Todays top tip

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , Jeff Layman escribió:

*whoosh*

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , Huge escribió:

Still the best. I keep a weather eye on ebay.

Fujitsu did a keyboard that was very nearly as good, but a bit quieter. I regret getting rid of that one.

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , Huge escribió:

Their phones are pretty good, if you get one that isn't prone to catching fire.

[Bob Eager]

From a factory that isn't prone to catching fire...

[Huge]

Having foolishly bought a Samsung "SMART" TV, I won't be buying anything else made by them, ever again.

(The mender is coming next week.)

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , Huge escribió:

You know their microphones are "always on", even when you've supposedly switched them off at the remote?

Ask him to snip the wires to the mic while he's got the back off :)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd probably agree since my large screen one died just out of warranty. Luckily, found a used PS on Ebay for a lot less than the new part which got it going again. Now in the spare room.

I have a smaller 24" one in this workshop which also doubles up as a additional computer screen (it's positioned above the electronics bench so handy for schematics etc) and that has lasted OK. Despite quite heavy use.

I'm surprised you included Panasonic, though.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Stick a bit of tape over it if you're that worried.

But it's certainly a way round mass unemployment. Employ people to listen in to everything being said in every living room. Sorted.

[RJH]

I broke up a couple of Velux DG units - smashed into little bits, not shards.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

What I thought. If you manage to break a sealed double glazing window it wouldn't be any more difficult to crawl through that than an open one. Maybe an easier way - on the sort with a big none opening pane and one or more opening ones. Just break the big one.

Bit like having lots of strong locks on the front door - and they break in via the back one.

[Bod]

We've just bought a Samsung Smart tv. What was was wrong the set?

[tim...]

I just bought a new 46 inch TV for 150 quid

when it dies I shall just buy a new TV for 150 quid

tim

[Huge]

Not actually true. And I have it all switched off anyway.

The mike is in the remote. And seems to have mysteriously filled up with superglue. Can't imagine how that happened.

[Huge]

Sigh. That isn't actually what it says.

[Huge]

PVR. Utter, utter, utter shit.

Herewith the Amazon review I left;

This piece of junk is essentially unusable. Not because of the user interface, which appears to have been designed by the blind man's dog on an off day, but because when it is recording you cannot;

(i) Add any more programmes to be recorded. Pressing "Guide" when it's already recording something just pops up a windows saying "Cannot be done while recording" or somesuch. That means if you've started a recording and you spot something on later you'd like to record, you can't.

(ii) Delete any already recorded programmes. Same pop-up.

It doesn't help that the user manual was apparently written by an Albanian dyslexic in Portuguese, then translated into English by an Inuit who'd never seen the actual device.

This thing compares very poorly with out previous DVR, which was a Sony. I shall certainly not be looking too hard at Panasonic products in the future.

Don't buy this. It will drive you crazy.

[Added a couple of weeks later] It gets worse. It doesn't remember where you've got up when you watch part of a recording (again, unlike my previous Sony). That means you have to fiddle about finding your place in any recording you got part-way through. This thing is utter, utter garbage. I shall never, ever, buy anything made by Panasonic. And I suggest you do likewise. Whoever authorised this piece of cack for release should be fired.

[Huge]

I don't know what's wrong with it, but 2 or 3 times a week the picture & sound go away and although it ostensibly obeys the remote (channel numbers & so forth come up) it doesn't actually do anything. Switching it off and on with the switch on the remote doesn't do anything, you have to power it off and on at the wall.

The soundbar loses connection to the TV at least once a day and has to be power cycled (again at the wall) to get it back.

Even though it is the matching Samsung one, and the TV is on a Samsung base, the sound bar obstructs the IR receiver for the "dumb" remote, so you have to wave it about in the air to have it work.

The sound bar was very poor VfM; it was £600, and it sure isn't £600 worth of audio.

The user interface for the "SMART" component sucks syphilitic donkey dick down a 20ft hose.

The user interfaces for the "apps" (Netflix, iPlayer) and so forth are all different. Yes, I know they weren't written by Samsung, but I don't care.

The "smart" remote doesn't work properly with BBC iPlayer.

There's no (paper) manual. And even if you download it from Samsung, there's no index or page numbers. The "e-manual" built into the set is almost useless (it's the same words, but UI issues make it unusable).

TBH, I hate it and wish we'd never bought it. I'm hoping it's going to prove irreperable, and we can swap it for a dumb Sony and a Roku box.

In it's defence (through clenched teeth), the picture quality is excellent.

[Huge]

Oh, and I just remembered, it's also started flashing the screen off and on every time you scroll through the menus in Netflix.

[Bob Eager]

I'll answer too.

Initially it was fine. They kept doing firmware upgrades (OTA) and the user interface suddenly changed for the worse. Apps started to break (especially iPlayer). Clunky UI in general.

iPlayer hasn't worked for a year. We now use it as a 'dumb' TV, with a FreeView PVR (£30 odd off eBay, flashed with custom firmware).

[Bob Eager]

Oh, only one tuner too.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Ah. Thought you were talking about TVs.

I don't think you can go by a maker for everything these days.

Different things could come from an entirely different design team and factory.