RTE Player Samsung Monopoly ?

scanner

Can anybody answer if I am correct in that Samsung appear to be the only brand of TV that have Rte Player. Have Rte signed some exclusive deal , and if so does anybody know when it expires ? I find it hard to believe that Rte can justify this as a public service broadcaster when it would appear you can't access their service unless you buy a Samsung TV. The reason I ask is I am particularly interested in buying an LG branded smart tv , but it kind of defeats the purpose if you can't access Irish services , I have a PS3 but Rte player doesn't work right on that. I also know that TV3 player is available on multiple brands of tv . Thoughts welcome

scanner

Any thoughts on above guys ? I am planning on buying TV the weekend. Thanks

galtee boy

scanner wrote: »

Any thoughts on above guys ? I am planning on buying TV the weekend. Thanks

Don't know for sure, but you could be right about exclusive deal with Samsung. It's strange that the TV3 Player is on Sky's Catch Up service, but no sign of the RTE Player on that either.

Pat Mustard

scanner wrote: »

Any thoughts on above guys ? I am planning on buying TV the weekend. Thanks

You are talking about getting a smart tv. There has been some discussion about this, regarding the obsolescence of the 'smart' aspect, during the lifespan of the tv. The tv will likely last for more than ten years, but the smart part will fall behind during that period. That said, some say that you may be able to upgrade the smart tvs.

This doesn't directly answer your question, but have you considered buying a 'dumb' tv and using it in conjunction with a ps3 or ps4, for the computer/media centre aspect? Should be a cheaper setup, and better, in my view. No trouble to get RTÉ player on the playstation, either.

scanner

I appreciate your point re PS3 etc , however as I mentioned in my earlier post this is very flaky at the best of times ,not working more often than not, I just wanted the simplicity of the TV , I already have a so called smart Sony bluray player but this doesn't have Rte player either. The main point I am trying to get across is , how can our national broadcaster sign up to one TV manufacturer only in this digital era , they surely have some sort of obligation to reach as wide an audience as possible seen as how they are publicly funded. After all the BBC in the UK broadcast their player on just about every sort of TV, set top box, bluray player etc, I know some may say RTE are probably getting some sort of payment from Samsung , but what's the point in having a player at all if it is so restricted

watty

ANY so called "Smart TV" is often €200 to €400 more expensive than a "Dumb" HDTV. Also the software in TVs tends to be never updated after a year. They also need an expensive "smart phone" or tablet to control all the features.

A suitable gadget / tablet/notebook with HDMI cable is more functional, can be cheaper and more upgradeable with new codecs and clients.

Ireland is a tiny market. It's amazing ANY TV maker includes the RTE player. So I don't believe there is a conspiracy or controlled monopoly.

I don't know if Roku or Amazon Fire TV (both I think better value / functionality than Google Chromecast or AppleTV) have RTE player or planning to add it. Small market.

Avoid Xbone as it's designed assuming the whole world is 30fps and 60fps. So passthrough of European HMDI is rubbish especially if a game is running. You can't mix 25i or 50p with 30i or 60p without smearing or shuddering. Fatal flaw.

A "Smart TV" is a worse idea than a large 50" TV with a built in DVD player.

marathont

You cant beat a smart tv,when it comes to things like rte player and netflix. Ive used nearly every combination of pcs\xbox\ps\streaming device, and none can compare to the simplicity and usability of having good apps built in to the TV.

icdg

galtee boy wrote: »

Don't know for sure, but you could be right about exclusive deal with Samsung. It's strange that the TV3 Player is on Sky's Catch Up service, but no sign of the RTE Player on that either.

It is on UPC's catch up service. I'm not sure any exclusive deal exists though I'd put nothing past CEL either.

Sam Russell

How do I get TG4 Player on my Samsung? It does not appear, but RTE Player and TV3 player does.

IrlJidel

Sam Russell wrote: »

How do I get TG4 Player on my Samsung? It does not appear, but RTE Player and TV3 player does.

I have a 2013 samung smart TV and only noticed TG4 player today. I don't know when it was first added as I havent checked in months.

Load the Samsung Apps and you should see it in the Video section.

Version is 1.100 and date was 2014-06-25

visual

Is it not that samsung have used rte player and other brands just didn't bother as market is so small.

Dman001

I've an LG SmartTV, which comes with an Internet Browser. I can access the RTE Player through it no problem. It's not as nice as having a dedicated app, but it does the job!

lertsnim

visual wrote: »

Is it not that samsung have used rte player and other brands just didn't bother as market is so small.

Sony bother with TV3 and TG4 so the market being too small doesn't make much sense where Sony is concerned.