Samsung TV recent purchase query

stevek93

Hi all,


I purchased a Samsung TV from Power City recently the TV is working fine without fault but there is an issue with its design that is causing some media play back to fail.



The TV is advertised as 4k but the network capabilities of the TV do not allow this without going into to much technical detail the Ethernet port has a maximum throughput of 100mbps the WIFI also doesn't support 5Ghz only 2.4Ghz.



If the TV accepts apps what are advertised in its App Store for example Plex it accepts playback of 4k files within the app but is unable to do so with its limited hardware as I liable for a refund?



Thanks

mk7r

stevek93 wrote: »

Hi all,


I purchased a Samsung TV from Power City recently the TV is working fine without fault but there is an issue with its design that is causing some media play back to fail.



The TV is advertised as 4k but the network capabilities of the TV do not allow this without going into to much technical detail the Ethernet port has a maximum throughput of 100mbps the WIFI also doesn't support 5Ghz only 2.4Ghz.



If the TV accepts apps what are advertised in its App Store for example Plex it accepts playback of 4k files within the app but is unable to do so with its limited hardware as I liable for a refund?



Thanks

4k only needs about 20mb or so generally? How is it struggling?

afatbollix

4K is max 35Mbps so if you can run an Ethernet cable to it you should be ok.

I used power plugs to run Ethernet to my TV area.

stevek93

4K can be huge in size and requires high bandwidth for example


https://www.reddit.com/r/4kTV/comments/87ul67/do_lg_tvs_support_gigabit_ethernet/

L1011

4k over HDMI would be sufficent to advertise as 4k. I'm sure it does this.

Poor definition of specs isn't false advertising basically, the core functionality is there.

afatbollix

Uncompressed UHD is 12Gbps you would need fibre to do that.

HEVC compressed UHD with Netflix is now lower than 8Mbps, Sky runs the live channels at 25 to 35Mbps. Even if its the older H.264 that's about 65Mbps which you will be ok with your 100Mbps port.

If you want to check your media you could check in VLC in the codec information bit about the bitrate of the video you want to show.

Do you get dropped frames or stuttering at the moment watching it?

Del2005

L1011 wrote: »

4k over HDMI would be sufficent to advertise as 4k. I'm sure it does this.

Poor definition of specs isn't false advertising basically, the core functionality is there.

It's a 4k TV so all it needs to do is show 4k from an aerial/satellite and it meets the criteria. The extras, which don't require having a TV licence to use, are something that should be researched before purchasing it.

colm_mcm

The extras, which don't require having a TV licence to use,

You’d still need a licence because it’s a TV though

antix80

stevek93 wrote: »

If the TV accepts apps what are advertised in its App Store for example Plex it accepts playback of 4k files within the app but is unable to do so with its limited hardware as I liable for a refund?

I think your issue is with Plex. Maybe they should design their app smarter.

The manufacturer will probably support first party apps on the device at launch and for some time to come but when it comes to third-party apps you have no guarantees.

And with Samsung smart TVs (and most smart TVs) sooner or later most people will find themselves at least plugging in a chromecast to get the functionality they thought would be built-in.

stevek93

afatbollix wrote: »

Uncompressed UHD is 12Gbps you would need fibre to do that.

HEVC compressed UHD with Netflix is now lower than 8Mbps, Sky runs the live channels at 25 to 35Mbps. Even if its the older H.264 that's about 65Mbps which you will be ok with your 100Mbps port.

If you want to check your media you could check in VLC in the codec information bit about the bitrate of the video you want to show.

Do you get dropped frames or stuttering at the moment watching it?

It is buffering a lot, Ill check the local file in VLC and see what the bit rate is, mostly everything I am playing is H.265 otherwise file sizes would be massive.

stevek93

antix80 wrote: »

I think your issue is with Plex. Maybe they should design their app smarter.

The manufacturer will probably support first party apps on the device at launch and for some time to come but when it comes to third-party apps you have no guarantees.

