Smart TV vs Bluray Player

[WeeboTech]

Well ... they haven't done it, but you can.  NONE of my TVs are EVER watched using the built-in tuners.  They're all just "monitors" for an attached HTPC ..

 

That is *exactly* what I do.  I was just opining that it would be cool if the TV industry actually embraced this approach and had a standard mounting point/connector with power, DVI, S/PDIF for something like a Raspberry Pi...  Not holding my breath

 

If you are so unhappy with it, trade it away or sell it and purchase something more to your liking.

It seems like you made a mistake with that particular unit and the expected use.

 

Agree with this advice.  And one nice thing about modern electronics is it's VERY inexpensive compared to not-so-long ago.    A few years ago, I donated an old TV that I'd pay $8000 for to a local charity;  and bought a far better replacement for $2000.  And you can now buy some very nice units for $1000 or so !!

 

Simply no reason to hang on to something that frustrates you !! 

 

What is this, group therapy?

 

I actually have the box for it sitting right next to it, but have not worked up the energy to try to sell it on Craigslist...  I paid about $150 for it and figure I'd be very lucky if I get $50 for it after a lot of haggling.  Tempted to just throw it in the dumpster rather than deal with the hassle, but I'm a hoarder and it does still have some utility, though as much as it raises my bloodpressure the aggravation probably outweighs the utility value

 

I could donate it to someone I don't like though, that is a good idea

 

(I still have a 21" CRT monitor and a 27" CRT TV sitting around gathering dust to give you an idea of how bad my hoarder tendencies are...  )

 

 

Hi My name is WeeboTech and I'm a hoarder of Tech also.  Really I am. LOL.

Before the storm you should have seem all the Tech I had.  When they were emptying my large 2br apartment out to the street, everyone was reeling and marveling at all the electronic tech that was being dumped as garbage.

 

 

Sometimes you just gotta let go, and work with what serves you. In some area's they have recycling events.

For the other items you do not use, you can donate them, get a receipt and use them on your tax form. It's not much but it's better then nothing. Then there is craigslist free area. Someone can always use something.

 

 

If I had a monitor in a box that worked satisfactorily  I would put it on eBay, or put it on Craiglist looking for a trade to what works for me.  I made some pretty sweet deals that way.  I traded away a synthesizer I wasn't using for one I wanted along with other stuff for a guitar interface.

[Joe L.]

Hi My name is WeeboTech and I'm a hoarder of Tech also.  Really I am. LOL.

Can I interest you in a couple of 8" floppy disk drives?  Or the CP/M motherboard they work with?

 

You both are in good company.  ;D

 

Joe L.

[garycase]

So is this a "who's the worst hoarder" session?? 

 

There are two of us (wife & I).  Wife is definitely a non-techie, so she doesn't count 

 

I have 11 computers we use;  about 8 more we don't;  4 18" deep x 6' x 6' shelf units FULL of misc parts (boards, memory, old drives, etc.).    I finally (a few years ago) tossed my last S-100 cards out (actually gave them to a guy in Nevada with a warehouse full of them);  but I do have one system set up that has a 5.25" floppy; an 8" floppy; and a Zip drive just so I can read old media for folks ... it's rare, but it does happen ["Any chance you can read this old floppy I have??"]    Until about 10 years ago, I still had my original hard drive [a 26MB Seagate 14" Winchester unit that cost me $4500].

 

Until 6 months ago I still had 4 old CRTs "stashed" in my junk room and attic - a 27", 2 24" and a 19".  I finally gave all but one of those aware [i still had a spot to store it  ]

 

I also have two Super-Beta recorders and two Super-VHS recorders, just in case video tapes ever come back 

 

... and then there's all my spare A/V gear .... 

 

... not to mention my linear-tracking turntable and Shure V-15 Type IV cartridge (to play my 750 LPs)

 

<Sigh>  I'd NEVER wish the bad luck WeeboTech had on anyone (I believe it was called "Sandy") => but sometimes I think a Hurricane or Tornado wouldn't be all that bad an idea !!      I do go through occasional "cleaning frenzies" ... but a more accurate description of the outcome of those would be "re-arrangement frenzies"    [i suspect some of you understand that well !!]

 

[JonathanM]

So is this a "who's the worst hoarder" session?? 

I suspect I should exclude myself from the running, as I have a small computer store that's been in operation since 1977. The shop basement is a treasure trove of junk. The business started as a manufacturer of custom printer interface boards, since at that time there was no such thing as a standard parallel port connection on either the computer or the printer, so the boards had to be set up for a specific computer type to talk to a specific printer type.

[WeeboTech]

I do go through occasional "cleaning frenzies" ... but a more accurate description of the outcome of those would be "re-arrangement frenzies"    [i suspect some of you understand that well !!]

 

Totally understand that!

 

These days I'm trying to limit what I buy, what I work with and how portable it is.

