Is a smart tv worth it for me?

suki1964

Our tv is ten years old and works just fine, but we are being seduced by the sales

Today I looked at a lg 3d smart tv.

Now I know that a 3d is supposed to make HD a lot clearer so that's a plus I think seeing as my tv is only HD ready

Three HDMI sockets are a plus- mine only has one and it's a pain having to click over to the right channel


I have a freestat box already plus a blu ray player

Is it worth going for the smart included because my bb speed is only 1.5 Kbps Will buying smart be a waste of money?

Right now I can watch on demand tv but only at low quality

flashg67

I'm not sure that 3D makes 'normal' HD clearer - I stand to be corrected, but it will only come into its own with a 3D source?

You still may have to switch between HDMI sources and as for the online stuff, you should be fine but at the same quality you currently have, but the choice is restricted by the apps installed on the TV - I don't think LG has all the catch-up services available?

Sparx

1.5 Kbps? That is dial up speeds! Do you mean 1.5 Mb? If so that would be 'ok' for streaming standard def content, but HD would really struggle for things like BBC iPlayer, ITV catch up etc.

3D doesn't improve HD at all by the way. 3D is literally just for that, providing a 3D appearance. Personally it's a marketing gimmick at the minute I think it's awful and it gives me headaches!

Do you not have Virgin or BT Fibre available in your area?

What size TV are you after? Any brand preference? LED or Plasma or not bothered?

I_have_spoken

I bought a Samsung 22inch smart TV, I liked

1) More HD channels now on Freeview
2) Lovefilm streaming
3) Youtube
3) BBC, C4, C5 catch-up services

suki1964

Ok so to answer all questions

Size; at the moment we have 37". We can go to 50"
Speed: yes I got me bits muddled and I average 1.5 mb
3d : I have read before that watching 2d on 3d will enhance the picture, like most people I don't like actually watching 3d
Fibre: I would kill for it. Unfortunately I live 5 miles from my nearest box and cable is non exsistant here
HDMI: at the moment I have one socket, possible new tv will have 3
Online: I appreciate that I won't ever be able to view HD online but will the speeds I get now be suitable for the likes of Netflix or
Love film ?

[Deleted User]

Don't bother. Just buy a decent TV, and make it smart by buying a Roku/WD/Apple TV box.

You can buy a WD box for as little as £33 now. roku is only £50 to £100

A smart tv becomes out of date very quickly

Sharon87

3D doesn't have an effect on how HD looks. Just make sure you get a Full HD TV - 1080p not a 720p, as this is what makes the picture clearer.

1.5mb per second is ok for some streaming if no one else is using it!

How many HDMI devices do you have? Bluray player is HDMI. Do you have a Freeview HD box? If not does the TV come with Freeview HD already integrated into it? Otherwise you won't be able to view the HD channels.

Smart TV wise, I wouldn't get one, as my bluray player is 'smart with wifi' and it makes me standard TV 'smart'

thescouselander

suki1964 wrote: »

Ok so to answer all questions

Size; at the moment we have 37". We can go to 50"
Speed: yes I got me bits muddled and I average 1.5 mb
3d : I have read before that watching 2d on 3d will enhance the picture, like most people I don't like actually watching 3d
Fibre: I would kill for it. Unfortunately I live 5 miles from my nearest box and cable is non exsistant here
HDMI: at the moment I have one socket, possible new tv will have 3
Online: I appreciate that I won't ever be able to view HD online but will the speeds I get now be suitable for the likes of Netflix or
Love film ?

This is largely rubbish. There is a school of thought that says the faster response times required for 3D mean 3D sets come with better screens (response wise) vs their 2D counterparts but this is a rather suspect claim IMO.

silverfoxlynx

suki1964 wrote: »

Our tv is ten years old and works just fine, but we are being seduced by the sales

Today I looked at a lg 3d smart tv.

Now I know that a 3d is supposed to make HD a lot clearer so that's a plus I think seeing as my tv is only HD ready

I would doubt that 3D will make it clearer -if you have HD then you have the best definition standard IMHO. I would want to do some comparison tests before I went for 3D. Other considerations on picture quality: There are ACTIVE and PASSIVE glasses to compare. and PLASMA versus LCD. It really can be a minefield so I would not be seduced on price alone. Do some comparison studies in your own time.

suki1964

Sharon87 wrote: »

3D doesn't have an effect on how HD looks. Just make sure you get a Full HD TV - 1080p not a 720p, as this is what makes the picture clearer.

1.5mb per second is ok for some streaming if no one else is using it!

How many HDMI devices do you have? Bluray player is HDMI. Do you have a Freeview HD box? If not does the TV come with Freeview HD already integrated into it? Otherwise you won't be able to view the HD channels.

Smart TV wise, I wouldn't get one, as my bluray player is 'smart with wifi' and it makes me standard TV 'smart'

Right now my tv is HD ready. I have a blu ray and humax box as well as a wii connected to it. So yes I do already get HD channels and tv on demand, but it's just nowdays the picture on newer tvs looks so much sharper

We were just toying with getting a bigger tv tbh because this one is quite small for the room it is in. Tbh the best tv we have in the house is a 15 year old jvc , the old flat screen with the big back to it

sickofusernames

I was thinking of a Smart TV for a while but I ended up buying a Humax Fox T2 which was ok for what I needed at the time. We then decided a couple of weeks ago to go for the LG 42LN575V which I think is one of the cheapest Smarts for its size on the market, even cheaper now damn it!

I was blown away by the whole feel and look of the features once all set up, playing videos and showing pictures straight from our iPad which was great and even streaming the free NowTV Sky movies was a pleasure as I never got buffering issues like we did on the Humax.

The HD picture for fast action isn't that great but I haven't really got round to configuring the settings much yet and the sound for generally any LED smart tv isn't that great so have linked ours up to via optical to our Samsung home cinema for when we want to watch a movie or music channel.

Streaming on your limited BB connection is your only issue but apart from that you'll really enjoy a smart tv, good luck...