Televisions - last ditch effort

[SunnyOne]

Earlier this fall, I bought a Google TV from Target. I live in an apartment where cable and internet is included in the rent.

I spoke with the cable/internet provider before making a purchase to find out which television brands work best with their service.

They seriously recommended a Google TV. I have to say after 3 months, this is the worst television I have ever owned - from an interface perspective - and its not just the app from my local provider.

All of the installed apps are wonky.

I did "save my favorites" to the top, but it does not help much.

If I so much as accidentally touch a page I did not intend to, I cannot get back to my original page.

Further, it often gets "stuck" I can hear the station, but I cannot see it - often a blank screen.

It does not help to use a Chromecast remote because the manual claims that Chromecast is built into the unit.

It's so bad that about 50% of the time, I cannot access my intended channel or station.

I give up. It's either the dumpster or maybe back to Target.

Do you have another manufacturer/brand you recommend?

I am a VERY casual user - morning news, 60 minutes, YouTube, maybe Peacock, that's about all.

No gaming, nothing.

I just need a screen and interface that works well without so much hassle.

I guess i need to also call the provider to make sure their service is compatible.

I started watching most of it on my laptop out of frustration. Pathetic.
Thanks!

 

[badatmath]

Sorry I can't help but I am beyond amazed you have to worry about which TV works with a service or it being a hassle. All I want is on/off LOL. (My TV is quite old so I am lost in the world of choices). I don't watch much either but it would be nice to have something bigger on the rare occasions I have anyone visiting that might enjoy it.

 

[SunnyOne]

I could challenge you to buy a brand new one and then come back and report on the differences you might experience. My last one before I moved here, was about 15 years old.
Everything has changed.

 

[Venturer]

If still in the returnable period I would take it back to Target then get one that you can use either a Roku or a Fire stick on.

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

I purchased a Roku 32 inch TV for the bedroom about 5 years ago. It works great and gets all channels and cost about $200.00 at the time.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Maybe it would be easier for you to just plug a Roku device or a Fire stick into an HDMI port in your existing Google TV and use that instead. Most people are perfectly happy with either of these devices and have no issues with either of these and you should be able to get either of them on sale right now for less than $30 or so.
There are tons of videos on youtube on how to set them up and there is probably a setting on your TV to power up to the HDMI port instead of google TV.
Of course if Target will still take back the TV return it and get a Roku or Fire TV.
Ask your neighbors what they use and I'm sure they'll be happy to help you with it in the beginning. I was first in my family to cut the cord more than 10 years ago and loved to it show how it worked to anyone that was interested.

 

[SunnyOne]

I purchased a Roku 32 inch TV for the bedroom about 5 years ago. It works great and gets all channels and cost about $200.00 at the time.

Happy for you. Seriously.

 

[pb4uski]

I don't have a Google TV... I have LG, Vizio and Samsung but in all cases the TVs are functioning as an audio/video monitor... we don't use the built-in "smart tv" features at any of our homes and I have found them to be more trouble than they are worth.

Does the cable tv provided with your apartment include a cable box and remote? At our Florida condo we have Xfinity basic cable provided by the Association. Comcast provides us with Xfinity X1 boxes that plug into the wall for power, the cable in to the back of the box and an HDMI output to the TVs, along with a remote that controls the X1 box,,, so the TV is simply an audio/video monitor and we use the one remote to turn the tv on and off, control volume, channels, DVR, etc. Easy peasy. The Xfinity box also includes apps for Netflix, Prime Video, etc that allow us to stream from those providers to the TV withour changing sources or inputs.. again, being used only as an audit/video monitor.

Similarly, at our Vermont home we have a Fire TV Recast attached to an antenna in the attic and a Fire TV stick on each TV and the Fire TV Recast broadcasts OTA audio/video and recorded shows to each of our 4 TVs via wifi. In each case the TV is simply being used as an audio/video monitor and we are not using the built-in smart TV features.

 

[pb4uski]

Maybe it would be easier for you to just plug a Roku device or a Fire stick into an HDMI port in your existing Google TV and use that instead. Most people are perfectly happy with either of these devices and have no issues with either of these and you should be able to get either of them on sale right now for less than $30 or so.
There are tons of videos on youtube on how to set them up and there is probably a setting on your TV to power up to the HDMI port instead of google TV.
Of course if Target will still take back the TV return it and get a Roku or Fire TV.
Ask your neighbors what they use and I'm sure they'll be happy to help you with it in the beginning. I was first in my family to cut the cord more than 10 years ago and loved to it show how it worked to anyone that was interested.

+1

 

[Andre1969]

Further, it often gets "stuck" I can hear the station, but I cannot see it - often a blank screen.

