Cable cutters, rejoice
- Thread starter HoneyBadger
- Start date
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
This LG has a great picture, so I'm not buying another TV at this time. This is my first experience with a smart TV so I have nothing else to compare the interface to. LG is apparently the only manufacturer to use the WebOS interface.
This LG goes to the last input device. In this case, that's the cable box on HDMI 1, but that's also the only connection / device in use. I don't know what it will show at boot if there's more than one device or app.
Yeah, both Bride and Mom haven't mastered tapping or sliding. Both want to press and hold instead of tapping, and press too firmly to effectively slide. Mom in particular doesn't have the fine muscle control any more. Mom's used to tapping a number and getting a channel; heck, more often she just pushes Channel Up or Channel Down until she gets what she wants. Having to pick an input or app first is probably beyond her at this stage.
I have no Apple devices to integrate with. I had an iPhone at work and supported them; that sent me running to Android when I had to pay for a phone of my own. But I'm not interested in connecting the Samsung phone with the LG TV, or the TV with the Windows laptop or Android tablet, or anything else. Call me paranoid but I still avoid creating accounts and interconnecting devices without what I consider a solid reason.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
Hooking a computer to a TV isn't a terrible idea though. Prior to these streaming devices, a lot of us were doing "Media Center" PCs and running our cable direct to a capture card. Microsoft made remotes for them, had DVR and the whole deal.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
I don't know what I'd gain from doing this. I don't game, and I already have several dozen hours of unwatched DVR content on the cable box.
KTMLew01
Team Owner
I assume you could stuff a cheap Roku stick in that TV then control it with the Voice Remote Pro like mine. Don't have to even touch the remote. Say HEY ROKU, ????????????? To change channel, say channel up or down. Same for volume/mute/etc. Stick & remote would be maybe 70 bucks total.
KTMLew01
Team Owner
There definitely was a time remotes were a problem. Drop remote and when picking it up accidently change the input. Ok? What happened? Plus we always had 3-5 remotes. Universals might combine couple but not all. THAT was a pain.
KTMLew01
Team Owner
Only picked that Roku because it has a remote that WILL control the TV if desperation kicks in. 2 bucks more than the cheapest.
KTMLew01
Team Owner
Disclaimer to all the above is...will your app load on it? Need to investigate that first. If so, not punching buttons should eliminate some confusion.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Maybe it's just me but I have ZERO interest in a voice remote.
I just remembered there's a Roku on the TV in the garage. I got it last off-season, used it less than a dozen times this past season, and not since racing season. I have only the Fox and NBC apps, and those were 'free' since I could sign on to them with my Spectrum cable account. I don't remember much about the interface, and I'm not sure how to differentiate between the Roku interface and the apps' menus. I do recall the remote looked incredibly simplistic, lacking number buttons or playback controls. I wondered how it would do if I wanted to change OTA channels, interact with a DVR or other stored content, etc.
I also dislike the location of the volume buttons, over on the right edge of the remote. I'm always pressing one or the other when I pick the remote up.
KTMLew01
Team Owner
Ok. Good luck with it all.
KTMLew01
Team Owner
Since you mentioned it, seen some other complain about the volume buttons. Never bothered me. Only reason I have the voice remote is so have separate remotes for two TV close to each other. TCL TV use IR remotes. If I tried to mute one TV, both muted. Would have to turn one off, other on, fumble around trying to get them both like I wanted then if changed anything...messed up again. The Voice Remote is Bluetooth. Only controls TV it's paired with. Did have to block the IR sensor on the TV with some stuff. Works fine. This conversation has encouraged me to start using the voice function though. Just say Hey Roku and ??????? Don't have to touch the remote.
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
We've been subscribing to YouTube TV /Sunday Ticket combo since the beginning of the NFL season. I use their app on all of our televisions, our phones and tablets. A variety of interfaces but mainly Fire Tv's. Others are Fire Sticks, Samsung TV apps, Roku, iPhones and Android Tablets. All work fine. The least expensive package offers far more channels than we watch. During football Sundays we have as many as eight TV's streaming at a time with no issues. YouTube TV also offers lots of 4K content. The only issues that we have with their service is that the Pittsburgh regional sports network is not offered through their service. YouTube TV also doesn't work in Canada, which I travel to quite often.
