Smart TV's

[Chislenko]

As it appears there is very little choice of dumb TVs now I am sifting my way through lots of Smart TVs on various websites.

Reviews seem to be very mixed with regard to content / apps / built in stuff etc.

Obviously going to view at present is not an option.

On our current TV we have a Source button which allows us to switch between Sky / Firestick / and normal aerial channels. Do Smart TVs have this capability?

Everything I keep reading seems to suggest that a Smart TV keeps taking you to their specific content e.g. Samsung TV Plus.

The other concerning aspect of many people's reviews is constant rebooting etc.

The TV we have at the moment if when we switch it off we were watching Sky when you switch it back on it will be on Sky, everything I read about a Smart TV suggests this is not the case and you have to keep navigating to where you want to be, rather like a PC. Is this correct or user error by the reviewers?

 

[vickster]

All TVs allow you to switch between different inputs

My new LG does ask me to select the input but that could simply be that I've not set it up right

It takes 2 seconds to switch so hardly an inconvenience (and I can't be bothered to change)

Maybe Samsungs do different but I'm sure my parents' new TV automatically goes to Virgin for them (just as well as otherwise I'd be there every 5 minutes changing it for them!!)

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Mine goes to the last source I used

 

[CanucksTraveller]

All TVs allow you to switch between different inputs

Agree.

Mine goes to the last source I used

Same here. I've got a Samsung smart TV but I use SkyQ for everything TV related (including Apps like Disney+ and YouTube) and whenever I switch the TV on it's still on the SkyQ input, it doesn't default back to the Samsung smart menu. I have to manually switch inputs on the remote if I want that. Same for the Nintendo console input, I have to switch to that.

I think by the sounds of it, some users might have set it up wrong?

 

[Chislenko]

Thanks all. I'll go back to trawling the web!

 

[marinyork]

The other concerning aspect of many people's reviews is constant rebooting etc.

The TV we have at the moment if when we switch it off we were watching Sky when you switch it back on it will be on Sky, everything I read about a Smart TV suggests this is not the case and you have to keep navigating to where you want to be, rather like a PC. Is this correct or user error by the reviewers?

These comments on the internet are absolute cobblers and are going to stress you out.

TVs since prehistoric times generally tend to always default back to what it was previously on. This is still the case today.

With smarter tvs there can be a problem of inputs switching. So for example if someone has 3-6 devices and someone accidentally switches one on/nudges it or triggers it it can switch. This is rare. It can stress someone out, but the person it'll stress out is the person who doesn't understand about inputs and what an input button looks like and how you switch it back. Same since time immemorial.

On smarter tvs there is a source/input button, they quite literally have the same symbol. You cycle through in the same ways some earlier models did.

The issues with some tvs as they get smarter and smarter has been for a long time clutter if people with frustrations and cognitive decline want simplicity. I removed a loads of apps on my parent's tv and reordered the app order (yes you can do this). Made life easier. A lot of people don't do this.

TVs and set top boxes don't tend to reboot unless there is some issue and that often means towards the end of their lives.

Smart tvs aren't smart. They are smarter, in a lot of cases it means wifi, it means a wider choice of apps etc. A lot of the equivalents go back decades. Same thing essentially.

 

[Milkfloat]

Take a look at HDMI-CEC this is what will automatically switch to the right input for you. https://www.howtogeek.com/207186/how-to-enable-hdmi-cec-on-your-tv-and-why-you-should/ For example, if I have my TV on and then I turn on my FireTv stick or PS3 then the TV will switch source to that device.

 

[vickster]

Thanks all. I'll go back to trawling the web!

www.avforums.com is the place for all manner of TV geekery / First World AV problems

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

If you can handle a smart phone with all its apps then you can handle a smart TV.
We have a Samsung and the TV bit is good. There is an option to use the internet through the TV but that is PIA. You don't get a keyboard but have to click through the alphabet to each letter. Better watch TV and use your phone for Internet.

 

[jowwy]

got 5 smart TVs ( 4 LGs and 1 Sony ) in this house all ranging from 65" ( lounge) to 42" (office)...they all default back to the last source used

 

[Sharky]

Our main TV is a big dumb tv, but we have a BT TV, which turns it into a Smart TV.

Our smaller TV's are smart, but don't all have the same Apps.
The main ones we use are BBC Iplayer, ITV Hub, Netflix, Now TV and Prime. Also look out for Britbox, but I cant justify paying a subscription for old BBC/ITV programmes that you could be bothered to watch when they were originally aired.

Enjoy

 

[fossyant]

Just make sure the TV has the apps you currently use. EG Netflix, Disney and Amazon are ours. The old Smart Samsung won't run Disney (it was a new app a year ago) so we use a media PC under the TV for that, plus 'movies' redbull and one of the 'exercise' channels.

The Smart TV upstairs, a Toshiba, has a big Netflix button. It won't do any other apps (Disney/Amazon etc etc.) We'd bought it for MIL as a replacement TV so paid no attention to the SMART bits as she wasn't using them. We've now got the TV in a spare room, but will have to get an Amazon stick.

We did manage to buy a new large TV (dumb one) for the caravan last year as we already had an Amazon stick. The stick is enough as we have to use mobile data.

 

[Chislenko]

Our main TV is a big dumb tv, but we have a BT TV, which turns it into a Smart TV.

Our smaller TV's are smart, but don't all have the same Apps.
The main ones we use are BBC Iplayer, ITV Hub, Netflix, Now TV and Prime. Also look out for Britbox, but I cant justify paying a subscription for old BBC/ITV programmes that you could be bothered to watch when they were originally aired.

Enjoy

Glad you posted this about the apps. I appreciate you get the apps that come preloaded but can you download extra apps or is it all about who is in bed with who so to speak.

Let's say a TV doesn't come with My 5 for example, could you download that onto your TV or are the they restricted to what is there?

 

[Electric_Andy]

My TV is a cheapo "Digihome" from Tesco, it's 43" 4K and was £269. It is fantastic in most respects. I use a Firestick on it, and it's hooked up to hifi speakers. As soon as you plug in or wake up the Firestick, it switches to that source. This can be chnaged in the Firestick settings if you want (so you can have the TV turn on to normal TV and not revert to Firestick unless you switch sources manually).

I have experienced quite a few budget TVs and they all seem to be very much the same. I was setting up my Dad's £600 Sony and although the picture was slightly bettter, the app menus etc were actually slower and more cumbersome than I'm used to. So even now, I'd rather get a cheap set and pair it with a Firestick and good speakers, than buy an expensive TV. I don't notice any issues with deep blacks or indeed any part of the picture (I guess it's what you get used to) from a cheap TV.

 

[fossyant]

You can download apps, but check they are supported. As mentioned, our old Samsung won't support the new Disney app, it worked with the old one, and Redbull app was updated, meaning the tv wasn't supported.

A new TV should do it. The freeview/play app brings the five channels together, before launching the main app for the channel.