The Song Fight Bulletin Board

So my mother in law wants to force a new TV on us. Funny, I've been researching that very same things! Coincidence?

I'm looking for 32" LED internet thing like this one from SONY. Anyone have suggestions? I'd like Hulu, Netflix, Youtube, etc. We're probably cutting the cable and just getting a very fast broadband connection (TW calls it "wide band" but we'll see).

Not really into having a Google TV but they have this one. Fluffy...did they do this right? I'd only remotely consider it if you said yes. The other SONY seems to be the one.

Oh yeah, not looking to spend too much money, so the $600 range works.

Thoughts?

I think Hulu is still blocking Google TV users, so if you require access to Hulu, Google TV will not fit the bill.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/03/google ... ng-closer/ (search on the page for Hulu)

Also be aware that Hulu Plus (which is what Internet TVs come with) does not include Hulu. Licensing issues, a lot of shows that said Hulu could stream to computers have not been willing to license for internet TVs and other devices. So if you want to watch regular Hulu on your big new TV, you'll need to have a computer hooked up to it. So look for a TV that includes a VGA input, that way you can use it as the monitor for your TV-watchin' computer.

Also, you probably know this already, but the new TVs are "antenna ready" - you don't need one of those DTS boxes, you just connect up an antenna. In our case, we can look out our front window and see all the Phoenix TV towers, so we get very nice reception that way. Be aware that, as things shift about in the internet TV / computer / broadcast TV world, some broadcast TV shows that used to be available on Hulu are no longer available ("Chuck," for instance) and the CBS shows stream directly from cbs.com, which is slow sometimes.

Overall, we've been very happy with the 40" Vizio we got at Costco (it's the big one they have right inside the door, pallets and pallets of 'em, under $600). We have an antenna hooked up and the local channels come in pretty well; we have a computer hooked up to the VGA input (and RCA speaker connections) and a DVD player hooked up via... RCA connectors, I think, maybe S-video for the sound. The unit has four HDMI connections that we're not using, so at some point we'll probably get a Blu-Ray player to go into that.

We haven't had very good luck with DVD recorders (if you get one glitch, you can lose 15-20 minutes of program and not even know it until your two hour movie ends early and made no sense), so we still have a VCR. TiVO or DVR would presumably be a good substitute. Would be nice if wireless mice and keyboards worked well enough that we didn't have to get up from the couch to use them (three feet is apparently about the limit), but at least it's nice to be able to run all the audio through the TV and adjust the volume with the TV remote (and it seems like it remembers the volume level for each device separately).

One other thing we found on our big TV is that there are several different "video" settings, and if you have it on the default setting or the "movie" setting, you probably won't be able to watch movies during the day, they're just not bright enough. We found the "vivid" setting and suddenly you could tell what the heck is going on, even on dark shows like "Sanctuary."

Charles (KA)

P.S. - the one thing I wish our TV had that it does NOT is a headphone jack. The way we have ours, in a bookshelf / TV stand unit, and we went for the biggest one that would fit, which means that any connections that are on the side you can't get to, and it seems like the makers really don't like putting connections on the front. So if having headphones is important, make sure they're where you'll be able to get to them the way you have your TV mounted / placed.

Thanks Charles. We have a small Vizio, and an Apple TV. Love the YouTube on it, but anything being sold on iTunes isn't available on Netflix via Apple TV. They all play this game. I'd like my Netflix separate. TED and music videos on YouTube is awesome, though.

As for terrestrial broadcast (which is the only way to get uncompressed full HD shows) I have been working on getting reception where we are. But cities are tough. There are lots of "shadows" where you really can't get that much. Sucks, because before 9/11 we got great reception from the twin towers' antenna. After...nothing, so we had to get cable. I can get 9 channels, but no PBS, which is the most important by far. We really only need NOVA, Great Performances, Brit-coms, YouTube and movies (Netflix or iTunes). Modern Marvels would be great, but they aren't doing the streaming thing yet.

king_arthur wrote: We haven't had very good luck with DVD recorders (if you get one glitch, you can lose 15-20 minutes of program and not even know it until your two hour movie ends early and made no sense), so we still have a VCR.

huh, ours (Verizon) splits the show into two segments, so there's no missing the fact that the program got chopped. and it usually doesn't miss that much.

this weekend we jumped directly from a 27" CRT to a 50" plasma flat panel Vizio. Wow.
-bill

Berkeley Social Scene has a Samsung TV club in that most of us have Samsung HD TVs and think they are the best. If you get an HD TV, I highly recommend Blu Ray as that shit looks awesome. HD TV takes a little getting used to as thing look super real, but it is just so great.

