a couple of years. I mean, boat manufacturers installing analog TVs in 09' or newer models? Brand new models that don't support Blu-Ray? Really?

Back on track....I'm not sure of the model but one of my dock mates smoked a brick TV the instant he connected it to his DC system (brick removed). Obviously it wasn't properly protected, but there were other issues. I have also read many success stories invloving the brick type TV conversions though.
 
Voldad said:
Stations do not broadcast NTSC anymore - all digital broadcast replaced this.

One additional note on powering from 12V. There are a few things to be aware of.
1) Will the 12V input handle the very common 14.2V that will be on the boats 12V while charging.
2) Although not common, a condition called "load dump", can send 80V on the 12V if the alternator loses its load (the battery) due to connection issues. Automotive electronics are designed to handle this - the 12V input on a TV probably isn't.
Click to expand...

Just found this article that states NTSC and PAL formats still matter in regard to frame rate.
DigitalTV/HDTV and NTSC/PAL Frame Rates

Although the increased resolution capability, digital format broadcasting, and high definition video software content standards are a step up for consumers, when comparing HDTV to analog NTSC and PAL standards, the fundamental common foundation of both systems is the Frame Rate.

In terms of traditional video content, in NTSC-based countries there are 30 separate frames displayed every second (1 complete frame every 1/30th of a second), while in PAL-based countries, there are 25 separate frames displayed every second (1 complete frame displayed every 25th of a second). These frames are either displayed using the Interlaced Scan method or the Progressive Scan method.

With the implementation of the Digital TV and HDTV, the foundation of how frames are displayed still have their roots in the original NTSC and PAL analog video formats. In soon-to-be former NTSC-based countries, Digital and HDTV are implementing the 30 Frame-per-second frame rate, while soon-to-be PAL-based countries are implementing a 25 Frame-per-second Frame rate.

NTSC-Based Digital TV/HDTV Frame Rate

Using NTSC as a foundation for Digital TV or HDTV, with the frames are displayed as an interlaced image (1080i), each frame is composed of two fields, with each field displayed every 60th of a second, and a complete frame displayed every 30th of a second, using a NTSC-based 30 frame-per-second frame rate. If the frame is in the progressive scan format (720p or 1080p) it is displayed twice every 30th of a second. In both cases, a unique high definition frame is displayed every 30th of a second in former NTSC-based countries.

PAL-Based Digital TV/HDTV Frame Rate

Using PAL as a foundation for Digital TV or HDTV, with the frames are displayed as an interlaced image (1080i), each frame is composed of two fields, with each field displayed every 50th of a second, and a complete frame displayed every 25th of a second, using a PAL-based 25 frame-per-second frame rate. If the frame is in the progressive scan format (720p or 1080p) it is displayed twice every 25th of a second. In both cases, a unique high definition frame is displayed every 25th of a second in former PAL-based countries.

Final Take

In the final analysis, Digital TV and HDTV, although a leap forward in technology implementation, in terms of what you actually see on the screen, with reference to increased resolution and detail, still has roots in 50-plus year-old analog video standards. As a result, there are, and will be, for the foreseeable future, differences in Digital TV and HDTV standards in use throughout the World, which reinforces the barrier to true Worldwide video standards for both the professional and the consumer.
 
A little off topic, but those are the old vertical paint rates based on 50 cycle or 60 cycle AC.
 
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