I supposedly can, as the TV is set up for it, but I never have. Maybe one day when I can be bothered mucking around with it.
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Hi @gordon, I was talking about the TV apps available as standard for a Sony TV rather than those that can be downloaded and installed for tablets etc. Last time I checked the Nine android app, they required one to sign up to use the Nine on-demand service through an app or browser. I chose not to do this as some of the T&Cs concerned me a bit and I donât really want Nine recording what programs I watchâŠor share information to others.
We have multiple ways of viewing the web on our televisions, via games consoles and a blu-ray home theatre system. In all cases itâs extremely slow even though we have fibre to the house NBN at full speed which gives us around 30 to 60mbps using WiFi depending on the weather. Itâs also very slow and cumbersome using the onscreen keyboards either with remote controls or gaming handsets, so we donât bother with Internet on the box. Easier just to fire up the laptop and access it from there.
Yes, I have an LG smart tvand a Sony Bravia b,t like Gordon, I found it a PITA to try to navigate with the remote control and I found that they would only let me access some websites so i tired of it very quickly. I too find navigating through the catch up TV selections thorugh the TV Guide using Freeview similarly painful. This is easier on the Bravia which is pre-Freeview.
My Panasonic has the ability but the poor design of the browser and the navigation on screen confirms that it was added as a selling point but never used by the designer. I use Chrome Cast for some programs via my laptop or my PC. I was also concerned about net security and now run an Asus RT-AC87U with an active firewall and DOS activated. I mostly use my laptop connected to the TV via a HDMI cable and the laptop connected via Ethernet. I really donât think that WiFi is the best method to stream HD signals to a TV as there will always be the problem of buffering. My cable runs 115Mbps and even using the 5Gig WiFi there will be some buffering. And on UHD you must use Ethernet. I have a bluetooth mouse that works on the laptop for navigation and the laptop is next to me and the HDMI cable is plugged into a wall plate next to my chair. I did all my own cabling for HDMI and cat6 Ethernet to every room in the house.
Yes, however, it is painful to use. Very clunky to move around the screen and input details. I have only used it on a couple of occasions to watch a free documentary screening.
We have an LG smart TV, so can view websites, Youtube and various other online apps, and TV on demand. As mentioned by others, using the remote is painfully slow to input web addresses, so I only tried it once. I love being able to watch programs through ABC iview and SBS on demand, but it is often necessary to watch SBS on demand on my computer, because not all programs are available through the TV (something to do with the licensing, apparently).
We prefer to use our Telstra TV device rather than the Home Theatre apps to watch iview and other on demand apps, simply because Tesltra TV is more responsive to the remote controls and works faster. Strangely enough, even though Telstra provides services for Foxtel and using Foxtel live doesnât use data when viewed via BigPond services, they didnât include the app on Telstra TV. We have to watch via a Playstation 3 and a Playstation 4, with the PS3 version of the app being sluggish when it comes to navigation, at times stalling for up to 30 seconds before you can continue navigating through the menus.
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I canât because the internet is to slow and keeps buffering. We live 40k from Melbourne and can only get Telstra WiFi at an exorbitant price for a small 9gig. I registered with NBN two years ago but have heard nothing. I doubt will have it in 2020.
We have a Kogan TV that allows us to view webpages. We use a 3rd Party bluetooth keyboard (Logitech) and that works pretty well. The cpu on the TV is very small so anything complex takes a while to load and Hi Def videos i.e youtube often stop start due to buffering issues. Considering is cost less than $600 we are pretty happy.
It would be helpful if I could understand how this works
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I agree, just what is a smart tv and the associated services.
Yes; I purchased a relatively cheap PC and connected it to my TV via a HDMI cable. The wi-fi modem is connected directly to the PC. Then is just a matter of choosing the HDMI source from the TV. Essentially the TV then becomes a monitor. Keyboard is via a wireless Bluetooth connection. It is a smart TV but I found that too limiting and difficult to navigate using the TV remote.
