Clueless about smart TVs

bobbyg

I doubt this is the right forum, but I was wondering if someone could tell me if the below TVs would be good TVs?

The first will be a present to someone mainly used to watch football in HD and possibly 3D

http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-13-37ES630&brands=SAMSUNG

The second will be one for home entertainment
http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-14-46ES800&pages=1&prod=46ES800&brands=SAMSUNG&image=

cheers.

Sam Russell

I actually have the second one you link to - the first one is no longer stocked.

To use the smatTV side of it you need a wifi broadband connection. It works but that depends on what floats your boat. It has RTEplayer which works fine. Internet browsing is useless as the computer in it is too slow and the interface is crap. (You need a bluetooth keyboard and mouse). It has apps for UTube, Netflix, etc.

Picture quality is fantastic. It is Freesat and Saorview approved, but Freesat is only available when you set it to Country=UK. You then lose Saorview compatibility but it still works fine on Saorview but programmes are in the 800s and are in random order. It is painful to rearrange them. It is not possible to have Aerial=Ireland, Satellite=UK. This is unfortunate.

If you set Country=Ireland then you lose Freesat and you only have Satellite(FTA) and Saorview. Given the utility of the Freesat, it is a no-brainer to go with UK settings.

3D works but I cannot see it so cannot comment on it, but others thought it was brilliant. HD works well on Freesat and Saorview. MHEG5 works fine. EPG is different and seperate for the two services. Setup menu is very clunky and it loses all the settings at the (unfortunate) push of the wrong button.

Switching from Saorview to Freesat is clunky and requires 6 or 5 button presses but Wifey manages it so that is OK then. They could make this much easier with a firmware upgrade, but are unlikely to do that. To change you press:
[ch list];[red];[up];[ok];[ok];[ok].

Recording is possible but HDD must be formatted on the TV, and it is fussy about some HDDs I have tried, and so I have not managed to test this out.

Also, it should be possible to use the internet to share stuff. Again I have not tested it yet.

Overall, good TV. Hope that helps.

bobbyg

Cheers for that, 2 quick qustions if we are getting sky does the saorview & freesat matter that much? and how come you haven't seen the 3D on the tv?

Sam Russell

bobbyg wrote: »

Cheers for that, 2 quick qustions if we are getting sky does the saorview & freesat matter that much? and how come you haven't seen the 3D on the tv?

The 3D problem is not the TV, it is my eyesight.

With this TV, you can get Freesat and Saorview directly on the TV. Why would you pay for Sky if you cn get it all for free. [Well nearly all, and certainly most of the channels worth watching]. If you want to watch Sky Sports, you have to pay, but think how much you are paying for those few 'must watch' programmes and matches.

.

bobbyg

Thanks again, sky sports is a must, otherwise I would spend a fortune in the pub every weekend!

Sam Russell

If you have broadband there may be a way of paying (legally) just for what you watch (pay-per-view). I do not know anything about it but I am sure you can find out, or some kind soul will advise on here.