Jennifer and I have had a hard time cutting the cable, as we enjoy watching TV. We have Netflix, and another TV that just has basic cable (which is kind of the suck because it is so unorganized). We've looked into HuluPlus, but our BluRay player doesn't support it. It is amazing how many devices we own (Wi, XBOX360, BluRay w/ Internet) and we still can't quite get everything we want. What would really be best is if Cable cut their prices in half.

Ken

Looking at the SONY 32" and comments about internet widgets make me uneasy, such as long loading times, and limited menu options on Netflix (search?). The SONY remote apps for iOS and Android look like having a keyboard will be no problem.

Any particular insights about brands that excel as internet TVs?

Bought an amplified directional HD antenna for our roof so maybe tonight I'll climb up our neighbor's deck and test it out. Would be nice to get the local channels, especially PBS, over the air.

Sounds like you're trying to do the TV equivalent of Linux studio production, Roy.

Get a Samsung and hook a Mac Mini up to it and be done with the whole thing.

JB

Yeah, that (menus) is another difference between internet TV and computer TV. The menus and screens on Hulu and Netflix are MUCH easier to navigate on a computer, with a mouse and keyboard instead of arrow buttons on a remote and onscreen keyboards (which you navigate with the arrow buttons) on the internet TV. We set up a lot of our favorites and queues and such on the computer, then when we're on the TV, it's easier to get to them.

One thing the internet TV does seem to do a better job of, though, is getting aspect ratios and image sizes right. Sometimes when we're going through the computer, we'll get a widescreen TV show or movie that is letterboxed on all four sides on the big TV.

jb wrote:Sounds like you're trying to do the TV equivalent of Linux studio production, Roy.

Get a Samsung and hook a Mac Mini up to it and be done with the whole thing.

JB

Yeah, but Mac Mini ($600) + Samsung 32" ($400) = $1000 (plus tax)

I know, I know..."but then you have a frickin' Mac, dude!"

so by "mother in law wants to force" that wasn't a euphemism for "mother in law wants to buy for us"?

jb wrote:so by "mother in law wants to force" that wasn't a euphemism for "mother in law wants to buy for us"?

Yes it was. But one doesn't get greedy, does one? I'm trying to balance a nice offer with realities at home. What started as a conversation ("I'm trying to solve our TV problems for $500" to which she said "Roy, let me buy you all a TV") is now escalating to 2x.

We bought a 27" toshiba from best buy for like $250 on sale.... Then got a Sony digital media player with wifi used on amazon for $50. The dmp plays .mp3s, .mp4s, .mov, and .avi from a USB port as well as having Netflix, Hulu plus, amazon movies, YouTube, and a smattering of other random Internet tv channels on it. this was by far the best entertainment purchase we have made, and allowed us to cut the cable and have everything we want to watch over the Internet.

P.s. we do get local abc, fox, NBC, and PBS channels over the air

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... 4AodIWXsBA

roymond wrote:

jb wrote:so by "mother in law wants to force" that wasn't a euphemism for "mother in law wants to buy for us"?

Yes it was. But one doesn't get greedy, does one? I'm trying to balance a nice offer with realities at home. What started as a conversation ("I'm trying to solve our TV problems for $500" to which she said "Roy, let me buy you all a TV") is now escalating to 2x.

That's what I thought. My own response would be "since I don't have to buy a TV, I get to buy a Mac Mini to hook up to my nice free TV".

JB

BBABM wrote:We bought a 27" toshiba from best buy for like $250 on sale.... Then got a Sony digital media player with wifi used on amazon for $50. The dmp plays .mp3s, .mp4s, .mov, and .avi from a USB port as well as having Netflix, Hulu plus, amazon movies, YouTube, and a smattering of other random Internet tv channels on it. this was by far the best entertainment purchase we have made, and allowed us to cut the cable and have everything we want to watch over the Internet.

P.s. we do get local abc, fox, NBC, and PBS channels over the air

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... 4AodIWXsBA

You, my friend, are on to something. So simple, so clear...don't hard-wire the services that are clearly internet into a device that is clearly TV.

jb wrote:

roymond wrote:

jb wrote:so by "mother in law wants to force" that wasn't a euphemism for "mother in law wants to buy for us"?

Yes it was. But one doesn't get greedy, does one? I'm trying to balance a nice offer with realities at home. What started as a conversation ("I'm trying to solve our TV problems for $500" to which she said "Roy, let me buy you all a TV") is now escalating to 2x.

