On Thu, 03 Sep 2015 18:36:31 -0400, Nil wrote:

I don't know what it's called, it's just whatever was included with my
Samsung TV. It's deadly slow slow slow, and navigation with the TV
remote is painful. I tried hooking up a USB keyboard, but it didn't work
and I haven't bothered to try to troubleshoot it, since it's nothing I'm
interested in using. If I want to browse the web I'll just use one of
the several other computer devices in the house.

I went over to a friend's house who had a new samsung wifi tv and the
browsing was so slow that I'd say it's unusable for two reasons:
1. Typing the URL with the remote was punitive, and,
2. Once you had the URL, the time to load was interminable.

This might just be a bad Samsung TV, but, wow. It's great for checkboxes
but it doesn't work in real time.

In sci.electronics.repair, on Sat, 5 Sep 2015 12:12:45 -0500, amdx
wrote:

On 9/4/2015 5:03 PM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 4 Sep 2015 07:47:23 -0500, amdx
wrote:

On 9/3/2015 7:01 PM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 03 Sep 2015 18:36:31 -0400, Nil
wrote:

On 03 Sep 2015, micky wrote in
alt.home.repair:

So what do you have that works poorl?. I was particularly
interested in having a browser (more than having Netflix.) so I
want to avoid what you have, if any other browser works better,
that is.

I don't know what it's called, it's just whatever was included with my
Samsung TV. It's deadly slow slow slow, and navigation with the TV

Okay, I can remember Samsung. Thanks.


I have a Sony, and it's slow too!

Okay. I can remember that too. But I'm getting discouraged.

I think I should follow Mark Lloyd's advice in next thread about using
wires when one can.


Nothing to do with wires, just turning on the tv to watch, it takes to
to boot,
and you must wait in order to change the channel.
Mikek
before

That's bad too. I hate my smart phone because it takes so long to turn
on, and 5 steps to turn off. The "bar" phone I used to use turned on or
off in a second or two.

My Philips DVDR, which does it's main job very well but has a bunch of
design flaws, takes noticeably longer to change channels than does the
Zenith set-top box.

On Thu, 03 Sep 2015 19:40:40 -0700, Ameri-Clean wrote:

I recently got a smart TV then got a message from my provider (DIRECTV)
that I need to connect to the internet.

The output from the Direct TV is a coax cable, right?
How does that coax cable connect to your router?

On 9/5/2015 12:12 PM, Ewald Böhm wrote:
On Thu, 03 Sep 2015 18:36:31 -0400, Nil wrote:

I don't know what it's called, it's just whatever was included with my
Samsung TV. It's deadly slow slow slow, and navigation with the TV
remote is painful. I tried hooking up a USB keyboard, but it didn't work
and I haven't bothered to try to troubleshoot it, since it's nothing I'm
interested in using. If I want to browse the web I'll just use one of
the several other computer devices in the house.

I went over to a friend's house who had a new samsung wifi tv and the
browsing was so slow that I'd say it's unusable for two reasons:
1. Typing the URL with the remote was punitive, and,
2. Once you had the URL, the time to load was interminable.

This might just be a bad Samsung TV, but, wow. It's great for checkboxes
but it doesn't work in real time.

Build a home theater PC and wire it to a "large monitor"/TV of your choosing.
You'll browse at the same "speed" that you do on your PC (assuming you use
a PC of comparable performance in the HTPC), will be able to access your
local media tank/UPnP devices, view photos, listen to music, balance your
checkbook, play games, etc.

On 9/4/2015 12:30 PM, wrote:
On Thursday, September 3, 2015 at 9:55:14 PM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:
On 9/3/2015 7:40 PM, Ameri-...atsbcglobal.net wrote:
I recently got a smart TV then got a message from my provider (DIRECTV)
that I need to connect to the internet. The second "box" is a wireless
connection kit for $99. However, since I have been a customer beyond the
contract period I can upgrade to a new receiver at no cost--if I sign on
for another two year contract. Since I don't care about Netflix and the
other features, I'm electing to skip the "smart" features for now.

How did DIRECTV know that you had a new TV? Or, is this just a
coincidence?

Don Y: Good Question as we didn't have a smart TV before--just a 30 year old
tube type. So apparently the new TV sent a signal "home" reporting that it
couldn't spy on us. Not a coincidence.

Did their notice claim you *must* connect to the internet (as a condition of
your service)? Or, were they just enticing you to ADD to your service
(based on something they observed your TV)? I.e., if you can continue
to get "content" and are willing to live without the bells and whistles,
can you *decline* their "offer"/suggestion?

On 05 Sep 2015, Ewald Böhm wrote in
alt.home.repair:

The output from the Direct TV is a coax cable, right?
How does that coax cable connect to your router?

It doesn't. The TV network connection is via the common wireless or
ethernet cable.

On Saturday, September 5, 2015 at 1:33:53 PM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:
On 9/5/2015 10:36 AM, bob_villa wrote:
On Saturday, September 5, 2015 at 11:28:38 AM UTC-5, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Where did you see the repair records or brand comparisons? I have four TVs
and three computer monitors. Lack of repairs and good picture quality is
why I've stuck with them.

