…. and the remotes.

I’ve accumulated an Amazon stick in the back of the TV and a Now TV box under the TV.

Now my TV has a modest 2 HDMI sockets so when factoring a Blueray player I need to run a small switch.

Nothing drastic all works fine.

But ……. I’ve seen a Roku Express thatfeom what I can tell will allow me to run both my Amazon Prime and my Now TV subscription service through Apps on the device.

This would free up a socket and get rid of a remote. Bonus.

Anyone use one of these boxes of tricks?

Any good?

Terrurarium app.

I have a Roku stick, it’s a great bit of kit. Stick it in a HDMI socket and control from phone or tablet. It has a ridiculous number of services available on it.

We use it for Netflix, Prime, Now TV and iplayer.

PS3 or 4.

Also,

Enable HDMI CEC on all your devices (it’s branded as Regza Link, Bravia Link, Viera Link and a supporting cast of thousands by different manufacturers but it’s all broadly the same thing), then you should only need one remote.

Buy a new smart TV that does all this,  and plug a usb memory stick into it for recording duties.  Just need a dvd player then.

Thanks all for almost answering the question asked 😉

Watch less TV

I used the TV slowly failing as an excuse to buy a new smart one. Ended up with an LG because they were the only ones that had the Amazon prime app built in and supported. Also does Netflix, now TV and loads of the usual catch ups. Recording in to usb is a bit temperamental sometimes and you can’t record one channel and watch another. But at least I don’t spend half of the evening looking for that tiny black fire stick remote!

Come back in 12 months and let us know what’s still working.

“Smart” TVs are generally rubbish, you’re better off with a ‘set-top’ box.  If the box turns out to be crap you can spend £20 on a modern one rather that £200 on a new telly.

I have a Roku stick and it is pretty good – the interface is not quite as slick as the Amazon Fire Stick but all the services work well.

I am on a crusade to rid myself of extraneous wires, remotes and boxes.

I’m currently using an apple TV, which plays nicely with my itunes library, but is missing a few features.  Does anyone know of a single box that can do:

iPlayer

iPlayer radio*

4OD*

ITV hub

Spotify*

Plex

Amazon prime

* not on the apple TV

I would rather not buy a new TV – does anyone know if one of the smart boxes can do all that?

I would rather not buy a new TV – does anyone know if one of the smart boxes can do all that?

4OD has been announced for the AppleTV. I guess you don’t have an iPhone/iPad to play the two audio apps you mention on the AppleTV via Airplay?

“Smart” TVs are generally rubbish, you’re better off with a ‘set-top’ box.  If the box turns out to be crap you can spend £20 on a modern one rather that £200 on a new telly.

If you are spending £200 on a TV shaped object I can see why you would think they are rubbish!

4OD has been announced for the AppleTV.

Has it? Awesome

I guess you don’t have an iPhone/iPad to play the two audio apps you mention on the AppleTV via Airplay?

I do – but I want them to run with the interface on the TV.  We have a lot of frequent house guests (parents) and I’m trying to get the technology to be as user friendly as possible, otherwise they just won’t use it.

AppleTV and a HDHomerun for the live tv side of things.

Then use the Channels app to watch tv

Rachel

Didn’t know you could get Prime and NowTV on the same device. Might have to have a look at that as the NowTV box is on its last legs.

If you are spending £200 on a TV shaped object I can see why you would think they are rubbish!

You fail to understand the point Cougar is making, the point is that you buy the tv with the best picture you can afford,then you buy the box or boxes to get content onto it. They and what they offer are in a constant state of change and subject to licencing agreements while improvements in picture quality over time is a little more stable. The figure £200 is used as it is a nice multiple of £20. Now he could have said £20 and £736.25 or £935.89 but as you’ll see it doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Thanks again folks.

New TV really isn’t needed as I am happy with it. It runs a HD directly into the TV and operates via the remote for recording – its only real “limiting” aspect is only two HDMI sockets.

Agree with Cougar that irrespective of the “smartness” of a TV an external box/stick is a sensible option IMHO. I’ve tried using the (up to date) built in apps on my Sony TV and their stability is poor.

