Internet TVs?

[????]

Techies and others wisdom required.

Our main TV is old and failing, our kids wreck and deprogramm all our DVDs and our DVD player so I'm thinking of getting a TV with internet. I have visions of a lovely uncluttered TV area with easy access to BBC Iplayer and a subscription to that new download programme/film site taht's been advertised alot and all will besorted.

Am I right?

Is the technology ok?

Is it through your wireless connection?

Will prices come down a bit?

Any views/experience etc

etc

[StraferJack]

haven't got one of those TV's, but I do have several consoldes which offer exactly the same functionality

the technology is solid. Streaming services do depend a bit on how good your ISP is but I rarely have any trouble and I odn't have a great ISP (Orange)

usually can be wifi or wired

prices of the TVs? Always

You can get same functionality on current TV from a ?100 xbox360 or PS3 if you prefer

[????]

yup, but kids will wreck that!

Cheers SJ.

I will start having a look at prices etc:-S

[dbboy]

otherwise called a SMART vy

[ratty]

Thoroughly recommend it to be honest.

Get a Samsung if you can!

[ontheedge]

Would agree with Samsung recommendation friend has one, hardly any frame around it just a rim really, she has 3d but think at present that's a bit of a cod for the use you'd get from it and the glasses are pretty pricey.

[Undisputedtruth]

I suggest you wait for OLED television for better picture quality and energy consumption in the next few years. They'll be even thinner than current sets today. LG is expected to launch a 55-inch version in a few months for a bargain price of ?5000! They're not to be confused with LEDs which are a totally different technoogy.

Also watch out for Youview, expected to be launched at the end of 2012. It will certain change the way you watch tv including smoother internet browsing, pvr functionality, HD freeview and more. All for a proposed ?200.

Samsung makes good televisions, no doubt. But they do have a dubious business practice where they would substitute their highly prized s-pva panels for inferior AO panels. Resulting in a phenomenon known as panel lottery amongst system builders.

Of couse, if I'm talking complete rubbish then please feel free to ask Alan Medic where he is able to recommend television technology on the basis of grammar and spelling!

[Alan Medic]

Thanks UDT, but I think your knowledge of technoogy is far superior to mine. Quids, you will need to factor in re-painting the room you will have it in so the walls and the TV don't clash. BTW if you wait a few months longer you will be able to get 'smell TV in 4D'. Could be the thing!

[Undisputedtruth]

I thought you might pick up on the 'technoogy' typo error where the L was missing. This is how small minded you are. But if you looked at my last paragraph then you would have noticed the right spelling of 'technology'.

Back to big minded matters. Here's a preview to 'youview'.

 

[*Bob*]

There's a lot of potential Betamax-of-the-futures out there.

Thank god my cathode ray tube is still pumping out the electrons - so I don't end-up with technological egg on my face.

[El Pibe]

Just get yourself a pair of these

http://itvgoggles.com/images/thumbnails/wideviewxl3_0x403.JPG

[Annette Curtain]

I think i'm an 'Internet T.V'

*swooshes hair*

:-S

[the-e-dealer]

Sony Smart TV is great. IPlayer works like a dream on there and you can plug in USB Memory sticks with films on and watch them. It's great! Really great.

Make sure you have loads of memory card, USB and HDMI sockets.

[Undisputedtruth]

*Bob* Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> There's a lot of potential Betamax-of-the-futures

> out there.

>

>

> Thank god my cathode ray tube is still pumping out

> the electrons - so I don't end-up with

> technological egg on my face.

Not sure where you got the idea on lots of potential Betamaxes-of-the-future. The last major format war was blu-ray v HD-DVD but hardly a concern for most people.

eta: t to no to make not and to avoid excessive pedanticness from the likes of AM.

[El Pibe]

"to avoid excessive pedanticness"

pedantry ;-P

[red devil]

Another one for the UDicTionary...

[red devil]

Quids, like all things technological, you're never bang up to date for long, by the time you wait for the 'next best thing' to arrive, there's talk of another 'next best thing'...same with costs, prices will come down for TV's that are considered to have 'old hat' technology, and any new technology like 3D will carry a premium initially, best to just jump in now, set a budget and minimum wish list...pop down to a local showroom or go up town to somewhere like John Lewis to get a general overview of what's out there, then having drawn up a shortlist see if you can get a better deal online...I've heard Samsung and Panasonic TV's are consistently good

[Huguenot]

I've had the same Sony LED 46 incher downstairs for 5 years, and it's only just playing up - which is quite unusual given that bloody Sony things usually only last 2 years.

Upstairs the 32 inch Sony HD LED is also still going strong after 12 years. That was when they were so excited about HDMI they put the logo on the front of the telly.

They're both HD and I really do struggle to tell the difference between them and new TVs in the picture quality assessment under usual viewing conditions.

I've got a mate with a huge Samsung with 3D and all the Smart TV jobbies and he doesn't use any of them. The applications are dull to anyone with the attention span of an adult, and it feels stupid sitting in your front room with 3D specs on - even for the footie.

[Jeremy]

I think getting a "smart" TV with iplayer/netflix/lovefilm/etc is a good idea if you want to de-clutter and minimise things the kids can destroy. But bear in mind that the selection of films on these online streaming services is pretty bad.

[El Pibe]

totally agree re 3D, i decided non on my recent new telly.

I say new, it was already a couple of years old when I got it in richer sounds last year, 4 grand down to 800 quid. It pays to follow red devil's advice and not get the latest thing immeditely.

It's a philips and I can honestly say I have yet to see a better picture even wandering past the latest and greatest, and it is a huge increase in quality from my old LG, though that was nominally HD it was 7 years old when it finally gave up the ghost.

It is quite bulky compared to the latest & greatest however

[El Pibe]

oh yeah, internet. It has all that stuff, but the interface is a bit cumbersome, plus I get all the catchup stuff from the virgin box so never use it.

USBs and lots of HDMIs are a good idea though

[Jeremy]

Huguenot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Upstairs the 32 inch Sony HD LED is also still

> going strong after 12 years. That was when they

> were so excited about HDMI they put the logo on

> the front of the telly.

Can't be 12 years old, HDMI devices didn't even appear on the shelves until 2004-ish.

In 2003 I bought a Toshiba 30 inch LCD TV (sans HDMI) for ?1000... seems unbelievable now. Within a year it was obsolete.

[El Pibe]

yeah my 37 inch LG was ?1400. Within a year equivalent tecnhology was being sold for less than half the price, I decided not to make the same mistake again!!

[Otta]

Damn it, this thread has really made me want a new telly. Shame I'm broke.

[the-e-dealer]

The really annoying thing about my Sony is when you turn it on it still goes to Analog even though theres nothing there anymore!