Television on Wi-Fi?

[rtroxel]

Are there any TV manufacturers currently developing TV sets that can be part of a home wi-fi network?

Or maybe the manufacturers could make a wi-fi chip that can be inserted into the TVs, which would link the TVs to the wi-fi.)

We currently have 3 sets that use 2 or 3 cables each, and I'd just like to get rid of all those cables!

Roy

 

[Al18]

All SmartTV’s ie. most TV’s sold in the past 10 years have built-in WiFi and can stream TV shows

 

[MichaelB]

Roku and Amazon make streaming sticks that plug into the TV set and use wifi.

 

[REWahoo]

How old are your TVs? I think almost all name brand smart TVs built in the past 10 years or so are wifi capable for streaming.

 

[REWahoo]

Roku and Amazon make streaming sticks that plug into the TV set and use wifi.

^ This is your solution.

 

[audreyh1]

Roku and Amazon make streaming sticks that plug into the TV set and use wifi.

And Apple TV

All our TVs are now WiFi capable but we prefer the much broader capabilities of our AppleTV box, plus it integrates with our audio system and we enjoy surround sound.

 

[OldShooter]

Try the application guys at https://tripplite.eaton.com/ Tripplite is an old and respected company that now seems to have products that conect anything to anything else.

 

[MichaelB]

And Apple TV

I didn’t know Apple had a stick device as well.

I think the Roku and Amazon devices require an HDMI input.

 

[audreyh1]

I didn’t know Apple had a stick device as well.

I think the Roku and Amazon devices require an HDMI input.

The AppleTV not really a “stick”, more like a very small box with its own power connection. It came out before Firestick and maybe even Roku (yes, AppleTV 2007, Roku 2008). It connects via HDMI which in our AV setups goes through the receiver to the TV but can also go directly to the TV. It has a direct Ethernet input but can also use WiFi.

It runs many of the iOS apps such as Apple Music, Fitness and Arcade. It also has apps for all the streaming services - you download what you need. We’ve been using these since 2010. In the living room with our 77” OLED and surround sound audio we now have the 4K version.

 

[mpeirce]

The AppleTV not really a “stick”, more like a very small box.

You can almost treat like a "stick". It does require a power cable of its own, but I have one of mine hanging behind a wall mounted TV. It hides behind the TV nicely.

 

[pb4uski]

Are there any TV manufacturers currently developing TV sets that can be part of a home wi-fi network?

Or maybe the manufacturers could make a wi-fi chip that can be inserted into the TVs, which would link the TVs to the wi-fi.)

We currently have 3 sets that use 2 or 3 cables each, and I'd just like to get rid of all those cables!

Roy

What are the 2 or 3 cables plugged into each TV.

Mine could have just one... we have Xfinity cable and the X1 cable box can run streaming apps like Prime, Netflix, Britbox, etc.

Similarly, at our other home we have one cable plugged into each TV, being a FireStick that can be used for OTA TV or streaming.

 

[Midpack]

To summarize, most TVs in the past 10+ years are "Smart" and can connect directly to WiFi.

And if your TV is "dumb" you can buy a Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast, Apple TV or others and make it WiFi smart. An HDMI port is preferable, but some of them can even connect using old RCA plugs.

We stream to 4 TVs via WiFi, the oldest is a 17 YO dumb Sony 32" with a Roku stick…

 

[erkevin]

The latest Samsung TVs even have an internet browser integrated into them.

 

[Jerry1]

To watch TV, I streaming stick like Roku will get you on the internet/wifi. However, if you're paying for cable TV and want to stream that (channels like your local channels or channels like CNN), you're going to need an app from your provider. For example, I have Spectrum. I load the spectrum app and I get all the channels and services that I had with I had a coaxial cable and a box going to my TV.

The reason this is important to understand is that not all streaming sticks work with all apps. For example, a Fire stick from amazon will not load the Spectrum TV app.

Do some research and talk to your cable provider before you spend money so that you make sure you get what you want.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

The latest Samsung TVs even have an internet browser integrated into them.

My Samsung from 2013 did this. I say “did” because the TV software hasn’t been supported for years, and the built in browser is so outdated as to be unusable. The apps for the TV are also outdated and unsupported. This is a good reason to use an external streaming device, such as AppleTV, firestick, Roku, etc. In fact, I would be just as happy with a dumb monitor.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Almost all new TV's are WIFI capable but for sure TCL Roku TV's and TCL Fire TV's are and they work very well.
Sometimes the other TV manufacturers streaming apps don't perform as well as those for Roku and Fire and can be sluggish as well. My son in law bought a Hisense Fire TV on Black Friday and I absolutely hate it when babysitting, it's complicated, sluggish and just awful. I won't be surprised if he ends up plugging a Fire TV device into an HDMI port and using that instead at some point.

You don't have to buy a new TV though, just buy a Roku or Fire TV stick for less than $50 that plugs into your HDMI port on your existing TV,

 

[pb4uski]

...Sometimes the other TV manufacturers streaming apps don't perform as well as those for Roku and Fire and can be sluggish as well. ...

We had usually use a FireStick for streaming and Xfinity for cable. However, we have a friend renting our unti for Jan-Mar and I was concerned about the compexity of that set up and having to change inputs so I decided to try out the Prime, Netflix and BritBox apps on the Xfinity cable box and was pleasantly surprised how well they work.

 

[mpeirce]

Also remember there can be privacy concerns with WiFi connected TVs. Part of the reason some of the cheaper TVs are so cheap is that they make more profit from selling information about you and your viewing habits that they make from selling the TV itself.

 

[jim584672]

I just bought a $228 "Roku" TV, that has wi-fi built in.

 

[disneysteve]

When you hear about people "cutting the cord" and ditching cable, they're replacing it with streaming services over WiFi. As everyone has said, WiFi-equipped TVs have been around for years. We have 2 Roku TVs and use them for Sling, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Paramount, Max, etc., all over WiFi.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I just bought a $228 "Roku" TV, that has wi-fi built in.

I also bought that TV but it's still sitting in the box till my son comes to install it. I'm a little worried it might not fit, I have a 55" in place right now
Are you happy with it?

 

[jim584672]

I also bought that TV but it's still sitting in the box till my son comes to install it. I'm a little worried it might not fit, I have a 55" in place right now
Are you happy with it?

I wasn't expecting much, but it is better than I expected. They try to have you use Netflix, Paramount+, etc. since they are built in. I guess they get a kickback for it.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Yep, I think they also offered me 6 months of MGM with my purchase and possibly some other free trials but I'm not worried about them for now. I have Hulu/Disney, Britbox on deals so I have way too many TV choices already. As to Netflix, I cancelled it as a protest when Reed Hastings was spending billions hiring an ex-president and other so called celebrities all the while raising our rates. I don't miss it at all.

 

[disneysteve]

I wasn't expecting much, but it is better than I expected. They try to have you use Netflix, Paramount+, etc. since they are built in. I guess they get a kickback for it.

The whole point of a Smart TV is to be able to do all those things without any additional devices. You can also add a bunch of other apps in addition to the ones they’ve pre-installed.

 

[audreyh1]

Most of our AppleTV boxes are directly connected to Ethernet at home, so it’s not only WiFi.