Another new TV question

[Sam Murdoch]

Since the last TV we purchased was at least 15 years ago I need some info. Thank you for chiming in.

We are looking to buy a Samsung UN40H6350 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz Smart LED TV. Not necessarily on Cyber Monday but sometime in the near future.

You know what my big question is? :confused:

DO THESE NEW TVs HAVE BUILT IN TV PROGRAM GUIDES?

With my current Proscan there was a TV guide for over the air channels. All the channels available showed up in at least a 12 hour format so you could see what might be ahead for the evening. When we went to DISH the built-m TV guide was no longer useable but DISH has a guide - that very importantly is NOT A SCROLLING GUIDE (from the TVGN) like my friends get with cable. The DISH guide is like my old built-in guide but better as it shows programing ahead for 24+ hours.

We want to return to over the air viewing and a TV without a guide will be pretty frustrating at the least.

I know we could just drive to BestBuy and ask but we live in the woods and a shopping trip is not all the casual an activity.

Thanks for your help.

[Rich Enders]

Sam,

We recently bought a Samsung UN39 which is also a 1080p, 120Hz, LED. I just read the instruction manual and could not find any reference to a GUIDE. That does not mean that there isn't one, only that it did not jump out at me.

If you don't get the answer you want from SMC I might be able to disconnect from our cable service and see what is available over the air.

[Jim Becker]

"Smart" TVs may be able to access online guide sources...they can connect to the Internet through your home's Internet service. The trick will be to find a guide that's for your particular area. I just did a little Googling for that kind of thing for Maine and there are some sources...'depends upon "where" you are in Maine!

BTW, if you have the space, go larger than 40". The cost is almost immaterially more and you'll really enjoy the picture more for HD content. Flat screen viewing is "different" than with CRT type sets...you can be closer to larger without any issue.

[Sam Murdoch]

"Smart" TVs may be able to access online guide sources...they can connect to the Internet through your home's Internet service. The trick will be to find a guide that's for your particular area. I just did a little Googling for that kind of thing for Maine and there are some sources...'depends upon "where" you are in Maine!

BTW, if you have the space, go larger than 40". The cost is almost immaterially more and you'll really enjoy the picture more for HD content. Flat screen viewing is "different" than with CRT type sets...you can be closer to larger without any issue.


Thanks Rich & Jim. If you get to it Rich I would be grateful to see what over the air GUIDE might be available with your Samsung. I did download the manual and there is some thing said about a 2 hour guide. That might be the extent of it.

I will go into the Internets to see what online info is available for mid-coast Maine that could be streamed. Though we will stream most of our "entertainment" we still avail ourselves of local programming.

As for a bigger TV - our TV space is one of the smallest spaces in the house. We sit directly in front of the TV which is 9'-6" away from our sofa (which I built :)). Seems that a bigger TV will not offer much advantage in that distance and very likely will overwhelm us. I even wonder that a 40" one will seem BIG.

[Jon Nuckles]

Sam,
I can't help on your original question, but I think Jim's advice to go larger is wise. We sit about the same distance as you from our 50" and I would like to go bigger. It will seem big at first, but you quickly get used to it. I have never heard anyone say they wish they had gotten a smaller tv.

[Tom M King]

I would think any channel guide would be provided by the signal provider. Get a bigger one, and a Smart one.

[Stan Calow]

Sam I hate to say this but I agree that bigger is better. Our main TV is 50" and less than 7' from the couch and we agreed immediately, that we should have got a bigger one. Not overwhelming at all, just makes it easier to see the details.

[Joe Pelonio]

Just Friday we picked up a 48" for my parents. It's a good compromise size, Vizio at Costco for $439. The great thing about buying there is they add a 2nd year to the factory warranty, then you can buy 3 more years for only $29 if under 50". It was a smart TV, and the manufacturer provides apps for it, but I don't know if there's one for local station guides, since they have satellite with it's own listings.
There are guides available for computers, tablets, and smartphones that you can use, if not.

[Jim Matthews]

http://www.toshiba.com/us/recommended-tv-viewing-distance

$500 for a HDTV LED is promising.

[Bruce Page]

http://www.toshiba.com/us/recommended-tv-viewing-distance

$500 for a HDTV LED is promising.

