# Appliance for watching television while using treadmill? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** netflix\ **Created:** [February 10, 2024, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appliance-for-watching-television-while-using-treadmill/997408 "2024-02-10T22:02:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appliance-for-watching-television-while-using-treadmill/997408/1 "2024-02-10T22:02:31Z")
Could you recommend a choice or guide my thinking on buying some device for watching television while I use the treadmill? I’m thinking something in the iPad size range to rest on the “dashboard” of the treadmill. I think 8" or 10" diagonally is enough. I’ve used a very old iPad happily, but it’s hard to keep it updated and growing incompatible. I just used my iPhone 13+ Pro, and it was kinda OK but the picture was too small. I was thinking of getting a current iPad, but they are quite dear, and have a lot of capability (camera, apps, syncing across iPhone/iMac/iCloud) that I don’t intend to use. In fact, I’d probably pretend not to be myself when setting up an iPad, just to avoid having it link with every other device in my world. There’s a $450 model that appears satisfactory, if I have to spend that much, but tuppence is tuppence. Maybe one of the other tablet brands? But I don’t want to fight software problems, I want the setup simple. Or actually buying a television set, per se? Do they still make little ones? A little browsing suggests they’re about a yard in size to start, much bigger than I want, too big. We do own a big television set but I don’t even know how to operate it. My spouse hogs all the controls. And it’s too complicated and has too many quirks (why is the sound half a minute out of sync?). I have accounts with Netflix and Amazon Prime, which I figure is probably plenty. We also have accounts at a bunch of other services that I didn’t set up, and I’m not inclined to mess with them. What say the Dopers? What’s my pleasant little solution, something that doesn’t age into incompatibility faster than I can track it? Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appliance-for-watching-television-while-using-treadmill/997408/2 "2024-02-10T22:10:13Z")
I see you can still buy flat screen tvs down to 19”. Run less than $100. They are non-smart so you’d need to plug a roku or firestick into it for another $30. Rokus have a nice small remote with them that could sit easily on the dash of the treadmill. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appliance-for-watching-television-while-using-treadmill/997408/3 "2024-02-10T22:20:53Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I see you can still buy flat screen tvs down to 19” Yes, I have an older 19" Vizio (M190VA from 2010) that I picked up at Goodwill ($29.99) pretty much for this use. The picture is great. I use a Roku with it. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appliance-for-watching-television-while-using-treadmill/997408/4 "2024-02-10T22:34:10Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I see you can still buy flat screen tvs down to 19”. You can buy them _much_ smaller than that. [https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Rechargeable-Battery-Operated-Digital/dp/B00WRO9XBE/](https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Rechargeable-Battery-Operated-Digital/dp/B00WRO9XBE/) > **[Amazon Best Sellers: Best Portable & Handheld TVs](https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Portable-Handheld-TVs/zgbs/electronics/979930011)** > > Discover the best Portable & Handheld TVs in Best Sellers. Find the top 100 most popular items in Amazon Electronics Best Sellers. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appliance-for-watching-television-while-using-treadmill/997408/5 "2024-02-10T22:38:22Z")
Can you put the treadmill facing a wall? It’s much better to have a flatscreen on the wall at eye level, so that your head is in the correct posture. You can probably get a flatscreen smart TV for the price of an iPad. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appliance-for-watching-television-while-using-treadmill/997408/6 "2024-02-10T22:44:32Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > You can probably get a flatscreen smart TV for the price of an iPad. You can get a treadmill that has a TV for the price of an iPad. [https://www.amazon.com/Treadmill-Touchscreen-Treadmills-Connection-Facebook/dp/B0CQYPRQT8/](https://www.amazon.com/Treadmill-Touchscreen-Treadmills-Connection-Facebook/dp/B0CQYPRQT8/) If you want to use your current tablet and treadmill, though, you can go cheap. [https://www.amazon.com/Treadmill-Handlebar-Stationary-Elliptical-Stroller/dp/B0BN28FP8D/](https://www.amazon.com/Treadmill-Handlebar-Stationary-Elliptical-Stroller/dp/B0BN28FP8D/) Or for something bigger [https://www.amazon.com/TVON-TV-Stand-Adjustable-Mount/dp/B0CG8FQYD1/](https://www.amazon.com/TVON-TV-Stand-Adjustable-Mount/dp/B0CG8FQYD1/) ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appliance-for-watching-television-while-using-treadmill/997408/7 "2024-02-11T01:56:12Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > There’s a $450 model that appears satisfactory, if I have to spend that much, but tuppence is tuppence. The 10 inch 9th gen iPad fits your bill at $329, not $450. Or is that $450 in Canadian dollars? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appliance-for-watching-television-while-using-treadmill/997408/8 "2024-02-11T02:50:01Z")
I don’t know why you’d spend that much for a tablet just to watch videos. An 8-inch Fire tablet is $65 and a 10 inch Fire tablet is $95 (or $15 more to get rid of lock screen ads). Either one should be fine for watching Netflix or Prime. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appliance-for-watching-television-while-using-treadmill/997408/9 "2024-02-11T18:46:16Z")
Thank you to everybody for the wealth of information! I see lots of options. I just ordered a 10 inch Fire tablet with the extra option to get rid of lock screen ads. I can do something different if this turns out unsatisfactory, but based on the specifications it should be fine. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appliance-for-watching-television-while-using-treadmill/997408/10 "2024-02-11T19:07:17Z")
I think that’s a good choice. I had a Fire tablet that I hated because it was terrible for web browsing but the video watching part was more than adequate. Add the Netflix app and you’ll be golden.