Smart TV

[Cadiz Seagull]

I recently bought an LG smart TV which comes with BBC iPlayer, Channel 5 catch up, Netflix and Now TV (amongst others) already installed.

But it doesnt have ITV hub or Channel 4 Catchp and I think, at least according to some forums Ive looked at, that these can't be added to an LG smart TV.

Would Amazon Firestick or Google chromecast be the answer or are these designed for non-smart TV's? And would either of these be useful to watch streamed Albion games? (when we are on Sky and away I normally by a day pass for Now TV)

I can watch ITV or Channel 4 catchup on my laptop but it would be a lot more convenient to be able to watch them on the TV

Any advice would be much appreciated, preferably in words of one syllable as I am a complete luddite when it comes to things like this.

 

[elninobonito]

Hi, have a search for the Kodi thread!

Buy a firestick and with Kodi you can have access to pretty much any content you wish!

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Hi, have a search for the Kodi thread!

Buy a firestick and with Kodi you can have access to pretty much any content you wish!

Not wanting to trawl the whole existing Kodi thread can we do a quick idiot's summary of the basics on here...?

How much is a firestick?
How much is Kodi?
What TV/internet equipment and services are needed to make it work?

I currently have "everything" from Sky (phone, internet and TV) at a cost of about £80 a month. What are my best next steps?

Apology for requesting duplication of information already posted elsewhere - but if anyone is kind enough then I'm sure lots of people would be very grateful especially at this stage in the year.

 

[Simster]

Not wanting to trawl the whole existing Kodi thread can we do a quick idiot's summary of the basics on here...?

How much is a firestick?
How much is Kodi?
What TV/internet equipment and services are needed to make it work?

I currently have "everything" from Sky (phone, internet and TV) at a cost of about £80 a month. What are my best next steps?

Apology for requesting duplication of information already posted elsewhere - but if anyone is kind enough then I'm sure lots of people would be very grateful especially at this stage in the year.

This is what I bought:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172405122407?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Then downloaded the SportsDevil add-in.

I can now watch as much sport as I like. Lovely bit of kit.

 

[SK1NT]

This is what I bought:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172405122407?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Then downloaded the SportsDevil add-in.

I can now watch as much sport as I like. Lovely bit of kit.

As an idiot with these things... could i potentially cancel my Virgin sub and get this stick?

 

[Rugrat]

As an idiot with these things... could i potentially cancel my Virgin sub and get this stick?

You can, but it's kind of 'home made' vs the more conventional Virgin/Sky solution

Picture quality for TV, movies (any movie over 3 months old) and Box sets is HD. Sport can be hit and miss and the compromise generally is inferior quality, although very watchable. Sport can be a bit fiddly too. On the upside you get to watch pretty well any game live that is being transmitted somewhere in the world, so includes all Saturday 3.00 Prem games as well as 1/2 Sat 3.00 Championship games

If you're a purist I'd say No, if you just want to watch TV and not get anal about it then Yes

 

[DavidRyder]

I too have just cancelled Virgin, and have Freeview combined with Now TV for the entertainment channels.

My wife bought me a week's worth of Sports on Now TV (must choose wiseley!), plus she also got me a Firestick. I'm a technophobe - is this something that you connect to the TV, or a laptop? And how easy is it to get the sports?

 

[elninobonito]

Just to have all of the options, you can purchase add ons for kodi (add ons are installed to kodi to give you different sources for content) that have a subscription for sport etc to make the streams more stable and reliable. I got rid of virgin tv and no just have their 150mb BB. I can easily watch any game that on tv, steam tv and movie channels from sky and watch sport in glorious HD. Some of the NFL and other US sports are in 4K too! I sub to streamtvbox, cost my £35 for the firestick, and then £65 per year for the streamtvbox sub. they have twitter support and live chat etc. I would buy the firestick, goggle how to install kodi and add streamtvbox. You can purchase a 48 hour trial to test it, you will love it.

Other add ons to install are Exodus (film and TV) UK turn Playlist (film tv, live streams and other content) Sportsdevil (as above for sports) Castaway (sports) BOB (film, tv and sports) Vidtime (film, tv and sports)

If you are on twitter all of the guys that create the add ons are on there so can help out with any questions. Once you start getting used to it, its so easy!