 

I was fortunate enough to get out with a few laptops. Imagine my dismay when i realized I FORGOT a box of laptops I packed to move upstairs.  Really no one in my neighborhood thought it was going to be that bad.  We have been through hurricanes for years. This one came in so fast, by the time I was about to abandon ship after getting electric shocks, the water was up to the middle of my windows on the ground floor.  I was underwater like a submarine with water shooting up the drains.

 

In any case, so far I've gotten a few laptops, tablets, micro HTPC's, N54Ls and I'll only make 1 medium sized unRAID server. (for now...heh...). No more hoarding old parts for me.  That was crazy when I saw the heap of parts outside on the street.

 

What I did go with was one very large Samsung SmartTV and a Samsung SMART Blu-ray/HT system (top of the line as of a few months ago).

 

I still find the SMART stuff not all that impressive. Looks really nice, but slow.

 

What I did like is, when I had nothing in the apartment, I was able to plugin my flash drive to either device and listen to music or play video.  So in a pinch, the smart functionality comes in handy.

 

With the Samsung stuff, the SMART HUB/AllShare is pretty neat. Still slow and needs work. My phone and tablet can now display on the TV wireless when I choose.  once I get DLNA on unRAID, I can access that without needing a HTPC.

 

Still I plan to have XBMC under linux and a Windows 7 HTPC.  So I guess with all the SMART functionality, It's still not there yet.

[BobPhoenix]

I still had my original hard drive [a 26GB Seagate 14" Winchester unit that cost me $4500].

You sure that isn't 26MB?  I have a Compac XP compatible with a 10MB hdd in it that I got from work.  Don't have quite the lineup of PC's you do.  I really didn't start on them until a 40Mhz AMD with full height 100MB HDD.  But I do also have alot of Commodore equipment still - 64s, 128s, plus4, B128, 128Ds - many/most still functional.

[garycase]

Whoops!  Yes, it was 26MB ... my fingers didn't want to type something that small 

 

Been doing this stuff a LONG time -- started wiring plugboards for an IBM 407 accounting machine when I was 15.  Built an Altair ~ 1974; and had quite a few early S-100 machines.    Stuff cost some real $$ back in those days => I recall building an 8KB memory card for an S100 machine ... saved $200 by soldering all the sockets and components myself ... so it only cost $1200 !!  My first printer was a Digital Group dot matrix unit for ~ $1000.

 

Stuff today seems "free" 

[WeeboTech]

Before the flood, I had 22 machines in service. I'm a fan of build a machine for a task and don't overwhelm it.  They weren't all on at the same time. I used each for it's specific task. If it were music digital recording that's all it did, DJ, Ripping. HTPC, browsing, File server, etc, etc.

 

With ESX I have the luxury of a large machine and compartmentalized headless functions.

 

Boy did I love my C64!! I remember having the ViC20, C64 and C128.  I would have gotten into computers much sooner if we could have afforded them. I so wanted to start playing with S100. However I was quite young and it was not affordable for us.

 

[dikkiedirk]

I want to purchase a smaller LCD/LED TV of about 27 inch for use in the bedroom. I narrowed it down to a Samsung and LG. The Samsung has all inputs: DP, HDMI, VGA but a TN Panel and the LG has no VGA input but an IPS panel. What to get? Is there a big difference between TN and IPS?

[garycase]

I want to purchase a smaller LCD/LED TV of about 27 inch for use in the bedroom. I narrowed it down to a Samsung and LG. The Samsung has all inputs: DP, HDMI, VGA but a TN Panel and the LG has no VGA input but an IPS panel. What to get? Is there a big difference between TN and IPS?

 

Given a choice, I'd buy an IPS panel -- more consistent brightness; better viewing angles; no "tailing"; etc.  But the reality is most folks probably can't tell the difference unless you're comparing them side-by-side.

 

[dikkiedirk]

Before the flood, I had 22 machines in service. I'm a fan of build a machine for a task and don't overwhelm it.  They weren't all on at the same time. I used each for it's specific task. If it were music digital recording that's all it did, DJ, Ripping. HTPC, browsing, File server, etc, etc.

 

With ESX I have the luxury of a large machine and compartmentalized headless functions.

 

Boy did I love my C64!! I remember having the ViC20, C64 and C128.  I would have gotten into computers much sooner if we could have afforded them. I so wanted to start playing with S100. However I was quite young and it was not affordable for us.

 

That's how I started, A ViC20, then a C64. First steps in machine-codeprogramming there. There were many different platforms in the shops those days. Frankly, it was much more fun I think. We had a small group, the Public Domain Makers. We were cracking games, ripping the copy-protection from games. Doing hardware mods. building parallel interfaces for the 1540 and 1541 floppy drives. I hated those cassette drives with speedloaders. Then I made a choice: having 2 options Amiga A500 or getting a PC from work ( A genuine Honeywell AT 286, weighing 20 kgs with 30 MB harddrive and running DOS, with an EGA screen. I choose the PC.

