TV karma

[Otto99]

We were discussing 4K TVs a while back, and it seems my ancient Sony took umbrage at the thought of being replaced, so it died on us last night. After reconsidering the research, it’s down to another Sony, 43” 4K Smart TV, or the bargain, a 43” 1080 Insignia from Best Buy. The Sony is a closeout at ~$430, the Insignia is $199, and there wasn’t anything in between that was better. Since I’m having to finance it, it comes down to $33 a month/6 months for the Insignia, or $35 a month/12 months for the Sony. I think I know what to do.

 

[Digger]

I’m looking at replacing the TV in our annex at our holiday spot too as I need a smart TV to be able to use Netflix there. There are some cheap TV’s on the internet.

 

[Raiyn]

We were discussing 4K TVs a while back, and it seems my ancient Sony took umbrage at the thought of being replaced, so it died on us last night. After reconsidering the research, it’s down to another Sony, 43” 4K Smart TV, or the bargain, a 43” 1080 Insignia from Best Buy. The Sony is a closeout at ~$430, the Insignia is $199, and there wasn’t anything in between that was better. Since I’m having to finance it, it comes down to $33 a month/6 months for the Insignia, or $35 a month/12 months for the Sony. I think I know what to do.

I have an aversion to store brand electronics.

We've had very good luck with our Samsung, and I found a 43" 4K model that slots in at $300
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsun...rt-4k-uhd-tv-with-hdr/6268402.p?skuId=6268402
If you're so inclined.

 

[Lancpudn]

Congrats on the 4K TV Otto, My late Dad had a 4K TV and the picture on that was really pin sharp, I got a "re-furbished" 43" Panasonic smart TV off Ebay a few years ago for £185, Must admit I watch very little TV these days and this TV in the living is mostly used for a monitor for my computer I have hooked up behind it.

 

[Raiyn]

Ours gets a fair bit of use, but I do love watching hockey on it.

 

[Otto99]

We've had very good luck with our Samsung, and I found a 43" 4K model that slots in at $300

If for whatever reason the Sony isn’t up to snuff, that’s the 4K replacement.

 

[Digger]

We’ve had a bit of luck with Bauhn TV’s from Aldi. Currently our main TV is a 55” “Smart” 4K version and it’s pretty good. Panels are only made by LG or Samsung and in this case it’s LG so I guess the electronics are cheaper, but this one has been good!

I spend a bit of time tuning every new TV to suit my requirements and believe that doing that I can get within 80% of the viewing quality of the dearer brand names.

This one was $799 when the main brands were about $3000. Aussie prices are far dearer than those in the US of course.

 

[Otto99]

We’ve had a bit of luck with Bauhn TV’s from Aldi.

Our Aldi’s don’t sell things like TVs, although they do sell more than just groceries. This Sony is a close-out, so it was $240 US less than the newer model. If I don’t like it, I’ll take it back and either get the one Raiyn suggested or say screw it, save a pile of coins, and get the $199 1080p non-Smart screen, which was a very nice picture.

 

[Raiyn]

Our Aldi’s don’t sell things like TVs, although they do sell more than just groceries. This Sony is a close-out, so it was $240 US less than the newer model. If I don’t like it, I’ll take it back and either get the one Raiyn suggested or say screw it, save a pile of coins, and get the $199 1080p non-Smart screen, which was a very nice picture.

Sounds familiar to a degree.
In our house the "smart" features don't get used on the TV. (We don't have the new 4K jobby). It's just a monitor for us.
I've got an Xbox 360 (eventually I'll spring for a Xbox One for the new games) that handles those duties like YouTube and Prime Videos much more efficiently. Gotta admit though, I found it rather amusing to read all of the negative reviews about features we don't use while they universally praise the picture.

For $300 I'd be at BB right now telling them to take my money if I needed a set, but the current one works fine, and I've got a heat pump to replace.

 

[Digger]

I use You Tube occasionally but 4K content is extra on Foxtel and I ain't paying! 1080 Res is lovely and great for the nature shows I love watching.

 

[Raiyn]

I use You Tube occasionally but 4K content is extra on Foxtel and I ain't paying! 1080 Res is lovely and great for the nature shows I love watching.

Since I had the Xbox before the TV, the smart features were redundant. It doesn't even have access to the Wi-Fi.

I completely agree with you on 1080p. For our (SWMBO and my) eyes, it's plenty good enough, however 4K for $300 from an actual brand?

 

[vomer]

Good scores, Otto. I don't have a TV at the moment, I've left the 46" Sony 1080p with the ex-partner and daughter in my recent move, and I'm looking for a similar replacement. Don't think I need 4K or smart though.