That's what I thought. My own response would be "since I don't have to buy a TV, I get to buy a Mac Mini to hook up to my nice free TV".

JB

You're right...but I hadn't yet cleared it with the banker (who is more intrigued by cost take-out than cost-shifting), so I've succeeded in getting a nice TV just by talking about the problem. Half credit?

OK, what the hell? The SONY NSX32GT1 32" Internet TV is a Google TV, but it's also a good SONY TV on its own, with a coax input, remote keyboard, etc. It's also one of the less expensive 1080 HD LEDs out there.

Hi. I actually work on Sony Internet TV. My company's public disclosure policy forbids me from actually sharing my opinion on it.

Personally I have a normal Bravia (which does have access to Hulu Plus, as well as Amazon Video On Demand and a buttload of other services) which I like well enough. The Internet TVs don't have access to either of those services, although they do have Netflix. I honestly have no idea when H+ or AVoD are coming to Sony Internet TV.

Personally I think the best Hulu Plus and Netflix experiences are on the PS3 (disclaimer: I also worked on the PS3 Hulu Plus app), but to be fair I haven't tried them on the XBox 360 so I can't really speak to the comparison. I mostly use the PS3 to watch downloaded content over DLNA (from my NAS), but if I happen to have it on I'll use it for Hulu Plus instead of the Bravia's built-in.

Also if you have a Windows PC you can use PlayOn with a DLNA-enabled device (PS3, Bravia, etc.) to get access to a lot more content, including plain Hulu and PBS and a bunch of other stuff. PlayOn's Hulu quality tends to be worse than getting it directly from Hulu Plus though. My dad uses PlayOn for a lot of stuff and he was boasting about how he didn't have to pay the $10/month for Plus for that, but then he actually saw Plus in glorious high-bitrate 720p on my setup and got jealous.

Another possibility is to jailbreak an Apple TV 2 to add in other services, although honestly I haven't paid attention to that scene in years.

In any case, I'm pretty happy with my setup, at least in terms of getting lots and lots of content without too much trouble.

Oh, also, remember that you can always get a Sony Internet TV device (Blu-Ray player, or the future small-footprint set-top box that we announced at CES) as an add-on to any other TV. The non-Google TV Blu-Ray players also provide the Bravia Internet Link experience if you want that instead.

Basically if you buy one type of TV you can always add on the functionality of the other type.

Thanks, Fluffy. First we need a TV. We currently have a 20" Sony Trinitron, and an 18" Vizio dumb TV. We also have an Apple TV 2. So all the other stuff is superfluous. The Google TV offers additional content and is a relatively inexpensive 32" 1080 HDTV. Primarily I'm interested in YouTube, but a more open version of Netflix (than Apple TV's) is a good thing. But combined with Apple TV this should cover many bases.

I have no interest in hooking a PC up to a TV. I'm trying to get terrestrial HD but so far I can only get the Spanish channels via a highly rated HDTV Antenna The next antenna I may try is one of those 84" HD buggers. I guess the interference and reflection around here is just too crazy, which sucks.

It should arrive tomorrow or Wed.

My VCR doesn't work anymore because they turned off the analog TV signal in SE QLD and it is digital only now. The shops don't seem to sell VCR's any more. Luckily when we bought our house 2 years ago, it had a big TV stuck to the wall, so I told the vendors to leave it there as part of the deal. It must be digital, because it still works now, but I can't record things.

I really don't understand any of this thread - other than the fact that tellys seem to be far more complicated than I remember.

roymond wrote:Thanks, Fluffy. First we need a TV. We currently have a 20" Sony Trinitron, and an 18" Vizio dumb TV. We also have an Apple TV 2. So all the other stuff is superfluous. The Google TV offers additional content and is a relatively inexpensive 32" 1080 HDTV. Primarily I'm interested in YouTube, but a more open version of Netflix (than Apple TV's) is a good thing. But combined with Apple TV this should cover many bases.

Yeah, I mostly mention the Amazon VoD stuff because I switched to them after the Netflix pricing "adjustment." The fact you get free two-day shipping on most things on Amazon is a nice bonus. :)

Given that Amazon does have a client for the Kindle Fire it doesn't seem too out of the question that they're going to put it on other Android devices too. I just have absolutely no idea when or if that's happening. Also, in theory the Sony ones are going to get access to the Bravia Internet Link (which includes Hulu Plus and Amazon and all the other Bravia stuff I mentioned) at some point but again, I don't know when that's actually happening.

The Google TV is definitely better for YouTube than the Bravia, if only because the user interface is way better.