At the end of January we're switching over to Fubo. We'll use their service until NFL season gets back underway. They do offer our regional sports network as well as all the other channels we watch and their service also works in Canada.
Also, our Fire Tv's, Fire Sticks, Roku and Samsung Tv's all have voice remotes and all work fine.
At the end of January we're switching over to Fubo. We'll use their service until NFL season gets back underway. They do offer our regional sports network as well as all the other channels we watch and their service also works in Canada.
Also, our Fire Tv's, Fire Sticks, Roku and Samsung Tv's all have voice remotes and all work fine.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
My main gripe about YouTube TV is the extra charge if you want 4K. Granted, this is a universal gripe now.
There is nowhere near enough content to justify paying for it. And just about every service now charges $10/month extra for 4K.
I'm honestly surprised that, in 2024, the amount of 4K content is still so limited and so expensive. Hell, they're now going back to charging extra for HD and moving people on $10/month plans down to standard definition. In 2024!
HD Blu-Ray players cost more now than they did 15 years ago. The 4K Blu-Ray players are insanely expensive.
I'm legitimately considering downgrading my entertainment system. There was more 4K content available in 2020 when I bought this thing than there is in 2024.
I'm not anti-streaming at all, but streaming media is doing more harm than good right now.
There is nowhere near enough content to justify paying for it. And just about every service now charges $10/month extra for 4K.
I'm honestly surprised that, in 2024, the amount of 4K content is still so limited and so expensive. Hell, they're now going back to charging extra for HD and moving people on $10/month plans down to standard definition. In 2024!
HD Blu-Ray players cost more now than they did 15 years ago. The 4K Blu-Ray players are insanely expensive.
I'm legitimately considering downgrading my entertainment system. There was more 4K content available in 2020 when I bought this thing than there is in 2024.
I'm not anti-streaming at all, but streaming media is doing more harm than good right now.
2 Sweet
HMS 4-life
Yep, I gave the 4K free trial a shot, and it was garbage. There's barely any live programming offered in 4K, and the stream was choppy as hell. Terrible framerate and all kinds of glitchy. Granted this was when it first came out, so it might be better now.
One benefit of going with their 4K plan is you can stream on an unlimited number of devices simultaneously. My only gripe with YTTV is the 3-device limit.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
It's not any better.
The vast majority of 4K sports content is either international sports (Premier League on NBC), or low-tier college ballgames. Fox does Big Noon Saturday in "4K," but I'm pretty sure it's upscaled, not true 4K. FS1 has a handful of NASCAR races in 4K, but they, too, are just upscaled HD.
Most sporting events are still broadcast in 720p ... in 2024!
If you go on YouTube, you'll find races recorded off NBC in 2006 that have better HD picture quality than any broadcast on Fox today.
It's truly astonishing.
As for movies, the only movies that are true 4K are either very modern movies shot in 4K or older movies that were shot on actual film. Anything digital is upconverted.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
The death of physical media is a damn shame.
Blu Ray players cost more now than they did 18 ****** years ago. 4K UHD Blu Ray players cost more than a 4K TV. The discs themselves are more expensive than they used to be. And many studios have quit offering digital copies of their movies with Blu Ray purchases (or altogether) because they want to force you to use their streaming service.
Blu Ray players cost more now than they did 18 ****** years ago. 4K UHD Blu Ray players cost more than a 4K TV. The discs themselves are more expensive than they used to be. And many studios have quit offering digital copies of their movies with Blu Ray purchases (or altogether) because they want to force you to use their streaming service.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
Best Buy Begins Removing DVD and Blu-rays From Stores
Best Buy previously confirmed plans to stop selling physical media last year.
This streaming deal gets worse by the day.
