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Roku Vs "SmartTV"


Ben

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They didn't sell very well because it just wasn't a very good product. I have a friend who has one and he states he wouldn't buy it again. You'd be better off getting a google chrome cast...


Ha well I don't need either but was curious since it was going for cheap. Thanks for the input.
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Hadn't actually used one, just figured it had to be better than the asus, lol

 

like most google/android related things, they ALMOST did it right. it cant be used in most hotels (which I would think would be the ideal place for a dongle style streaming unit) because since it has no interface, you can do the splash screen sign on like most hotels have for the free wifi. i googled, and found many threads complaining over at hte chromecast forums, full of BS answers of "thats not what its for" and then the BEST ones, of "get a little mobile router to plug into the ethernet at the hotel to create your own little wifi network and connect to that" with a million thumbs up and "thats what i do" type answers..

 

as if needing an entire second wifi unit with its own cords and cables to drag along on a trip...

 

even if you get it for $30-40, with the chromecast youre at $70-ish invested + hassle forever = not worth the $30 savings on an apple tv, which works flawlessly at the exact same hotel...

 

the coolest part of the chromecast is that it powers itself from the usb port of the TV, so it needs no other wires at all, very cool idea, the lack of 1 day spent on an app + a control panel webpage even that allows a few tiny features is just ridiculous...

 

sidenote: i now work directly with the general public at work after all of the changes, so i am significantly grumpier 24/7...

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sidenote: i now work directly with the general public at work after all of the changes, so i am significantly grumpier 24/7...


Ugh

Working with the general public makes me want to staple strips of bacon to my person and lock myself in a room with a hungry badger...
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As far as smart TV's go, I am wondering if anyone is having a similar experience to mine...as in, my "smart" TV sucks balls at streaming pretty much anything, despite me having a cable 100Mb down, 25Mb up wired connection and a wireless network throughout the house at about half that, the TV just...won't stream anything in HD. Do a connectivity test and it says my speed is too slow for HD. And even when I stream Netflix in SD, it buffers constantly. The TV is only a room away from the router and there's a repeater in the same room. A laptop speed test next to the TV confirms there's a fast signal there. I don't get it. It's not a huge deal because I just use the PS3 to stream instead (and the Netflix interface is COUNTLESS times better than the shoddy one using the TV remote to navigate it) but I don't understand why it's wireless reception is so shitty. 

 

The TV isn't even a year old yet. Anyone else ever have a similar issue? I mean, again, no big deal because of the PS3, but what's the point in having a TV remote with these big ass color buttons for Netflix, Hulu, etc when they don't work worth a shit?

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Does it have an Ethernet port?  If so look into these:

 

 

Ethernet over Power

 

I had shitty performance streaming over wireless as well, so bought a set of those.  You plug one into your router, then into the wall socket, then plug the other one into the wall socket where your stuff is and hard wire them in.  It routes the data over the power cables in your walls.  It streams HD flawlessly, and it's a helluva lot cheaper than pulling cable... 

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Does it have an Ethernet port?  If so look into these:

 

 

Ethernet over Power

 

I had shitty performance streaming over wireless as well, so bought a set of those.  You plug one into your router, then into the wall socket, then plug the other one into the wall socket where your stuff is and hard wire them in.  It routes the data over the power cables in your walls.  It streams HD flawlessly, and it's a helluva lot cheaper than pulling cable... 

It does, but I don't want to run a cable that far. What's the root cause though? A shitty wireless card/device/antenna inside the TV? EVERYTHING else in the house, laptops, consoles, tablets, cell phones all get great wifi pretty much everywhere in the house...why not the TV?

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It does, but I don't want to run a cable that far. What's the root cause though? A shitty wireless card/device/antenna inside the TV? EVERYTHING else in the house, laptops, consoles, tablets, cell phones all get great wifi pretty much everywhere in the house...why not the TV?

 

Most likely cause right there, or the design is faulty and the frame or internal components block the signal.  That makes me wonder; can you go to the manufacturer's website and see if there is a firmware or driver update?  My TV is years away from being "smart" so I obviously don't know but would suspect you can... 

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As far as smart TV's go, I am wondering if anyone is having a similar experience to mine...as in, my "smart" TV sucks balls at streaming pretty much anything, despite me having a cable 100Mb down, 25Mb up wired connection and a wireless network throughout the house at about half that, the TV just...won't stream anything in HD. Do a connectivity test and it says my speed is too slow for HD. And even when I stream Netflix in SD, it buffers constantly. The TV is only a room away from the router and there's a repeater in the same room. A laptop speed test next to the TV confirms there's a fast signal there. I don't get it. It's not a huge deal because I just use the PS3 to stream instead (and the Netflix interface is COUNTLESS times better than the shoddy one using the TV remote to navigate it) but I don't understand why it's wireless reception is so shitty. 

 

The TV isn't even a year old yet. Anyone else ever have a similar issue? I mean, again, no big deal because of the PS3, but what's the point in having a TV remote with these big ass color buttons for Netflix, Hulu, etc when they don't work worth a shit?

 

Chances are, your provider has beef with netflix/hulu/whoever, and is throttling the speed WAY down.. comcast did this here for a short time, then they came to a deal with netflix and MAGICALLY my streaming was badass HD again..

 

ISP's are cunts

 

i would get a speed test of 33MB down wifi and the tv is hard wired.. so it was ridiculous...

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Most likely cause right there, or the design is faulty and the frame or internal components block the signal.  That makes me wonder; can you go to the manufacturer's website and see if there is a firmware or driver update?  My TV is years away from being "smart" so I obviously don't know but would suspect you can... 

