New TV

[Diyisfun]

I have a LCD LG 42 tv, its about 4 years old.
Now on power up there is a buzz that last for about 2 minutes & there are 2 horizontal shadow bars that appear all the time (they are v faint).
So I am thinking of getting a new tv.
I do not want 3D
I want a bigger screen thinking 46/47
My dilemma is smart tv or not, my BB is very slow its a struggle to watch iplayer etc on the laptop.

Do smart TV's let you save to watch later?
Do they also open word/excel & pdf files.

Would welcome your thoughts

 

[toomuchtodo]

I'm not aware of any smart tv's that allow content to be downloaded for later viewing. As far as I'm aware content is streamed.

Not sure on the word, excel & PDF subject.

It's worth noting though that although you get the best from a smart tv with a fast Internet connection, you can also do things like control some smart tv's with your phone / tablet and stream content to / from your phone / tablet too.

Furthermore, if you're ever likely to get fibre broadband in your area then you'll be ready for the other features.

Finally, I can't imagine there'll be many tv's in that size that don't have smart features so you may be hard pushed to find one without.

If smart features really don't bother you then I'd say to just find a tv that suits you. If it happens to be a smart tv then so be it, you don't have to use them.

Try richer sounds - prices are good and the five year warranty is the cheapest around (with the exception of John Lewis' inclusive 5 year warranty but the TV will likely cost a lot more).

 

[Sam Gangee]

I have a LCD LG 42 tv, its about 4 years old.
Now on power up there is a buzz that last for about 2 minutes & there are 2 horizontal shadow bars that appear all the time (they are v faint).

This is simple failure of the mains smoothing capacitor, which is easily replaced. Cost will be just a couple of pounds plus labour. DO NOT connect power to the TV again until this capacitor is replaced. If it explodes there could be expensive damage caused to other components.

http://www.The-Cool-Book-shop.co.uk/electronics.htm#tvwork

 

[ChrisFrost]

When you watch streamed content via the laptop it stores (buffers) the data. But there is a limit. If the signal stutters with the laptop then it will be awful with a smart TV. They don't buffer to anything like the degree that a PC does. If the signal is bad then the stream will be all but unwatchable.

Storing for later.... There's no memory in a TV for this kind of function. The ponly thing the media player may do is remember where you last watched to and let you carry on from that point.

Excel/Word etc..... No. TV's, even smart-enabled sets, are not computers. Browsing documents in this way requires a computer.

 

[Sam Gangee]

A low cost compromise might be a "Raspberry Pi" connected to the TV and running suitable software, such as XBMC.

 

[Belle427]

As said its like viewing on a laptop, bit of a waste of time and surfing you tube with it as it is slow and painfull!
Ok for films but again they are not cheap and need a decent internet connection.
I bought a 50 inch panasonic 6 months ago and have only used the internet feature twice, happy with the tv though.

 

[Sam Gangee]

As said its like viewing on a laptop, bit of a waste of time and surfing you tube with it as it is slow and painfull!

What, the "Raspberry Pi"?

 

[Diyisfun]

Sam, my eyes are shiit will never seen to do it, I will see if I can find local tv repair.
Never be getting cable tv here, not even got sewage..lol
Thanks for all the other advice.

 

[Sam Gangee]

Sam, my eyes are s**t will never seen to do it.

The "Raspberry Pi" is small but not THAT small.

 

[Diyisfun]

I have a LCD LG 42 tv, its about 4 years old.
Now on power up there is a buzz that last for about 2 minutes & there are 2 horizontal shadow bars that appear all the time (they are v faint).

This is simple failure of the mains smoothing capacitor, which is easily replaced. Cost will be just a couple of pounds plus labour. DO NOT connect power to the TV again until this capacitor is replaced. If it explodes there could be expensive damage caused to other components.

http://www.The-Cool-Book-shop.co.uk/electronics.htm#tvwork[/QUOTE]

Just been told its the screen, they are looking to see if they can get another screen from a dead tv, I am looking for a new one. TV that is

 

[Sam Gangee]

Now on power up there is a buzz that last for about 2 minutes & there are 2 horizontal shadow bars that appear all the time (they are v faint).

This really smacks of a failing capacitor creating two 100Hz "hum bars". I'd be surprised if it's a screen fault.

 

[ChrisFrost]

A low cost compromise might be a "Raspberry Pi" connected to the TV and running suitable software, such as XBMC.

XMBC on Raspberry Pi is an option but not for the faint hearted.

Firstly there's cost. Pi is cheap, but add the ancillaries such as a power supply, box, memory, keyboard and some sort of mouse/remote control, and licenses for certain types of content then the costs mount up pretty quickly. Suddenly the £30 Pi board becomes the thick end of a £120 investment just to get to the point where it actually becomes useful for the application.

Then there's the considerable amount of time it will take in research to work out the best way of using it. XBMC is fairly easy, and there are guides to adding iPlayer, 4oD, ITV and 5ive but that kind of glosses over what might happen if a service falls over or the latest firmware/software update breaks something. The support forums are full of people asking for solutions to lots of different problems.

Pi is a great idea, and kudos to the inventors for developing such a versatile platform. They've sold a million of these things already. But Pi is a steep learning curve if all you want is something Plug 'n Play. A Smart enabled TV or Blu-ray player is ultimately less flexible. But the average user could be up and running in less than 30 minutes. Horses for courses.

 

[Diyisfun]

Bought a Samsung UE46ES5500.