Browsing the Internet on a TV

amandstu · 13-06-2026 06:43PM #1

I have a Nordmende smart TV and have just got around to getting RTE Player to work

Now I have opened the browser in the TV and I have to say it is very disappointing ( very slow and rather lacking function/links compared to a mobile phone at first glance )

Is this just the nature of the beast or are there good uses for the Smart TV Browser if you know what you are looking for?

Does anyone here use the Browser on the TV for anything or is it more of a curiosity than anything?

squonk · 13-06-2026 08:51PM

Just browse any video sites on your phone svd mirror your phone to the TV. Much better.

bpotogo · 14-06-2026 04:59AM

It's mad how internet via the telly excited 30 years ago via special set top boxes and were such a massive flop that boxes had to be given away, yet about a quarter of a century later the smart TV would take off like a rocket.

LambshankRedemption · 14-06-2026 06:18AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058439706/browsing-the-internet-on-a-tv

The only real use for a browser on your TV is for downloading an app that is easier to control.

ejmaztec · 17-06-2026 08:47PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058439706/browsing-the-internet-on-a-tv

I think the Nordmende smart tvs are made by Vestel in Turkey, the same as Walker tvs and "bargain brand" tvs for Currys etc. I've never bothered browsing on a Walker smart tv that we bought a few years ago, it's not worth the effort. 😛It's possible that there might be an update available that might improve things. The only reason that I ever bought one of the Vestel sets was because it has a built-in satellite tuner.

I think you can have your own brand name on the Vestel sets if you order enough of them. 🙃

icdg · 18-06-2026 07:50AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124549527#Comment_124549527

Different era and different uses.

Back when those Unison boxes were being touted (they were owned or had a tie in with INM) the use was going to be web browsing. INM thought people would read the Indo and their regional newspapers on it. But people wanted a “lean forward” not “sit back” experience for that and of course they were tying up the tv like a console.

There was no Prime Video, Disney+, Paramount+ etc at that stage. Netflix existed as a mail order DVD company nobody on this side of the world had heard of. Watching video over the internet meant waiting an age for a RealVideo file to download - I think only the news was really being made available at that stage. And it would open in a tiny window in the corner of your screen and with a terrible frame rate.

When the streaming age came about, that’s when the applications for smart tvs happened, as people wanted to watch their shows and movies on the big screen.

Browsing the Internet on a TV

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