UKC

For the last few years we've only watched catch-up and Netflix on a laptop.

Now we have to get a tv licience to do this legally I thought we might as well get a tv and have a bigger screen and better sound.

What is the current thinking on how you actually get the programs you want? Do you get a non-smart tv and a apple/amazon/other box to plug into it. Do you get a smart tv and not bother with the box thing? I don't watch any sports other than climbing/surf movies so having a package to allow football/rugby etc that isn't a big deal. I do like Nat geo docs and discovery Chanel stuff.

I'm not a electronics geek and not bothered about having the latest greatest thing. Is 1080p enough? 4K sounds overkill. I'm thinking a 32 inch maybe slightly bigger. I'd rather not need to get a surround system if I don't need it. Will one brand if TV be better than another in the sound department?

Thinking of a 200-300 budget. What would you reccomend? Thanks

G

In reply to George Fisher:

Sounds like you have a sensible approach so i would suggest:
Cheap TV (non-smart), plug laptop in for online content, make sure you get some sort of sound system, soundbar, sound plate or plug into a home stereo as the sound on flat TV's is pants.

I would say don't go for a smart TV, waste of dosh, not that smart, services get outdated very quickly and they are slow, slow slow compared to a laptop or good tablet.

As you say 4K overkill, 1080p more than enough.

In reply to George Fisher:

On a 32" TV you will never be able to see the difference between 1080 and 4k.

It's hard not to buy a new Smart TV - I bought a new one last Xmas (50" Samsung 4k) and although i've not seen any 4k content on it it has transformed TV viewing - nobody *needs* a 50" telly but if it's not going to overpower your living room, best off getting the biggest you can - I can't even imagine watching a 32" from 2.5m away these days (first world problems I know).

Watching HD programmes is great as you really appreciate the difference, and it's handy to be able to flick on YouTube and Netflix straight from the menu, but we also have a Humax HD freeview satellite box/recorder and probably spend as much time running these apps from that - so the Smart features are not really necessary as you say. If you're running stuff straight from your aerial and not recording to DVR then maybe the smart features are more useful. Although you can just plug in your laptop to watch - do you really want to? We did that for a while and its nice not to have to faff with wires, plugs and have the laptop out of action. We've only bought three TVs in the last 20 years so personally think it's worth getting it right.

Agree with the comment about the sound - flat panels just don't have the space to have beefy speakers so if sound is important get something for that.

In reply to George Fisher:

Personally I would go for a smart TV, I prefer the one box solution to plugging the laptop in or a second device.
The sound isn't great but probably better than the laptop sound and if all else fails a cheap soundbar makes a big difference.

In reply to George Fisher:
smart TV all the way. Plug in the aerial. connect to your WiFi. Sit back and watch your Netflix and YouTube. If you're bothered by the sound quality then you could get a soundbar. get a demonstration in a telly shop.
With most modern tv's you can cast your phone screen to the TV. Most of my music is played through the telly now.

In reply to George Fisher:

I'd love a big non-smart TV/display that just turns on and shows whatever is fed in to it - but almost impossible to buy. Instead every manufacturer has their own proprietary software for 'smart' TVs that are usually insecure, poorly written, slow and clunky. Possibly containing Chinese chipsets using default passwords that can be readily hacked - as has been seen in the last weeks dDOS attacks where the botnet appears to be mostly based in TVs, webcams and set top boxes.

Anyhoo... in answer to your questions it depends on where you get your viewing from. Many Smart TVs will have Netflix and iPlayer apps, which means you won't need other boxes, but fewer have DVR capabilities if you want to get retro and record programmes. We have Sky (sport) and an Apple TV (Netflix etc), the latter allowing us to stream from laptop.

We watch about 2 hours of telly a week between us though!

b

In reply to ben b:

Go for a smart tv, I have a Samsung which is very good. This one is within your price range.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-UE40K5500-40-Inch-1080p-Smart/dp/B01EKZOH9...

