klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Nov 23, 2015 14:12:52 GMT -5
My wife wants to add a TV in our great room, but instead of feeding it TWC or BluRays or whatever...she wants to be able to watch Netflix, Hulu, etc. AND be able to draw images from our hard drive that is a NAS to have them displaying like our little digital picture frame but bigger.
And...she does NOT want a whole bunch of devices sitting around. She wants a video panel and that's it. Nothing else...so...no suggestions of Apple TV or whatever please...
I think we'll land in the 30-40" size given the space.
I have a Samsung SmartTV in the bedroom which appears to fill the need other than it does not seem to connect to my NAS (which is on a USB out from a PC...not off my router). I was thinking I could get it to link to my HD off my PC, but I have not figured that out yet. Does anyone know how that works off a Samsung TV?
According to Samsung, they have a feature called "ConnectShare". And it says this: "The Samsung ConnectShare Movie feature makes it easy to play media from a USB storage device. Use it to play movies directly from a USB-enabled camera or camcorder, access media on an external hard drive, view photos stored on a flash drive, and more."
This would seem to fit the bill just fine, along with the other Samsung SmartTV features which connect to the services she is interested in. If...I could just get it to connect to the external HD as it should. (Maybe my HD has to be connected to my router directly and not via a PC...?)
Mark
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DYohn
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Post by DYohn on Nov 23, 2015 14:21:20 GMT -5
If you set up a DLNA server on your PC, most "smart TV"s should be able to display image files you've set up to share.
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Nov 23, 2015 14:49:22 GMT -5
Looks like my router is set up as a DLNA server, so if I plug a spare HD into its USB port - my Samsung TV sees it. Now, I will have to look into how to have my PC set up as one. Or...to make things super-simple for the wife (and...not saying she's not bright, but...she does like simple and does not like to have to remember even minor details of how to find files...) - I may just convert this extra HD into a "Pictures for wifey" HD and hang it off the router. Given I am the only one who puts pix off our various devices onto the HD...she'll never know where they are. And, that might be a good thing if the TV is only looking to 1 folder that magically has what she wants. (Don't tell her...)  Mark |
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Post by wilburthegoose on Nov 23, 2015 14:54:42 GMT -5
I'd not spend the money on a Smart TV - Get yourself a Roku instead.
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Nov 23, 2015 14:56:47 GMT -5
Well, I need a TV for the area of interest to the wife. And, these days - I don't see a huge difference in price between TV's and SmartTV's. And, recall wifey rule #1...NO extra devices.
Mark
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hemster
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Post by hemster on Nov 23, 2015 14:58:16 GMT -5
Looks like my router is set up as a DLNA server, so if I plug a spare HD into its USB port - my Samsung TV sees it. Now, I will have to look into how to have my PC set up as one. Or...to make things super-simple for the wife (and...not saying she's not bright, but...she does like simple and does not like to have to remember even minor details of how to find files...) - I may just convert this extra HD into a "Pictures for wifey" HD and hang it off the router. Given I am the only one who puts pix off our various devices onto the HD...she'll never know where they are. And, that might be a good thing if the TV is only looking to 1 folder that magically has what she wants. (Don't tell her...) Mark I have a network share for pictures and another for music. Since I'm the only one who puts pictures on there, I've given myself full rights to the folder and its contents. Everyone else has read-only access. Just in case!  |
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Post by teaman on Nov 23, 2015 15:47:03 GMT -5
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Post by vneal on Nov 23, 2015 15:59:23 GMT -5
I have 5 Smart Samsung TVs. I like em
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Post by daveburt on Nov 23, 2015 17:08:37 GMT -5
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Nov 23, 2015 18:00:12 GMT -5
Now that is a nice deal! I just might have to pull the trigger on that one and make the wife happy! Mark |
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Post by Loop 7 on Nov 23, 2015 18:06:32 GMT -5
Even as a plasma hold-out snob, it sounds like those recommended brands are the way to go. However, for an in TV app experience, the new Roku based TVs are the best. However, those are not great panels.
