voiptalk

join:2010-04-10

Gainesville, VA MikroTik RB750G

Cisco DPC3941

voiptalk Member Not using because ....

I have a Samsung LN46B650 connected HDTV. It is on the network, but I don't use the features because it is painfully slow. Granted this was an early venture into the connected TV realm. It's a much better experience to use the Roku or AppleTV, than it the Samsung.



R4M0N

Brazilian Soccer Ownz Joo

join:2000-10-04

Glen Allen, VA R4M0N Member Re: Not using because .... Same thing with my LN50B650... It's connected to the network and all but it's so slow to load up even simple stuff like the weather that I just don't use it.



My friend bought another Samsung model last year and his stuff is MUCH faster. He uses his TV constantly to stream Netflix.



thegeek

Premium Member

join:2008-02-21

right here thegeek to voiptalk

Premium Member to voiptalk

I have a 70" Sharp Aquos. I connected it when I first got it. But I haven't found a reason to use any of the connectivity features. I already use my PS3 for streaming content from my computer. Sure, the TV has Hulu and Netflix apps, but 1) they're overpriced and the quality sucks, and 2) I can access Netflix through my PS3, XBox 360, and Wii if I really wanted to.



nothing00

join:2001-06-10

Centereach, NY nothing00 Member Re: Not using because .... I just got that set as well. The streaming quality is less than the streaming quality of my computer that's also connected to it. Not worth the hassle especially with its lousy interface.



Corehhi

join:2002-01-28

Bluffton, SC Corehhi to thegeek

Member to thegeek

said by thegeek: I have a 70" Sharp Aquos. I connected it when I first got it. But I haven't found a reason to use any of the connectivity features. I already use my PS3 for streaming content from my computer. Sure, the TV has Hulu and Netflix apps, but 1) they're overpriced and the quality sucks, and 2) I can access Netflix through my PS3, XBox 360, and Wii if I really wanted to.

I have a Vizio for the bedroom and I use Netflix and Flingo. Not one other feature on the TV useful. Face Book? With no keyboard? That's as useful as a fart in a wind storm. Weather app sucks, no Hulu but Hulu Plus. You are much better off getting a Roku or a cheap laptop to connect to your TV I would go cheap laptop.



dvd536

as Mr. Pink as they come

Premium Member

join:2001-04-27

Phoenix, AZ dvd536 to thegeek

Premium Member to thegeek

said by thegeek: Sure, the TV has Hulu and Netflix apps, but 1) they're overpriced and the quality sucks,

you do it all but nothing well. That happens when you try to do it all.you do it all but nothing well.

talz13

join:2006-03-15

Avon, OH talz13 to voiptalk

Member to voiptalk

And, when everything changes again (media formats, containers, new services, etc.), it's much easier to handle buying a new $100-$200 box to attach to your non-connected TV, than to buy a new $1000-$2000 TV.



Doctor Olds

I Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me.

Premium Member

join:2001-04-19

1970 442 W30 Doctor Olds Premium Member Re: Not using because .... said by talz13: And, when everything changes again (media formats, containers, new services, etc.), it's much easier to handle buying a new $100-$200 box to attach to your non-connected TV, than to buy a new $1000-$2000 TV.

Nope, the TV just needs a Firmware update to upgrade it to the latest standards and codecs. My Sony LED/LCD HDTV has had 2 major firmware updates in the last Year. The updates sped up operation plus Sony even added new features and services.

talz13

join:2006-03-15

Avon, OH talz13 Member Re: Not using because .... I've had bad experiences with updates to consumer equipment. If a format isn't supported on day one, I'd rather wait or find something that does support it.



Also, are they going to continue to support your TV 4 or 5 years down the road? I'd still rather not replace a perfectly good 65" TV just because the extra services are no longer current.



mix

join:2002-03-19

Rockford, IL mix to voiptalk

Member to voiptalk

A can confirm the slowness thing being so annoying the features aren't used.

amungus

Premium Member

join:2004-11-26

America 1 recommendation amungus Premium Member Lazy I think the main reason is that people are lazy.

