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Old 10-10-2013, 10:32 AM   #7
Micah Foehammer
Ma'at - Goddess of Truth & Justice
 

Join Date: November 15, 2001
Location: Asheville, NC
Posts: 3,253
Default Re: Almost Ready to buy First HD TV

Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry_OHF View Post
I was not aware...I had not done enough research into the devices yet. Thank you for turning me onto that issue. Hey...if the player comes with WiFi, do I even want a TV that has internet capable? Is it redundant? What little research I've done says the players have a limited Wifi but the TV has "a full internet browser".
I don't know the particulars on all the Samsung models. But I found this on Best Buy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Electron...at220000050001

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Is a Web browser included? Can I search the Internet?

Smart TV: In most cases, this will probably be the biggest difference between the two categories. Smart TV products like Google TV include a web browser and keyboard, so you can browse, search and type in content online using your HDTV, just as you do with your computer. They also feature significant processing power, which allows them to perform integrated searches across both Web and TV (see the next question for more info).

Internet Connectable: Most of these products do not come with a Web browser, so you cannot search the Internet. Instead, online content is accessed via a set of apps that are included with the product. In the near future, a small number of Internet Connectable products will include a Web browser with limited functionality.

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How do I connect my product to the Internet?

You'll need an Internet connection with a minimum speed of 5Mbps–10Mbps (or higher for optimal performance). In addition, we strongly recommend a wireless-N router.

Use this Geek Squad® tool to test your current speed.

For convenient, wireless connection to the Internet, many Smart TV and Internet Connectable products have built-in Wi-Fi or allow for a Wi-Fi adapter to be connected (Google TV, for example, can make its own wireless network connection with your router).

In general, the simplest and most reliable connection between your product and router will be with an Ethernet cable. Other networking accessories like Powerline adapters are also available.

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Good luck finding a 5-10 Mbps connection these days.


While finding a DVD player that doesn't have Wi-Fi is doable, finding a Blu-ray player without built in Wi-Fi is almost impossible these days. Every sony unit I checked has it, so do the Panasonics and Samsungs. I've actually been looking for a DVD player that does NOT have Wi-Fi. I don't need Wi-Fi to replay my existing dvds (see below).

The features generally scale in price as follows: Wi-Fi > HD upscaling > 3D up scaling > 4K upscaling

If you want to go top of the line on Blu-ray players, look at Oppo. They make 3 models, top of the line unit goes for 1200$, the next two sell for 499$ and 599$. Denon isn't a bad choice either and they are priced comparably with Oppo. Sony and Panasonic are much cheaper options (80$ to 250$). Sony would have been my first choice 5 years ago, but they have really slid in terms of quality. Their new bdp players seem flimsy compared to their earlier quality and the Denon/Oppo models. Their TVs are still top quality though (and they charge accordingly). Sony's customer service / repair service is also sliding. If you buy one of their home theater systems you have to send EVERYTHING back (including the speakers and all the cables) for them to do warranty work on it (which is just effing stupid). On the flip side, the bottom end blu-rays are so inexpensive that if they break, just say eff it and buy a new one. Disposable electronics. Who knew? LOL

The two models you might look at are the Panasonic DMP-BDT330 and the Sony BDP-S790 - I think the prices are about the same at around 250$. They both provide 4K upscaling, 2D-3D upscaling, full HS up sampling and built in Wi-Fi.

Quote:
My viewing range will be somewhere between 10-12 ft. You said "should" be 60in. Does that mean a 46in, is too small for that distance? Note, this will be used primarily for Netflix and BluRay movies. I don't watch sports or regular TV, though when we do watch TV, we use a digital antenna. No cable provider.
No you misread. That 60" was the diagonal screen size I used as an example. Your 46" diagonal screen would have a recommended viewing distance of 92" or roughly 8 feet. That's just a recommended distance and you can go slightly bigger or shorter as needed. The idea is that you don't want to view from 4 feet or from 20 feet. At 10 feet should be fine; 12 might be stretching things. If that's an issue, maybe you should consider jumping to a 55" or 60" TV. I just did a quick google shop and it looked like the price differential from 46" to 55" was about 100$.

Satellite provider? We don't have cable or satellite and no digital antenna. All the TV shows we watch we either buy (actual discs not streams), rent or borrow from friends.

Here's all the TV shows we have on dvd at the moment:

American Horror Story, Angel, Babylon 5, Band of Brothers, BattleStar Galactica (2004), Big Love, Black Adder, Blue Planet, Boardwalk Empire, Bones, Breaking Bad, Buffy, Cadfael, Caprica, Carnivale, Continuum, Copper, DaVinci's Demons, Deadwood, Deep Sea (Imax), Doc Martin, Downton Abbey, Falling Skies, Faulty Towers, Fringe, From the Earth to the Moon, Game of Thrones, Generation Kill, Grimm, Homeland, Horatio Hornblower, House of Cards, Inspector Lynley mysteries, Ivanhoe, John Adams, Justified, Last Resort, Living Planet, Mad Men, Mildred Pierce, Monty Python, National Geographic: Oceans, Once Upon a Time, Pacific, Parade's End, Person of Interest, Planet Earth, Ripper Street, Rumpole of the Bailey, Rome, Sherlock, Six Feet Under, Sons of Anarchy, Spartacus, Strike Back, Supernatural, The Borgias, The Killing, The Mentalist, The Pillars of the Earth, The Sopranos, The Tudors, The Unit, The Walking Dead, The Wire, Titanic (mini-series), Tom Jones, True Blood, 24, Victoria and Albert, Wallander, Warehouse_13

(all of those are complete up thru the latest dvd releases)

We're waiting on the releases of The Following and Vikings

That's probably WAY more information than you wanted. LOL
Disclaimer: I've always tended to get more capability than I actually need at the time so I avoid built in obsolescence. My new home theater is going to be built around one of the new Sony 4k HDTVs.
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Last edited by Micah Foehammer; 10-10-2013 at 11:28 AM.
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