And with Samsung smart TVs (and most smart TVs) sooner or later most people will find themselves at least plugging in a chromecast to get the functionality they thought would be built-in.

The issue again could be Plex, the nvidia shield for example has a 1gbps lan port I don't understand why Samsung can't put it in their TV or even make a TV that accepts 5Ghz WIFI.

stevek93

L1011 wrote: »

4k over HDMI would be sufficent to advertise as 4k. I'm sure it does this.

Poor definition of specs isn't false advertising basically, the core functionality is there.

On Samsung's website it doesn't give you the specs just says "Ethernet Yes" imagine a car being sold as "Petrol Yes" and doesn't specify the litre ah sure it doesn't matter once it moves.

antix80

stevek93 wrote: »

The issue again could be Plex, the nvidia shield for example has a 1gbps lan port I don't understand why Samsung can't put it in their TV or even make a TV that accepts 5Ghz WIFI.

i bought one of their lower spec tvs recently and was surprised to see it had bluetooth options but only the option to add a wired keyboard. Did a bit of digging and found out for whatever reason they removed the option to add bluetooth devices following a firmware update (at least that's my understanding). Seems it will still work if you buy their special "Samsung Smart wireless bluetooth keyboard"

stevek93

antix80 wrote: »

i bought one of their lower spec tvs recently and was surprised to see it had bluetooth options but only the option to add a wired keyboard. Did a bit of digging and found out for whatever reason they removed the option to add bluetooth devices following a firmware update (at least that's my understanding). Seems it will still work if you buy their special "Samsung Smart wireless bluetooth keyboard"

That sounds worse than what Apple does be at.. I am starting to become upset with Samsung right now I used to sing their praise how good their TV's are.

mk7r

stevek93 wrote: »

The issue again could be Plex, the nvidia shield for example has a 1gbps lan port I don't understand why Samsung can't put it in their TV or even make a TV that accepts 5Ghz WIFI.

Because it's not necessary? 2.4Ghz WiFi is much better at going through walls etc, has a longer effective range and will easily give 100mb+ so why change it?

Del2005

colm_mcm wrote: »

You’d still need a licence because it’s a TV though

I never said they didn't.

The OP is trying to return the TV because it won't play 4k on an extra that isn't the TV part. I've a 4k TV at home but as I've only got Virgin I can't see 4k TV pictures on it, does that mean I can return the TV.

Once the panel can display 4k resolution it's a 4k device, it's up to the owner to researching before purchase it's specs.

stevek93

mk7r wrote: »

Because it's not necessary? 2.4Ghz WiFi is much better at going through walls etc, has a longer effective range and will easily give 100mb+ so why change it?

I have a Ubiquiti access point mounted in my ceiling in the sitting room just above the TV the 5Ghz band is much faster than the 2.4Ghz band. You would expect a TV in 2020 to support 5Ghz it is nothing new at this stage.

stevek93

Del2005 wrote: »

I never said they didn't.

The OP is trying to return the TV because it won't play 4k on an extra that isn't the TV part. I've a 4k TV at home but as I've only got Virgin I can't see 4k TV pictures on it, does that mean I can return the TV.

Once the panel can display 4k resolution it's a 4k device, it's up to the owner to researching before purchase it's specs.

It is a 4k panel that isn't capable of playing 4K using the smart function of the TV due to its limited hardware...

L1011

stevek93 wrote: »

It is a 4k panel that isn't capable of playing 4K using the smart function of the TV due to its limited hardware...

But it can play 4K on HDMI, fully meeting the advertised specs as a 4K TV

Basically you've made a bad purchase - Samsung, who I've used for TVs and laptops for years - are often really bad with network hardware; but it absolutely meets the advertised specs. Buy a 4K Chromecast and be done with it; cause you have no angle for a refund.

snoopboggybog

Not familair with Plex but is it the TV that does the decoding from your media server?

Completely different from chromecast where you cast from your own device which does the decoding.

Does 4K youtube work.

stevek93

snoopboggybog wrote: »

Not familair with Plex but is it the TV that does the decoding from your media server?

