Smart TV boxes
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Continuing https://what.thedailywtf.com/topic/22088/video-rental-stores
Recently, the last remaining DVD rental store in the neighborhood has closed. The ones that remain fall into the following two categories:
Do you have Lord Of The Rings Special Edition? (or any slightly older movie really)
Nah, we had it on VHS but it was sold.or
Do you have Lord Of The Rings Special Edition? Your website lists it.
(searches around and on PC for 20 minutes) I can't find it in the box and the PC does not show it, but then I've only been here for two years.The previous two stores that I used had basically any movie that I could imagine including stuff like the original Tron, the old Batman movies, etc. So now I'm starting to accept the fact that the world of legal movie watching has moved on from DVD renting.
Meanwhile all of my friends are like "Dude, are you nuts? All of that stuff is free on this torrent site called ncore.cc!" And then the murders began.
Further complicating the story are two more constraints:
- I want to watch movies on our TV, not on a computer screen.
- Our family TV is an Orion CTV 1228 M from 1993, the same year I was born:
It has the following two inputs:
- Antenna
- SCART
The latter is in use currently with the set-top box we bought when all of the terrestrial broadcasting was switched over to digital in 2013. But my dad made a custom switcher box so we can switch between watching TV or DVD. That has two SCART inputs or one SCART and one composite. And one SCART output.
So it should be possible to wire up some smart TV box to this mess and watch Netflix on it. But I can't seem to figure out some things.
- If I buy a box such as Roku, will it work in Hungary?
- Will it last more than a few years? I'd hate to have to buy a new one every few years.
- Can I assume that the movies that are not available on Netflix in this country, or at all - such as Lord Of The Rings Special Edition, or Die Hard 2 - will become available over the years?
- Can I assume that Netflix will fix their Windows 10 app so that this error
https://www.xtremerain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/netflix-error-X1-X1-HD-Screenshot.jpg
will not appear on every search suggestion click?
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@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
If I buy a box such as Roku, will it work in Hungary?
With a VPN, anything is possible...
@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
Will it last more than a few years? I'd hate to have to buy a new one every few years.
I can't put my input on this, I still use 10yo laptops...
@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
Can I assume that the movies that are not available on Netflix in this country, or at all - such as Lord Of The Rings Special Edition, or Die Hard 2 - will become available over the years?
No.
@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
Can I assume that Netflix will fix their Windows 10 app so that this error will not appear on every search suggestion click?
What does that have to do with Smart TV boxes?
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@tsaukpaetra said in Smart TV boxes:
What does that have to do with Smart TV boxes?
Nothing, but it's annoying.
Some more questions.
- Which other boxes should I consider? Main extra requirement is analog output.
- Should I avoid no-name manufacturers like the plague?
- Is the Chromecast really useless on its own without some other device that you cast to it?
@tsaukpaetra said in Smart TV boxes:
With a VPN, anything is possible...
- How do I connect a smart TV box to a VPN? Normally I would just make it connect to the wireless network.
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@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
Main extra requirement is analog output.
I specifically got a crude HDMI-Composite adapter for that, so box compatibility would not be a consideration.
@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
Should I avoid no-name manufacturers like the plague?
They're all the same, so once you tried one, it's very likely you tried them all.
@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
Is the Chromecast really useless on its own without some other device that you cast to it?
Without a controlling device, such as a PC, Smartphone, etc. yes, the best it does on its own is display random photos from Google.
@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
How do I connect a smart TV box to a VPN? Normally I would just make it connect to the wireless network.
You'd connect your router to the VPN. But now we're getting into @Lorne-Kates territory.
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@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
Is the Chromecast really useless on its own without some other device that you cast to it?
Yes. You'd need a PC with Chrome or a phone that can cast things to it, there's no direct interface that I'm aware of.
@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
How do I connect a smart TV box to a VPN? Normally I would just make it connect to the wireless network.
Presumably using a router that does the VPN connection directly rather than having a piece of client software on a computer.
@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
Which other boxes should I consider? Main extra requirement is analog output.
This is probably going to be your biggest problem. Unless whatever you end up plugging your stream-receiver into does the entire HDCP handshake and then sends it along to analog, you're probably going to get a lot of nothing out of most legitimate items (Netflix, etc.) because usually the end of the HDCP handshake comes from the display device (TV, monitor) as being the final step in the certified chain.