 

I'm not certain...I haven't tried. I suppose I'm still shocked it doesn't work out of the box like it's supposed to!

 

:lol:

 

Chances are, your provider has beef with netflix/hulu/whoever, and is throttling the speed WAY down.. comcast did this here for a short time, then they came to a deal with netflix and MAGICALLY my streaming was badass HD again..

 

ISP's are cunts

 

i would get a speed test of 33MB down wifi and the tv is hard wired.. so it was ridiculous...

 

How could a provider throttle one device over another? I have Comcast and despite what many say about it, the speeds are brilliant. If my bandwidth was being throttled, it would (or SHOULD) apply to everything I use, no? Why would just the smart TV suffer?

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no, if it pleases them ISPs can selectively throttle what (Netflix, ABCNews, comcastsux.com or any other website) you access. 

 

If only your tv's wifi is wonky, it's probably a technological problem.  Test by running an ethernet cable from your cable modem/router to the TV.

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no, if it pleases them ISPs can selectively throttle what (Netflix, ABCNews, comcastsux.com or any other website) you access. 

 

If only your tv's wifi is wonky, it's probably a technological problem.  Test by running an ethernet cable from your cable modem/router to the TV.

I agree it's just my TV...but like I said, the PS3 kicks it's ass so I don't care much. I'm not going to run 30' of ethernet cable to prove myself wrong. I just can't help but wonder why it's reception is so shitty in light of EVERYTHING else in the house that's running tits out on wifi.

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I'm not certain...I haven't tried. I suppose I'm still shocked it doesn't work out of the box like it's supposed to!

 

:lol:

 

How could a provider throttle one device over another? I have Comcast and despite what many say about it, the speeds are brilliant. If my bandwidth was being throttled, it would (or SHOULD) apply to everything I use, no? Why would just the smart TV suffer?

 

no, they can throttle torrent traffic, netflix, hulu, they can throttle only traffic from your mothers skype account if they so desire.

 

google: "comcast throttling netflix" a few MILLION complaints..

 

they know where all traffic is coming from and going to, and can throttle anything they want..

 

i dont know if you have heard of the whole net neutrality thing.. but thats what its about, making it illegal to pick and choose what gets throttled.... 

 

its even announced when ISP's and netflix strike deals and have beef, verizon fios just struck a deal and stopped throttling, it was on CNN a month or two ago..

 

comcast did the same..

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no, they can throttle torrent traffic, netflix, hulu, they can throttle only traffic from your mothers skype account if they so desire.

 

google: "comcast throttling netflix" a few MILLION complaints..

 

they know where all traffic is coming from and going to, and can throttle anything they want..

 

i dont know if you have heard of the whole net neutrality thing.. but thats what its about, making it illegal to pick and choose what gets throttled.... 

 

its even announced when ISP's and netflix strike deals and have beef, verizon fios just struck a deal and stopped throttling, it was on CNN a month or two ago..

 

comcast did the same..

Oh, I know about all that. The point being that my Netflix works like a champ off the Xbox downstairs, my PC, the girlfriends laptop and phone, the PS3 upstairs, the boy's tablet...just not with my almost new "smart" TV. I agree that like Elflocko and Cincy said, there's some issue with the TV itself. Ah well...1st world problems and all that.

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Oh, I know about all that. The point being that my Netflix works like a champ off the Xbox downstairs, my PC, the girlfriends laptop and phone, the PS3 upstairs, the boy's tablet...just not with my almost new "smart" TV. I agree that like Elflocko and Cincy said, there's some issue with the TV itself. Ah well...1st world problems and all that.

 

 

ironically, i didnt have the issue on my apple tv, but did on the smart tv direct...

 

i had thought it was the tv as you did, but the day after the comcast agreement was announced, it was streaming in glorious HD again on the TV too.. 

 

maybe a coincidence.. 

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ironically, i didnt have the issue on my apple tv, but did on the smart tv direct...

 

i had thought it was the tv as you did, but the day after the comcast agreement was announced, it was streaming in glorious HD again on the TV too.. 

 

maybe a coincidence.. 

Maybe so...I haven't tried it in awhile. The worst thing is the TV interface with the remote control for Netflix. The remote just isn't very sensitive and the whole thing is laggy and counterintuitive for searching for titles.

 

Since I've got you on the horn...is that $50 NFL shop gift card still in the offing for winning the March Madness contest?

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With the TWC/Comcast merger, now they are a super cunts.  The netflix/comcast deal was shady as fuck.   Basically Comcast said, "IT would be a real shame if customers accidentally had QOS issues getting to netflix.   But for a modest protection fee, we can make sure that doesnt happen."

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utGqpT-riZc

 

 

Chances are, your provider has beef with netflix/hulu/whoner, and is throttling the speed WAY down.. comcast did this here for a short time, then they came to a deal with netflix and MAGICALLY my streaming was badass HD again..

 

ISP's are cunts

 

i would get a speed test of 33MB down wifi and the tv is hard wired.. so it was ridiculous...

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I hooked up the Roku 3 and it works a lot better than the Samsung apps, especially plex.  Plex over wirless on roku works better than plex on a hard wired connection on the tv.  Plus it has watch espn, which makes me happy.

 

Since the remote is RF, i just used some double sided 3m to attach it to the backof the tv.

 

Only downside is their is now a second remote involved, so my wife doesn't bother to use it.

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Maybe so...I haven't tried it in awhile. The worst thing is the TV interface with the remote control for Netflix. The remote just isn't very sensitive and the whole thing is laggy and counterintuitive for searching for titles.

 

Since I've got you on the horn...is that $50 NFL shop gift card still in the offing for winning the March Madness contest?

 

 

of course, i didnt even check the winner, i will assume that was you? 

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