We fall into the sweet spot for a 46" according to the chart and it's about perfect. I wouldn't want to go any smaller than 46". Our next set will likely be ~ 55"

[Sam Murdoch]

We actually went to look at them today and compared sizes. My wife and I both agree that a 46" is a very nice size - a bit wider but more importantly taller than the 40" and negligibly smaller than the 48". 50" or bigger are just out of the question. Hard to take the advice of the Toshiba viewing distance seriously. Won't you go blind sitting that close to a 55" TV :eek: :confused: ? If we can find the right smart LED HDTV that we like in a 46" size we will comply with the masses and go bigger than we started out. :cool: I think we'll be fine sitting a bit further back. Still need to look into the over the air guide options.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Sam,

We have a 46" that we bought 2 years ago. It's big enough for me.

[Jim Becker]

Won't you go blind sitting that close to a 55" TV

Nope...as previously mentioned, the things that "might" have been true about the old CRT sets, no longer hold with LCD/LED flat screens. Folks who watch HD movies, in particular, like the immersive experience you can get with a larger screen in a more intimate viewing environment. That said, you should buy what you are most comfortable with!

[Chris Padilla]

There is a lot to think about when choosing your TV size. Some of it is how close you are to the TV. Some of it is how the TV fits your decor/furniture. We have 2 42" Panasonic plasmas in our house. 42" is the max size to fit the corner in our den and it does fit PERFECTLY. We had the option to go 50" in the living room but it would have overwhelmed our TV stand and not looked right.

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

something that I have not seen mentioned - you are watching broadcast TV only - no cable, dish, etc...right?

I have a TV at my weekend place that only gets broadcast.

It's an old TV, so I had to get one of those converter boxes a few years ago when everyone made the switch.

On the remote for the box, there's a "guide" button. When you push it - you get an on-screen listing of the programs on that channel. I believe you can scroll through it manually to see upcoming prgrams and descriptions.

[Myk Rian]

"Smart" TVs may be able to access online guide sources...they can connect to the Internet through your home's Internet service.
^^^^This^^^^
I use my desktop to change channels on the TV in my office. Comcast offers that service. A smart TV would do the same thing.
http://xfinitytv.comcast.net/tv-listings

[Rich Enders]

Sam,

I was unable to receive any stations when I switched away from the cable feed. Probably this is because I have no antenna, Sorry I couldn't be of some help.

[Sam Murdoch]

Sam,

I was unable to receive any stations when I switched away from the cable feed. Probably this is because I have no antenna, Sorry I couldn't be of some help.

Hey - no problem I appreciate that you would even try. Thanks very much. I think we'll be fine based on the commentary above.

[Tom Stenzel]

Hi Sam,

I'm an OTA watcher and have the rabbit ears to prove it.

With our old TV we had a Magnavox converter box that would show the upcoming OTA shows for the next couple of hours. When the TV died it was replaced with a fancy Visio. The information button tells you what’s on. That’s it. And it’s a smart TV that connects to wifi. So I know where you’re coming from.

I looked up the Samsung UN40H6350 that you mentioned.

This is what the Samsung is supposed to have (from the Samsung minister of propaganda):
------
S-Recommendation

Receive personalized TV and movie recommendations based on your own preferences and what's popular and trending.
------


Here’s the gushing review of the S Recommendation system from PC World from 2013:

-----------
Most users generally use their TVs mostly for watching free-to-air digital TV, and Samsung is banking on this for its S-Recommendation feature. What S-Recommendation does is keep track of what you’ve watched, and of any content questions you might have asked, and pick out shows that it thinks you might be interested in. It learns your preferences each time you watch TV, so it’ll get more refined with time. It can also be configured for individual users, tying in with face recognition where it’s available. It’ll work with your free-to-air digital TV from when Samsung’s new TVs hit the shelves, and should support the in-built Foxtel app by the end of the year.
-------

So you will be able to find out what’s coming OTA, but you need an internet connection to do it.

My own (jaundiced) view of this: Samsung can and wants to track what you watch OTA so it can sell the info to it’s Valued Partners. The facial recognition sounds just plain creepy. My television watching me? No thanks.

You can take from that what you want!

-Tom

[Sam Murdoch]

My own (jaundiced) view of this: Samsung can and wants to track what you watch OTA so it can sell the info to it’s Valued Partners. The facial recognition sounds just plain creepy. My television watching me? No thanks.

You can take from that what you want!

-Tom

My take? Exactly like yours TOM. I will not play in that reindeer game. Thanks for the heads up.

[Tom Stenzel]

My take? Exactly like yours TOM. I will not play in that reindeer game. Thanks for the heads up.