Completely different from chromecast where you cast from your own device which does the decoding.

Does 4K youtube work.

Yes Plex supports transcoding on the server doesn't use the host which is great.

Yes 4k Youtube works, I suppose at this point as I can play 4K some what and just Samsung being greedy to save what maybe 50c not putting a 1Gbps LAN I don't really have a leg to stand on here, I might aswell just buy a nvidia shield and be done with it.

Iseedeadpixels

You'll have no luck with Power City returning that, it clearly works as intended.

mk7r

stevek93 wrote: »

I have a Ubiquiti access point mounted in my ceiling in the sitting room just above the TV the 5Ghz band is much faster than the 2.4Ghz band. You would expect a TV in 2020 to support 5Ghz it is nothing new at this stage.

5Ghz does have a much higher bandwidth for sure but in many cases it's worse than 2.4 and in situations where you don't need more than 100mb 2.4 should really be used unless trying to avoid interference. You are not being bottlenecked by the connection to your TV and I don't see how it would play smoother with a faster port as the max you can be using right now is about 35mb/s

Cabaal

Could be a crap router causing your issues.

I was using Sky's router for years no issues, few months back switched to Vodafone and had awful problems across my network with buffering.
Eventually replaced it with a TP-Link router which sorted the issue.

There was nothing fancy about the sky router, it was donkeys years old but the newer vodafone router with bells and whistles was just a heap of crap

stevek93

Cabaal wrote: »

Could be a crap router causing your issues.

I was using Sky's router for years no issues, few months back switched to Vodafone and had awful problems across my network with buffering.
Eventually replaced it with a TP-Link router which sorted the issue.

There was nothing fancy about the sky router, it was donkeys years old but the newer vodafone router with bells and whistles was just a heap of crap

This is my router its not crap

L1011

Ubiquiti kit is designed for large office buildings / hotels not home performance, though. Use it myself - in work!

stevek93

mk7r wrote: »

5Ghz does have a much higher bandwidth for sure but in many cases it's worse than 2.4 and in situations where you don't need more than 100mb 2.4 should really be used unless trying to avoid interference. You are not being bottlenecked by the connection to your TV and I don't see how it would play smoother with a faster port as the max you can be using right now is about 35mb/s

35mb/s a second? That is impossible over 10/100 the maximum throughput is 12.5mb/s a second with TCP/IP overhead the actual throughput would probably be more like 10mb/s. Again my point being if 35mb/s is required then 1gbps is needed.

stevek93

L1011 wrote: »

Ubiquiti kit is designed for large office buildings / hotels not home performance, though. Use it myself - in work!

And? What is the issue using it at home? :rolleyes:

L1011

stevek93 wrote: »

And? What is the issue using it at home? :rolleyes:

I wouldn't consider them to be tuned for high bandwidth to a single device; they're tuned to provide stability over pure grunt basically.

Generally prefer ASUS kit for the latter; but wouldn't use it in an office as they don't deal with having 200 clients well.

stevek93

L1011 wrote: »

I wouldn't consider them to be tuned for high bandwidth to a single device; they're tuned to provide stability over pure grunt basically.

Generally prefer ASUS kit for the latter; but wouldn't use it in an office as they don't deal with having 200 clients well.

I have 24 Ethernet ports about the house wired into a comms cabinet, connected to a Cisco switch and then the router there isn't 200 clients but probably more like 25 to 30 wired. I have hardware offloading turned on this enables high bandwidth to a single device as you put it, sometimes in a production environment this is turned off for whatever reason.

snoopboggybog

stevek93 wrote: »

I have 24 Ethernet ports about the house wired into a comms cabinet, connected to a Cisco switch and then the router there isn't 200 clients but probably more like 25 to 30 wired. I have hardware offloading turned on this enables high bandwidth to a single device as you put it, sometimes in a production environment this is turned off for whatever reason.

I'd actually test the tv and media server connected to your modem directly.

Not saying it will make a difference cause you know your stuff, but first thing i'd be trying.