Buying a new smart TV

[Big Boy]

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.

No, I just have an old laptop permanently connected to the TV. Same set up in the main living room as well.

[GroveHillWanderer]

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.

I can only get BBC iPlayer to work on a Smart TV, not ITVX. Also, to get iPlayer to work, you have to side load it, you can't get it from the Google Play Store directly.

Whereas ITVX does show up (it even keeps coming up as a recommended app) but whenever I install it and try to run it on any Android Smart TV, I get an error message saying, "The manufacturer and/or operating system provider for this device has not secured the necessary rights for this application."

[GroveHillWanderer]

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

Just to mention that in case you wanted an alternative, you can also watch most of the games live for free from the FIFA+ website - plus.fifa.com. No VPN required.

Picture quality-wise, I find it's better than ITVX for me, but when the games are on BBC iPlayer I prefer that, as the picture is just as good, plus I can pause and rewind the action.

[Nereus]

I have not seen any comments about OLED tv’s on here. I am in Australia right now, so I am not up with what is in Thailand.

In need of a new tv I went scouting around yesterday looking at what is available. I was completely gob smacked looking at OLED tv’s on display! A marketing move no doubt, but some were displayed alongside the latest LED smart sets. It is like comparing an old black and white set from the past with a new colour set! It is more than just apples to oranges; it is a completely different device entirely.

Ironically, the test display was aerial video of Tokyo at nighttime, showing in minute detail some of the lights that Buksida has been posting on his trip report. I have no idea what equipment was in use for the filming, but it definitely wasn’t a mobile phone!

These tv sets are not cheap by any comparison, and like everything else, there is a multitude of various sizes and specifications. This post is not about pricing, but more about what some may view as well over the top of what one should spend on entertainment.

The cheapest Sony 42” OLED that I could find was around 45,000 baht equivalent, rapidly increasing in proportion to the screen size. Everything in this world is relative, and if your situation dictates how much time that you spend watching tv, then the price should not be the first consideration. Sony of course, is probably the most expensive, but as with everything you get what you pay for. LG and Samsung have cheaper units, plus the Chinese ones are even cheaper.

[Dannie Boy]

I’m assuming my Samsung is a plain old LED as it’s about 4 years old and whilst I’m sure that an OLED would be better, it satisfies my eyes - current prices for the same technology are available for as little as B10,000 for a 55” screen - not sure I’d want to pay 4-6 times as much, but wouldn’t criticise anyone who does.


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[buksida]

I looked into both when buying ours earlier this year. Yes, the picture is brighter and sharper, but I couldn't justify the 5X price for one over a standard 4K LED.

[Khundon1975]

We have 3 LG OLED 65 inch TV’s here in the UK.
Originally we bought one for our son’s Xbox games but decided to get rid of the original LED TV’s when we saw how good the picture is on OLED’s.
Got them all from Currys when the prices drop several hundred’s of pounds at Christmas over the last 2 years. All have ATMOS sound built in and 1 has an LG stand alone sound bar.
We’ve looked at Samsungs but prefer LG.
Yes they can be expensive but there’s some great deals out there if you keep an eye out for them.

[Dannie Boy]

Wow - having one would be very nice, having two would be a luxury, having three, well I’m lost for words.

[STEVE G]

In need of a new tv I went scouting around yesterday looking at what is available. I was completely gob smacked looking at OLED tv’s on display! A marketing move no doubt, but some were displayed alongside the latest LED smart sets. It is like comparing an old black and white set from the past with a new colour set! It is more than just apples to oranges; it is a completely different device entirely.

The last time I was in Market Village, they had one on display showing a graphic display of swirling colours and it's certainly very vibrant, as you say.

[pharvey]

Wow - having one would be very nice, having two would be a luxury, having three, well I’m lost for words.

Must be nice having a property big enough to house them!!

[Khundon1975]

One is in the new garden room we built for my young son to have friends over for sleepovers and to play together on their XBox series x and their Oculus headsets, which is linked via WiFi to the eero router network 30 meters away in the house, one in the sitting room and one in our sons bedroom, where his other Xbox is.
I would never pay full price for them, instead we just waited for the prices to come down.

[Nereus]

The problem, where I am at least, there is such a vast range of options and models, that it is more than confusing to decide which is most suited to what is needed. In addition, it appears that new models and options are continually on offer.

[Dannie Boy]

I’ve always been a firm believer that assuming you can view the models working, letting your eyes (and ears) decide when buying a TV, within your given budget of course.

[pharvey]

The problem, where I am at least, there is such a vast range of options and models, that it is more than confusing to decide which is most suited to what is needed. In addition, it appears that new models and options are continually on offer.

I’ve always been a firm believer that assuming you can view the models working, letting your eyes (and ears) decide when buying a TV, within your given budget of course.

Agree with both points of view, there are a mass of things these days to consider when looking at purchasing a new TV. Device Compatibility, Available Connections, Base Software, Available/Upcoming Apps etc. etc..... Oh when there were only 3 channels and a foil hat could improve the signal - and whatever happened to the slowly disappearing white dot when you turned the TV off?!!

[Dannie Boy]

The problem, where I am at least, there is such a vast range of options and models, that it is more than confusing to decide which is most suited to what is needed. In addition, it appears that new models and options are continually on offer.

I’ve always been a firm believer that assuming you can view the models working, letting your eyes (and ears) decide when buying a TV, within your given budget of course.

Agree with both points of view, there are a mass of things these days to consider when looking at purchasing a new TV. Device Compatibility, Available Connections, Base Software, Available/Upcoming Apps etc. etc..... Oh when there were only 3 channels and a foil hat could improve the signal - and whatever happened to the slowly disappearing white dot when you turned the TV off?!!

And you had to stand up when they played the National Anthem (at about 10.30) when the station closed down!!

PS. Some of us are old enough to remember when there was only one channel