Sam,

Not all the S Recognition systems have facial recognition, and some of it may have been over blown hype from PC World. Read everything carefully, make your own decision.

-Tom

[Jim Becker]

Don't buy a set that has a camera...not really necessary for a TV, IMHO...and without it, "facial recognition" is impossible. ;)

[David Weaver]

I employ black electrical tape on our computers. Actually black duct tape from none other than mcmaster carr. Blends in, does its job. I cover the mic, too, which is not a 100% proposition, but nobody needs to hear my private ramblings about the impurity and total downfall of society via exposed dovetails, pocket screws and inferior sharpening stones that make fallacious or salacious (as in lustful, lecherous, lewd) claims.

Plus, I don't want anyone to steal my idea of making custom veneer underwear for furniture that shows it's unmentionables (end grain, dovetails, etc)...






:)

[Steve Peterson]

DO THESE NEW TVs HAVE BUILT IN TV PROGRAM GUIDES?

With my current Proscan there was a TV guide for over the air channels.

I used to have an old analog Proscan TV for over the air channels. I loved the built in guide. I think it picked up the guide from channel 6 during the off hours. I am not sure how it does it now since the switch to digital TV.

The guides on Dish/DirecTV/Comcast are very frustrating. The search functions are practically useless because they front load them with premium channels and pay per view. It is just a money grab and there does not appear to be a way to filter them to search through just a few channels.

Steve

[Sam Murdoch]

I used to have an old analog Proscan TV for over the air channels. I loved the built in guide. I think it picked up the guide from channel 6 during the off hours. I am not sure how it does it now since the switch to digital TV.

The guides on Dish/DirecTV/Comcast are very frustrating. The search functions are practically useless because they front load them with premium channels and pay per view. It is just a money grab and there does not appear to be a way to filter them to search through just a few channels.

Steve

Actually the Guide on DISH is very good. It does have an edit feature but you must spend some time selecting the various channels to put in your categories - like a folder. My folders are set up and called: LOCAL, MOVIES, PREMIUMS, FAVORITES. These are not categories that I named but are offered for editing by the DISH - I think there may be SPORTS and NEWS among others. Obviously you add to each folder as you like and can edit, add or subtract at anytime. You then can just scan those folders when you click on GUIDE on your remote rather than going through all the channels. THIS IS THE ONLY FEATURE I LIKE WITH DISH - it is far superior to that offered by Time Warner cable. I have no experience with others. Can't wait to dump them - satellites and/or cables. Imagine a pay for TV system that fails - utterly loses the signal - when it is raining hard on the East coast or snowing :rolleyes:.

[Sam Murdoch]

Here is an update. My questions all answered.

We bought a Samsung UNH46H7150 smart TV. This replaces our old Proscan. The Tv does have a rudimentary guide - tell you what channels you have and what is on at any given time but you need to scroll down the list and ONLY GET THE INFO FOR THE HOUR.

I also eliminated DISH (which offers an excellent program guide - for 20 hours or so ahead) in favor of over the air reception. Bought a Lava HD2605 Ultra G3 outdoor HGTV antenna. This is a small unit that was able to go directly onto my DISH mount and use the same wire. I only get 10 local channels but that combined with the online streaming capacity and Netflix will provide all the TV we need.

This Lava antenna combined with the Samsung TV to give me a real program guide showing the available channels and info for each show for an evenings worth of watching. Can't plan for tomorrow night but at least I don't need to channel surf all night. Also I've discovered that there are a couple of TV guides available on line for local channels so I can get more info as needed with the web search capacity of the TV.

To summarize - my opening question has been answered in the affirmative much to my relief.

To add to the discussion - calling DISH to cancel was quite a revelation. They just did not want to hear that I was just ending all together. I was offered quite a few deals until finally they said I could have 6 months for $ 13.00 and the following 18 months for the basic fee (I think she said $ 27.00 or thereabouts). I have to admit that at that point, had I not already purchased and set up my antenna, I might have given in to the hard sell. Oh well - I can always re-up, though I think that is highly unlikely.

[Myk Rian]

There are guides available for computers, tablets, and smartphones that you can use, if not.
I use my phone to view the guide, change channels, record programs, etc. Great to have.
If I'm at the desktop, I'll use that to do it all. I consider the channel guides through the TV to be hard to use, slow viewing the channels. I don't use it if I don't have to.