That, and let's face it - content isn't the same on such apps.



Until you can watch the show that just aired, within minutes of it airing, instead of DAYS (as most networks seem to have done), it just won't be as appealing or useful.



Personally, I'm very glad to have connected a full PC to my TV. All the hype about a little app here or there, or some shiny new thing doesn't concern me much. Whatever these apps can do, I'm sure my media center PC can also do.



The concept is neat, but the usefulness factor is limited.



All that being said, it is nice for some things. Netflix "built in" is a nice concept, which will surely see more and more uptake. One less external device to haggle with, which is a good thing.



TOPDAWG

Premium Member

join:2005-04-27

Calgary, AB TOPDAWG Premium Member Re: Lazy yeah HTPC all the way for me.



jseymour

join:2009-12-11

Waterford, MI jseymour to amungus

Member to amungus

said by amungus: Until you can watch the show that just aired, within minutes of it airing, instead of DAYS ...





We signed-up for Hulu Plus assuming we'd be able to do-away with the DVD recorder. Nope. Most of the stuff in which either my wife or I would've been interested simply is not there. Period. In fact: Other than the Daily Show, which I used to enjoy, we found absolutely nothing on HP to justify the $8/mo. So we canceled it.



Netflix is pretty useful, so we kept that.



What we do watch via streaming is watched via our Panasonic Blu-ray player. The TV's connected, but doesn't have any capabilities other than talking to my DLNA server and downloading new firmware. It's a fairly recent (less than a year old) Samsung, too.



So far I'm massively underwhelmed with streaming content. "Days?" How about, for some of the most popular content, never?We signed-up for Hulu Pluswe'd be able to do-away with the DVD recorder. Nope. Most of the stuff in which either my wife or I would've been interested simply is not there. Period. In fact: Other than the Daily Show, which I used to enjoy, we found absolutely nothing on HP to justify the $8/mo. So we canceled it.Netflix is pretty useful, so we kept that.What we do watch via streaming is watched via our Panasonic Blu-ray player. The TV's connected, but doesn't have any capabilities other than talking to my DLNA server and downloading new firmware. It's a fairly recent (less than a year old) Samsung, too.So far I'm massively underwhelmed with streaming content.



wcda

join:2001-12-06

Macon, GA wcda Member Re: Lazy I have a LG 3d plasma smart tv that I use to connect to my computer to allow me to stream media content wirelessly from the computer to the TV using Nero Media Home 4 Essentials. It allowed me to use My Media center extender on another TV that did not have wireless.



vpoko

Premium Member

join:2003-07-03

Boston, MA vpoko to jseymour

Premium Member to jseymour

And the Daily Show is available from DailyShow.com for free anyway.

b10010011

Whats a Posting tag?

join:2004-09-07

Bellingham, WA 1 edit b10010011 Member Tivo's Netflix application sucks



I have an HTPC that I use for Netflix, Hulu and similar streaming but it is "too complicated" for my wife to use.



Having Netflix Hulu, etc. in the TV would be a "nice feature", but not something I would pay extra for. It frequently locks up, has an annoying aspect ratio bug, and sound sync problems.I have an HTPC that I use for Netflix, Hulu and similar streaming but it is "too complicated"for my wife to use.Having Netflix Hulu, etc. in the TV would be a "nice feature", but not something I would pay extra for.

sparc

join:2006-05-06 sparc Member Poor performance killed connected tvs very limited apps, painfully slow, lack of a keyboard in early sets, poor user interface... the list goes on and on.



Apple is going to wipe the floor with the rest of the sets simply because they care about the apps, user interface, and speed of the system.



Most TV manufactures are great at building hardware, but when it comes to design and user interaction they fail miserably.



cdru

Go Colts

MVM

join:2003-05-14

Fort Wayne, IN cdru MVM Re: Poor performance killed connected tvs said by sparc: Apple is going to wipe the floor with the rest of the sets simply because they care about the apps, user interface, and speed of the system.



How are they going to wipe up the competition?