Did the privacy concerns with smart TV's ever come to anything, or was there nowt in it anyway? I heard tales of people having their living room conversations and even pics relayed back to their providers.

 

[Davis Sharp]

I have a Samsung smart TV, but I use the Amazon Fire stick instead. It's much faster in loading and responding. Also, Samsung does not have Prime Video in its app store (last time I checked). The Fire stick software also curates thing better. For example, the home screen will show the thumbnails for the Prime and Netflix series that I'm currently watching and the popular shows from all providers (aforementioned, Showtime, Hulu, etc.).

 

[Otto99]

Did the privacy concerns with smart TV's ever come to anything, or was there nowt in it anyway? I heard tales of people having their living room conversations and even pics relayed back to their providers.

That’s more with the smart hubs like Alexa, and I suppose to a lesser degree with the voice activated remotes, but I don’t have any of that. I figure my privacy is shot to hell anyway after all these years on Facebook, and anyone hacking into my bank account is going to be severely disappointed.

 

[Lancpudn]

That’s more with the smart hubs like Alexa, and I suppose to a lesser degree with the voice activated remotes, but I don’t have any of that. I figure my privacy is shot to hell anyway after all these years on Facebook, and anyone hacking into my bank account is going to be severely disappointed.

I've been watching some of the CES (gadget show) in Las Vegas over the past week or so & one of the big talking items was that Amazon have been talking to the big car manufacturers and are going to install 'Alexa' in all US cars within two years time. Amazon says Home & Car will be in total connectivity.

 

[Juke Box]

Get tv out of your house. It is all mind control.

 

[Raiyn]

Did the privacy concerns with smart TV's ever come to anything, or was there nowt in it anyway? I heard tales of people having their living room conversations and even pics relayed back to their providers.

There was allegedly some sort of backdoor macguffin to where the "NSA" could watch you through your set. Didn't concern me in the least. Even so, mine isn't connected to the Wi-Fi anyway.

I have a Samsung smart TV, but I use the Amazon Fire stick instead. It's much faster in loading and responding. Also, Samsung does not have Prime Video in its app store (last time I checked). The Fire stick software also curates thing better. For example, the home screen will show the thumbnails for the Prime and Netflix series that I'm currently watching and the popular shows from all providers (aforementioned, Showtime, Hulu, etc.)

Yup. For some reason the third party stuff works better than the TV native apps.

That’s more with the smart hubs like Alexa, and I suppose to a lesser degree with the voice activated remotes, but I don’t have any of that. I figure my privacy is shot to hell anyway after all these years on Facebook, and anyone hacking into my bank account is going to be severely disappointed.

Every so often someone uses one of my email addresses to sign up for Facebook. I usually just lock them out of their account for a day after changing everything and making my email the primary. Or I just skip ahead and delete the account entirely.
I want nothing to do with Facebook. Wretched hive of scum and bull****.

I've been watching some of the CES (gadget show) in Las Vegas over the past week or so & one of the big talking items was that Amazon have been talking to the big car manufacturers and are going to install 'Alexa' in all US cars within two years time. Amazon says Home & Car will be in total connectivity.

Great....I already think my house and car talk to each other. Any time we do work / spend money on one, the other decides it needs something too. Now it'll it'll just be listened to by third party AI and they'll just order their own ish.

 

[Raiyn]

Get tv out of your house. It is all mind control.

If that's what you think, then why do you still have internet?

 

[Davis Sharp]

Every so often someone uses one of my email addresses to sign up for Facebook. I usually just lock them out of their account for a day after changing everything and making my email the primary. Or I just skip ahead and delete the account entirely.

Getting further OT here but....

A few years ago, some kid in India decided to use my email address to set up his FB account. My name is fairly common over there and, somehow, Google allowed it. So I kept getting updates, which were photos of his teen friends - the guys trying to look tough and the girls trying to look sexy. I figured that I don't need pics of tough/sexy teens on my computer. So (to make a long story short) I changed the pwd and sent a request to delete the account. I still get emails from Indian businesses after someone signs up for a credit card or a mobile phone. Those e-mails are deleted by a filter.

 

[Raiyn]

Getting further OT here but....

A few years ago, some kid in India decided to use my email address to set up his FB account. My name is fairly common over there and, somehow, Google allowed it. So I kept getting updates, which were photos of his teen friends - the guys trying to look tough and the girls trying to look sexy. I figured that I don't need pics of tough/sexy teens on my computer. So (to make a long story short) I changed the pwd and sent a request to delete the account. I still get emails from Indian businesses after someone signs up for a credit card or a mobile phone. Those e-mails are deleted by a filter.

One particularly annoying fellow got his ish wrecked when he used my email to apply for a job. This is after he used it to sign up for several dating sites, video game services, etc. I made a phone call.