Smart TV and streaming device controls

[y_p_w]

I'm just wondering how others find these things to work. I'm used to my own Samsung smart TV that I got in 2020 that uses their own operating system and their controls. A lot of how it works is more app based, but I don't really like going through characters in a search. But I also have a Logitech wireless mouse/keyboard combo that works just fine with the receiver plugged into the single USB port on the TV. It does use up the only port, although I think I might be able to use a hub hanging from there if I need to connect multiple devices. It doesn't have any voice control. Some of the apps don't work with the keyboard though, so it could be a matter of programming to accept a USB keyboard.

I still have an old Sony Blu-Ray player that had some streaming options, even though I got it in 2011 and rarely use it. It had Amazon Prime video and YouTube, although eventually those stopped working because API support ended. I could also plug in a keyboard into the USB port in the back.

I visit my parents, and my dad got an LG smart TV. It looks fine but it took me a while to figure out the remote control that focuses on pointing the remote at the screen like it's a laser pointer to control it almost like a mouse. The various smart TV apps that are available natively on the TV are pretty minimal though - at least compared to what I can find on my Samsung TV. That's why I got them a Roku Express 4K+, although the interface they have takes a lot of controls, especially if trying to "type" something in like search terms.

 

[bdcardinal]

FWIW I have no interest in a "smart tv". I would much rather have a tv with multiple inputs where I can have my own stand alone Roku/PS3/4, etc.

 

[y_p_w]

FWIW I have no interest in a "smart tv". I would much rather have a tv with multiple inputs where I can have my own stand alone Roku/PS3/4, etc.

Good luck with that. Pretty much every new TV is going to have some sort of smart TV setup unless it’s designed as a computer monitor. My TV has HDMI and coax inputs. I tried using the smart TV features on my parents’ LG and it’s almost unusable, but they have an antenna and HDMI connections.

 

[billt460]

I wish I was better versed on all of this streaming stuff. I barely know enough to be dangerous. And I'm getting sick and tired of paying $145.00 a month for Direct TV, and have nothing but but 600 channels of pure crap to show for it.

There is a place in town that sells all of this kind of stuff. One of these days when I get fed up enough, I'll probably go in there and check out what they offer. They offer to deliver and hook up whatever they sell.

 

[Hyundai Respecter]

I don’t use the smart features on my Samsung TV because they’re too slow and clunky and never gets updated. I just use my Apple TV and forget all about the TVs smart features. I don’t even connect the TV to the internet.

 

[y_p_w]

I wish I was better versed on all of this streaming stuff. I barely know enough to be dangerous. And I'm getting sick and tired of paying $145.00 a month for Direct TV, and have nothing but but 600 channels of pure crap to show for it.

There is a place in town that sells all of this kind of stuff. One of these days when I get fed up enough, I'll probably go in there and check out what they offer. They offer to deliver and hook up whatever they sell.

"Streaming" isn't really that hard to understand. It's any kind of video that is transmitted over the internet and isn't stored on the device for later viewing, although it might be temporarily stored to be viewed then. YouTube content is actually streaming, but if one watches it straight through on a computer/tablet/smart phone the entirety of the video might actually be stored for temporary viewing. But on my smart TV only a little of it is buffered at any time and there's always a delay if I move.

I used to have DISH with one of their DVR receivers. They had on-demand video that would come via the internet, but the "rights holder" might have different ways of transmitting the data. Some programming would actually be stored directly in the hard drive DVR, but others weren't allowed to be stored for later viewing and I had to have an active internet connection to watch. After a while I noticed that none of the available on-demand movies were downloaded in their entirety.

Still - what I was thinking of with this topic is really just the control aspect, and it could mean a cable box or a satellite box. I haven't tried any kind of voice control, although I've heard some services have that. My big thing is using arrow buttons and "back" buttons, as well as how to key in search terms. For that a keyboard is really nice to have compared to hunting through characters. Something like this YouTube search in one of their apps:

Some TVs have voice control that enters what it thinks the user is saying, but obviously that's not perfect, especially with unique spellings and homonyms. I have my keyboard next to the TV although sometimes I'll move it around.

 

[y_p_w]

I don’t use the smart features on my Samsung TV because they’re too slow and clunky and never gets updated. I just use my Apple TV and forget all about the TVs smart features. I don’t even connect the TV to the internet.

I actually use the Apple TV app on my Samsung TV. It works great although I suppose it is a bit clunky. But the user interface looks just like what I've seen from an Apple TV box demo. My dad does have an Apple TV box, but I never use that though, and I don't think he knows how to use any of the apps. A friend of his helped set it up just to use AirPlay with his iPad. But he doesn't want me messing with it just in case it no longer works the way he likes it.

 

[jhellwig]

Roku has a phone app that can function as a remote. It also gives you a normal qwerty Keyboard option to type things with. Several apps that are on smart tvs or streaming devices have phone apps that will give you the option to throw it onto the tv.

 

[Tdbo]

FWIW I have no interest in a "smart tv". I would much rather have a tv with multiple inputs where I can have my own stand alone Roku/PS3/4, etc.

We bought a new LG OLED set about 8 months ago.
I went on a search prior to find a stupid set.
The only one I could find was one that was designed for exterior use @ $7200.

 

[Tdbo]

I don’t use the smart features on my Samsung TV because they’re too slow and clunky and never gets updated. I just use my Apple TV and forget all about the TVs smart features. I don’t even connect the TV to the internet.

The LG isn't any better.
I use my old $15. Firestick with it because it is easier and faster than using the LG interface.

