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Cappy_Smurf

Cappy_Smurf

Well-Known Member
OK, so I've decided to explore the idea of ditching cable and satellite tv, and would appreciate any advice\input\opinion from those who have experience with this stuff, as I am new to this. I just bought a Samsung blue Ray player that supposedly also turns your TV into a smart TV, and right now I feel like I've been scammed. I signed up for hulu and got about halfway through my first show, and it's froze up several times, and now just keeps telling me to check my internet connection (wireless).
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Is this common, or do most people find it to be reliable? I can't imagine Netflix would be as successful as it is if this common. My internet is supposedly high speed, but maybe it's not what I was told it was.
 
Are you getting a good signal in your living room? How far away is your router? Is it on the same floor? Can you run an ethernet cable to your living room instead? That would be a lot faster and much more reliable.
 
Hulu
Amazon
YouTube
Netflix
Opera tv store
Vudu
Pandora
CinemaNow
Rhapsody
Internet TV
AccuWeather
Yupp TV
.
This is a list of available apps on this device. Would appreciate any reviews.
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Also, would love some advice on best way to watch sports. I was hoping to live stream the Vegas bowl somehow with watch ESPN, but couldn't figure it out.
 
Siro said:
Are you getting a good signal in your living room? How far away is your router? Is it on the same floor? Can you run an ethernet cable to your living room instead? That would be a lot faster and much more reliable.
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My signal is always good for my tablet and phone. My roommate has the router, so I'm not sure where it is. If I continue to have this problem, I'll look into an Ethernet cable. Thanks.
 
Those set-top blu-ray/dvd players are garbage for functionality inside of the price range they're in. We put them in a hotel and the majority of them crap the bed on wireless integration and just ease of use in general (slow response remotes, negotiating menu systems, searching of shows, etc.) We've tried both Samsung and Sony and they both blow.

In a home theater center environment, it's not too far out to build a media center PC with some wireless bluetooth input devices. Most computer shops could probably set you something not very expensive, quiet, and easy to put out of the way. Hell, people have turned https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-2-model-b/ these into fine media centers once they're on a home network.
 
Have you tried Roku or Apple TV instead of the Samsung Bluray thing? If you can try them for free may be give them a go? They might have better reception...
 
Thanks for the feedback. I've been watching Jazz highlights on YouTube with no issues like I'm getting with hulu. Some of it isn't hd quality, but at least it's not freezing and then shutting down altogether.
 
Cappy_Smurf said:
Thanks for the feedback. I've been watching Jazz highlights on YouTube with no issues like I'm getting with hulu. Some of it isn't hd quality, but at least it's not freezing and then shutting down altogether.
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Have a look at this review... apparently Roku 2 is the best value for money? May be give it a try if the store allows you to return it for free within a certain trial period. I haven't used it myself so I don't know.. I'm using Apple TV cos I've got a Macbook and I can use Airplay on it so it's better integrated.


https://www.cnet.com/news/chromecast-vs-apple-tv-vs-roku-3-which-media-streamer-should-you-buy/
 
I personally use a PS4 for streaming, or sometimes my Chromecast. Just fyi. But, yeah, Blu-Ray players for streaming SUUUUUUUCK. They just never get updated. It's not that you got ripped off, it just is the worst option, pretty much.
 
In order to use an app like watch espn, you have to have a subscription to a TV provider. Basically, if you have to pay for it on the TV, the app doesn't work unless you're paying for it. I've not checked into whether or not you can just buy into watchespn access.
I do my streaming via my Wii or my Chromecast. We do Netflix and rarely have problems. With our Amazon Prime we got Amazon video access, but hate it. I don't really use it much, but my wife constantly complains about it not working very well.
 
Witty Username said:
Those set-top blu-ray/dvd players are garbage for functionality inside of the price range they're in. We put them in a hotel and the majority of them crap the bed on wireless integration and just ease of use in general (slow response remotes, negotiating menu systems, searching of shows, etc.) We've tried both Samsung and Sony and they both blow.

In a home theater center environment, it's not too far out to build a media center PC with some wireless bluetooth input devices. Most computer shops could probably set you something not very expensive, quiet, and easy to put out of the way. Hell, people have turned https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-2-model-b/ these into fine media centers once they're on a home network.
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I've never had an issue with mine. It's like a $30-40 Samsung DVD player with wifi (and my router is upstairs) and I watch Netflix stuff with it downstairs all the time. I've had it years and never had one issue.
 
I guess when dealing with the general public, people staying at hotels and the like, getting them to understand how to use the things is like asking them to split atoms. But the problems that the original poster are common as far as WiFi goes on a noisy local network are common for these devices. An ethernet cable connection should help a lot.
 
Get a TV that's programmed for it all. I've never had an issue with my Sony Bravia outside of Comcast's typical router killing bull ****. I don't get the Apple TV or any of that nonsense since the big names have been making high quality televisions for years before that stuff came out. I get everything (netflix, hulu, youtube, etc)directly through the remote instead of an additional box. The TV is 4-5 years old so it's not like this is some expensive new tech.

We also HDMI the computer to the tv sometimes when we find an episode online at cbs.com or something that we want to watch. The only lag we ever get is from the internet service.
 
franklin said:
Get a TV that's programmed for it all. I've never had an issue with my Sony Bravia outside of Comcast's typical router killing bull ****. I don't get the Apple TV or any of that nonsense since the big names have been making high quality televisions for years before that stuff came out. I get everything (netflix, hulu, youtube, etc)directly through the remote instead of an additional box. The TV is 4-5 years old so it's not like this is some expensive new tech.

We also HDMI the computer to the tv sometimes when we find an episode online at cbs.com or something that we want to watch. The only lag we ever get is from the internet service.
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I know cbs has an app for my phone and iPad that I use a lot and stream it to the TV via Chromecast. Would I be better off running an HDMI from my desktop?
 
bigb said:
I know cbs has an app for my phone and iPad that I use a lot and stream it to the TV via Chromecast. Would I be better off running an HDMI from my desktop?
Click to expand...

My wifi is always slower and lags at times. If yours isn't then I don't see what the point would be.
 
It's surprising these days how underpowered and lackluster commercial/ISP routers are these days even for a modest home network. My rule of thumb is that if you have 10+ wireless devices roaming in and/or out of the network for any giving time, then you must ditch DHCP and prescribe set IPs based on MAC address of each device. This helps lessen the load of the DHCP table and routing, helping the router become overloaded less. Or buy a small business router, which has heftier resources for more reliable connections (for more connections)
 
OK, so to update, I haven't had any more connection problems like I had at first, and I'm pretty happy with it. I've subscribed to both Hulu and Netflix so far, but will probably drop one and then pick up slingtv as Jason suggested. As for live Jazz games, it kinda sounds like I'd be better off just running an HDMI from a laptop.
 
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