how many HPMI/USB sockets ?

castle96

Hi,
current CRT is set up with a pair of scarts and a few junction boxes for

sky, dvd, x box

with a new smart tv (using wifi for comuter), how many hdmi/usbs (difference is ? what for ?) do I need.

Some I have seen only seem to have 1 scart and one hdmi.

Dont want to buy something that is 'insufficient'

thanks

Nilrem

You want as many HDMI ports as you can get, a minimum of 3 in my opinion for a living room TV*, as you will likely want one for a disc player, one possibly for a STB (cable/Satellite), and one as either a spare or to connect to the PC.

You can add more HDMI ports by buying a switch box (about £20 for a five port with remote), but it's messy in terms of cabling and needing another remote.

For Scart these days you can probably get away with one, maiinly for legacy use (old DVD player or similar).
Don't sacrifice HDMI ports for Scart given that Scart is pretty much dead now (even cheap DVD players tend to be HDMI these days and give a far better picture over it).

The difference between HDMI and USB is that HDMI is for carrying the video and sound between devices (think a much better, easier. neater SCART, but digital), and USB would be for plugging something like a memory stick into the TV so it can play video or pictures from the memory stick.
Some TV's can also use a memory stick or USB HDD to work as a PVR recording things from the TV's tuner to the stick for later playback.

When my current TV dies I'm going to be looking for a model with at least 4 or possibly 5 HDMI ports as at the moment I've got to use a HDMI switch box to give me a couple of extras, when I bought the set (nearly 7 years ago), it was very uncommon for them to have more than 3 HDMI (now I think it's more common, with 3 being the default for most manufacturers), and many only had one or two.


*For a small TV for the bedroom, with a built in disc player possibly 1 or 2 ports would do.

Kurtis_Blue

A lot of TVs come without Scart now, that is fine.
If you need it now or in the future you can buy adapters for <£5, don't bother prioritising a Scart socket.

Nilrem

I didn't realise they'd finally got round to killing off the SCART with some sets (I haven't looked at a new TV for a couple of years).

Great idea in theory, horrible connection in practice (IIRC a French design, probably by the same guys who decide on the electronics for their cars )

almillar

castle96, I replied to your other thread. Please don't rush out and buy the wrong TV! We'll try to help you. You seem to think that you can connect a computer to a TV via WiFi and I explained in your other thread that you can't - you need to re-think that, and the best thing will be HDMI, if your computer can do it.
All 3 of those are SCART at the mo - Sky, DVD and XBox?
If it's a Sky HD box, you should have HDMI on it - use that instead of SCART. If you don't have a Sky HD box, go get one off eBay or Gumtree and put your card in it (I think you'll need to call Sky to pair it, no problem) to get some HD channels and a better service in general.
DVD - any chance there's an HDMI port at the back of that? If not, you'll stick with SCART.
XBox - is this a 360? If so, check for an HDMI port and use it, if not, and it's one of the oldest ones, you can use component leads - that's the AV connector of the XBox to green, red, blue phono for picture, and red and white phono for sound. This will be in HD, and much better than SCART.
So we can't really count up the connections you'll need until we work out what your kit is capable of.

castle96

dvd is scart (only), xbox 360 has no hdmi or scart (though the 3 phonos plug into the back of an(xbox) scart, so that is scart only to.Sky box has hdmi.
TV I was thinking of getting has 1 scart 3 hdmi and 3 usb (LG tv)
You seem to think that you can connect a computer to a TV via WiFi and I explained in your other thread that you can't - you need to re-think that, and the best thing will be HDMI, if your computer can do it.
I am listening to you, but others, incl Sky say that my router (sagem), IS a wireless/WiFi one and that during tv set up, I have to put in my password and the tv will pick up the computer/signal. NO need for ahdmi cable.
Obviously this is exactly the opposite to what you are saying, so I am confused. Surely you dont have t run cables everywhere (30 feet in my case).
How about where a computer is downstairs and a smart tv upstairs. Surely that is the same/what wifi does - sends the signal
Thanks again
Isnt the a set up wizard somwhere ?

Tropez

Nilrem wrote: »

You can add more HDMI ports by buying a switch box (about £20 for a five port with remote), but it's messy in terms of cabling and needing another remote.

I use a Neet box from Amazon. It needs one extra HDMI cable to run from the box to the TV and then the others plug in to it. I've found with this box you don't need to use the remote, providing you're not using more than one "always-on" device.

On a 2-port TV, I use this box. The first HDMI port on the TV is taken by my Sky box. The Neet box is plugged into the TV's second port. My Roku plugs into the first input on the Neet box and then there's an Xbox 360 and a Blu-Ray player plugged in to two other ports on it. The Roku is on constantly but the box autoswitches to Xbox or Blu-Ray if I turn either device on, and defaults back to Roku when it is switched off. The box is even self-powered.

If you are using more than one "always-on" device though (such as if I was using both the Sky box and the Roku on it) then I'd have to plug it in and connect the IR receiver to use the remote which, yes, could be a bit messy.

almillar

Good stuff
DVD will need 1 SCART input on the new TV
Sky box will need 1 HDMI input
XBox 360 will need Component - see my description earlier. It's an HD console, and you're looking at in the worst possible quality - composite (yellow phono for picture, red and white phono for sound) into SCART.
Buy an XBox 360 Component cable if you don't already have one in the box
http://www.amazon.co.uk/DIGIFLEX-Component-High-Definition-Cable/dp/B002NQ1QG6/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1421326687&sr=1-1&keywords=xbox+360+component
OK onto the computer.
Are you expecting to use the TV as a computer screen? This will NOT happen over WiFi. I promise. If you've got Plex or some sort of media server on your PC, connected to the network, and you connect your TV to that network (wired or WiFi, upstairs or downstairs), and it has streaming capablities like UPNP then it can play content FROM the PC over the network. That's probably what the people you talked to at Sky thought you meant. is it?
If you've got a WiFi TV, you connect it to the ROUTER via WiFi, not the computer.
WiFi will NOT replace an HDMI cable.
Yes, unless you want to start talking about wireless senders, you DO need a 30ft HDMI cable, if I've understood you correctly.
Do you actually want to USE your computer on your TV or do you just want to view stuff from it on your TV? That's the big question.

castle96

thanks again
If you've got a WiFi TV, you connect it to the ROUTER via WiFi, not the computer.
You say 'connect', then you say WiFi which surely is a wireless signal ??
WiFi will NOT replace an HDMI cable.
What is the point of WiFi then ?
Yes, unless you want to start talking about wireless senders, you DO need a 30ft HDMI cable, if I've understood you correctly.
What IS WiFi, in the TV then. I thought to replace the cable. If I sit in Wetherspoons, the have free WiFi and my phone picks this up, ie wirelss, no lead.
Do you actually want to USE your computer on your TV or do you just want to view stuff from it on your TV? That's the big question.
Both I suppose. What is the difference

Spoke to someone at work, the have same make of TV - NO LEAD... Sorry if I am being thick here

Cycrow

WiFi on TV's is used to connect your TV to the router. Not to connect other devices to the TV.

This allows your tv access to the internet, which it needs for the various smart tv apps.

The Wifi does replace a cable, it replaces a network cable that some tv's may use instead. But the network cable isn't used to connect devices to the tv, its used to give the tv access to the internet

castle96

This allows your tv access to the internet, which it needs for the various smart tv apps.

The Wifi does replace a cable,

So.................. I DO NOT need a lead to allow a smart TV to access the internet*

Wasn't that what I originally asked ?

* but, if I wanted to view the TV screen to use my computer, then I DO need a lead - YES ?

thanks