 

[PimTac]

I actually use the Apple TV app on my Samsung TV. It works great although I suppose it is a bit clunky. But the user interface looks just like what I've seen from an Apple TV box demo. My dad does have an Apple TV box, but I never use that though, and I don't think he knows how to use any of the apps. A friend of his helped set it up just to use AirPlay with his iPad. But he doesn't want me messing with it just in case it no longer works the way he likes it.

I’m sure the Apple TV can be paired with a iPhone or iPad and you can enter searches and stuff on those devices rather than using the remote and television screen. I get prompts for it all the time especially for passwords.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Our Samsung was our first Smart TV, and maybe its been updated since but its interface was awful. I switched it to Roku and never looked back.

Our other TV I just bought with native Roku, and it seems much smoother / more responsive than the Roku smart stick that plugs in.

 

[rekit]

Xfinity here (Comcast). Main gripe is you can't watch your DVR unless the internet is working. Like on generator. When we had Directtv that was not the case.

 

[Skippy722]

We’ve got a LG, Samsung, and Hisense smart TV’s. The LG and Samsung use their respective operating systems, the Hisense is Roku.

I find the LG and Samsung to be clunky, and for whatever reason the Samsung refuses to remember the Wi-Fi connection requiring me to unplug it to force it to reset.

The phone app for the Roku is a godsend, because even with my “anti lose the remote” device the kids can still manage to lose it lol

 

[researcher]

I wish I was better versed on all of this streaming stuff. I barely know enough to be dangerous. And I'm getting sick and tired of paying $145.00 a month for Direct TV, and have nothing but but 600 channels of pure crap to show for it.

There is a place in town that sells all of this kind of stuff. One of these days when I get fed up enough, I'll probably go in there and check out what they offer. They offer to deliver and hook up whatever they sell.

Just wanted to tell you a simple version of this streaming stuff.. With cable tv you had a cable tv box with a coax hooked to it.. With your directv you have a coax coming from the dish to your directv box (then of course to your tv).

With streaming you hook up to the internet (wired or wireless, I like wired, more reliable connection) to your streaming tv box or smart tv directly. Just swapping one cable for another. And yes I know coax still hooks to your cable modem, then wired or wireless to your tv.. Just trying to give you a simplistic version to understand.

The other thing people might not understand is the data caps imposed by some internet providers. That also is what has to be taken into consideration when going the streaming tv route. Higher resolution shows will eat up data much faster (bigger amount of data)..

 

[billt460]

.......But on my smart TV only a little of it is buffered at any time and there's always a delay if I move.........

This happens with my Direct TV. I have a total of 4 TV's hooked up to it throughout the house and garage. The "main box" is hooked up to the TV in the living room. (The other 3 TV's are hooked up with little "mini boxes" that are about the size of 3 smart phones stacked on top of each other).

If I have both the living room and bedroom TV on the same channel at the same time, there is a delay of about 2 to 3 seconds in both the video and audio from one to the other.

 

[barryh]

Smart TV's seem to me pointless unless the manufacturer commits to upgrading the apps so that they continue to work over the reasonable lifetime of the TV and the problem is they don't. I known it's also the streaming services that don't support the older apps but the result is the same. I have a couple of decent but older Panasonic TV's with very thin bezels so still looking modern but many of the smart apps have ceased to function. I'm not about to replace perfectly good TV's every few years just to keep all the apps working but I would be prepared to replace a stick every few years.

 

[ka9mnx]

Old School...My smart tv is hooked up to an old computer with a Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse pad. Using Brave Browser, I go through the internet to watch YouTube, HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime and old DVD's.

 

[tmorris1]

"Streaming" isn't really that hard to understand. It's any kind of video that is transmitted over the internet and isn't stored on the device for later viewing, although it might be temporarily stored to be viewed then. YouTube content is actually streaming, but if one watches it straight through on a computer/tablet/smart phone the entirety of the video might actually be stored for temporary viewing. But on my smart TV only a little of it is buffered at any time and there's always a delay if I move.

I used to have DISH with one of their DVR receivers. They had on-demand video that would come via the internet, but the "rights holder" might have different ways of transmitting the data. Some programming would actually be stored directly in the hard drive DVR, but others weren't allowed to be stored for later viewing and I had to have an active internet connection to watch. After a while I noticed that none of the available on-demand movies were downloaded in their entirety.

Still - what I was thinking of with this topic is really just the control aspect, and it could mean a cable box or a satellite box. I haven't tried any kind of voice control, although I've heard some services have that. My big thing is using arrow buttons and "back" buttons, as well as how to key in search terms. For that a keyboard is really nice to have compared to hunting through characters. Something like this YouTube search in one of their apps:

Some TVs have voice control that enters what it thinks the user is saying, but obviously that's not perfect, especially with unique spellings and homonyms. I have my keyboard next to the TV although sometimes I'll move it around.

Roku has voice control on some of their remotes. i think if your device doesn't have it you can add it for $30. If you get the Roku Ultra it has it. i don't use any of my Smart Features on my TVs, i just use Roku Ultras wired with ethernet

 

[tmorris1]

This happens with my Direct TV. I have a total of 4 TV's hooked up to it throughout the house and garage. The "main box" is hooked up to the TV in the living room. (The other 3 TV's are hooked up with little "mini boxes" that are about the size of 3 smart phones stacked on top of each other).

If I have both the living room and bedroom TV on the same channel at the same time, there is a delay of about 2 to 3 seconds in both the video and audio from one to the other.

DirectTV has a streaming option called Direct Stream if you have high speed internet. It is the most "cable" like interface and you probably wouldn't know the difference from satellite. i have it and use it with Roku Ultra on each TV. It works great