[dikkiedirk]

I want to purchase a smaller LCD/LED TV of about 27 inch for use in the bedroom. I narrowed it down to a Samsung and LG. The Samsung has all inputs: DP, HDMI, VGA but a TN Panel and the LG has no VGA input but an IPS panel. What to get? Is there a big difference between TN and IPS?

 

Given a choice, I'd buy an IPS panel -- more consistent brightness; better viewing angles; no "tailing"; etc.  But the reality is most folks probably can't tell the difference unless you're comparing them side-by-side.

 

The biggest difference is probably viewing angles?

[WeeboTech]

Before the flood, I had 22 machines in service. I'm a fan of build a machine for a task and don't overwhelm it.  They weren't all on at the same time. I used each for it's specific task. If it were music digital recording that's all it did, DJ, Ripping. HTPC, browsing, File server, etc, etc.

 

With ESX I have the luxury of a large machine and compartmentalized headless functions.

 

Boy did I love my C64!! I remember having the ViC20, C64 and C128.  I would have gotten into computers much sooner if we could have afforded them. I so wanted to start playing with S100. However I was quite young and it was not affordable for us.

 

That's how I started, A ViC20, then a C64. First steps in machine-codeprogramming there. There were many different platforms in the shops those days. Frankly, it was much more fun I think. We had a small group, the Public Domain Makers. We were cracking games, ripping the copy-protection from games. Doing hardware mods. building parallel interfaces for the 1540 and 1541 floppy drives. I hated those cassette drives with speedloaders. Then I made a choice: having 2 options Amiga A500 or getting a PC from work ( A genuine Honeywell AT 286, weighing 20 kgs with 30 MB harddrive and running DOS, with an EGA screen. I choose the PC.

 

hahaha, me too! I gave up on my Vic20/C64/C128. Someone gave me an XT with a 20MB HD and it was all over for me!!

[Griz]

I want to purchase a smaller LCD/LED TV of about 27 inch for use in the bedroom. I narrowed it down to a Samsung and LG. The Samsung has all inputs: DP, HDMI, VGA but a TN Panel and the LG has no VGA input but an IPS panel. What to get? Is there a big difference between TN and IPS?

 

I don't have the vocabulary to say why, but to me, the (grey market Korean) IPS I have just looks better than the cheap TNs I have.    I think it boils down to the way the colors are less bright to begin with and kind of subtly fade/change on the TNs based on small changes in viewing angle.  The blacks are also deeper on my IPS, but no idea if that is a backlight tech thing or an IPS thing.

 

I do go through occasional "cleaning frenzies" ... but a more accurate description of the outcome of those would be "re-arrangement frenzies"

 

Thats too funny... I do the same thing.  I have a bunch of rubbermaid tubs full of old tech and every few years will go through them...  I end up with a tiny pile of stuff that I can bear to part with and all of the tubs reorganized   Then I have to take the throw away pile immediately to the dumpster or else I risk losing my resolve and keeping it.

 

I have a tub full of ISDN modems/routers that has been on the bubble for years.  I just can't pull the trigger though since it's very nice stuff and you never know, one day I might need ISDN again....  It could happen!   

 

 

[WeeboTech]

I do go through occasional "cleaning frenzies" ... but a more accurate description of the outcome of those would be "re-arrangement frenzies"

 

Thats too funny... I do the same thing.  I have a bunch of rubbermaid tubs full of old tech and every few years will go through them...  I end up with a tiny pile of stuff that I can bear to part with and all of the tubs reorganized   Then I have to take the throw away pile immediately to the dumpster or else I risk losing my resolve and keeping it.

 

I have a tub full of ISDN modems/routers that has been on the bubble for years.  I just can't pull the trigger though since it's very nice stuff and you never know, one day I might need ISDN again....  It could happen!   

 

Check eBay to see if anyone is still using/buying the stuff.

If not donate it to somewhere that will recycle the metal from the circuit boards.

 

I had a bunch of ISDN stuff too. I had to resolve to never go back ISDN again unless I moved out to the boondocks where cable and/or fios was not available.  That's probably not going to happen since my career is very tech oriented and I need highspeed.

 

I started watching hoarders to realize what a slight problem I had (slight compared to people on the show).  It's funny to think it educational but it did open my eyes a bit.

 

I learned 3 rules to consider.

 

1. Do you Need it?

2. Do you Use it?

3. Do you Love it?

 

Then I considered, If I have not used it, needed it, or loved it in the last year. I can probably live without it.  This went for old TVs DVD players, cassette, VHS, circuit boards. etc, etc.

 

Mind you.. There was stuff I just loved and could not get rid of no matter what, however it wasn't all tech oriented.