Samsung TV & soundbar

[Tekkie©]

Hi all, U Tube has decided that my 6 yr old LG 55" tv is not a smart tv (whatever that is) LG has confirmed this. It had a doa connection for the sound bar when I hooked one up about 18 months later-out of warranty, so I don't LG again. We called it Loser Grade at work...

I am looking at Samsung TV's Can anyone give me advice on what to buy? Basic or more features? What is a "Smart TV". What do the various screen types provide that would benefit us? Should I buy last years model? Should I get a Samsung sound bar? Looking at the Samsung site is like the tilt o whirl.

I am disabled so unpacking and setup must be done by others so a Walmart or similar buy would be out of the question.

Let the thoughts flow, thanks in advance.

[hubops]

Smart TV s have internet connectivity built in. non Smart TV s need your laptop or a TV box to feed it internet.

Why are you replacing the 6 year old TV ? .. perhaps your sound problems are buried in the TV's confusing nest of Settings menu ... ?

I found that my Smart TV "operating system" was quite awkward right-from-the-start so I used it like a normal TV with occasional frustrating attempts to connect to the web; then over a few years the "operating system" became slow/outdated and there was no way to upgrade it at all. I bought a TV box off Amazon for ~ $ 60. and it was OK but I still prefer to just connect my laptop to the TV. Some folks buy a re-furb desktop and use it for the streaming - and keep it connected permanently.

Physical setup is pretty easy if it's set on a table - It'll take longer to open the shrink-wrap on the remote batteries ! :-) .. if hanging on a wall mount - it's a bit trickier but not rocket surgery. I don't have a sound bar - just use the TV speakers for normal viewing and Harmon Kardon computer speakers when streaming . - most folks want _big_ sound though. John T.

[invalid unparseable]

I think practically all TV's are smart today. I only have one, a Samsung, and can access internet wifi and things like Netflix and You Tube. I have two none smart Samsung's and the Comcast X1 system they are on also gives internet access to streaming.

A son bought me a sound bar and I put it on one TV and the sound was great but I found it reverberated upstairs and could be annoying and removed it.

We have had no problems with the Samsung's we have but biggest is 40 inch and I would like 55 but do not like replacing a perfectly good set.

[Ralph Mowery]

Check out Best Buy for the TV installation. I don't know if they still do it,but several years ago I bought a 60 inch TV and two people came out and set it up , took off all the packing and even said they would take the old TV if I wanted them to. The nearest Store to me was about half an hour to 45 minuites away.

The smart TV will connect to the internet by your wireless internet modem if you have one. If you are not tech savy you probably do not want to fool with it.

I have two Samsung TV sets, the 60 and a 32 inch one. They worked well for close to 10 years.

[invalid unparseable]

I think a friend paid Best Buy $100 to do his but what I would do is buy the TV on line from Best Buy with no shipping charge and set it up myself. That is what I did for my 30 inch smart TV.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Bought my TV from Amazon and they offer a delivery and setup service. I got a Samsung and sound bar. The sound bar is good quality and I play a lot of music on the TV, cast from my computer. Both TV and soundbar are Samsung and work well together.

[trader_4]

That's a good question. Apparently something to do with Youtube needing a smart TV, but I don't understand that.

Agree, that's a possibility. Also many of these have more than one way to get sound out, eg HDMI, so there may be more than one way to hook it up to a sound bar even if one output does not work.

That sounds like a better option than replacing the TV. I never bought a smart TV, partly for that very reason, that you have to deal with whatever software and interface they have built in.

[Scott Lurndal]

Two or three years ago, Youtube changed the protocol used by the client applications shipped on smart TVs. Most of the manufacturers weren't interested in creating updates for the older TVs, and thus, the youtube client shipped with the TV stopped working. This happened on my Sony 55".

The simple solution is to get a amazon fire stick, roku, WD, sling or other video client box and plug it into a hdmi port on the older TV.

BTW: LG == Lucky Goldstar.

remember their CRT tvs & desktop computers back in the day? The modern LG TV's aren't anything like those old L-G tvs, and you'll likely find that they're rather highly regarded (at least their OLED TVs are).

[gfretwell]

Like everyone says the easy answer to streaming is an add on box. It can be a fire/roku/I-sumpin or just about any old PC running W/7 and up. As for the sound bar, some TVs will have the digital off as the default or make you select speaker or digital. Somewhere buried in accessibility there is usually the option to turn both on at the same time.

[Tekkie©]

On Sat, 05 Jun 2021 16:25:28 -0400, [e-mail] posted for all of us to digest...

Ok, thanks.

I don't want to. LG states it won't work with streaming. The U Tube app has been problematic lately in loading new posts.

Nope the bad ears are the problem and tiny speakers on the TV don't help.

No computers to dedicate. The only thing I stream is U Tube.

The present TV is wall hung, 40#, and we are disabled so no go.

Because the sound was lousy out of the TV we got the sound bar around 18 months later. One of the connections the sound bar needed out of the TV was faulty from the factory. We ended up connecting it to the Comcast DVR. The Comcast remote will control all functions EXCEPT turning off the sound bar. We have to use the sound bar remote because the Comcast DVR is on all the time outputting to the sound bar.

[Tekkie©]

On Sat, 5 Jun 2021 16:25:51 -0400, Frank posted for all of us to digest...

Thank you.

[Tekkie©]

On Sat, 5 Jun 2021 18:14:25 -0400, Ralph Mowery posted for all of us to digest...

Thank you.

[Tekkie©]

On Sat, 5 Jun 2021 20:03:21 -0400, Frank posted for all of us to digest...

We would do that, if we could, we can't.

Thanks,

[Tekkie©]

On Sat, 5 Jun 2021 23:12:35 -0400, Ed Pawlowski posted for all of us to digest...

Thanks Ed,

[Tekkie©]

On Sun, 6 Jun 2021 04:42:26 -0700 (PDT), trader_4 posted for all of us to digest...

There is an app that Comcast/U tube uses to allow it to play. U Tube and LG both stated I need a streaming device. I believe U Tube updated the app lately and that is what caused what they call a buffering error. I suppose the TV doesn't have enough horsepower.

Not on the present TV. The only combo that works is RCA jacks from DVR to sound bar. One RCA output on the TV doesn't work.

See previous posts.

[Tekkie©]

On Mon, 07 Jun 2021 09:54:17 -0400, [e-mail] posted for all of us to digest...

The issue is the TV has a faulty RCA output which I discovered after the warranty expired so I have it connected to the Comcast DVR. The sound bar will not shut off because the DVR always outputs. The sound bar turns on but will not turn off without the sound bar remote.

If I am patient; the vids will load after an indeterminate amount of time. U Tube called it a buffering issue. I noticed U Tube was performing and displaying differently about a week ago when this started...

Would the streaming device output the sound? If so what would you recommend?