I agree, I've bought Sammy's for work and relatives...my own is nearly 6 yo.
People I know love them too...I guess one experience will prejudice some.
Panasonic IS the best for cordless landline/bluetooth phones!

We're not even *considering* Samsung products in our future purchase
decision. We bought a Samsung Washer/Dryer and had the washer fail
after ~18 months of *light* use (there's just two of us here; not
hordes of rug rats constantly demanding clean clothes).

OTOH, our *Gateway* plasma TV is now just over 12 years old (August 2003)
and still has a delightful picture. So much so that I've not spent any
serious time trying to repair the two (considerably newer) Vizio sets I've
been given.

[And Gateway had a *terrible* track record with plasmas!]

I have had and have a few Samsung monitors (and a couple Dell/Samsung). No problems with them. And I have heard of problems with Samsung's appliances (and LG's), but they know how to make an HD TV IMO. I have a 22" Gateway monitor, but I wasn't aware they ever made TV's?

On 9/5/2015 2:05 PM, bob_villa wrote:
On Saturday, September 5, 2015 at 1:33:53 PM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:

OTOH, our *Gateway* plasma TV is now just over 12 years old (August 2003)
and still has a delightful picture. So much so that I've not spent any
serious time trying to repair the two (considerably newer) Vizio sets
I've been given.

[And Gateway had a *terrible* track record with plasmas!]

I have had and have a few Samsung monitors (and a couple Dell/Samsung). No
problems with them.

I used to volunteer at an organization that recycled electronic products.
So, took note of the stuff that came in (broken). Of course, if you see
a lot of something, it could mean it's a crappy design *or* it could be
that they have 98% of the market!

And I have heard of problems with Samsung's appliances (and LG's), but they

We were very disapppointed with these pieces. In fact, we found a refrigerator
that we fell in love with -- until we saw Samsung's name (and walked away).

know how to make an HD TV IMO. I have a 22" Gateway monitor, but I wasn't
aware they ever made TV's?

Long time ago. Apparently had some "support" problems (no doubt someone
else made the TV for them; so, if their relationship with that supplier
soured, they would be unable to support their customers!)

OTOH, this one has been just fine for a LONG time (but predates HDMI,
ATSC, etc.).

I'd had excellent luck with JVC video products in the past (VCR's, TV's).
When we started looking for a TV as a replacement for this one, I
naturally thought of them. But, JVC seems to have "leased" its name
(reputation?) to some chinese (?) firm. I'm not keen on rolling
those dice!

Thankfully, we're not couch potatoes and don't need a room dedicated
to mushrooming our butts : So, the TV issue is relatively unimportant
(I can watch on a 24" monitor in a pinch; on a widescreen laptop for DVD's;
etc.)

On Sat, 05 Sep 2015 14:16:01 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

I used to volunteer at an organization that recycled electronic products.
So, took note of the stuff that came in (broken). Of course, if you see
a lot of something, it could mean it's a crappy design *or* it could be
that they have 98% of the market!

I've read something similar before. Items most often being sold can
indicate the customer dissatisfaction or the failure rate.

I cannot find a Ford Bronco in a junk yard for parts

On 9/5/2015 3:02 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 05 Sep 2015 14:16:01 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

I used to volunteer at an organization that recycled electronic products.
So, took note of the stuff that came in (broken). Of course, if you see
a lot of something, it could mean it's a crappy design *or* it could be
that they have 98% of the market!

I've read something similar before. Items most often being sold can
indicate the customer dissatisfaction or the failure rate.

I think both possibilities actually occur. We had a standing joke
about the "90 day DVD players" that we'd often see... the design
was such that it *would* fail -- soon out of warranty.

I cannot find a Ford Bronco in a junk yard for parts

I've been having a tough time finding a Delorean for my time machine...

On Saturday, September 5, 2015 at 3:08:13 PM UTC-4, Ewald Böhm wrote:
On Thu, 03 Sep 2015 10:21:58 -0400, Ralph Mowery wrote:

if you have say Direct TV you can get movies and other shows on demand
bystreaming off the internet.

I don't have direct tv.
My router does not have a coax input.

I thought that was a coax cable coming out of all those direct tv
antennas I see on houses.

If the output of Direct TV is coax, how does that coax get "into" your
network?

It can't go through the router.
How does it get into your router without a coax connector on the router?

I don't have DirectTV, but I believe the sat antenna is connected
to a receiver which then has traditional output for a TV, eg HDMI
and that is how it gets connected to a TV. That's how it worked
in the past. And if you're going to
access streaming video from the internet, the wifi connection is
between the DirectTV receiver and your router, the video then goes
from the receiver to the TV via the same connection, eg HDMI as it
would if the reception was via satellite.

On Saturday, September 5, 2015 at 3:20:20 PM UTC-4, Ewald Böhm wrote:
On Thu, 03 Sep 2015 19:40:40 -0700, Ameri-Clean wrote:

I recently got a smart TV then got a message from my provider (DIRECTV)
that I need to connect to the internet.

