Smart TV advice please, but talk slowly

[Steve H]

OK so I'm just completing the extension on our house and have a new living room to sit in. It's a little unusual as it has exposed brickwork throughout and very little cable access to anywhere that I would like to get a TV set, a power supply is about all I can get.

We've got about 12meg download speed on the wifi which is hopefully enough to stream with so a couple of questions please -

Will my broadband be sufficient?

Can I stream Freeview ?

Presumably I can stream Amazon Prime?

Will a smart TV will do all this over the WiFi??

Any particular features or gadgets I should be allowing for?

What else can I do with a smart TV?


Sorry for the dumbass questions, I still think DVDs are pretty tech .

Steve H

[Speckle]

Your broadband will be fine for streaming Amazon/netflix et al.

I don't think you can stream freeview, You'll need an aerial connected for that but, you can stream catchup TV like BBC iplayer, itvhub and so on.

Most smart TVs have wifi capability.

Most smart TVs will also allow you to add additional apps for youtube, NowTV and various others. You can browse the internet and play games. Some will allow you to watch content from a USB connected storage device.

[bristolracer]

TV player app will allow freeview streaming.
If your TV won't load the app then get a firestick and load it on.
In fact get a firestick anyway, they do app based viewing far better than the TV will

[B17NNS]

What's your budget? What size do you want?

Your broadband will be fine for your needs in up to HD. If you want to watch the content streamed in 4K HDR you'll need to look at upgrading to around 25Mb.

[Steve H]

Thanks chaps. Sounds like it's a doable thing then .

I don't really have a budget or size in mind, big but not council-big I guess!

And what does a firestick do that the TV won't?

[B17NNS]

Sounds like 55" then.

https://www.richersounds.com/lg-oled55b7v.html

https://www.whathifi.com/lg/oled55b7v/review

https://www.avforums.com/review/lg-b7-55b7-oled55b...

Edited by B17NNS on Saturday 4th August 14:54

[dxg]

Get an Nvidia Sheild and velcro it to the back of the TV. They may be getting on for three years old now, but they've just had an update and are just a fantastic implementation of AndroidTV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtiVYXVIdSM

Mine has been used daily and extensively for a couple of years now and it's faultless and fast.

[Steve H]

So there's another thing!

So the Nvidia does what the TV should do in the first place but generally does it better?

[tenohfive]

Basically smart TV platforms are not created equal. Some have more apps or viewing options, some are more user friendly, some are slow to respond to user input etc. LG and Samsung for example are well known for comprehensive and user friendly interfaces. Sony - using Android TV - are known for being underpowered and sluggish.

A streaming device gives you an alternative and in some cases much more capable and comprehensive experience than that provided by the TV manufacturer. I've got a very capable Sony TV that performs brilliantly in every way other than the OS - so I've added a streaming device to deal with that side.

As for which one - Roku Stick or Fire Stick are both very capable and user friendly. But if money is no object the nVidia Shield is very, very slick and easy to use. Complete overkill for watching Corrie on mind. I own all of the above and think the Roku is the best middle ground. But if one of the TV's was running LG's webOS I'd probably not even bother.

Be wary of anything that highlights how good its 4K performance is - you need much faster download speeds to stream the content. Your priority needs to be the upscaling of SD and HD content - some TV's are better at this, and it's usually down to the processor used.

Edited by tenohfive on Saturday 4th August 23:50

[Steve H]

Thanks!

So getting the LG that B17NNS has suggested would mean not needing the Nvidia? I'm not going to be using that many features but watching TV without any lockups counts as pretty essential for me as I've kind of taken that for granted since the 70s .

Aside from that a web browser that I can do FB on and check in on here and I'm probably about sorted.

[B17NNS]

Steve H said:

Thanks!

So getting the LG that B17NNS has suggested would mean not needing the Nvidia?

LG's Web OS is very good. The magic remote comes with dedicated Netflix and Amazon buttons along with all the usual apps to download like iplayer etc.

You'll need to move relatively quickly to pick up that OLED at that price. It's recently been replaced with a newer model - the C8 (£2500) but the improvements are only incremental. The B7 was the darling of all 2017/2018 TV reviews.

[dxg]

Steve H said:

So there's another thing!

So the Nvidia does what the TV should do in the first place but generally does it better?

I would suggest focusing on getting the best screen and image in the TV. Then getting a streaming box for what's displayed on it. That way you can get the best of both worlds, but it might increase your budget a little.

If you want to focus on just a TV, I personally find LG's WebOS interface the most enjoyable but it is potentially confusing if you're not into this sort of thing...

[threadlock]

I bought that LG OLED 55" model a couple of months ago. I've never owned a TV before so knew nothing about how Smart TVs worked. It's brilliant. I don't know why you'd need to buy anything else to plug into it. And the picture quality is stunning!

[Welshbeef]

What is your budget and how frequently do you change / upgrade TVs?

I’m normally in the £1.5k ish territory but it appears I only change them once a decade.... and even then it’s not binned it moves to the next room.

[Steve H]

The TVs we currently run must be 15+ years old, we don't change often.

No fixed budget but if it's a bit over a grand that's probably acceptable, a couple+ grand probably isn't.

It does sound like that LG is a good option as a starter, then add another box if I find it limiting (unlikely TBH).

Thanks for the info fellas, PH at it's best .

[Welshbeef]

So given it’s a very long lifecycle for you I’d be (and what I always do) Make sure the one I buy is as future proof as possible. I’m not a fan of those curves TVs basic shape lovely picture and SMART (Imine long predates SMART but I’ve plugged my old PS3 into he TV which makes it effectively smart via the console).

[soad]

Welshbeef said:

So given it’s a very long lifecycle for you I’d be (and what I always do) Make sure the one I buy is as future proof as possible. I’m not a fan of those curves TVs basic shape lovely picture and SMART (Imine long predates SMART but I’ve plugged my old PS3 into he TV which makes it effectively smart via the console).

Are you me?

[Steve H]

So does that one linked above look suitable from a future proofing POV?

TBH if any updated alternatives don't add much except cost I'm tempted to get that ordered (should probably check it will actually fit where I need it to go first ).

[tedmus]

Filmon app should do most Freeview channels I would think.

[anonymous-user]

I found the latest LG smart function was rubbish. Very slow & clunky compared to my previous LG of 4 or 5 years ago.
Buy from a place like Amazon. So if it is rubbish you can easily get a refund like I did!