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Is my TV out of date? |
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#1 |
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Guest
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 478
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Is my TV out of date?
It may seem like a stupid question but my TV is a TX-L32s20b and it doesn't have web connected tv and it was 600 quid it only has an sd port and no usb port... I think it's pricey (very pricey). It doesn't have 3D which may/may not take off.
Is my not even 1/2 a year old set out of date already? |
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 2,959
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There is, and always will be new technology.
It all boils down to your budget, and what you want from your TV. I just bought (about two months ago) a new 32" LG TV. It is LCD, not OLED. It has 2x HDMI slots, and a single USB slot (which I wont use). It isn't 3D, and it doesn't have Ethernet/Internet/network connectivity. But do you know what? I don't care. It is hooked up to my Bluray player, which is all I want. To watch Bluray films in full 1080p. |
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: DAVEVILLE, Daveshire DA1 1VE
Posts: 33,621
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Hardly out of date really.
I know a few people with web connected TVs and not one of them actually uses the web stuff at all, except for BBC Iplayer. But if you have a modern games console, BluRay Player and in some cases a Freeview HD PVR or Freesat PVR, you may well have access to Iplayer via that anyway. Plus current BluRay players from Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Sony have their online portals too which are pretty much the same as their TVs have. Buy a BluRay Player with a web portal and DLNA and you will have pretty much what you think is missing from your TV for only around £100=£150. Saves buying a new TV. |
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Redditch Worcs
Posts: 17,296
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Surfing the web on a big screen TV is not really a very satisfactory solution anyway in my experience. I always find that at normal viewing distances the text is too small to read, and if you blow it up you need to constantly scroll to read all the content. Could be handy for VOD like BBc1 player but connecting my laptop by hdmi via my AV amp does the same job but much more conveniently. And you can use the BBCi player HD service as well.
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Derbyshire
Posts: 41,794
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Quote:
It may seem like a stupid question but my TV is a TX-L32s20b and it doesn't have web connected tv and it was 600 quid it only has an sd port and no usb port... I think it's pricey (very pricey). It doesn't have 3D which may/may not take off.
Is my not even 1/2 a year old set out of date already? What do you mean by an 'SD port'?, and for 3D you need to buy a specific 3D capable set - most aren't. |
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: berks
Posts: 1,646
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a lot of Panasonics have an SD card slot to show photos, maybe he means that
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: S.West England.
Posts: 18,037
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the tv has been turned into a sort of cut down PC now, which is why we are seeing nearly new kit being made obsolete so quickly. I think this was the *plan* all along. For godsake, dont buy any tv with key critical features built in as this is a sure fire to become obsolete quicker than everyone else.
....example, a 1998 Sky digi box will still do the same job now as it did in 1998. In the world on SD and no recodring, this is still an option for *adapting* an old type CRT tv with just an analogue tuner inside. On its own, in post DSO areas (like here) the tv on its own is a dead duck. And you cant manage the same job using an old OnDigital or itvDigital box due to the many technical changes in the DTT service since its launch. |
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: S.West England.
Posts: 18,037
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i want to add that things like On Demand tv and Web use that can now be done on a tv which is really a half baked pc tend to get upgraded quite often. So a year on from purchase, if OnDemand 2.0 is launced you may no longer be able to use the feature as the half baked pc in the tv is not upto the job, and you cant upgrade the hardware either. At least if the service was provided via a set top box, you could swap the box out for a new one, while protecting the larger investment in the actual tv.
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#9 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 8,622
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The main thing is that 32" is the size of a large computer monitor, its too small.
Online features can be bought in a box, and can be better upgraded that way anyways, jumping the gun on built in online features is not all that advisable at this point, I don't think they are fully baked. Usb port? Who cares, thats what set top box devices/htpc are for. Any usb port never supports all the formats out there anyways. |
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: DAVEVILLE, Daveshire DA1 1VE
Posts: 33,621
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OP if you want to add all those "missing" features, then buy yourself one of the new IP boxes from LG or Sony. LG's is called the LG SmartTV ST600 and costs around £100-£120. Sony's is the SMP-N100 and costs about the same. Both will basically add those features you feel is missing.
I still feel a BluRay or Freeview HD box with similar features is the way to go, similar features plus the ability to play BluRay or watch Freeview HD, for not much more money than one of those stand alone boxes. Plus of course, as others have said, they can be upgraded if standards change without having to buy a whole new TV. |
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Down and to the right a bit
Posts: 109
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Quote:
Plus of course, as others have said, they can be upgraded if standards change without having to buy a whole new TV.
The current extra cost of built-in SmartTV is rather similar, if not less even, to the cost of those external SmartTV-only boxes you have quoted, which come with the added inconveniences of extra remotes, more boxes, etc. I doubt their hardware is much more potent than what's included in the SmartTVs. They're all running some form of cut-down Linux anyway so the 'feature enhancing' community (wouldn't use the term hacking for this) are already at work. If the technology is included in a freewoteva STB or a BluRay player then you're getting into the world of all-in-ones and their usual limitations of only being able to use one feature at a time. The manufacturers rely on drip feeding new technologies to maintain market demand. This year's top of the range exclusive feature will be available will be available on all next year's models apart from the entry-level ones, which will have to wait until the year after. I'll just make sure that when I finally replace my main 4:3 CRT, its replacement will have multiple hibrid tuners, HbbTV (MHP is dead), all known file formats (incl FLAC pls) Playback, PVRReady, Gigabit LAN, Multi-11n Wi-Fi, etc, etc... |
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: DAVEVILLE, Daveshire DA1 1VE
Posts: 33,621
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Quote:
Why wouldn't you be able to just add an 'box' to a current SmartTV-type TV in the future too. The inclusion of SmartTV doesn't add that much of a premium to a current 2011 model compared to the original selling price (not the currently old stock shifting reduced one) of last year's CatchUp/InternetTV-type ones or the previous year's non- LAN/WiFi ones.
The current extra cost of built-in SmartTV is rather similar, if not less even, to the cost of those external SmartTV-only boxes you have quoted, which come with the added inconveniences of extra remotes, more boxes, etc. I doubt their hardware is much more potent than what's included in the SmartTVs. They're all running some form of cut-down Linux anyway so the 'feature enhancing' community (wouldn't use the term hacking for this) are already at work. If the technology is included in a freewoteva STB or a BluRay player then you're getting into the world of all-in-ones and their usual limitations of only being able to use one feature at a time. The manufacturers rely on drip feeding new technologies to maintain market demand. This year's top of the range exclusive feature will be available will be available on all next year's models apart from the entry-level ones, which will have to wait until the year after. I'll just make sure that when I finally replace my main 4:3 CRT, its replacement will have multiple hibrid tuners, HbbTV (MHP is dead), all known file formats (incl FLAC pls) Playback, PVRReady, Gigabit LAN, Multi-11n Wi-Fi, etc, etc... |
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: S.West England.
Posts: 18,037
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I would have thought to do Online features well, in a tv would need the power of a budget PC, with a few gig a ram, hard drive (or large capacity flash drive, eg MacAir), plus a well supported browser, as well as Adobe Flash and MS library support. or will that only come out in next years rehashed tv's?
I would have thought the cost of this would be quite significant, even minus the cost of a shell. It would be enough to put peolple off buying cheaper, entry level tv's with the feature inbuilt. |
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