Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

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tamada
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Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by tamada » March 26, 2020, 3:22 pm

After the two power cuts yesterday and having to call Home Cable to reset something somewhere (they never came to the house), I find the channels are all over the shop. Last year, I read that a Smart TV is a bit of a wasted expense since there's not a lot of media smartness available in Thailand.

So, looking at a prolonged stay in Udon and seeking something a bit more reliable and varied, posting here to see what the average internet savvy UM forum member is looking at, how much and where from?

For a start, any recommendations on a make/model of telly? This is for the master bedroom so 40" is probably all we need. I have variously owned Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and TCL and can't honestly say I have any brand loyalty. Looking for value and good sound. We had the Panasonic in Mrs tam's restaurant but hooking up simple external audio was a bit of a struggle.

Anyone using any of the TV services that come bundled with their ISP? I have 3BB fiber and I understand that they provide some sort of package as does AIS. Anything else out there? Anyone using them?

TRUE seemed to be the only option for the EPL fan and comparatively expensive. I am not a footie fan (moot point now anyway) so does TRUE have something worth looking at?

I know there's (was?) Kodi and boxes and the like but from over-the-shoulder familiarity, these seem fraught with updates, resets and most seem depend on someone with 'the knowledge' to set it up and restore it when it goes tits-up. Has that gotten any better, more reliable and less likely to have channels and services disappear feeds get chopped?

Ta
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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by Niggly » March 26, 2020, 8:56 pm

I’m interested in this too.
We’ve got a Samsung tv which I plug an Ethernet cable in, not sure whether this makes it ‘smart’ or not?
I’ve got YouTube & Netflix apps which have sufficed until now where I want a bit more choice. Recently bought a new Apple device which qualified for a year of free Apple TV so downloaded app for that but very disappointed. You seem to have to pay for everything with the exception of half an hour of Oprah ****** Winfrey each day. I certainly won’t be paying the monthly fee when the free period has ended.

We’ve got 3BB fibre in the house & I notice they’ve got a deal called GIgatainment on at the moment which has HBO, & something called MonoMax & Oke which I’ve never heard of. It’s only B39 a month more than I’m paying now so might sign up. I think they deliver an upgraded router & a tv box
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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by stattointhailand » March 26, 2020, 8:57 pm

Just in: The BBC is dropping streaming TV shows in ‘ultra high-definition’, to free up some bandwidth on the UK’s broadband networks.

That should help networks handle the sudden jump in demand for internet access and web video conferencing services as millions more people try to work from home

We await info from Pornhub on their plans to ease the congestion currently being suffered by their customers due to excessive use

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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by noosard » March 26, 2020, 9:04 pm

I use kodi cable tv not avaliable here
but fight with lots
there are websites how to that setup
the andriod box whick runs kodi has its own problems as well
I use to use chromecaster again with lots of problems

lack of choices has made me learn how to do
can watch movies or tv shows
I believe can set sports up but i am not that interested any more

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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by vincemunday » March 26, 2020, 9:11 pm

Depends what you’re looking for, I have 2 Apple TV boxes that sit in a drawer, expensive and crap, I’ve got 3 android boxes that have Browsec vpn on them, I can watch all of the catch up tv apps like BBC iPlayer, ITN player etc, so I can watch as much UK tv as I really want to. MovieHD is a very good app that I’ve used for years, all the latest movies and no issues with streaming whatsoever, I dropped Kodi a couple of years ago because it became a bit (lot) unwieldy. We also have a True box that costs 50 baht a month attached to my phone contract that Mrs M uses to watch Thai TV, they also stream some of the footie but the commentary is in Thai. Personally I find the Android box adequate, cheap, efficient and no hidden costs.

By the by Hesgoal.com shows all the football for free, great steam no juddering.
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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by tamada » March 27, 2020, 10:03 am

Thanks for the advice and tips. I had forgotten about Netflix. The Polish guy I worked with in Myanmar swore by it, especially since he saved money on the subscription by signing up in the host nation rather than his home nation... or vice-versa. I think I read that they've closed off that loophole?

Anyway, have never been an apple fanboy so android box may be the way to go. Any advice on what, where and how much? It will need to be an online purchase so if anyone can point out something on lazada, that would be handy.

Since 42" flat screens aren't considered foodstuff or 'essential', I may need to shop online for that as well.

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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by vincemunday » March 27, 2020, 10:50 am

These are the ones I use, 3gb and 32gb are pretty much all you need, not tries the 4gb ones but not heard many good things about them so far. If you order one let me know and I’ll give you some info on how I set up mine.

https://s.lazada.co.th/s.0EJmM
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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by Charlieb » March 27, 2020, 12:46 pm

G-PADDY Android 7.1? Android 7 is an old operating system. Android 9 was released March 2018. Android 11 due out later this year. Guess they skipped 10.
Like most computers, what was state of the art yesterday is archaic today. :-)

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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by pf-flyer » March 27, 2020, 1:08 pm

