General Chat

I need some advice please..

My tv has given up the ghost so I need a new one..

I am thinking of getting a Smart tv but what I would like to know has anyone got one and are they easy to set up and use.

I am thick where electronics are concerned and would like plenty of advice.

Thanks

I gather no=one has got a smart tv seeing as no=one has answered..

Ne'r mind hey.. :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

I haven't got a tv at all. I haven't had one in about 4 or 5 years. Thet keep investing in all this new technology; but they don't make the programs any better.

Sorry Sue but I know nuffink :-S :-D

Sue I think a Smart TV is one with the internet built in. OHs two sons have them, they said they are not really worth it and don't use this internet.Hope that helps. :-D

You might find some useful information here

http://www.geeksquad.co.uk/articles/What-is-a-smart-tv

I got a new Smart TV last weekend!
My techno geek daughter set it up for us and it's pretty good, but then again, my family are film,TV and internet addicts.

It does have internet connection and 3D compatibility and it came with 2 free sets of 3D glasses. ( These things cost £60 each .. ouch)
Daughter also has a netflix acct so we have been watching lots of films recently.

Edit:
I asked my resident Techie why she likes our Smart TV
She thinks that having Youtube and BBC IPlayer inbuilt is great!

Thanks everyone,

Don't think I will bother with the smart,

Thans once again <3 <3 <3 <3 :-D

Sue my son is always changing his TV it either breaks down or whatever but the last 2 he bought well you need a degree just to switch the blooming thing on we always have to get them to get it to the right programme before they go out and the number of times we have jiggered it before they got home well haha so make sure your shown how to switch on before you buy! Good luck! :-D

Whenvever I buy a new TV (not that often) I pay the little bit extra for the store to instal it for me.

Many TVs ( about two thirds and nearly all budget TVs ) are badged products made by a firm called Vestel in Turkey. Avoid.

Some ISPs provide iPlayer as part of the package eg Virgin.
Many BlueRay boxes will convert any TV into "smart" adding internet, netflix, iPlayer, Youtube as well as DVD/Blay.

There are several options to make any TV "smart" with a small gadget which plugs onto a HDMI socket of which those offered by Sky, Google are best known - Tesco have several on sale for £ 30-50.

It is def. a plus being able to watch iPlayer, Netflix, YouTube on a TV as well as a computer. So far using the TV as a general web browser is so-so mainly due to control issues and site resolution. I can control my TV from the mobile phone but it is a far from ideal.

The problem with TVs with smart built in is (a) is it smart enough ? (b) security - usually from poor to woeful (c) the OEM does not usually have much interest in later upgrades and bug fixes. Same as with mobile phones.

Best bet buy without smart and then add smart features as and when you want them.

Nevertheless the industry expects smart TVs to pretty well elbow out the traditional home computer with a little help from smartphones and pads. There is a battle royal going on over the advertising revenue with ISPs, OEMs, content providers and Google all pulling in different directions. How do you fancy a Samsung TV with all the same "bloatware" as on your mobile ?

I know my tv is now about 10 years old.

When it needs replacing, I am getting one with built in Freeview and a builti in DVD player.

That is as smart as I want my tv.

Have Sky+ and an On Demand Box (brilliant little contraption!) so I now never have to worry about 3 or more programmes on at the same time, I can record 2 and next day add those I missed from the previous evening. One happy bunny.....

You had better be quick DVD is now considered an obsolete technology replaced by streaming. SCART is very much on the way out as well. Was integral DVD ever available for larger ( 32in and up ) LCD TVs ?

Future TV:

http://www.veddma.com/veddma/Veldt.htm

Oh Rollo, I have only just thrown out all my old Videos (no charity shops want them)

I do not want the extra leads etc., that we have at present with the DVD player, so I thought an integrated one would be ideal...........

Streaming - really

I do try to keep up with technology, but I want to watch programmes etc. on my TV, not my computer, tablet or phone! ;-)

Looks like you'll be looking for a telly on eBay then rather than Currys or Amazon.

As the poor DVD is now as retro as VHS tapes a few years ago now is the time to stock up on yr collection for buttons. I just transcribed them onto our media server and watch when I want. Yes, my TVs can play video streams as well as the usual stuff. The industry sees BluRay as a wrong move and is unlikely to follow it up.

Quite how the wonderful UK future network with 6 GB to the house will cope with 4K streaming is anybody's guess. Badly ?

Out of interest - how many Kbs does a streamed film use? A relative was thinking about subscribing to netfix (or something like that) but only has 10Gb pm on her internet package.

She did ask, but the answer was 'How long is a piece of string?'! For the sake of simplicity, lets assume a film duration of 2hours - 2 hours 30 mins max.

According to my tablet I have used 3.92 gb since last Sunday and I have not watched any films or TV programmes