- Are they going to revolutionize the UI/UX? They already have the interface with the Apple TV. Why wasn't it done for that already? It's not like the technology wasn't there.

- Are they going to make the TV thinner? There's already ultra thin displays in the market.

- Are they going to increase the size? There's already everything from ultra small to ultra large displays in the market.

- Are they going to make the resolution better? 1080p is the max anyone is going to use for some time and even that is confined to bluray discs.

- Are they going to have a 'retina display'? Useless when you are more then a few feet away.



If the Yeah, because Apple TV has just been wiping up the floor, why can't Apple do it with an Apple iHDTV. /sarcasmHow are they going to wipe up the competition?- Are they going to revolutionize the UI/UX? They already have the interface with the Apple TV. Why wasn't it done for that already? It's not like the technology wasn't there.- Are they going to make the TV thinner? There's already ultra thin displays in the market.- Are they going to increase the size? There's already everything from ultra small to ultra large displays in the market.- Are they going to make the resolution better? 1080p is the max anyone is going to use for some time and even that is confined to bluray discs.- Are they going to have a 'retina display'? Useless when you are more then a few feet away.If the rumors are correct, paying a 350% premium for a 42" TV that you can talk to and wave your hand at sounds like guaranteed commercial success and how can it end badly? /sarcasm again

sparc

join:2006-05-06 sparc Member Re: Poor performance killed connected tvs all i was trying to indicate was that the bar was set terribly low from existing manufacturers.



Anyone could come in and do better than the existing manufacturers. That's how badly they've botched things.



You way overstated my Apple comment as they will barely have to do anything to make a better experience than what's out there now.

jp10558

Premium Member

join:2005-06-24

Willseyville, NY jp10558 Premium Member Re: Poor performance killed connected tvs Botched connected TV maybe, but as a TV they work fine and are pretty understandable to all tech level users. Someone might take over the connected tv market, but I doubt it - it's an odd market niche as it is. Anyone who wants features pretty much wants a box they can change out more often than the TV as the features are changing pretty fast. I.e for a while Netflix was fine for video, but now there's hulu, amazon, maybe new ones around the corner. USB playback of avi was ok at one time, now you might want mkv ...



And on and on.

drjunky9

join:2005-09-14

Taneytown, MD drjunky9 Member Laziness, money, convenience I have to agree with the fact that a large factor is laziness and the built in apps not doing much that people want.



For example, I know someone who bought a pricey Sony tv with all these bells and whistles and it's been over a year and it's still not connected to their wi-fi. They do pay for Netflix but they say setting up streaming is too much hassle and they prefer to just get the DVDs as what they usually want is on DVD, not necessarily streaming.



On the other hand, I have an internet connected tv, but I also have an HTPC using Windows Media Center. Most of the apps on my tv require a subscription (Hulu+, Netflix, etc) so I don't use those. I end up using my HTPC for almost everything. There's only one app I use on my tv (rarely) which is Crunchyroll so I can catch some anime (especially since Disney seems to have given up on showing an edited Naruto Shippuden). If they had a WMC plugin I'd probably use that instead. All Crunchyroll has is a Boxee plugin, but since I record some shows OTA, I use WMC instead. If they had a WMC plugin, I'd probably never use any of the internet apps on the tv.



If manufacturers want people to use the tvs online, they need to address the three factors of laziness, cost, and convenience. I doubt they'll do it though as any extra options they can toss into a tv to inflate the price makes them happier.

moonpuppy (banned)

join:2000-08-21

Glen Burnie, MD moonpuppy (banned) Member The TV guide never worked right either I have an older Mitsubishi with the on screen TV Guide app and it took forever to get the info probably because it took it from the TV signal. I only use it in very basic mode and sometimes, it is way off.



MonkeyLick78

join:2002-01-27

Hixson, TN MonkeyLick78 Member . My main problem is that the apps are usually worse on the sets. Some of them are slow or just slightly above useless. Netflix is ok on my st30 but still not as good as on something like a PS3. It's a good idea that just needed a little more effort put towards it.



