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Which SMART TV?
HULMEAC
04-04-2012
Appreciate views on the following:
I am looking for a small TV for the kitchen. I have a good wired network connection (21 megs ADSL) so hoping for a device that will handle iPlayer AND ITV Player etc. I also would like Internet radio (e.g. Radio Paradise), and finally the capability to play video/photos/music from my exisitng Humax boxes already on the network.
I have looked closely at the SONY KDL 22ex320 but that doesn't appear to have ITV Player (can it be upgraded?), also I tried internet radio via the 'standard' browser and there was no sound!!
I accept that for a small TV I will not get Freeview HD and that just about all of the above can be done using a Humax box + display, but ideally would like just the one device........thanks in advance.....
chrisjr
04-04-2012
You have to remember that a TV is not a computer, however smart it may claim to be Therefore it is going to be restricted in what it can do to some degree or other. Plus it is going to be a whole load less flexible in terms of updating it to take advantage of new services etc.

With a TV you are much more reliant on the manufacturer for updates to the software and features. So if Sony decide they don't want ITV Player on their telly then you could well be stuffed unless some clever so and so comes up with a hacked version of the Sony software to allow it.

As for internet radio, the lack of sound could be because the TV cannot decode the particular format of audio the stream is using. For a PC that isn't usually a problem as you can install the appropriate codec to handle it. But as I said above, not so easy for a TV as you are locked into what the TV maker lets you use.
HULMEAC
04-04-2012
Thanks Chrisjr......
Looks like another Humax box and a decent PC Monitor with HDMI input then!! I believe this will meet all requirements plus HDTV!
chrisjr
04-04-2012
I've got a Humax FOX-T2 box and that doesn't do ITV Player. And have you tried to use BBC iPlayer on one? Not sure if it's something to do with the box I've got but it is next to unusable!

Navigating the screen is a nightmare. If I didn't know any better I would think I was on a 1980s dial up modem connection it's so slow. By the time you've got to a screen letting you select a programme to view I've forgotten what I was looking for.

Yet if I fire up the laptop and got to the iPlayer website on the same broadband connection it is a s quick as you like.

Go figure.
grahamlthompson
04-04-2012
Originally Posted by chrisjr:
“I've got a Humax FOX-T2 box and that doesn't do ITV Player. And have you tried to use BBC iPlayer on one? Not sure if it's something to do with the box I've got but it is next to unusable!

Navigating the screen is a nightmare. If I didn't know any better I would think I was on a 1980s dial up modem connection it's so slow. By the time you've got to a screen letting you select a programme to view I've forgotten what I was looking for.

Yet if I fire up the laptop and got to the iPlayer website on the same broadband connection it is a s quick as you like.

Go figure. ”

That's odd Chris, Iplayer on my HD FOX T2 is very similar to the PS3 and my laptop. The HD version delivers very good pictures. All three are connected by the same cat5 cable via a network switch to my router. How is the box connected to your router.

Just done a test

About 8 seconds to load the portal
About 5 seconds to the iplayer app
Selected HD Modern Spies
4 seconds to Episode selection
13 seconds to playback.

Eastenders in SD took about the same to playback.
chrisjr
04-04-2012
Originally Posted by grahamlthompson:
“That's odd Chris, Iplayer on my HD FOX T2 is very similar to the PS3 and my laptop. The HD version delivers very good pictures. All three are connected by the same cat5 cable via a network switch to my router. How is the box connected to your router.

Just done a test

About 8 seconds to load the portal
About 5 seconds to the iplayer app
Selected HD Modern Spies
4 seconds to Episode selection
13 seconds to playback.

Eastenders in SD took about the same to playback.”

From pressing the TV Portal button on the remote to actually being able to watch anything can take tens of minutes, I kid you not!

As I posted, do the same on the laptop and it is as quick as you would expect. The Humax just seems to sit there for ages simply downloading the pages. Once you've actually got to the point where you select a programme the streaming of the video is perfect. It's just getting there that makes me lose the will to live.

And anyway since it doesn't do the other channels on demand services I tend to just use the laptop as it is a much better experience.
grahamlthompson
04-04-2012
Originally Posted by chrisjr:
“From pressing the TV Portal button on the remote to actually being able to watch anything can take tens of minutes, I kid you not!

As I posted, do the same on the laptop and it is as quick as you would expect. The Humax just seems to sit there for ages simply downloading the pages. Once you've actually got to the point where you select a programme the streaming of the video is perfect. It's just getting there that makes me lose the will to live.

And anyway since it doesn't do the other channels on demand services I tend to just use the laptop as it is a much better experience.”

Laptop is quicker, but to get a good picture on my TV requires

Connecting a hdmi cable to my amp, changing the screen res to 1280 x 720, changing the audio out to output over hdmi rather than the speakers.

You didn't say how the FOX is connected to your router.
chrisjr
04-04-2012
Originally Posted by grahamlthompson:
“Laptop is quicker, but to get a good picture on my TV requires

Connecting a hdmi cable to my amp, changing the screen res to 1280 x 720, changing the audio out to output over hdmi rather than the speakers.

You didn't say how the FOX is connected to your router.”

I use VGA from laptop to TV plus a 3.5mm jack to jack lead. Laptop isn't blessed with any of this new fangled digital video malarkey

The Humax is cabled into the router and the laptop is WiFi. If it was a connection issue then the streaming of the programme ought to be as badly affected as the navigation of the iPlayer site but it isn't. No buffering every few minutes or anything like that, just gets on with it.

Anyway for what little use I make of these catch-up type services the laptop is more than adequate so it's not really a problem for me.
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