In reply to icnoble:
Thanks. I have a smartTV (a 55" Sony Bravia), but the software isn't great and I'd prefer to have a dumb TV that just showed the images (attached to my soundbar for the sounds) as I agree with the posts about the poor quality of flat screen speakers.


Cheers

B

In reply to George Fisher:
Can anybody think of any issues with putting a TV on a wall which would have a radiator below it?

In reply to George Fisher:

Never a smart tv. Too easy to hack.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31296188
And I have been in a number of boardrooms which had a smart tv switched on. Way to go if you want to give your info away.

In reply to George Fisher:

Don't bother with a smart TV. If your chosen TV does come with smart features, turn them off. That way you won't get used to them and won't miss them when they stop working.
I bought a Sony TV a few years ago, now all the providers have updated but the TV hasn't, so the smart features are useless.

In reply to George Fisher:

Sound bar as someone suggested is a lot more expensive than just plugging the TV into a Hifi or perhaps that has fallen from vogue?

In reply to wercat:

I don't have a hifi at home. A sound bar looks like a neat solution if the sound is that bad.

In reply to George Fisher:

Ah, in that case it makes perfect sense!

In reply to The Lemming:

I was advised against mounting a tv above a radiator as the rising heat would cook the electronics

In reply to George Fisher:

32" definitely way too small - you'll regret it.

Mines 'only' 46" and I already hanker after more. If you like watching wildlife/nat geog stuff you'll love it when it feels as if it's right there in front of you.

Watching Everest last night and a big screen and good sound envelopes you perfectly!

In reply to icnoble:

I thought about that too, but I can't find anything to confirm or contradict that, especially as TV's can work in hot environments.

I also thought about a shelf between the TV and the radiator, to at least keep the dust from rising into the TV.

My brain hurts.

In reply to George Fisher:

we (me, the wife and two young laddies) just bought (our first) one for the same reason. We havent watched a thing on it othér than strictly on iplayer, you tubed cartoons for the lads, and some dvds from lovefilm. It was about £400with a dvd player, and ready to play out of the box. internet connection was a dawdle, and speaking to the shop sales gadgie theyre all as easy as each other. its a sony something.hd, and definately a step up from my laptop screen. I eeckon 300 would be fine, but maybe not £200.

In reply to George Fisher:

I'd recommend:
As large screen as possible

Smart is not that great. My Samsung will flash up messages for over a month every time I switch on telling me such and such service from Samsung is being discontinued. I don't care. I didn't want it anyway. Now STOP TELLING ME.

It's probably quite hard to get a TV that isn't a smart one though.

Go for one that has an EPG (electronic programme guide) that shows the whole synopsis of the programme. So many show a little bit and you have to click again to see the whole thing. This is so blitheringly stupid that fury renders me incapable of speech.

The built in speakers are rubbish. Some kind of sound bar or amplifier is essential.

If freeview (or iplayer and other free smart apps) doesn't get you the programmes you want then you will have to subscribe to something or other. There are very few (down to and including none) climbing/surf movies on freeview. So a smart TV will be needed, and a subscription to something or other.

In reply to George Fisher:

Get a Amazon Firestick or box, get it jailbroken, put Kodi on it and never have to buy or borrow a Bluray or DVD again. Lots of sport on there as well. So I'm told

In reply to George Fisher:

The sound is absolutely fine on all the TVs I've seen. I don't have a sound bar and I don't know anyone else who does. I think it does depend on what sort of thing you watch though. If you like noisy action movies then you'll probably want a big screen and big speakers. If you just want to watch ordinary TV stuff then a 32" with built in speakers is fine. I have a 32" on a wheeled cabinet. On the rare occasion we watch a movie we roll it closer to the sofa to zoom in!

In reply to The Lemming:

It's not recommended and it might shorten the TVs life, but it wouldn't be catastrophic and if it was me I'd just stick the TV above the radiator and be done with it. If you can put a shelf in to divert the hot air, that would definitely help.

In reply to George Fisher:

Just to disagree with those saying go big, I've got a 32" I would hate anything bigger.