 

[AK74]

I recently bought a Fire Stick from this seller on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262524903490?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I'll admit to a degree of scepticism, but having tested for the last couple of months Virgin Media are about to get the heave-ho.

 

[SK1NT]

You can, but it's kind of 'home made' vs the more conventional Virgin/Sky solution

Picture quality for TV, movies (any movie over 3 months old) and Box sets is HD. Sport can be hit and miss and the compromise generally is inferior quality, although very watchable. Sport can be a bit fiddly too. On the upside you get to watch pretty well any game live that is being transmitted somewhere in the world, so includes all Saturday 3.00 Prem games as well as 1/2 Sat 3.00 Championship games

If you're a purist I'd say No, if you just want to watch TV and not get anal about it then Yes

Cool thanks. I like the idea of watching games that aren't aired. However i like an HD quality pic. May still try it thanks

 

[Moshe Gariani]

This is what I bought:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172405122407?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Then downloaded the SportsDevil add-in.

I can now watch as much sport as I like. Lovely bit of kit.

Thanks. Selling for £42.99 now - seems reasonable.

What else do you need to make it work? Do you have to also have a TV package from a "traditional" supplier?

 

[Rugrat]

Thanks. Selling for £42.99 now - seems reasonable.

What else do you need to make it work? Do you have to also have a TV package from a "traditional" supplier?

Just an HDMI into your tele is all you really need.

Free to air TV cost buttons anyway so I'd still have that as it's simpler to navigate around the stuff you watch the majority of time

 

[Bakero]

I'm about to buy a TV having lived without one for the past couple of years. I'm thinking 65-inch as the sofa is a fair way from where the screen will be.

What brands give the most bang for your buck? LG and Hisense seem to be good value with similar spec to Samsung and Sony for a lower price.

Any brands to avoid or anything else to look for?

 

[Simster]

I'm about to buy a TV having lived without one for the past couple of years. I'm thinking 65-inch as the sofa is a fair way from where the screen will be.

What brands give the most bang for your buck? LG and Hisense seem to be good value with similar spec to Samsung and Sony for a lower price.

Any brands to avoid or anything else to look for?

We bought a 65" LG earlier this year - it is fantastic to be honest.

 

[Gabbafella]

I've had LG the last couple of times, the nanocell models are particularly good, fast menus and clear picture, extra settings specifically for gaming if that is required.
Only thing I would say is watch the settings, the backlights aren't exactly reliable after a couple of years if the backlight is set to 100, you'll start to notice a blue tint on everything and eventually a repair/replace job.
Lg in the bedroom has been going for a couple of years without any issues but gets used less than the front room. Just replaced the front room one after 4 years due to backlight issues.

 

[Bakero]

Cheers. I've just found a 65" Samsung in a pre-Black Friday sale. 150 euro off which actually makes it better value than the LGs I was looking at.

Decisions, decisions. To be honest, whatever I get is going to be a vast improvement on my laptop screen.

 

[BNthree]

I’d go for the Samsung over an LG for sure

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

I've had LG the last couple of times, the nanocell models are particularly good, fast menus and clear picture, extra settings specifically for gaming if that is required.
Only thing I would say is watch the settings, the backlights aren't exactly reliable after a couple of years if the backlight is set to 100, you'll start to notice a blue tint on everything and eventually a repair/replace job.
Lg in the bedroom has been going for a couple of years without any issues but gets used less than the front room. Just replaced the front room one after 4 years due to backlight issues.

If you’ve got the money go oled as there is no back light, each individual pixel is self lit. The contrast and brightness and the ability to see dark images in detail is the best of any screen technology.

They used to suffer with image burn in if you left the screen on a channel with a lot of static images (Sky Sports News for example) but newer screens have technology to combat that and I’ve had my LG oled since Jan 21 and it’s still like new. The screen is so bright when watching TV in the evenings I don’t bother with any other lighting in the front room.

 

[Bakero]

What about TCLs? I had written them off as they seemed too cheap but the What HiFi site seems to think they're pretty good.

 

[mwrpoole]

On the LG TV, you can go the LG Store and install the ITVX app & the CH4 app.

A word of warning though, on the LG TV you can't watch Live TV on the apps. That feature only belongs to Samsung. Other than that the apps work fine.