Vizio sure has progressed beyond it's budget stigma with some stellar panels and decent app implementations. I still think a decent panel with a hidden Roku is the way to go.
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Post by wiskers on Nov 23, 2015 18:16:30 GMT -5
Motion Enhancement Technology: 60 Clear Motion Rate on the Dell, get a least 120
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Nov 23, 2015 19:36:01 GMT -5
Motion Enhancement Technology: 60 Clear Motion Rate on the Dell, get a least 120 For a lot of viewing, I would care about that spec. For what the wife wants, it's not that critical. Mark |
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Nov 24, 2015 9:37:04 GMT -5
I've been looking around at options, mainly focusing on LG, Samsung, and Sony.
The Samsung teaman reco's above looks very tempting for the price (including the $125 Dell e-card that comes with it)...the only downside is the "60 Clear Motion Rate" spec.
Looking at LG, I see they have a 42LF5800 for $398 that has everything the wife is interested in + "True Motion 120 hz" for a higher effective refresh rate than 60 hz.
Sony has 2 models that look interesting - and I cannot figure out the difference between them other than cost and the more costly one has 4 HDMI vs. 2 for the other. 1 is enough for what I need for this one! There's the "KDL40R510C" for $348 and the "KDL40W600B" for $398. Both appear to have everything the wife needs and "Motion Flow XR 120" for a higher effective refresh rate than 60 hz. FYI, I also have a Sony KDL-40W4100 in our house and I really like its picture...it is "scary good". And, I like Sony's menu system.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Mark
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Post by creimes on Nov 24, 2015 10:16:28 GMT -5
If your happy with your Sony then I say go for another, one thing that really grinds my gears is the new norm for good sale prices on TV's, like being 60hz or 720p, there you are opening the newest flyer and your like wow nice price...oh oh oh wait 720p hahaha
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Post by creimes on Nov 24, 2015 10:20:44 GMT -5
I've been looking around at options, mainly focusing on LG, Samsung, and Sony. The Samsung teaman reco's above looks very tempting for the price (including the $125 Dell e-card that comes with it)...the only downside is the "60 Clear Motion Rate" spec. Looking at LG, I see they have a 42LF5800 for $398 that has everything the wife is interested in + "True Motion 120 hz" for a higher effective refresh rate than 60 hz. Sony has 2 models that look interesting - and I cannot figure out the difference between them other than cost and the more costly one has 4 HDMI vs. 2 for the other. 1 is enough for what I need for this one! There's the "KDL40R510C" for $348 and the "KDL40W600B" for $398. Both appear to have everything the wife needs and "Motion Flow XR 120" for a higher effective refresh rate than 60 hz. FYI, I also have a Sony KDL-40W4100 in our house and I really like its picture...it is "scary good". And, I like Sony's menu system. Any thoughts? Thanks! Mark Mark are the two Sony's sold at the same retailer ?, I have seen companies make the same spec'd TV with different model #'s at different retailer's so you cannot play the price beat game as the salesman will say the model #'s are different haha even though they are the same TV but maybe one has a different bezel and model #  |
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Nov 24, 2015 10:31:44 GMT -5
I have seen that trick before, also with the model #. So far, on these two Sony's, the only difference I see is the # of hdmi's. The main "meat" seems the same...the image specs, that is.
I am heading to town to try to see the images on my top candidates.
Mark
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Nov 24, 2015 13:58:46 GMT -5
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Post by monkumonku on Nov 24, 2015 14:32:04 GMT -5
Well did you buy it from Amazon or Best Buy? Congrats, by the way! |
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DYohn
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Post by DYohn on Nov 24, 2015 16:20:55 GMT -5
I once shopped at Best Buy and when they wouldn't beat the Amazon price, purchased in their store from Amazon on my phone right in front of the sales geek. That was fun.
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