Just looking to buy a new tv for the kitchen – we don’t have a TV/satellite point in the room, just power so I was wanting to get a smart type TV so we can simply watch using wifi.

Unfortunately I can’t seem to get much info on the Smart TV capabilities though and wanted to know if it picks up a full range of channels (like a smart box would) or is it just a few select ones like iPlayer, 4OD, Netflix etc as the AO website seems to suggest?

Cheers

Smart and normal channels are different things. Normal live to comes through the aerial as normal, all your on demand services through your internet connection.

All the usual suspects bar Now TV (LG only, stupid deal) are available through the Samsung Smart Hub. However, some models have issues with Netflix, so worth doing a quick check on that if it would be an issue.

Ignore me – just re-read the spec and it has Freeview HD built in.

But does that have to come in via an aerial???

Been discussed here a few times, there are many Smart TV owners. As a stand alone solution it will work well assuming wifi strength is ok. It will pick up a range most of main ones as you say plus a few goodies like RedBull TV and Curzon Home Cinema. Alternative is an ordinary tv plus a streaming box of some kind.

Edit: i saw it has freeview now so I made an edit

TV in the kitchen?

What a time to be alive 🙁

I wouldn’t buy another samsung, the built in freeview HD decoder is complete pants we’ve had 3 fail and now it’s out of waranty.

Sorry my lifestyle doesn’t fit with your ideal bongo.

If it makes you feel any better, it is an open plan kitchen/diner/living space where the family spends much of its time.

Jeez, why am I even trying to defend myself?

We’ve got a samsung smart TV. As a TV it’s fine, no problems with the freeview reception. The smart stuff works, but it’s a bit fiddly/slow. Typing out a programme name to search for on iPlayer/All4 using the remote is painfully slow.

If I was buying again I’d happily get another Samsung but I’d ignore the smart stuff and just plug in a Chromecast (that’s what we’ve done now anyway) all the on demand stuff ‘pinged’ to the TV from a phone/tablet along with google play music and movies, photos etc.

If you spot a great deal on a smart tv then get it, no harm in having it even if you never use it, but I wouldn’t pay extra for it.

You know you can buy a keyboard for them? £80 unfortunately iirc, but using the remote to search is indeed infuriating

I would get a cheap dumb TV of the size you want then either add a Amazon Fire stick or Roku box/stick.
It will probably be cheaper and give you more options regards apps/viewing available plus you can always move the fire stick/roku to another room as needs demand.

OP FWIW I only have dumb tv’s but all connected to Apple TV boxes (we are iphone/pad) – tv’s tend to be kept for 10yrs, the boxes can change when we want when tech takes a big step forward. When you look at costs the dumb tv (but high quality screen) smart box is interesting

We have a couple of the Samsung Smart TV’s and they work pretty well. I agree about the typing in for search being slow – just as it is for any solution which uses the TV remote – however if that’s an issue then wireless keyboards are available (for the ones we have anyway) – not that we’ve bothered.

We’ve got a Samsung Smart TV in the kitchen. You need a standard aerial connection to watch broadcast TV channels and an internet connection to watch the ‘catch up’/on demand services. Our Samsung has a wifi connection for this.

If you don’t have an aerial point you’re only going to be able to use the on demand services. The ‘smart hub’ seems to have all the main services and it seemed to work well enough.

We use it with our Sky box and and i’ve got an Apple TV connected to it so actually now have all the smart functions switched off.

If it’s in a kitchen and you want the minimum of fuss buy a recent model as all the manufacturerers update their smart functions every year. I’d expect the smart functions to become non-functional long before the TV is otherwise broken and upgrade it with a separate smart box when that happens.

My Sammy Smart TV is a few years old now but has Freeview built in along with Freesat also so just take a Sky dish etc cable and stick it in the back without the need for a Freesat box. Only one input, though I believe it can record TV if you attach a USB drive to the TV.

The actual Smart TV part has the usual bunch of Smart Hub apps Samsung offer. Including iPlayer, ITV Hub, 4oD, Five, Netflix, Amazon, Red Bull, Plex (handy if you have a NAS with a Plex server for streaming your own files), and a load of others.

Not amazing amount of grunt from the processor for the Smart Hub stuff and that’s considering I went for a model with more processing power. Main niggle is Amazon app being sluggish and audio when set to Dolby Digital occasionally drops out. A known issue.

I’m tempted to get an Amazon Fire stick or box for the streaming stuff with a lot more power and buffering, more app selection.

Anyway, what features you get though will very much depend on the model.

Just thought, if you don’t have a network cable point nearby you’ll probably have to buy the wireless dongle, which costs more than a Chromecast, which is wireless.

I would get a cheap dumb TV of the size you want then either add a Amazon Fire stick or Roku box/stick.

Likewise. I’ve got a Samsung ‘smart’ TV and it’s kinda mediocre. That is, the smart bit, the TV itself is grand. I’d add a device of some sort to a normal telly, much more flexible and easy to upgrade / replace as technology moves on.

Can you still buy “dumb” TVs?

I had a look recently as I quite fancy a 55-65″ TV but all were either smart or 3D and I’d rather not have either.

Dunno. Point is, I wouldn’t pay extra for those features, but if it came with those features it’s not compulsory to use them.

I have one but never use the smart features other than pushing YouTube to it from another device so can’t comment but it’s cracking TV.

See!

(-:

bails – Member
Just thought, if you don’t have a network cable point nearby you’ll probably have to buy the wireless dongle

Some Sammy’s have wireless built in. Though I switched to wired to get the max speed streaming with my NAS, plus my switch just happens to be next to the TV. It’s also one less radio source. My brain is being microwaved enough as it is.

YouTube – Turns out Windows 10 is now quite nice at just chucking content from the media playing in the browser to any DLNA TV. Doesn’t need the annoying YouTube app on the TV which always needs pairing by typing in a code in a browser. Though I guess the app is pulling direct from YT whereas from Windows it’s going to the PC/tablet/phone and then to the TV.

I have an unused satellite dish on the side of the house but no aerial – I don’t suppose I could use that to receive the free view channels could I?

http://www.freesat.co.uk/

So would a smart tv decode the signal from a satellite without the need for an external box? Probably need to read the freesat site properly when I’m not just on the phone…

So would a smart tv decode the signal from a satellite without the need for an external box? Probably need to read the freesat site properly when I’m not just on the phone…

Any TV compatible with FreeSat will decode it, provided it’s pointing at the right satellite. (Sky & Freesat are the same) – no box needed.

Cheers

Any TV compatible with FreeSat will decode it, provided it’s pointing at the right satellite. (Sky & Freesat are the same) – no box needed.

Yes, this is possible but be careful that what you buy is actually a ‘Freesat’ set – there are a fair number of set which have a satellite input but aren’t Freesat. If that’s the case you can still receive the Freesat channels but you wont’ get a nice EPG. Also, some sets have different versions with and without a satellite input or with the satellite input disabled.

http://www.freesat.co.uk/get-freesat/all-tvs?gclid=COeS0O-jrMwCFagy0wod_RYADA&gclsrc=aw.ds