A vent thread for this world of smart tv's and streaming. I hate when first turning your TV on when it is stuck in this state where the "smart" TV thinks it still has the wifi connection from last time you were on, but the wifi isn't still connected, and then all your streaming apps just spin "dumb" as there is no internet. Sometimes you can just open an app that you didn't have open before and when it connects, the others smarten up. Sometimes turning tv on and off will reset everything. Sometimes you have to disconnect and reconnect the WiFi. Sometimes it just takes time for it to smarten up. We have gone backwards in so many ways WiFi and streaming vs. hard lines and cable.
LG's interface is generations better than Sony's - I have new and older LG at home, and a year-old Sony Bravia at the office. LG has a pointer remote and a scrolling wheel. Sony has a directional pad only, so to get to anything on the Sony it's tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-click-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-click-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-click-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-click... Horrible interface point #2: when you pause anything on the Sony it brings up a screensaver but if you try to resume after more than a couple of minutes, it goes back to the home screen. So you then have to click the show/movie under Continue Watching, which then goes to the app in 5-10 seconds, and then you have to pick the show again inside the app, which then resumes. If the software knows that I was *just* watching that show, and it is under Continue Watching on the home screen, why not just automatically resume it if I chose it, instead of making it a 3-4 layer exploration?
Don't get me started on the hassle of loading new Series X/PS5 games. You buy a game, oh there's an update... and then you play it a day or two later... that's where Nintendo still has everyone beat. Game on an SD card, plug it in and go.
I built out a great budget racing sim and that's exactly why I stopped playing, even just a 1 month break there would be a long upload.
Everything internet seems to be degrading these days. The quality of search results makes one want to go back to the public library and thumb thru reference books again.
That's only partially true about nintendo. A lot of their games are only partially on the cart and rest have to be downloaded. They can't seem to just put the damn things on a larger SD card. I was watching a video the other day and there were two games included together and neither are larger than around 900mb (trying to remember correctly). And they couldn't manage to put them both on one damn card. But yes, it's nice to turn on my Switch Lite and not have an update every time. I haven't touched my ps4 in quite sometime because turning on the switch is just much faster to get into a game. Although let's not get started on how horrible Nintendo's interface is in filtering options and how slow it is.
I don't bother with built-in apps on Smart TV's and standardize everything with external Roku devices. Roku isn't perfect, but have the same "smart" interface on all TVs/projectors in the house regardless of the brand and it keeps up to date. The problem with the TV's built-in apps is that manufacturers stop issuing updates after a while to keep them working. The 65" Samsung I bought my mom a few years ago won't run any apps at all -- it doesn't have new apps and Netflix exists, but it doesn't work, and there is no firmware update. I just set her up on Roku when I was visiting over the holidays. What I hate about modern TV's is that the sound quality absolutely sucks on Ultra-thin TV's, and the manufacturers have stopped providing analog left/right audio outputs to allow you to connect a 2.1 audio system. They've intentionally done this to force you to buy soundbars, I believe, however, most soundbars suck. I have full theater systems, but I don't want that (or a soundbar) for a TV bedroom that is barely used -- a simple 2.1 system is far better and easier to operate (it works with TV volume control), but that is no longer an option for almost any of the major TV providers.