I forgot how many years ago I started out with True visions satellite on the KU Band. They changed their programming about a year or so after the installation. There was nothing left worth watching. I bought an Android TV box from Lazada and started playing around with it and after two weeks of playing around with the Android TV box I got rid of True vision Satellite. If you have decent internet bandwidth then an Android TV box is the way to go. I have been running Android TV boxes for about 4 years or more. When buying a TV my suggestion is to concentrate on the video and interface specifications of the TV itself and not for the Android Smart TV options because the android features that are installed by the manufacture have a very limited versatility to what you can and cannot do. Instead use an external android TV box and it will give you the versatility that you want. If you are just starting out with an Android TV box my suggestion would be to start out with MOBDRO. You can download it and install it from their web site. MOBDRO has channels from all over the world. I have been running KODI for several years. There is a learning curve involved to setting up and running KODI. I am currently running the DIGGZ XEXON build on KODI. KODI does require tweaking and updating and that is a draw back if you are not interested in tweaking and adjusting stuff now and then. If you decide to go with an Android TV Box I strongly advise you to use a VPN service. I am currently using a HIMEDIA Q10 Android TV box that I bought at LAZADA. It has a bay for a hard drive and I installed a 3 ½ inch 1 Terabyte Western digital hard drive. This box has a Samba network file sharing service that I use a lot. I started out with this Android TV Box listed below that I bought at Lazada and it worked great until it was taken out one night by a nearby lightening strike that occurred during a thunderstorm.
Android Smart TV Box H96 Pro + Plus Octa Core Cpu S912 RAM 2G ROM 16G UHD 4K Android Nougat 7.1.2
https://www.lazada.co.th/products/andro ... H&search=1
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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by tamada » March 30, 2020, 11:59 pm

All good info, thanks. Chatting with a buddy in KL and he tried a couple of android boxes but found them 'crap' and has stuck with apple tv. His grown up kids reckon Roku sh!ts all over Android. Is that a system that anyone's familiar with?

Ta
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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by vincemunday » March 31, 2020, 6:01 am

Watched a few videos about Roku, I’ve never used one though, I got to the bit where you pay for just about everything and I stopped watching. On the face of it, it’s a good system, nice hardware (no cables) and it’s remote is very similar to the Apple which I personally hate but it’s horses for courses.
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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by mickojak » March 31, 2020, 6:33 am

Try and download "Live netTV"

Free channels from all around the world just through the internet

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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by vincemunday » March 31, 2020, 6:51 am

I’ve found Live net TV to be very sporadic, sometimes it’s absolutely atrocious. What I have personally found and I know this might not suit everyone, is that you’re better off buying a decent VPN, I use Browsec, then download the various catch up TV apps like BBC iPlayer etc along with a decent movie app and I use hesgoals.com for sport, I get to see all I want to see gratis and I don’t get spooling which drives me nuts.
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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by tamada » March 31, 2020, 10:38 am

mickojak wrote:
March 31, 2020, 6:33 am
Try and download "Live netTV"

Free channels from all around the world just through the internet
A quick google of Live netTV throws up a plethora of similarly-named websites, all claiming to be official. If someone can share a link to the actual site they use and recommend by PM, I think we can keep the Mod happy.

Ta
tam

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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by Charlieb » March 31, 2020, 10:47 am


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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by pf-flyer » March 31, 2020, 12:47 pm

If you do not have an Android TV box. There is an alternative option if you are interested in using an android application on your Windows PC. You will be able to install and run Mobdro or other android streaming video applications on your Windows PC. Two alternatives are Blue Stacks or Nox which are utilities that provide you an environment to run android applications on your PC. I am currently running both applications on a Windows 10 PC that has an Intel CORE i7 8th processor and a Nvidia GEFORCE Video card. I loaded both applications just because I like to play around with technology stuff. There a version of KODI ported for a Windows OS and LINUX OS also. Be sure to use a VPN to protect your privacy.
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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by vincemunday » March 31, 2020, 3:41 pm

The best android emulation program I found was andyroid but even that wasn’t great, for the sake of a couple of thousand baht I reckon an android box is worth the investment.
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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by tamada » March 31, 2020, 7:38 pm

pf-flyer wrote:
March 31, 2020, 12:47 pm
If you do not have an Android TV box. There is an alternative option if you are interested in using an android application on your Windows PC. You will be able to install and run Mobdro or other android streaming video applications on your Windows PC. Two alternatives are Blue Stacks or Nox which are utilities that provide you an environment to run android applications on your PC. I am currently running both applications on a Windows 10 PC that has an Intel CORE i7 8th processor and a Nvidia GEFORCE Video card. I loaded both applications just because I like to play around with technology stuff. There a version of KODI ported for a Windows OS and LINUX OS also. Be sure to use a VPN to protect your privacy.
Thanks again. I am familiar with Blue Stacks as I installed it on the lads gaming computer so he could play certain games. A bit of sleuthing indicates it is better, maybe more robust than Nox? Both my computers are i5 but maxed out on both RAM and video so with a pretty solid 3BB fiber connection, I hope it's adequate.

I have used Browsec's free, browser-based VPN which has been adequate. Vince, are you using free or subscription Browsec? I probably should get a standalone, paid VPN though. Is Nord the best? Any others? Prices look similar the last time I looked.

All good stuff moving forward. I have some technical writing and report auditing to do for a client but as soon as that (paid) activity is over, I will get back onto the entertainment stuff.

Thanks again for all the ideas and input.

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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by vincemunday » March 31, 2020, 7:49 pm

I have a subscription to Browsec, very fast, very stable and some VPN’s struggle when using different devices, never had this issue with Browsec.
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Re: Smart TV's, internet bundles, etc..

Post by Wee Jimmy » April 1, 2020, 1:12 am

I also have Broswec VPN and recomend it. I use it on the lap top which is connected to the TV. I get all the UK programmes plus other countries. Never a problem... l have tried the android box and Firestick but have better results with Browsec.

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