Smart TV or Not?

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unwired

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Hi All

I am in the market for a new TV, and have been looking at the Samsung range.

The 2 models I have been comparing are:

1. Samsung 55" 3D Full HD LED - UA55EH6030

2. Samsung 55" Smart Slim 3D Full HD LED - UA55ES6200

Makro has both on special at R 12 999 and R 19 999 respectively.

The question I have - Is the 'Smart' tv really worth the extra R7k.

Admittedly the UA55ES6200 is a slim TV compared to the EH6030 (which seems bulky) - I am going to wall mount it - so don't think that it is a train smash for me.

What does the Smart Tv really have? I have read that it has Plex but don't know much else.

Do the smart tv owners here make use of the extra features?

Or is it better to add on a microserver to the EH6030 and get 'internet' features?

The specials expire on 10 Dec - so I have to make a decision asap.
Would appreciate fellow MYBB's expert advice.

Thanks

ps. If there is a better model/brand please let me know.
Expected use is DSTV movies/series, sports and occassional DVD + streaming from Plex.
 
You can take that 7grand and by another 40inch for the bedroom :)
 
Haven't managed to get plex on my E550 yet so smart TV been fairly useless. There's a news24 app+ticker and supersport but nothing extra if you already have dstv. It has a decentish interface for playing media from a drive but the dlna bits are iffy as dlna usually is.
 
Not worth it at the moment, the workings (keyboard) with the remote is pathetic and the only thing I use is for easy share where I show vids/pics off my tab/phone on the TV.

I would rather buy the cheaper and when perfected put it in yr room and replace then with the new version.
 
Hemi300c said:
Not worth it at the moment, the workings (keyboard) with the remote is pathetic and the only thing I use is for easy share where I show vids/pics off my tab/phone on the TV.

I would rather buy the cheaper and when perfected put it in yr room and replace then with the new version.
Click to expand...

That is my thinking currently. Only problem with the EH6030 is that there are only 2 HDMI ports - 1 dstv, 1 htpc which leaves the dvd player odd one out.
 
Not worth it. Bought a smart tv - played with the features for a couple days and haven't used it since
 
I have a UA40ES6200 and for that kind of money I should have rather gone for the UA51EH6030. The smart functions are nice, but I just really use allshare and it is on the EH5030 as well. Does the EH6030 have wireless? Or do you need to buy an extra dongle? Don't know if that bothers you in any case.
 
rorz0r said:
Haven't managed to get plex on my E550 yet so smart TV been fairly useless. There's a news24 app+ticker and supersport but nothing extra if you already have dstv. It has a decentish interface for playing media from a drive but the dlna bits are iffy as dlna usually is.
Click to expand...

Same here, Smart features would be handy if we had 100 mbps internet, I haven't used it much.

The picture quality is brilliant, and I like the 3D.
The built in media player is good, as is the built in wifi which lets you stream stuff from your pc, phone etc.

I have this one.
http://www.makro.co.za/p/33154/samsung-40-102cm-3d-smart-led-tv-plus-installation/
 
I have a smart LG, sort of by default. I don't use ANY of the smart features at all, aside from letting the thing update its firmware by itself when it feels the need. I have a microserver for all my media/youtube/etc needs.
 
phoneJunky said:
I have a UA40ES6200 and for that kind of money I should have rather gone for the UA51EH6030. The smart functions are nice, but I just really use allshare and it is on the EH5030 as well. Does the EH6030 have wireless? Or do you need to buy an extra dongle? Don't know if that bothers you in any case.
Click to expand...

From what I can see it has an Ethernet port, but wireless is not built in.
So will probably have to buy one - apparently that costs about R 900 if I am not mistaken.
 
unwired said:
From what I can see it has an Ethernet port, but wireless is not built in.
So will probably have to buy one - apparently that costs about R 900 if I am not mistaken.
Click to expand...

Can't you just use the normal wifi-dongle that cost like R200? But if it is R900 then I don't feel that bad about my purchase, because then I only overpaid about R1000 and i am certain I am using another feature probably.

alf101 said:
Same here, Smart features would be handy if we had 100 mbps internet, I haven't used it much.

The picture quality is brilliant, and I like the 3D.
The built in media player is good, as is the built in wifi which lets you stream stuff from your pc, phone etc.

I have this one.
http://www.makro.co.za/p/33154/samsu...-installation/
Click to expand...

That is also the one I got. I struggle to get the media content saved on my phone though. So I have to use the allshare to stream it over. It was a bit buggy, but the problem was my wireless router. Got a new router and all my allshare streaming is fine. Doesn't buffer HD (720p) content at all.
 
Last edited:
HDMI1.4 includes an ethernet channel doesn't it?
 
unwired said:
Expected use is DSTV movies/series, sports and occassional DVD + streaming from Plex.
Click to expand...

You should really be looking at plasma. Unless you have a really bright room with direct sunlight during viewing times. If dimmer conditions, plasma will have the picture quality edge. Cheaper too and more forgiving to SD sources.
 
Sinbad said:
I have a smart LG, sort of by default. I don't use ANY of the smart features at all, aside from letting the thing update its firmware by itself when it feels the need. I have a microserver for all my media/youtube/etc needs.
Click to expand...

Interesting the responses coming in.

Everyone who has a smart tv does not seem to use the 'smart' features.

Mybb members who should generally be more representative of the population who would be expected to use these features don't - and that to me says a lot. Ok this is a very minute sample of users.

Still it says to me that SA is not ready for the feature set of these tvs due to bandwidth and content limitations.

Or am I reading it wrong?
 
Bandwidth limitations for sure. But also, like you said, this is a more tech savvy audience. But we'd probably NOT use smart facilities as we have media servers, tablets, laptops etc.
If you didn't have all of that, it would be quite useful to be able to watch youtube, surf the net etc on your TV.
 
phoneJunky said:
Can't you just use the normal wifi-dongle that cost like R200? But if it is R900 then I don't feel that bad about my purchase, because then I only overpaid about R1000 and i am certain I am using another feature probably.
Click to expand...

I guess that I can try.
The sales guy in Makro said I have to use a specific one for this tv but it could also be him trying to boost his sales.
 
Most TVs now should support HDMI 1.4 - and the spec for that includes an ethernet channel in the cable - so I'd imagine an HDMI1.4 AVR could also act as a bridge/hub into your network, from the TV? Not sure... my tv has built in wifi ;)
 
PostmanPot said:
You should really be looking at plasma. Unless you have a really bright room with direct sunlight during viewing times. If dimmer conditions, plasma will have the picture quality edge. Cheaper too and more forgiving to SD sources.
Click to expand...

I have ready somewhere in these forums that plasma tvs guzzle the electricity.
The room I will have it in has one window either side of it - so will check if this hampers normal tv viewing. Currently have a 32" Sony Bravia there.
 
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