Brentford
Team Owner
I coughed up a good $250 or so on a Panasonic 4k player at the discretion of a coworker who swore on the quality. Not sure the quality is any better than the first 4k player I ever bought, that being a basic Magnavox 4k player. But as I do with everything, I convinced myself that the Panasonic player is better, that way I don't feel bad about forking over the money it cost me to purchase it. As far as physical disks go, I typically check Best Buy on a regular basic as they'll occasionally have 4k disks for $10, sometimes cheaper. I don't think physical disks will ever go away completely, but you may have to search a bit more for them and it may cost more as well.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
My Blu Ray player is supposed to upscale but it looks like ****. My old Vizio looked better. My Blu Ray player was supposed to be a 4K Blu Ray player, but whatever. I'll bitch about that for several years, but the return process with Amazon is too much of a hassle since I'm lucky to get any of my mail to start with.
I'm more concerned with the content purging aspect of all of it. I already have a Blu-Ray of one purged movie (X-Men DOFP Rogue Cut), and I have it in 4K on Apple. You can't buy it or watch it streaming anywhere, but I still have access to it on all my devices so that's good.
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
Never had an issue with an Amazon return. Select the return option on the app and take the item to the local ups store. They scan the barcode, pack it and ship it back. My refund is issued before I pull back in my driveway just in time for my wife to make her next Amazon purchase.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
Lots of complaints about streaming I see. I could not come close to saving the amount of $'s I do by going streaming rather than cable or satellite. Less than $100/month for unlimited streams in my household and 3 on the road.
That price is not taking into account Sunday Ticket. That's much more.
That price is not taking into account Sunday Ticket. That's much more.
racingfan7
Start and Park
What are you getting for $100?
We are paying $70-75 for a Hulu service with lots of devices, channels fair amount & ESPN+ included, but I have to borrow Amazon Prime.
We are paying $70-75 for a Hulu service with lots of devices, channels fair amount & ESPN+ included, but I have to borrow Amazon Prime.
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
YouTube Tv's basic lineup. But I did add Sunday Ticket, which is basically done at this point. Sunday Ticket is much more expensive but well worth it if you love football.
Later in January we're pausing the YouTube TV service and switching to Fubo until the next NFL season.
Looked into Hulu but they don't offer our regional sports network. Heard good things about it though.
Personally I find streaming much more cost effective and it travels easily. I travel all over the US and Canada. Cable, not an option. Satellite, too much equipment needed. Streaming, online in seconds. Not a question in my mind.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Stupid YouTube TV question: when their channel line-up says 'Local channels', am I getting a network feed or my actual local affiliates and their local programming (news, syndicated shows, etc)?
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
Local affiliates to your location. When I'm at home I get there Pittsburgh market. Whatever is local to the zip code you're viewing from.
On their website you can insert your zip code to see the channel lineup that will display locals.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Well, I have YouTube TV on a one-week trial before billing starts. I'm not sure I like the interface.
- The 'Home' screen doesn't appear to have any value to me. I don't know what determines what's recommended but there's nothing there I'm interested in.
- I can't find a way to have the app open to the 'Live' screen instead of (apparently valueless) 'Home'.
- On 'Live', I don't see an easy way in the guide to go directly from one channel to another without scrolling through them. If I'm watching a channel, I haven't found an easy way to go directly to another channel without going back to the guide and scrolling through. There don't appear to be numbers assigned to the channels to make switching easier.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
I'm also having difficulty getting from the channel I'm watching back to the 'Live' guide. So far all I've found is exiting the app back to the TV's home page, then restarting the app.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Even better (as far as I'm concerned), the page for the video had a link to the text version of the same content.
It was some help, and I'm still poking around, but it appears some of what I'm used to just isn't available. The app is going to start on the Home page, not Live; I can't alter the layout of the Home or Live pages; I can't go from one network to another without going through the ones in between; and there's nothing I can do about any of those. I was never a gamer so I'm not used to learning repeated keystroke sequences on buttons that are mostly unlabeled. I'm used to a remote with dedicated buttons for each function, although I understand moved functions to on-screen menus is required if the app is to be compatible with multiple devices. I'm trying to decide if the savings are worth the changes.
What happens if I have a race set to record and it runs long? Is there a way to extend the recording time?
Brentford
Team Owner
Shoot, even streaming has gotten expensive. When the races start again, I MIGHT go back to Sling TV, which is the cheapest option for what I want, that being USA and FS1. I've heard good things about Youtube TV, but it's nearly more than I can afford to pay. I'm loyal to Sling as I've never experienced any issues with it.
