Replace External Satellite Receiver with Internal TV Tuner?

simpsimp

I have an ancient Samsung TV with Roku for IP and ZGemma H7S for Freesat + Saorview, I also use a Plex server to play back video over a local network from an NAS.

I had been looking at the LG C3 as I had heard that it had Freesat + Saorview tuner capability, and all the Roku apps I use on their App store, including Plex.

So I was kind of hoping to ditch the H7S and the Roku and just watch everything natively through the TV.

Main goal is to reduce number of boxes, and button presses to get to what I want to watch!

(We almost never use the recording feature on the H7S, fwiw.)

But after reading some threads on this forum, am I correct in thinking that what I'm looking for doesn't really exist owing to Regional and Web OS quirks?

Is there any advice anyone can give me to find what I'm looking for? Thanks in advance!

emaherx

I have an LG WebOS the only thing missing as far as I'm concerned is the all4 app but not too bothered about it.

Is there something else you'd be missing?

andy1249

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058328499/replace-external-satellite-receiver-with-internal-tv-tuner

I have your exact setup except replace the Roku with a Shield and Zgemma with VU+

I have an LG CX , and it wont cut it on its own as a receiver , far too fiddly to change between freesat and saorview , you can set up favourites but they get wiped after every update ( quite frequently ) and you must choose a country on setup , so to get the freesat epg it must be UK , in which case saorview is all over the place , or you choose ireland , then no freesat epg and sat channels are all over the place.

UK catchup apps are geoblocked and dont work here without some legally questionable shenanigans.

Plex apps depend on access to the hardware in the client , and in the case of an LG TV it doesnt have it , so long story short , the Roku or in my case the shield , is a better client for plex than the TV is.

LG TV's are good , but you still need your boxes.

xper

Ive an older LG, ZGemma, a Plex NAS and a seldom used now Blu-ray 4k player. The LG allowed me to ditch an AppleTV box but I kept the combo box because the WebOS splits the saorview and satellite into separate apps/epg and iirc restricts the latter to a specific chosen region with no custom bouquet. The WebOS streaming apps work great though

decor58

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058328499/replace-external-satellite-receiver-with-internal-tv-tuner

Whatever about the apps, my tv has Saorview and satellite, I record on the tv and it is handy to have the combo box when recordings and viewing clash, so even if you dont use the box for day to day viewing its handy for a backup.

simpsimp

Thanks all - very useful - and this kind of all confirms what I've been reading.

I have an LG CX , and it wont cut it on its own as a receiver , far too fiddly to change between freesat and saorview , you can set up favourites but they get wiped after every update ( quite frequently ) and you must choose a country on setup , so to get the freesat epg it must be UK , in which case saorview is all over the place , or you choose ireland , then no freesat epg and sat channels are all over the place.

We rarely watch live TV, so keeping the ZGemma would be just fine. Are there any other TVs that don't have these limitations though?

Plex apps depend on access to the hardware in the client , and in the case of an LG TV it doesnt have it , so long story short , the Roku or in my case the shield , is a better client for plex than the TV is.

I'm running a Plex server on a local Synology NAS, which plays back seamlessly on the Roku Plex App - are you saying that the LG Plex App would not work as well? E.G. is the Roku doing some fancy transcoding which the LG doesn't have internally? From the Plex docs, it sounds like only LG and Samsung TVs support the App natively: https://support.plex.tv/articles/204080173-which-smart-tv-models-are-supported/ It would be handy to free up the HDMI currently used by the Roku!

andy1249

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121543212#Comment_121543212

For Ireland there are no TVs without those limitations.

The performance of Plex apps varies by device , it is not a software player and relies on the hardware of its client device.

It does not have full access to the hardware of the LG TV so will stall and stutter and flat out refuse to play some material. It will often post a message saying " unable to transcode " etc. Basically its utterly useless.

Plex on the shield or Roku has full hardware acceleration and therefore plays everything no problem.

From your first post , what you already have is about as good as it gets.

simpsimp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121543329#Comment_121543329

Thanks for that! Pretty much confirms my understanding.

I have a Synology 920+ NAS, so I think I can configure Plex with Hardware Transcoding, which might take the load off the TV Plex App, so that might help me free up that 4th HDMI port...

Thanks all, for the helpful advice.

And finally, if anyone has a better TV to recommend than the LG C3, please shout, but I understand that it might be a good bet, especially when the successor model is announced in early 2024, and the price (hopefully) drops!

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121542854#Comment_121542854

I've never had an issue with favorites being wiped after updates. Straight forward once setup press and hold 1 gives me Saorview press and hold 2 gives Freesat.

Yea Saorview tunes out of order but can then be rearranged in whatever order you like.

The existing Roku should cover any missing Apps.

andy1249

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121543388#Comment_121543388

There is not a processor on the planet , that wont be brought to its knees by one instance of UHD video transcoding. Your Synology nas certainly wont be up to it , it can transcode music on the fly at best.

I have real servers ,( quad xeon e processors ) and they cant do it.

For plex , you need a client that can natively play the material , like a roku , shield , firestick , etc. An LG TV is not one of them and transcoding on the server will only work it to death and fail miserably at the task whilst trying.

The LG C3 is one of the best TV's you can buy , certainly in terms of picture quality and everything else. Its what I would buy if I wasnt totally happy with my CX. I would not swap it out to get rid of the need for extra boxes , that is just a fact of life with TV in this country , to do any sort of a decent job you need a combo receiver box and a good media player as well.

simpsimp

Quick update on this - the LG C3 was extra discounted this weekend, so we took the plunge - happy to report the following:-

• The LG remote controls most of the ZGemma H7S (everything is accessible except the File List for Recordings)
• All Apps on the Roku were replaceable, including Plex, which I'm happy to report, works just fine over the Synology NAS (probably because I don't have any 4K recordings, just HD and SD)

So I'm down to one remote control for most things, and the picture quality is great. Thanks for all the comments.