Texas SOT

New "Smart TV" is a new toy and an education.

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  • HKShooter65

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    I really watch very little TV.
    My 27" Retina iMac is the center of my electronics world, mostly.

    It's good to have buddies with money to burn.
    A friend who bought a $3,200 75" Samsung TV last Xmas sold it to me for $800 because he wanted an 85" Samsung for $3,400.

    My win.

    The real epiphany to me is the whole new (to me, anyway) concept of downloading apps to the TV to watch focused content.

    I download the Netflix app for that.
    I download the Spotify app for music. Somehow the Samsung remote controls my Harmon/Kardon receiver!
    I download the YouTube app to watch pigs and coyotes getting shot.
    I download the Amazon app to shop. (For my wife, of course)
    I download the NASA app to watch vids from the Space Station.

    I was ignorant of the new technology of "Smart TV's".

    Apps.
    Cool.

    Any experience out there with apps I need???
    And, no, I'm not a gamer.
    Texas SOT
     
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    DwnRange

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    and just think - now the guys at the DOD/NSA can watch you and your honey doing the wild thing on your couch............. even when it's turned off :usflag: :cowboy::popcorn:
     

    HKShooter65

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    Couch? Been a while.

    If I'm THAT interesting they are free to do so.

    I've got 7 Siri devices and 5 Alexa devices. Prolly more if I think about it.

    Siri has taken up residence in the handheld remote for the Apple TV 4K.
    If I say to the remote "Show me Tannerite explosions" she goes to Youtube post-haste.

    Siri is even in my new SUV and the audio console tells me if I'm speeding.
    He/She lives in that little microphone by my visor.

    Next I suppose I'll have a commode that checks for parasites and emails my doc and CVS.

    I only WISH I were that interesting.
     
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    benenglish

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    Any experience out there with apps I need???
    No, but a caution. You'll find that TV makers don't necessarily feel compelled to keep their apps up to date. If you rely on apps provided by the maker of the TV, you'll find that over time they become obsolete, don't get updated, and stop working.

    This will lead you to buy a new TV (which is what they want) or set up an external device that treats the TV as just a dumb receiver. The external device will run apps and be more likely to continue to be useful for longer. It's also more complex (which may be no big deal) and sometimes, depending on how deep you want to go down the rabbit hole, way more complex (which will be a big deal to somebody in your household).

    Now, which external device(s)? There are forums full of people arguing about that to lengths that make 9mm vs. .45 ACP look like a short, polite conversation over cucumber sandwiches and tea.
     

    TexasBrandon

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    I've ran a Roku box exclusively since the Roku 3 came out many many years ago. I upgraded a few months ago to the latest and greatest one and have always enjoyed using it over those garbage TV based apps. Problem is, most of them run like dog shit. Slow to use the menus and everything. Now some of them are ok but man, just get a Roku or variant and roll from there.

    The other option is to have a multimedia server, I have one for all the downloaded stuff since using a USB drive isn't going to cut it, especially when the total drive space used is several terabytes. However, setting up a multimedia server isn't for everyone, especially for someone not in the IT field or savvy in the IT arena.

    Bottom line, get a Roku, Chromecast, firebox, appleTV, or something of the sort and you won't have to deal with the finicky onboard apps the Smart TVs have. I think my original Roku 3 lasted for almost 4 years before I upgraded. Not that it needed swapped out, I just wanted to prepare for the eventual 4k/5k TV that I will own.
     

    HKShooter65

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    Where did he buy the 85" Samsung?
    I've been considering upgrading.

    They round up a good bit.
    His 85" measures 82.4"
    My 75". measures 73.1"

    Best Buy near Slaughter S.Austin I'm thinking.
    This one I think.
    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsun...th-high-dynamic-range/5886000.p?skuId=5886000

    I was there when that delivered the enormous box!
    He was worried about putting it out front for the trash pickup. Knock-off for thieves, or some such.
    I said "No problem"!. Just put it two doors down, across the street, neighbor's house, midnight chore!
     

    HKShooter65

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    ...Bottom line, get a Roku, Chromecast, firebox, appleTV, or something of the sort and you won't have to deal with the finicky onboard apps ...

    Agree, though there is a lot of redundancy that's not really of concern.

    My Samsung has a Spotify app I like. Apple TV 4k hasn't one.
    My Apple TV 4K has the iTunes Movie app.
    I spend a lot (too much!?) time on my Macs but mirroring to the Apple TV 4K is something I'f found easy and valuable.

    All the services and streaming devices offer more content than a battalion could watch.

    Our late night wind-down time lately has been to watch David Attenborough's "Planet Earth II". Amazing pale blue dot we inhabit.
     

    benenglish

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    All the services and streaming devices offer more content than a battalion could watch.
    Some years ago, when building your own DVR with Linux and add-on TV cards was a popular hobby, somebody built and showed (I doubt it made it to market) a DVR that simply recorded everything. If you had 400 channels, it would keep a month's worth of all their content.

    Obviously, this was before high-def broadcast TV.

    I always wondered who would want such a device. As you say, there would be more content than a battalion could watch.
     

    ZX9RCAM

    Over the Rainbow bridge...
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    The Woodlands, Tx.
    They round up a good bit.
    His 85" measures 82.4"
    My 75". measures 73.1"

    Best Buy near Slaughter S.Austin I'm thinking.
    This one I think.
    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsun...th-high-dynamic-range/5886000.p?skuId=5886000

    I was there when that delivered the enormous box!
    He was worried about putting it out front for the trash pickup. Knock-off for thieves, or some such.
    I said "No problem"!. Just put it two doors down, across the street, neighbor's house, midnight chore!
    Thanks.
    It actually states that it's an 82".
    I've had my 73" for probably 6 years.
     

    HKShooter65

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    ...As you say, there would be more content than a battalion could watch.

    So little time for so much to do.

    I just finished cleaning and safely storing the 8 firearms that I took shooting today with 2 buddies. Twenty guns and probably about 5-600 rounds wasted today.

    Sitting at the iMac checking news and email and listening to a new musical discovery, an acoustic group Run River North on the great Sonos speakers I bought for my wife to give me for Xmas.

    Not even considered turning the TV on today.
     
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