Right will give the Roku a bash.

If you get an amp*, you can run all your external devices through that and benefit from greatly improved sound.

* You’ll probably need speakers with that too.

Oddly a Playstation 4 is the best way of doing anything anyone has questioned in this thread.

You can download apps for all popular streaming sites (netflix, nowtv, spotify, etc)

You can use it as a bluray player

And you can use it to play video games.

All with one remote + remote for TV.

The other option is a chromecast and then cast from a phone or tablet. If it has an app on your mobile device, you can cast to the chromecast. Works for anything, even spotify. £30.

I’m currently using an apple TV, which plays nicely with my itunes library, but is missing a few features.  Does anyone know of a single box that can do:

iPlayer

iPlayer radio*

4OD*

ITV hub

Spotify*

Plex

Amazon prime

Chromecast?

I certainly use it for most of those things – it’s sometimes fussy about what it will let you cast from 4OD & ITV hub won’t let you cast live tv.

You can also cast Youtube, Vimeo & Red Bull TV

X Box One S does it all for me now (plus Plex server / app on the X Box)

Does bluray, streaming services, Fortnite, Overwatch etc etc.

£199 last Christmas, been a bargain overall. With a sound bar on the TV even music playback is OK.

You fail to understand the point Cougar is making, the point is that you buy the tv with the best picture you can afford,then you buy the box or boxes to get content onto it. They and what they offer are in a constant state of change and subject to licencing agreements while improvements in picture quality over time is a little more stable. The figure £200 is used as it is a nice multiple of £20. Now he could have said £20 and £736.25 or £935.89 but as you’ll see it doesn’t have the same ring to it.

I get the point he’s making and agree up to a point. I’d always expect a TV to outlast it’s onboard apps and for an external box to be needed at some point. I was just saying if you think £200 is a suitable figure to spend on a TV then, much like a bike, you are totally in supermarket-special land and you shouldn’t expect the smart aspect to be any good. Of course price is not a guarantee of quality, the reviews I’ve read suggest that £2k+ Sony TV’s that run the Android based Smart OS run like molasses from the get-go.

They and what they offer are in a constant state of change and subject to licencing agreements

Smart TVs are app based, you can download more apps from a store, and they get updated regularly too.

… until they aren’t.

Or they fall out with each other… you cant get youtube on the Fire stick without a Firefox workaround.

Smart TVs are app based, you can download more apps from a store, and they get updated regularly too.

I still think Smart TVs are trying to do too much – concentrate on the screen & the sound & let me plug in the smarts via a chromecast/firestick/roku etc…

I’ve not used a smart TV for ages, so they may well have improved, but I found them slow, buggy & the mobile apps un-intuitive.

You can still plug in an external source.  But people like me, who would rather have one single device, have a choice whether or not to go built-in or separate.  We used a PS3 for years on our old telly, very happy to have one device even if the TV menu system is slow and infuriating in places.  The apps aren’t based on it though so some apps are decent, as it was on the PS3 too.  Especially as ours is wall mounted with hidden cables, and more boxes might mean more wiring.

We just plugged an HDD into it to record the football, and whilst it didn’t work first time (certain buttons didn’t work and I was unable to stop the recording!) it did after a reboot.  Another separate box we don’t need.  To be fair, I have not yet worked out how to delete recorded programmes.  But maybe it’s me, I’m only an IT consultant with 25 years’ experience and 35 years immersed in tech….

I still think Smart TVs are trying to do too much – concentrate on the screen & the sound & let me plug in the smarts via a chromecast/firestick/roku etc…

You’d be hard pressed to by any mid to top end TV these days without any smart features.

We just got a new 4K Samsung. I was planning to put the new Apple TV into it, but it’s just not worth it – all of the content providers we subscribe to have apps for the TV and it’s a pleasure to use compared to the crap that’s still on the old TV in the front room.

I will plug whatever doohickeys rules them all when it can’t do what I want.

For a doohickey for today, +1 on the PS4 – it’s a great bit of kit and has all the apps.

I haven’t used a Roku, but we do have a firestick and a chromecast. <span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>If you want simplicity for visitors etc, I’d go for it</span>