Guspaz

Guspaz

MVM

join:2001-11-05

Montreal, QC Guspaz MVM Ugh The whole "smart TV" thing is annoying. My parents bought a Samsung TV with their smart interface... which is identical to the smart interface on their Samsung bluray player. So they never use the one on their TV. Even on the bluray player, the only thing they'd ever use is netflix.



The "smart TV" interface is painfully slow and horribly designed, an unusable mess. Hopefully, Apple will shake up this market with their TV. I don't think I'd actually buy one, but they have a habit of spurring their competitors.

InvalidError

join:2008-02-03 InvalidError Member Re: Ugh said by Guspaz: The whole "smart TV" thing is annoying. Agreed. Most people (myself included) buy TVs to hook them up to other stuff which likely does everything "smart TVs" are poised to do better than smartTV are likely to do any time soon... and as others mentioned, much easier/cheaper to change/upgrade an external box when new content types, apps, etc. come out that require new hardware than changing the whole damned TV every time.

Mele20

Premium Member

join:2001-06-05

Hilo, HI 234.1 23.3

Mele20 Premium Member Re: Ugh said by InvalidError: said by Guspaz: The whole "smart TV" thing is annoying.

Agreed. Most people (myself included) buy TVs to hook them up to other stuff which likely does everything "smart TVs" are poised to do better than smartTV are likely to do any time soon... and as others mentioned, much easier/cheaper to change/upgrade an external box when new content types, apps, etc. come out that require new hardware than changing the whole damned TV every time.



I could have spent $100 less and gotten the model withOUT the browser but I thought it might be fun...but I need the Samsung qwerty remote to use it and enjoy the browser. I have the TV hooked up to the internet but I have not hooked my PC to it and don't plan to. I can access files on the PC via Allshare software and that is all the access I need between my computer and my TV. So, don't say everyone buys a TV to hook it up to other stuff as that is not true at all. No. Most people buy TVs to watch TV on! Who cares if new content types come out? I won't care. I have no interest in buying a BlueRay player or Roku or Tivo or any of that. I bought a Samsung Smart TV last September because I had finally gotten tired of not having a TV for ten years and during that ten years I NEVER ONCE went to a movie theatre and watched one movie only on my computer and hated watching it on a 5:4 monitor (I don't want a widecreen monitor either).I could have spent $100 less and gotten the model withOUT the browser but I thought it might be fun...but I need the Samsung qwerty remote to use it and enjoy the browser. I have the TV hooked up to the internet but I have not hooked my PC to it and don't plan to. I can access files on the PC via Allshare software and that is all the access I need between my computer and my TV. So, don't say everyone buys a TV to hook it up to other stuff as that is not true at all.

InvalidError

join:2008-02-03 InvalidError Member Re: Ugh said by Mele20: So, don't say everyone buys a TV to hook it up to other stuff as that is not true at all. *MOST* people, NOT *all* people. I saidpeople, NOT *all* people.

AndyDufresne

Premium Member

join:2010-10-30

Chanhassen, MN 1 edit AndyDufresne Premium Member I have one- not much use Have Panasonic that has buit in access to Netflix,Amazon,Vudu and facebook. Used it a couple of time for Netflix but since xbox also has netflix option and so does ps3 and wii, the winner is usually the one that happens to be on at the time.



Subaru

1-3-2-4

Premium Member

join:2001-05-31

Greenwich, CT Subaru Premium Member My Samsung TV The LN40D550 has network but to non of those other services like facebook and so on.. My PS3 already does netflix and hulu + so I did not see the need for the tv to have it. Now it can stream stuff from a computer and all but I have not used that feature yet.



odog

Minister of internet doohickies

Premium Member

join:2001-08-05

Atlanta, GA odog Premium Member Netflix... thats it I can't see the need for facebook, or any other apps on the TV at this time.



Netflix however is quite nice on my Samsung UN46D7000, and it is silent, unlikely my jet engine aka Rev1 PS3.



Snakeoil

Ignore Button. The coward's feature.