Every once in awhile, our living room tv, a 65" Samsung, will do that. The screen is on, but black, and you can hear the sound. I'll pull up the apps, like YouTube or Netflix or whatever, and those work fine. In my case, it's always been the FIOS box. My housemate has an app on his phone where he can just reset it, but I've also found that pulling the plug on the box and then plugging it back in does the trick, as well.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Now that you mention that happens to me on my newest Roku TV in the bedroom but only on 1 antenna channel (my favorite of course) when I power on the TV at night even when it was the last used channel. It seems to take forever to tune the channel in and most times picture and sound come on together but sometimes just sound and I have to scroll a couple of channels up and back down again to get the picture. I used to pull the plug on the tv and sometimes that fixed it and sometimes not.
The thing is my 10 year old Sanyo TV never had a problem pulling that channel in and I also noticed that it never happens in the morning so I still think of an antenna signal issue.

 

[erkevin]

The TCL brand Roku TVs from Walmart are decent basic sets. The Roku interface is pretty simple and reliable. The picture wont blow you away but it is pretty good for the price point.

 

[SunnyOne]

Does the cable tv provided with your apartment include a cable box and remote?

The television came with a basic remote. There is no cable box. I access the cable TV via a password given to me by the provider. Each apartment here has a password for access. The app for the cable TV service is downloaded from the internet.

 

[frank05]

My strategy is to go with the set that has the best picture quality and never connect it to the internet. Get a basic roku box. Benefits are no ads displayed by the TV and you are protected from obsolescence since it doesn’t matter when the TV vendor stops providing updates to the set you are not stuck without streaming apps. When roku obsoletes its box it is less then $50 to buy a new one.

 

[pb4uski]

Does the cable tv provided with your apartment include a cable box and remote?

The television came with a basic remote. There is no cable box. I access the cable TV via a password given to me by the provider. Each apartment here has a password for access. The app for the cable TV service is downloaded from the internet.

Ah, ha. So in that case you are forced to use an app on the smart TV for viewing cable TV.

Have your neighbors had success using that app? And if so, on what brands of TVs?

How are your neighbors successfully accessing the cable TV provided?

If the cable TV provider has an app that can be installed on a Fire TV stick then that might be an easier way to go vs returning the TV and Fire TV sticks are inexpensive and my experience with them has been good.

 

[Qs Laptop]

For the third time, dump the Google TV and get the same one with the Roku operating system. It's really that easy to solve your problems. The Roku interface is so, so much simpler and easier to use. Just do it and quit stressing over turning on your Google TV and instead start enjoying watching a Roku TV.

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

I purchased a Roku 32 inch TV for the bedroom about 5 years ago. It works great and gets all channels and cost about $200.00 at the time.

Happy for you. Seriously.

Series is the TCL32S327 Model if interested.

 

[folivier]

I like Samsung tv's with a Roku device. Don't like the built-in apps on any tv. Roku tends to update the apps frequently but tv manufacturers don't.

 

[REWahoo]

I like Samsung tv's with a Roku device. Don't like the built-in apps on any tv. Roku tends to update the apps frequently but tv manufacturers don't.

^ This.

Built in apps also are notably slower than Roku, at least in my experience.

 

[BooBoo]

I bought a cheap TLC with Roku built in several years ago and it has worked well. I did add a ROKU soundbar later and also worked well. I was not able to connect soundbar to older Samsung via fiber optic port? The TV and soundbar do require reliable internet connections to work well.

 

[Morgan22]

Maybe I missed it, but I don't think you mentioned brand name? I would return the tv though if possible and try a new name brand.
We recently (earlier this year) bought a TCL with Google smart tv. Before that we had a TCL with Roku. Both seem to work equally fine. I had heard from friends and acquaintances that they were not happy with their Samsung, so I just avoided that brand name.

 

[SunnyOne]

Hi Frank.

My strategy is to go with the set that has the best picture quality and never connect it to the internet. Get a basic roku box. Benefits are no ads displayed by the TV and you are protected from obsolescence since it doesn’t matter when the TV vendor stops providing updates to the set you are not stuck without streaming apps. When roku obsoletes its box it is less then $50 to buy a new one.

I am thinking this may be my best bet. I seem to recall the provider telling me they are not compatible with Roku - so if I go that route, I lose local channels.
In this new world of television, can we really have it all? seems not. I notice the similar issues whenever I stay in hotels.

 

[SunnyOne]

Someone asked: The TV brand is Google.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I just love how technology has advanced to where we can save a ton of money while getting a far better experience than the original equipment that we used to use.
I remember when I got my first Roku device over ten years ago. It literally took me 5 minutes to set it up and connect and I was amazed at all my free options. I kept the cable for one more month to make sure everything worked as it should and then dumped it forever.
Google Voice is another example, I had mine even before the Roku and haven't paid for my landline phone service since about 2010. My son has even traveled through Europe for a couple of weeks using only his Google Voice number with WiFi. At the time I thought he was crazy but I called him via the Facebook app frequently and the call quality was amazing. In Europe free WiFi is everywhere so we were rarely out of touch.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Someone asked: The TV brand is Google.

No, the TV brand is not Google. The operating system that runs the built-in streaming apps is made by Google. The TV brand could be HiSense, TCL, Sony, or something else.

Similarly, there are no computer brands that are Windows. The operating system that runs the computer is Windows. The computer brand could be Dell, HP, Lenovo, or something else.