Buying a new smart TV

[Gregjam]

While it is cheaper to buy online, one of the advantages in buying from a shop is that they will often set the tv up for you too plus, as a friend is finding out, it is easier to deal with any issues. We have a Samsung and a Hisense and both are in my opinion more than satisfactory. Buying from a physical location also usually means it is easier to deal with any subsequent problems.
It does also seem that you get what you pay for both in quality and service. The better Chinese products are okay but buying ultra cheap usually ends up in tears.

[usual suspect]

Well you lot..Being from Yorkshire in the UK, and we're renowned for being tight with our money in that part of the world..I bought a TCL S6500 40" Android set.. (It did have lots of good reviews). 5200b from Lazada.
Picture's OK , Navigation/menu is IMO a pain in the **se..The remote control is crap, but once hooked up to my lappy,
& in turn a hard drive full of films also...things are working sweet
I would plug my Maxton HD straight into the telly, but way easier to navigate with my lappy & optical mouse..
...AND this telly has lasted more than 1 day, so it's ahead of the Thai-made Weyon that I had...

[HHTel]

My last 2 TV's were bought from the Lazada platform and in both cases they were installed and tested on delivery.

[Gregjam]

It’s great that as HHTel says, some companies online do the install and shows that levels of service will vary.
As connecting a drive was mentioned I know from experience that there is a limit to how large a memory stick/external drive will work on a tv. I have a Samsung 2TB SSD that will not work on any tv I have tried it on. Usually I save a few films onto a 32gb memory stick and plug that in.
I work on ships without a decent internet or satellite tv connection so take a lot of films and tv series away with me hence the large drive. On board we have many different brands of tv including TCL, Samsung, LG and being a Chinese company many that I cannot remember the name of. I prefer not to connect up my laptop.

[HHTel]

I have 2 'passport' drives. A 1 tb and a 5 tb both plugged into usb ports on my TV and everything is accessible thru the TV smart features.
The TV is an LG 86"

[GroveHillWanderer]

Couldn't be easier, the Hisense runs on pure Android so go into Google Play, search for VLC, and install it - exactly the same procedure as on a phone. I can also use my phone to install apps on the TV since I used the same Gmail account on both!

I also installed Express VPN with the hopes of getting BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub on there ... but the TV is geo-locked to Thailand so got the "app unavailable in your location" error. Need to use the set-top box or laptop for those.

The geo-locking for apps on Google Play Store depends on your Google account, not the device you're using. If you can't install UK-based apps like iPlayer and ITVX, all you have to do is create a new Google account and tell it the default location for the account is the UK. Switch accounts to your new "UK-based account" and you will be able to find and install BBC iPlayer, ITVX, My5 etc without a problem.

I do this all the time on my phone and my Android TV devices. If I'm using the UK account and I try to install something like TrueID TV, it won't let me so I switch to my Thai account - and vice versa.

[Big Boy]

Buksi, I sat down to watch the Girlie World Cup on our outside TV today, and after over 11 years my trustie Sharp Aqua has died. I need to replace it urgently.

Both your comments and the price of the Hisense make me think about changing brand. I don't need a monster like yours for outside. I'm looking at the A6500H model. OK, you can't step inside the screen like yours, but does the rest seem OK?

I'm assuming you are still delighted with your Hisense.

[buksida]

Yes, very happy with it, the one you've picked is the same as ours.

[Big Boy]

OK, thanks - I've ordered it. Incredible price. Definitely a throw-away item when it dies - not worth fixing. Just buy another .

[buksida]

Yep, I've never been a brand junkie so not much point paying 50% more for a Sony or Samsung with a locked OS. The innards are all the same anyway!

[Big Boy]

I'm currently sat on the front porch watching Canada vs Ireland. Excellent picture - much better than my Sharp, which is a very similar spec, but larger screen. Well pleased.

[GroveHillWanderer]

I'm currently sat on the front porch watching Canada vs Ireland. Excellent picture - much better than my Sharp, which is a very similar spec, but larger screen. Well pleased.

If you don't mind me asking BB, how are you watching the games? Which service provider are you using?

[Big Boy]

BBC or ITV via VPN. Absolutely no buffering so far.

[GroveHillWanderer]

BBC or ITV via VPN. Absolutely no buffering so far.

And do you have the ITVX app (and VPN) installed on the TV itself or are you running them on your laptop/PC and connecting to the TV - and via cable or wirelessly? I'm just wondering because I can only get the BBC iPlayer to work on the TV itself - I've never managed to get ITVX to run directly on a smart TV or Android TV box.

[buksida]

I have the opposite situation, the ITVX and iPlayer websites work fine on the laptop with the VPN, but I can't get them working on the TV itself.