Why isn't there a one-box/one-stick A/V solution?
Discussion
I have a 4K TV (Philips) which has an excellent picture but a dogs
t interface and dogst apps.
Seriously I've never seen a worse interface or remote.
I have a £40 Manhattan Freeview HD box and the interface is amazing for what it cost.
I have Amazon Prime and I currently have Sky Plus but the box is on the blink and it costs me way more each month than feels reasonable.
What I would like to do is consolidate and end up with:
Nothing seems to exist that can do this which feels odd
So my Christmas project for the second Christmas running is to see if I can find a sensible, workable, way to get there.
Suggestions?
t interface and dogst apps.Seriously I've never seen a worse interface or remote.
I have a £40 Manhattan Freeview HD box and the interface is amazing for what it cost.
I have Amazon Prime and I currently have Sky Plus but the box is on the blink and it costs me way more each month than feels reasonable.
What I would like to do is consolidate and end up with:
- Freeview or FreeSat
- Now TV Cinema Pass
- Amazon Prime and maybe other apps available if I want to use them
Nothing seems to exist that can do this which feels odd
So my Christmas project for the second Christmas running is to see if I can find a sensible, workable, way to get there.
Suggestions?
Evanivitch said:
My Freeview box, about 5 years old now, has Netflix, Prime, NowTV etc all as part of the interface. Works well. Does your current box not include apps?
Which box please?I literally can't find a standalone box that does this.
Annoyingly NowTV appear to have discontinued their box that had a Freeview HD tuner built in.
It comes down to money. The platforms (Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Sky, BBC) do deals with the box/TV manufacturers & some of them don't want opposing platforms to have easy access to the viewer.
I only bought a smart TV recently & I'm staggered by how poor the UI experience is. I thought my Humax recorder was bad but the dismal speed of the TV interface is just appalling. The lag switching between Freeview/Youview/Streaming is extremely frustrating.
I only bought a smart TV recently & I'm staggered by how poor the UI experience is. I thought my Humax recorder was bad but the dismal speed of the TV interface is just appalling. The lag switching between Freeview/Youview/Streaming is extremely frustrating.
bhstewie said:
hstewie said:Evanivitch said:
My Freeview box, about 5 years old now, has Netflix, Prime, NowTV etc all as part of the interface. Works well. Does your current box not include apps?
Which box please?I literally can't find a standalone box that does this.
Annoyingly NowTV appear to have discontinued their box that had a Freeview HD tuner built in.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Humax-DTR-T2100-BT-YouVie...
I know Prime was added about a year ago? Not sure if that's a BT custom thing or not.
Mr Pointy said:
It comes down to money. The platforms (Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Sky, BBC) do deals with the box/TV manufacturers & some of them don't want opposing platforms to have easy access to the viewer.
I only bought a smart TV recently & I'm staggered by how poor the UI experience is. I thought my Humax recorder was bad but the dismal speed of the TV interface is just appalling. The lag switching between Freeview/Youview/Streaming is extremely frustrating.
Honestly it's just bizarre how bad the inbuilt UI is.I only bought a smart TV recently & I'm staggered by how poor the UI experience is. I thought my Humax recorder was bad but the dismal speed of the TV interface is just appalling. The lag switching between Freeview/Youview/Streaming is extremely frustrating.
The TV was cheap enough so I wouldn't mind if I could add a box and just replace it every couple of years.
The problem is such a box doesn't seem to even exist.
A Freeview box plus a Roku stick seems a possible combo but still a pain switching inputs.
Does this help for the NowTV - suggests only certain models from HiSense, LG & Samsung TVs are supported: https://help.nowtv.com/article/what-devices-can-i-... ? Then go from there for the other stuff you want.
Must admit we recently got a Sony Bravia Android TV with YouView and I'm amazed how bad it is. The cheapy Toshiba (made by Vestel) Freeview we had for a few months until it packed up was much more straightforward to use, both for TV and streaming.
Must admit we recently got a Sony Bravia Android TV with YouView and I'm amazed how bad it is. The cheapy Toshiba (made by Vestel) Freeview we had for a few months until it packed up was much more straightforward to use, both for TV and streaming.
Edited by Sheepshanks on Sunday 15th December 17:03
Sheepshanks said:
Does this help for the NowTV - suggests only certain models from HiSense, LG & Samsung TVs are supported: https://help.nowtv.com/article/what-devices-can-i-... ? Then go from there for the other stuff you want.
Must admit we recently got a Sony Bravia Android TV with YouView and I'm amazed how bad it was. The cheapy Toshiba (made by Vestel) Freeview we had for a few months until it packed up was much more straightforward to use, bit for TV and streaming.
It helps in so much it confirms my Philips TV doesn't have it Must admit we recently got a Sony Bravia Android TV with YouView and I'm amazed how bad it was. The cheapy Toshiba (made by Vestel) Freeview we had for a few months until it packed up was much more straightforward to use, bit for TV and streaming.
Honestly the UI is dogs
t, I can't understand how anyone would engineer something so bad by choice.Shirley an Xbox or Ps4 will do all of that...as well be able to switch between the various options using Voice command, from Xbox, Alexa or goggle Assistant.
I use my XBOX one primarily as a one stop media box device, Plex for media streaming from a pc, Amazon Prime video and Netflix...oh and some gaming
There's also apps for general TV catchup streaming as well as being able to plug in a TV tuner, and you've got all the surround sound formats covered, just need to plug it in to an AV Amp.
If what you're actually asking is, is there an all for one / all you can eat subscription service, then no, I don't think there's anything that's cross platform.
I use my XBOX one primarily as a one stop media box device, Plex for media streaming from a pc, Amazon Prime video and Netflix...oh and some gaming
There's also apps for general TV catchup streaming as well as being able to plug in a TV tuner, and you've got all the surround sound formats covered, just need to plug it in to an AV Amp.
If what you're actually asking is, is there an all for one / all you can eat subscription service, then no, I don't think there's anything that's cross platform.
aquarianone said:
Shirley an Xbox or Ps4 will do all of that...as well be able to switch between the various options using Voice command, from Xbox, Alexa or goggle Assistant.
I use my XBOX one primarily as a one stop media box device, Plex for media streaming from a pc, Amazon Prime video and Netflix...oh and some gaming
There's also apps for general TV catchup streaming as well as being able to plug in a TV tuner, and you've got all the surround sound formats covered, just need to plug it in to an AV Amp.
If what you're actually asking is, is there an all for one / all you can eat subscription service, then no, I don't think there's anything that's cross platform.
No I'm asking about the device.I use my XBOX one primarily as a one stop media box device, Plex for media streaming from a pc, Amazon Prime video and Netflix...oh and some gaming
There's also apps for general TV catchup streaming as well as being able to plug in a TV tuner, and you've got all the surround sound formats covered, just need to plug it in to an AV Amp.
If what you're actually asking is, is there an all for one / all you can eat subscription service, then no, I don't think there's anything that's cross platform.
I'd never even considered an XBOX for this but it could be an option.
What's the UI like and what apps are available please?
Off to do some Googling....
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