We are looking at replacing our Samsung smart TV (7 years old or so) and replacing it with an Android TV.
Coupled to our current Samsung TV we have a trusty old Humax Foxsat, so we can record TV programmes to watch later.
I have researched a bit about Android TVs but there is still a bit of doubt whether or not this is the way to jump. Hopefully someone can give some advice on the following queries?
Can I use the Humax box in an Android TV or does an Android TV have it’s own inbuilt programme recorder? We are a little apprehensive if we will lose the recording function we are so familiar with.
This question might be silly – can Android TV get it’s TV signal from the usual sources, including, crucially, the existing dish?
Does an Android TV have to have an internet connection? I think that is so and it’s no problem as long as it can be from a 4g router or from a phone hotspot. We do not have an ethernet cable.
An overall point is that shoving new technology into old brains is often difficult and we are a little uncertain about handling this new style of watching TV.
It’s a telly it will work with sat boxes etc.
It’s the same as any TV with regards to TV DVD etc.
It’s how the smart bit works …sort of …in theory android will work better in getting phones etc to talk with the telly. But it’s just a tv
As a non-telly user, I would be inclined to have a dumb TV and plug a small ‘smart’ device into it, changing the smart device every few years when updates to tech make it no longer effective. Otherwise one ends up discarding a lot of otherwise very useful kit because a small part of the hardware is a little old.
Yeah I looked into this after someone here (possibly you, Graham ) asked the question recently. There are still dumb televisions for sale - e.g. they have a dedicated section here at Rue du Commerce - but it seems that instead of being cheaper they’re possibly more expensive than their “smart” counterparts.
You hint at the reason in your post - you can’t get high end high quality TVs without smart features and the cheap sets that don’t have them tend to be smaller and usually older panel technologies.
A computer monitor might fit the bill but, again, these tend to top out, size wise, where TVs are just taking off.
The display requirements differ as well, so a good TV is at best going to be an OK monitor and vice versa.
Being something of a dinosaur, I admit that I had never even heard of an Android TV until I spotted this topic. I initially thought that perhaps it was a humorous thread relating to something akin to R2D2, but having read through the posts I find that I was in error.
Unfortunately, we have a ‘smart’ TV due to the fact that our trusty old cathode ray tube set finally gave up the ghost. Quite often the new thing is a real pain in the backside. All those new fangled bits and bobs mean that it takes far longer to start up than the old set did. The obligatory remote (there are no buttons on the telly), is so sensitive as to be a real pain. Drop the thing, or fumble when it’s gone down the side of the sofa, or have a bit of arthritic finger trouble, and the whole thing goes off into a world of its own and it takes ages to try and work out how to get the TV picture back. Often the only thing to do is to pull the electrical plug out of the socket, let it all shut down, and then plug it back in and wait while it all charges up again. By that time half the news program is over and one wonders as to why one bothered in the first place.
Other questions that come to mind are;
Why replace an existing TV that works ?
What is the carbon footprint of manufacturing and distributing an Android TV ?
Will it make the news less depressing ?
Does it protect against Cylons ?
Will it make Huw Edwards look any younger ?
I leave it to the readers discretion to determine which of the above questions are the serious minded ones.
We used to use a ‘32 inch dumb’ tv with a Youview box. Earlier this year I bought a 43 inch Sony Bravia smart tv . It came from a Sony refurbished item supplier with a good discount.
It was only three months old and unmarked. I spend a lot of time researching before buying such items. The tv has a great picture for a non oled set and catch up tv services fire up in an instant. Everything is responsive. Ordinary HD is very good and UHD even better. Some UHD capable tvs have less than ideal HD picture quality. I added an app that lets me watch Youtube videos advert free. I would never go back to a so called dumb tv.
I don’t know if there are outlets for selling refurbished Sony goods in France but I imagine there would be. Here’s a UK seller - they aren’t owned by Sony. Sony Centre UK - Refurbished Sony BRAVIA TV
I use Newpipe on my TV https://newpipe.net/
You may have to use Downloader which is a web browser that allows apk’s to be installed to android devices like firehds and tvs, Downloader App | AFTVnews is the website and you can install downloader through google play or amazon appstore one of which should be available on your smarttv.
What device do you use? They have a list of compatible devices on their Github page (linked above), but it includes Android devices running 4.3, Amazon Fire Sticks, Chromecast, etc…
) asked the question recently. There are still dumb televisions for sale - e.g. they have a dedicated section here at 