i-player connection

[Tim Lamb]

Just attempting to follow the manual instruction for wired connection settings.

[SH]

Just tell the TV to use DHCP* or automatic and it should sort itself out

• assuming you have not disabled DHCP and using static IP's instead of dynamic IPs.

[Tim Lamb]

Hmm. I knew this was going to be Greek. I'll try resetting the router.

Back up plan is to involve my more expert neighbour.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Pointless.

Just undo all the menu fiddling you have done on the TV and set network to 'obtain address automatically. That's it. Job done.

[The Natural Philosopher]

well there are two routes - set it all up yourself or tell the tv to ask the router nicely and let it all happen as the gods on networking intended.

DHCP was designed for people like you. Use it.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Fr9om the FUCKING MANUAL

"Configuring Wired Device Settings

? Connect your TV to your modem/router via an ethernet cable. There is a LAN port at the rear (back) of your TV.

The Network Type can be selected as Wired Device, Wireless Device or Disabled, in accordance with the active connection to the TV set. Select this as Wired Device if you are connecting via Ethernet."

THAT IS ALL YOU NEED TO DO

Internet Speed Test

----------------------------- Highlight Internet Speed Test and press the OK but- ton. TV will check the internet connection bandwidth and display the result when complete.

DIONT DO THIS!!!

Advanced ========= Highlight Advanced and press the OK button. On the next screen you can change the IP and DNS settings of the TV. Highlight the desired one and press Left or Right button to change the setting from Automatic to Manual. Now you can enter the Manual IP and / or Manual DNS values. Select the related item in the drop down menu and enter the new values using the numeric buttons of the remote. Press the OK button to save settings when complete.

If you HAVE DONE THIS SET IT BACK TO AUTOMATIC.

[Tim Lamb]

Indeed.

i-player is there although I suspect the control sequence might be a bit much for the user:-(

Netflix is advertised and appears to be an option but there seems to be no way of getting it to work or offer a login sequence.

[Tim+]

How old is the smart TV? In my limited experience of devices with ?smartness? built in, they appear to lose their smartness very quickly due to lack of software upgrades and hardware limitations. Putting ?smart? technology into a TV that could provide many years of use as a monitor doesn?t make a whole lot of sense to me. We don?t even use our TVs tuner as we have a PVR.

A smart dongle is cheap and easy to replace if ever it loses its smartness and probably be a lot less clunky to use.

Tim

[The Natural Philosopher]

ah, yes...but at least the tv is now 'on the net'...

I never used that so cant help

is this useful?

allowss you to set up a name/password and then presumably a cookie is stored so you just 'access it' via the netlflix button. If it has one.

If the command sequence is linear just write it down for whoever needs it.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Actually the way I am going in future will be towards a TV used as a monitor with a full blown Linux computer underneath, since I watch as much online as via the tuner, these days.

But that's a bit nerdy to set up for most people

[Robin]

Well that snookered me nicely: I've felt obliged to RTFM :)

If I've got the right one then I can understand your problems. It doesn't give explicit instructions for a wired connection to a router. Example 1 on page 66 shows that as a "dotted variation" but then gives details only for wireless.

Example 2 on page 66 shows a wired connection to PC, not a router.

I suggest you follow what it has on page 67 under "Wired connection settings" for a PC: "If you make the network connection like ?Example 2? (p. 66), you do not have to set [Acquire DNS Address], [Proxy] and [Proxy Port]." And then continue as at the top of page 68.

Don't worry about the bit on p 66 about a "cross cable". Not needed with modern routers etc.

[Tim Lamb]

OK. The original purpose was to determine whether a wired connection was worth the effort of climbing into the loft and doing a proper installation. Progress so far has been positive. I'll see how she gets on with i-player for a few days and come back to it when the *do we really have to have cables across the lounge floor* start:-)

One point, I'm plugging in to a Netgear switch rather than directly to the modem.

[Paul]

Does the set have firmware updates or over-the-air updates of any sort ? Sometimes, the "players" in the box, need an update to continue to function correctly.

And that's a consideration at purchase time, whether the TV manufacturer is known for continued support, or they don't even know you exist.

This is one reason a separate Roku box driving the TV, might work better, as the update options might be better.

You could also put a ChromeCast on an HDMI input on the TV, then cast to the TV from a computer Chrome Browser tab.

Paul

[Tim Lamb]

The software was allowed to update before trying the new connection.

Yes. The Panasonic inbuilt operation is incredibly slow.

The original plan was to determine if the effort of hard wiring a circuit was going to be beneficial. So far the jury is still in session.

I have already had one adverse comment about cables curling across the floor:-)

[Robin]

Offer to use cable clips to nail it down in neat, straight lines?

[Andrew]

To the ceiling. Then she might not notice, but there again ...

[Bev]

Ahh, trip hazard... you could use these to mitigate the risk:

Of course, some people will still find a problem to complain about :)

[Tim Lamb]

Right! Netflix has been established. Hidden behind a small on screen button saying *more*!

I shall now have to hardwire a proper outlet.

Thanks to all who contributed.

[John Rumm]

One of the sad rules of engineering demos I have learnt over the years, that no matter how much you drum into them that this is just a technology demo, a proof of concept, and does not in any way reflect the final UI or look and feel, there will always be a slew of comments about how it does not look very good, or is not that easy to use, or "I don't want all those wires about the place!" :-)

[John Rumm]

That's fine... any network of non trivial size will usually have a number of network switches - they should basically be invisible to the equipment plugged into them.