Premium Member

join:2000-08-05

Mentor, OH Snakeoil Premium Member I have a linux box I have a linux box hooked up to my TV. Why pay the high price of a "internet" ready TV, when all I have to do is take a PC I currently own and attach it to the TV.

The use Netflix/Itunes/Boxee/Hulu plus as well as Network sites for video streams.

BiggA

Premium Member

join:2005-11-23

Central CT BiggA Premium Member Box is better. Roku can easily be replaced when something better comes along. You're stuck with what's in the TV (although you can always add a Roku or ATV to it). I'd connect one to my network if I had one, but I doubt I'd use it very much.

tmc8080

join:2004-04-24

Brooklyn, NY tmc8080 Member Multisource hdmi once you have multisource hdmi-input.. just send video from the computer.. and be done with it..



A big extra would be if you have an ultra quality video card that extends over 3+ monitors (multiple displayport, hdmi, dvi outputs).



If all else fails, burn a blu ray disc!

haggishelper

join:2010-03-31

Mesa, AZ 349.8 30.3

haggishelper Member What happened to just using a monitor When I was in the market for a new TV several years ago the Plasma TVs were all the rage for picture quality etc... I wanted to save money and just buy a monitor with out the tuner integrated. I was unable to purchase this type of item for the size that I wanted to get. If a customer does have other devices that provide content why not sell a bare-bones TV/monitor in the larger sizes.

tmc8080

join:2004-04-24

Brooklyn, NY tmc8080 Member Re: What happened to just using a monitor said by haggishelper: When I was in the market for a new TV several years ago the Plasma TVs were all the rage for picture quality etc... I wanted to save money and just buy a monitor with out the tuner integrated. I was unable to purchase this type of item for the size that I wanted to get. If a customer does have other devices that provide content why not sell a bare-bones TV/monitor in the larger sizes.

Try Microcenter.com (a computer store). I remember seeing monitors in the 40+" range having both HDMI and DVI inputs. You might be able to find these larger sizes online. Biggest might be 50" for 52-70 inch range they're going to be HDTVs of various kinds.

Kearnstd

Space Elf

Premium Member

join:2002-01-22

Mullica Hill, NJ Kearnstd to haggishelper

Premium Member to haggishelper

with how many people use cable/sat these days I am surprised that the companies have not started to sell TVs without the tuner.



Eagles1221

join:2009-04-29

Vincentown, NJ Eagles1221 Member worthless I looked at an internet ready tv. It was $200 - $300 more than the same TV in a non internet form. I got a Roku 2 for 89 bucks that I can use and carry to the hotel when i travel and watch tv streamed (if the hotel internet doesn't suck - most do) or from my USB stick on the Roku.

your moderator at work hidden :



joshuaren

@ascentdata.com joshuaren Anon Remote app I have a Samsung UN46D6300 and the only feature I regularly use is the remote app on my iphone...It is probably the second best thing about the tv (behind the picture quality) and it never ceases to amaze my friends. I do the same thing with my Dish Network receiver (which is even cooler because you can search for shows very easily). But I rarely use the web browser or facebook and I use netflix on ps3....

OCP

Premium Member

join:2004-10-11

USA OCP Premium Member Too complicated I helped my friend set up his new smart TV and all he had to do was enter the key for the WiFi. It took him about a year to figure it out. He still doesn't use it. His Blu-ray player has all of the same functions. Also, a lot of the content requires extra payments. You'd presume that some of that was included in the price of the more expensive networked device...



My Blu-ray player was connected, but I never used the features. Too limited. HTPC kicks buttocks by comparison.



I'm hoping 3DTV just fades away again. No interest.

TheMG

Premium Member

join:2007-09-04

Canada MikroTik RB450G

Cisco DPC3008

Cisco SPA112

TheMG Premium Member Jack of all trades master of none. Just like many other multi-function devices, the connected TVs have many drawbacks. They can't excel at everything.



The connected TVs will likely never reach the same level of performance, features, usability, and customization as a dedicated network STB device or an HTPC.