Smart TV or not?

jensmartin · 20-02-2014, 23:14

I have a relatively "old" Sony Bravia TV which I have been happy with for a long time and haven't as yet quite got my head around Smart TV's.

I am about to move house and am trying to figure out the best way of achieving what I want.

I have two main sources for TV viewing:

1. A Seagate Central 4TB NAS Hard Drive packed full of .avi and .mp4 files.

2. A Slinbox 350 attached to a Sky+ HD box in another location

The "old fashioned" way of bringing this all together would be to access the content on my Seagate drive via a media player (such as a WD TV Live box) connected to my TV as well as a laptop also connected to the TV which would then connect to my Slingbox.

I'm fairly sure I could achieve the same thing however by replacing the TV with a newer Smart TV which could then access the same content without the need of the media player of the laptop.

Am I right? Would that work? What Smart TV would I need to achieve this?

chrisjr · 20-02-2014, 23:52

The thing to look for on the TV is DLNA. This is a protocol for sharing media between devices. You may have seen reference to this in the blurb of your NAS drive. A TV with DLNA should be able to access the content of the drive and other devices supporting DLNA. For example my LG 42LN575V has DLNA and it goes off and finds media files from various other devices on my network all by itself.

Whether any TV will be able to play the files it finds is another matter. You need to check what formats the TV supports as adding support for unrecognised formats may be impossible unless the manufacturer supplies a firmware update. Not like a computer where you may be able to install a bit of software to play a particular format.

jensmartin · 21-02-2014, 11:02

Thank you for that. I will take a look. What about the slingbox aspect. On a Smart TV, can you just open a browser and connect to any old webpage in the same way as you would on a PC?

mac2708 · 21-02-2014, 11:36

No "Smart TV" provides even a fraction of the utility a computer does. The apps are nice to use with the remote but most smart TV sets are slow and the browsers are not that great and mainly a pain to use

P1 MFP · 21-02-2014, 16:10

Smart TVs are trying to be computers but without anything like the processing power or memory capacity. "Smart" is pushing it.

Nigel Goodwin · 21-02-2014, 16:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by P1 MFP

Smart TVs are trying to be computers but without anything like the processing power or memory capacity. "Smart" is pushing it.

I've always completely hated the 'SMART' suggestion on such sets

quinnicus · 21-02-2014, 22:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

I've always completely hated the 'SMART' suggestion on such sets

Same here - but "Internet connected TV's" do not have the same ring to it. Marketing depts require a simple catch-phrase where possible.

noise747 · 22-02-2014, 17:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by P1 MFP

Smart TVs are trying to be computers but without anything like the processing power or memory capacity. "Smart" is pushing it.

um, yes, I work on the loading bay at work and we have couriers come in delivering different parcels, advertising and general bits and bobs. this one, we normally have a lot from him, about 20-40 items sometimes, so I get to be nosy in his van, i don't look at who they are to, i just nose at the box, the larger items that don't have any thing covering what they are. anyway, a couple of days back he had a I think a LG smart Tv set with dual core. i thought then the way it is going they will be computers.

but if they are going to do more than what they do now, they do need some more power, because most of the sets i have seen is slower than my ZX81, or seems to be.

sorry for the long explanation.

20-02-2014, 23:14	#1
jensmartin Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 21	Smart TV or not? I have a relatively "old" Sony Bravia TV which I have been happy with for a long time and haven't as yet quite got my head around Smart TV's. I am about to move house and am trying to figure out the best way of achieving what I want. I have two main sources for TV viewing: 1. A Seagate Central 4TB NAS Hard Drive packed full of .avi and .mp4 files. 2. A Slinbox 350 attached to a Sky+ HD box in another location The "old fashioned" way of bringing this all together would be to access the content on my Seagate drive via a media player (such as a WD TV Live box) connected to my TV as well as a laptop also connected to the TV which would then connect to my Slingbox. I'm fairly sure I could achieve the same thing however by replacing the TV with a newer Smart TV which could then access the same content without the need of the media player of the laptop. Am I right? Would that work? What Smart TV would I need to achieve this?

21-02-2014, 16:10	#5
P1 MFP Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Nottingham Posts: 56	I agree with the previous comment Smart TVs are trying to be computers but without anything like the processing power or memory capacity. "Smart" is pushing it.

20-02-2014, 23:52	#2
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	The thing to look for on the TV is DLNA. This is a protocol for sharing media between devices. You may have seen reference to this in the blurb of your NAS drive. A TV with DLNA should be able to access the content of the drive and other devices supporting DLNA. For example my LG 42LN575V has DLNA and it goes off and finds media files from various other devices on my network all by itself. Whether any TV will be able to play the files it finds is another matter. You need to check what formats the TV supports as adding support for unrecognised formats may be impossible unless the manufacturer supplies a firmware update. Not like a computer where you may be able to install a bit of software to play a particular format.

21-02-2014, 11:02	#3
jensmartin Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 21	Thank you for that. I will take a look. What about the slingbox aspect. On a Smart TV, can you just open a browser and connect to any old webpage in the same way as you would on a PC?

21-02-2014, 11:36	#4
mac2708 Forum Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 3,196	No "Smart TV" provides even a fraction of the utility a computer does. The apps are nice to use with the remote but most smart TV sets are slow and the browsers are not that great and mainly a pain to use

21-02-2014, 16:28	#6
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Quote: Originally Posted by P1 MFP Smart TVs are trying to be computers but without anything like the processing power or memory capacity. "Smart" is pushing it. I've always completely hated the 'SMART' suggestion on such sets

21-02-2014, 22:53	#7
quinnicus Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 366	Quote: Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin I've always completely hated the 'SMART' suggestion on such sets Same here - but "Internet connected TV's" do not have the same ring to it. Marketing depts require a simple catch-phrase where possible.

22-02-2014, 17:02	#8
noise747 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Herefordshire Posts: 22,810	Quote: Originally Posted by P1 MFP Smart TVs are trying to be computers but without anything like the processing power or memory capacity. "Smart" is pushing it. um, yes, I work on the loading bay at work and we have couriers come in delivering different parcels, advertising and general bits and bobs. this one, we normally have a lot from him, about 20-40 items sometimes, so I get to be nosy in his van, i don't look at who they are to, i just nose at the box, the larger items that don't have any thing covering what they are. anyway, a couple of days back he had a I think a LG smart Tv set with dual core. i thought then the way it is going they will be computers. but if they are going to do more than what they do now, they do need some more power, because most of the sets i have seen is slower than my ZX81, or seems to be. sorry for the long explanation.

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Smart TV or not?