Amazon’s lowest-end “smart” TV is $119. It’s really hard to compete with that. They aren’t making money on the hardware, they’re making it on the advertising.
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Bluefruit@lemmy.world 7 months ago
May i recommend just buying a small form factor pc and hooking it up to your tv instead?
Smart tvs and things like this suck anyways. Super slow and bloated with crao i dont need or want.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Bluefruit@lemmy.world 7 months ago
You can find small form factor used office pcs for around that price rn.
www.amazon.com/…/ref=mp_s_a_1_8_maf_1?crid=2KBF8M…
There is something to be said about being plug and play though. I understand the appeal.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Yes, but you would also have to buy the TV. So it’s still more expensive.
kaitco@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Yeah, but if you hook up a refurbished laptop that costs like $100, you could still use that via the HDMI rather than the Fire TV “part”.
Take their cheap hardware and then not use what they hope you’ll use it for.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Amazon TV - $119.
Your solution - $100 plus the cost of the TV.
Do you see the issue?
kaitco@lemmy.world 7 months ago
It’s still cheaper than a “normal” TV + Roku or whatever.
I mean, the goal here is to stop being so inundated with ads. There is a cost associated. The cost can be in a more expensive TV, privacy nightmares, or a cheap TV with a cheap setup.
A $200 setup sounds ace to me and perfectly feasible. You could probably lower than by using a Raspberry Pi setup instead. A “decent” TV is going to run into the $400 range once you get 55” or larger, and your laptop/Pi setup can be used on any TV for as long as you want.
Heck, it doesn’t even need to be a new-to-you laptop. I’ve repurposed my last 3 computers to do just this; I was buying a new desktop or laptop anyway, so the old one became my streaming device.
Zavorra@lemmy.world 7 months ago
You would have problems with widevine and other similar DRM sh!t
Bluefruit@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Im not familiar with issues like that. Ive been using my pc to stream things an watch tv shows without issue. I am using windows atm though so that may be why. Not sure if this is an issue on Linux or if you’re refering to a different OS.
SynonymousStoat@lemmy.world 7 months ago
The main problem is most streaming services will only allow 1080p in browser, some even only allowing 1080p in Edge and will downgrade the resolution in other browsers. You basically have to use a smart TV app to get 4k… So you’re basically down to physical media or sailing the high seas if you want to be able to take full advantage of your TV.
southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 7 months ago
Piracy thrives when they make it harder to get the same thing legally.
Fuck their bullshit :)
wax@lemmy.wtf 7 months ago
Netflix is 720p without wildwine AFAIK
Bluefruit@lemmy.world 7 months ago
I supoose that is a drawback if you want to view content in 4k. 1080p still being the standard is good enough for me but i do see your point.
gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 months ago
Nah, sticking my GTV into my big ass cheap dumb TV I got on sale at a Fry’s while they were going out of business. Im even considering buying another big ass dumb TV soon from my local big box store.
Pros: remote that functions with the TV, ability to side load forever (Google aint gonna kill android on their sticks), pretty much plug and play, is way cheaper than a small streaming box, works natively with my NAS library
Never had an issue with it being slow other than Peacocks absolutely dog shit app, which also doesn’t work right on my phone so I’m guessing the issue isn’t the TV.
Smartification devices rule on dumb TVs, Amazons has always been bottom tier one though
Bluefruit@lemmy.world 7 months ago
I do understand the appeal but as a power user i just like having control. Last i used a fire stick it was slow and annoying to use but things may have changed since then.
Me personally i find a pc for streaming and whatever else i wanna do just makes more sense but to each thier own.
ubermeisters@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Believe it or not they still make dumb tvs too. Just not in stores.
lorez@lemm.ee 7 months ago
I just hooked up my desktop PC which is on another floor to the TV, 30 mt HDMI cable, shielded. I control it via Unified Remote on my Android phone. It’s perfect.
Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 7 months ago
I gave up on HTPCs after a decade or more of trying because I never found a good way to control it that was practical for everyone in the house. I ended up with a Roku Ultra (even though me feelings toward Roku are luke warm) because it has a simple remote, or can be controlled/automated by home assistant, or can be controlled from Alexa (via a custom skill I wrote), or it can be screen casted to, or it could be controlled by a Harmony Hub (RIP Harmony).
But separate smart box together with a dumb TV is the the way to go.
transientpunk@sh.itjust.works 7 months ago
I put Kodi on a raspberry pi, and my TV supported CEC, so I was able to use the TV remote to seamlessly control Kodi. It was as close to a native interface as I could wish for. And that was all the way back in 2016
ruckblack@sh.itjust.works 7 months ago
CEC is such a nightmare of a technology though. I have problems with it constantly to the point where it’s just expected it won’t work 50% of the time, and it’s impossible to troubleshoot
jeanofthedead@sh.itjust.works 7 months ago
I have to unplug my docked Steamdeck anytime I want to watch any other input because screws with the CEC functionality so much. It’s a hot mess.
Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 7 months ago
Yeah, Kodi was slick when I had it. That was about 40% of what I used the HTPC for though.
Bluefruit@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Never knew about CEC, learn something new everyday! Thats pretty neat.
Terevos@lemm.ee 7 months ago
Harmony was how I controlled my HTPCs. But once I moved from MythTV to Plex, I just started using Roku or Google TV frontends. They just worked so much more reliably and were super cheap.
Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 7 months ago
I tried to get the the HTPC working with Harmony. Even got a flirc to extend it’s capabilities, but never found a decent way to get good mouse control with it.
Terevos@lemm.ee 7 months ago
Oh I never tried using the mouse with Harmony. I’m not even sure I knew that was possible.
Bluefruit@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Valid point, not everyone likes to use a mouse and keyboard for watching shows in the livingroom.
My tv is “smart” but ive never setup any internet for it effectively making it dumb.
Illogicalbit@lemmy.world 7 months ago
You could not have described my exact scenario any better. I’m in the same boat.