The output from the Direct TV is a coax cable, right?
How does that coax cable connect to your router?

See my other reply where you asked this. AFAIK, DirectTV
doesn't use coax to connect to the TV, not in recent times
anyway. They use HDMI and then any streaming video from
the net uses a wireless or direct Ethernet connection to
the DTV receiver.

On Sat, 05 Sep 2015 15:52:39 -0400, Nil wrote:

It doesn't. The TV network connection is via the common wireless or
ethernet cable.

So, help me here.

Let's say the DirectTV dish is on the roof, and it has a coax cable that
goes down the side of the house, through a wall, to a wall plate.

From that wall plate, how does "it" (i.e., the tv signal) get on my
"network"?

You said the tv signal gets into the network via either the wireless
connection or through the wired ethernet (cat5) cable.

But, how does that coax cable tv signal get to either one of those (i.e.,
how does the coax connect to the wifi or the ethernet cable)?

On Sat, 05 Sep 2015 17:57:53 -0500, Charlie Hoffpauir wrote:

The DirecTV boxes I've had all had an ethernet connection that I plugged
my home network into. I think some of the newer boxes also have wireless
capability, or maybe they provide a separate device to connect
wirelessly.

Oh. That explains it!

So, the coax cable that comes out of the dish on the roof then goes into
a "box" which has, as outputs, either coax or RJ45 or a wifi antenna?

Is that correct?

On Saturday, September 5, 2015 at 10:49:38 PM UTC-4, Ewald Böhm wrote:
On Sat, 05 Sep 2015 17:57:53 -0500, Charlie Hoffpauir wrote:

The DirecTV boxes I've had all had an ethernet connection that I plugged
my home network into. I think some of the newer boxes also have wireless
capability, or maybe they provide a separate device to connect
wirelessly.

Oh. That explains it!

So, the coax cable that comes out of the dish on the roof then goes into
a "box" which has, as outputs, either coax or RJ45 or a wifi antenna?


What's adding to the confusion is you keep bundling everything together as
"outputs". The satellite receiver has traditional outputs that connect
to the TV, eg HDMI or component video and audio. It also has connection
to your network via Ethernet or Wifi. If by "coax" you mean the traditional
cable TV type of coax cable, I doubt it has such an output, because I don't
see what it would be used for today.



Is that correct?

On Saturday, September 5, 2015 at 10:48:15 PM UTC-4, Ewald Böhm wrote:
On Sat, 05 Sep 2015 15:52:39 -0400, Nil wrote:

It doesn't. The TV network connection is via the common wireless or
ethernet cable.

So, help me here.

Let's say the DirectTV dish is on the roof, and it has a coax cable that
goes down the side of the house, through a wall, to a wall plate.

From that wall plate, how does "it" (i.e., the tv signal) get on my
"network"?


I think you're looking at this the wrong way. The signal from the
sat dish goes directly to the DirectTV receiver. The TV is connected
via HDMI or component video to that receiever. That's one source
of content that then can be selected for TV viewing. The receiver
also has an Ethernet or wifi network connection which can be used to
access additional streaming content off the internet as an additional
video source.



You said the tv signal gets into the network via either the wireless
connection or through the wired ethernet (cat5) cable.

He didn't say that.


But, how does that coax cable tv signal get to either one of those (i.e.,
how does the coax connect to the wifi or the ethernet cable)?

It doesn't. See the above.

That's how it connects for one TV. There are options that use a wireless
bridge to connect more than one TV, but that's a further complication.
The above is the basic setup.

Don Y
Fri, 04 Sep 2015 01:09:33 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

On 9/3/2015 5:58 PM, Robert Green wrote:
"trader_4" wrote in message
news:6612702d-

stuff snipped

Also,
not sure what a "PIC" is. If you used a general purpose CPU,
it's only part of the solution.

Programmable Interrupt Controller.

No. It's a (icky!) microcontroller series manufactured by
Microchip. The original "PIC" was a (REALLY icky) manufactured by
General Instruments -- the original name for Microchip. They were
originally used in CATV tuner boxes -- as such, didn't really have
to do much! PIC == Programmable Interface Controller though I
suspect that acronym is lost over the years.

The devices have *slowly* improved in capability. Yet, are widely
used, today -- largely because they are cheap and Microchip is
very friendly to "hobbyists" making it easy for folks to play
with (and later, adopt) these components.

I think my furnace uses one. But. consider how simple the
algorithm there is:
- wait for thermostat to call for heat
- turn on exhaust blower
- turn on gas
- strike igniter
- check for ignition
- repeat a few times, MAXIMUM; if no joy, shutdown and vent the
furnace - keep gas running as long as call for heat and flame
sensed

Be glad it doesn't need an actual OS and Windows wasn't selected. [g]
At the no joy shutdown stage a general protection fault might have
occured, and no venting would have taken place. Unexpected explosion
(ironic as in this case, one is semi expecting an explosion),
repaired with an upcoming service patch. [g]



--
Optimist: Someone who doesn't know all the facts yet.