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
The Home Screen on my YouTube TV displays the channels that we frequently watch. I assume that occurred over time as we've been using it for a few months now. You see it as useless, I see it as a shortcut to avoid the guide/live option.
I don't know that the app can be modified to open to anything other than the Home Screen.
There are no channel numbers. My wife and I tend to watch the same channels all of which are displayed on the Home Screen when the app is launched. Everything we watch is located there. Again, I think that the app learns your viewing habits displaying your favorites and interests on the Home Screen. That carries over from tv to tv to make all that you view from similar.
2 Sweet
HMS 4-life
^ what @dpkimmel2001 said. Once it learns your habits, the home screen will be what you use the most. And all you need to do to get from home to live guide is press the right arrow.
For switching channels, the quickest way (other than using the home or live guide) is pressing the "down" button on your remote twice while you are watching something. It'll have your most recent/favorite channels displayed at the bottom and you can select whatever you wish. I quickly learned a sequence of down-down-down-OK (which takes 2-3 seconds tops) will always take me back to the last channel I was watching
^ on a Roku, just push the "back" button once (at the top of the remote, to the left of the home button). If you're not using a Roku, I'm assuming other devices would have something similar.
Yes, you can edit the live guide and reorder the channels to your liking, you just need to do it from a computer. Just go to youtubetv.com from your desktop and once you're logged in, there will be the customization option under the settings. This essentially eliminates the need for numbered channels 99% of the time, because the channels you watch the most will be at the top.
As far as recording, I'm not sure how it works, but it automatically knows when to start/stop recording. Yes, even live events. It doesn't rely on the predetermined time slots, and the live guide is always accurate. I've never had a race recording get cut short.
Once I got used to the interface and learned some of the tricks, I realized how much I like the design. The streaming performance is flawless (no buffering for me, ever), I can watch it from anywhere, unlimited DVR, etc. There's just so much to like about it.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
With the exception of The CW, I get all my local affiliates. The CW is a national feed, since the local CW station is an SD subchannel.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
It will eventually learn your viewing habits and adjust accordingly.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
You can create a custom lineup order for the live guide from the mobile app on iPhone/Android, or on your computer if you pull it up on your web browser. YouTube TV recommends Google Chrome, for obvious reasons, but it works fine with the default browser (Edge) on Windows 11.
There is also a "Sort" option that lists the channels from most watched to least watched, which will take time to tweak because it'll need to learn your viewing habits. Unfortunately, the bar next door (using the southern unit of measurement) uses my YouTube, ESPN+ and Peacock accounts too, so it ***** up my recommendations. (I don't watch hockey!!!!)
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
Navigation on YouTube TV is the same on every streaming device I've used.
Apple, Roku, Fire Stick ... all the same. The only difference is the remote for Apple TV, which is vastly superior to the others.
2 Sweet
HMS 4-life
Sure, but the remote (and button layout) depends on what device you are running. When I used to run YTTV thru my Xbox, I had to use my Xbox controller.
I strongly prefer Roku over all the other options. I absolutely despised my Fire Stick. Eventually got fed up with it and threw it in the trash.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
I have Apple TV 4K, Roku Ultra 4K, Fire Stick 4K, and a Samsung TV with the "smart TV" software built in. My Blu Ray player has access to the standard apps too but I only use it for playing DVDs.
The Apple TV 4K is the best of all of these.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Okay, I'll give it some time.
Thanks. I did find much of this later last night on an assortment of sites, but it's the type of info I couldn't find on YouTube's site. I did as much setup as possible on the web page (always my preference over an app) and the configuration included customizing the channel line-up. But once set up, there was little on using the interface itself. Maybe they have it and I missed it. Or maybe in 2024 they assume a user has experience that I haven't had reason to acquire.
For the record, I'm not using a streaming device. I'm using the YouTube app on an LG 'smart' TV and the set's remote. I strongly want to avoid having two remotes, one for the app and one for the TV. So far the LG remote has performed well enough when I follow the instructions y'all have given. It's just frustrating to have to search third-party sites for info I expect the vendor to have made available. One big issue with that is, what if there are options or features that I don't even know to ask about? But again, maybe it's there and I just missed it.
Thanks.