A Smart TV for an idiot

ocaoilr2

Hi,

Moving house and have decided to treat myself and get a decent tv. Have asked buddies and am getting a lot of mixed messages! I have fibre broadband so I'm not going to bother with Eir/Virgin/Sky etc. and just use a paid online service like IPTV.

My questions is what TV should I buy? Do I need a firestick? People have been recommending Fire TV/Sony Bravia etc. I'm coming from a very low base-have lived in rented accommodation for years so not really looking to spend more than €600/€700 and whatever I get will be a lot better than what I've had the last thirty years!!

LenWoods

ocaoilr2 wrote: »

Hi,

Moving house and have decided to treat myself and get a decent tv. Have asked buddies and am getting a lot of mixed messages! I have fibre broadband so I'm not going to bother with Eir/Virgin/Sky etc. and just use a paid online service like IPTV.

My questions is what TV should I buy? Do I need a firestick? People have been recommending Fire TV/Sony Bravia etc. I'm coming from a very low base-have lived in rented accommodation for years so not really looking to spend more than €600/€700 and whatever I get will be a lot better than what I've had the last thirty years!!

Hi
I recommend this Samsung 43" if it's not too big for your planned area,
Has all the top apps and very easy to use aswell as superb value
Bought mine last week
https://www.currys.ie/ieen/tv-and-home-entertainment/televisions/televisions/samsung-ue43ru7470uxxu-43-smart-4k-ultra-hd-hdr-led-tv-with-bixby-10191734-pdt.html
Has Amazon prime built in aswell as Now TV so you don't need to purchase either of those devices separate there in the television already, also has netflix, apple TV, spotify and an internet browser

It will take a satellite dish feed if you have one available and display channels
Also takes an aerial feed if you have that either.

Another thing to consider if you do have an unused sky satellite
You can get lots of free channels by purchasing an unused uk sky Card from ebay or here:
http://sat-planet.ie/FREESAT-VIEWING-CARD

Put it in an old sky box preferably a sky multiroom box;
Get all the BBC channels, music channels, Dave, More4, and loads more
A sky multiroom box is best because it doesn't make noise due to its lack of a hard drive inside.
Which you wouldn't use if fitted because you cant record without paid subscription

I've four sky DRX595 multiroom boxes fitted in my house and each one has an old uk sky Card fitted
No Bill's and lots of good channels for free

ocaoilr2

Very helpful, thank you.

Hoboo

Wouldnt bother paying extra for a smart, although I think you'd be hard pushed to find one without smart included.

My Samsung stopped supporting YouTube, and there's feck all decent apps you can put on it anyhow.

The wifi also stopped working, so I can still use it wired, but looks ****e when the cable is going across the floor.

Bought a firestick and does what I need.....prime, Netflix, YouTube, Internet, and cast whatever else from my phone/laptop.

Firestick or an Android box of some sort and a non smart TV is what id recommend (but completely open to being told otherwise, I'm not an expert by any means).

coylemj

Hoboo wrote: »

Wouldnt bother paying extra for a smart, although I think you'd be hard pushed to find one without smart included.

My Samsung stopped supporting YouTube, and there's feck all decent apps you can put on it anyhow.

+1,000 to that. I have a Sony Blu-Ray player, a smart device with an ethernet port. After a few years, I spotted a message on the menu saying that YouTube would no longer work after a certain date and since then, all of the video channels have stopped posting new data.

The TV manufacturers have too many models out there to be able to support all of them beyond a few years and the support window is getting shorter all the time. You can be pretty certain that after a few years, the smart functionality on your TV will start to creak and the manufacturer will not provide s/w updates.

winston_1

LenWoods wrote: »

Hi
I recommend this Samsung 43" if it's not too big for your planned area,
Has all the top apps and very easy to use aswell as superb value
Bought mine last week
https://www.currys.ie/ieen/tv-and-home-entertainment/televisions/televisions/samsung-ue43ru7470uxxu-43-smart-4k-ultra-hd-hdr-led-tv-with-bixby-10191734-pdt.html
Has Amazon prime built in aswell as Now TV so you don't need to purchase either of those devices separate there in the television already, also has netflix, apple TV, spotify and an internet browser

It will take a satellite dish feed if you have one available and display channels
Also takes an aerial feed if you have that either.

Another thing to consider if you do have an unused sky satellite
You can get lots of free channels by purchasing an unused uk sky Card from ebay or here:
http://sat-planet.ie/FREESAT-VIEWING-CARD

Put it in an old sky box preferably a sky multiroom box;
Get all the BBC channels, music channels, Dave, More4, and loads more
A sky multiroom box is best because it doesn't make noise due to its lack of a hard drive inside.
Which you wouldn't use if fitted because you cant record without paid subscription

I've four sky DRX595 multiroom boxes fitted in my house and each one has an old uk sky Card fitted
No Bill's and lots of good channels for free

You don't need to purchase a card. There are over 200 free to air channels receivable without the card.

The cards are sky property and if being sold are stolen property.

dam099

coylemj wrote: »

+1,000 to that. I have a Sony Blu-Ray player, a smart device with an ethernet port. After a few years, I spotted a message on the menu saying that YouTube would no longer work after a certain date and since then, all of the video channels have stopped posting new data.

The TV manufacturers have too many models out there to be able to support all of them beyond a few years and the support window is getting shorter all the time. You can be pretty certain that after a few years, the smart functionality on your TV will start to creak and the manufacturer will not provide s/w updates.

All true but given that many (if not most) TVs now have Smart features all other things being equal better to go for one with the most of the apps you need if you can get it (but I would definitely prioritise any other features you want and price first).

If getting for example a HDR TV then having Netflix native 4K HDR support may save buying an extra box (and the 4k ones are a bit pricier) for a few years until as you say they inevitably stop supporting them. Then you can buy a new model external box when they do.

Having said all that I no longer use my LG TV apps much and use Apple TV instead as it works better for me.

LenWoods

winston_1 wrote: »

The cards are sky property and if being sold are stolen property.

I'll switch over to channel 580 after I watch bargain hunt to apologise repeatedly for purchasing the card

icdg

Take a warning LenWoods, winston_1 is absolutely right. Posts of the above nature are not welcome here.

In general, one aspect of television we don’t discuss in these forums, as fundamental as it may be to the whole experience, is the actual television set itself. There’s a Video Displays and Projectors forum where purchasing televisions is discussed and I’m going to move this thread there. That is without prejudice to the above warning which stands in relating to the Cable and Digital forums