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You might want to look into a HDMI-to-SCART adapter. That will broaden your options quite considerably.
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@e4tmyl33t said in Smart TV boxes:
This is probably going to be your biggest problem. Unless whatever you end up plugging your stream-receiver into does the entire HDCP handshake and then sends it along to analog, you're probably going to get a lot of nothing out of most legitimate items (Netflix, etc.) because usually the end of the HDCP handshake comes from the display device (TV, monitor) as being the final step in the certified chain.
This doesn't look correct, for example Roku has analog output:
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The Netflix library here is very weird.
It does have Captain America: Civil War but not the first one. Same thing with Avengers.
From Star Wars only The Force Awakens is there.
It offers a lot of titles as search suggestions that are not available.
I hate this copyright shit. They could make some money off of this but they want more money so in the end I don't get to watch their movies so they get no money. How does that make sense?
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It's ridiculous that it's literally impossible to rent certain movies in this country.
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@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
@e4tmyl33t said in Smart TV boxes:
This is probably going to be your biggest problem. Unless whatever you end up plugging your stream-receiver into does the entire HDCP handshake and then sends it along to analog, you're probably going to get a lot of nothing out of most legitimate items (Netflix, etc.) because usually the end of the HDCP handshake comes from the display device (TV, monitor) as being the final step in the certified chain.
This doesn't look correct, for example Roku has analog output:
But it won't support HDCP, which means it will probably not work with some apps that want to protect their copyrightz
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@sloosecannon said in Smart TV boxes:
@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
@e4tmyl33t said in Smart TV boxes:
This is probably going to be your biggest problem. Unless whatever you end up plugging your stream-receiver into does the entire HDCP handshake and then sends it along to analog, you're probably going to get a lot of nothing out of most legitimate items (Netflix, etc.) because usually the end of the HDCP handshake comes from the display device (TV, monitor) as being the final step in the certified chain.
This doesn't look correct, for example Roku has analog output:
But it won't support HDCP, which means it will probably not work with some apps that want to protect their copyrightz
Yeah. Does @everybody have a Roku+ and can weigh in?
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@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
The Netflix library here is very weird.
It does have Captain America: Civil War but not the first one. Same thing with Avengers.
From Star Wars only The Force Awakens is there.
That makes perfect sense. Star Wars pre-The Force Awakens was released by Fox, and older Marvel movies were released by Paramount (except The Incredible Hulk, which was Universal). So Netflix has a deal with Disney, but not Paramount or Universal.
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@unperverted-vixen said in Smart TV boxes:
@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
The Netflix library here is very weird.
It does have Captain America: Civil War but not the first one. Same thing with Avengers.
From Star Wars only The Force Awakens is there.
That makes perfect sense. Star Wars pre-The Force Awakens was released by Fox, and older Marvel movies were released by Paramount (except The Incredible Hulk, which was Universal). So Netflix has a deal with Disney, but not Paramount or Universal.
Makes sense, except that to me, it does not make sense that Paramount or Universal does not want me to watch their movies apparently?
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@marczellm Okay, that part of it doesn't make sense.
But the separation between what's not available and what you can stream isn't arbitrary as you seemed to be implying.
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@unperverted-vixen Now, I know NodeBB is fucking with me, nobody would have up and down-voted these willy nilly like that... Right?
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@tsaukpaetra said in Smart TV boxes:
@unperverted-vixen Now, I know NodeBB is fucking with me, nobody would have up and down-voted these willy nilly like that... Right?
In this case, you are right:
That said, I wouldn't put anything past members of this forum. ;)
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@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
is in use currently with the set-top box we bought when all of the terrestrial broadcasting was switched over to digital in 2013. But my dad made a custom switcher box so we can switch between watching TV or DVD. That has two SCART inputs or one SCART and one composite. And one SCART output.
So it should be possible to wire up some smart TV box to this mess and watch Netflix on it. But I can't seem to figure out some things.If I buy a box such as Roku, will it work in Hungary?
Will it last more than a few years? I'd hate to have to buy a new one every few years.
Can I assume that the movies that are not available on Netflix in this country, or at all - such as Lord Of The Rings Special Edition, or Die Hard 2 - will become available over the years?
Can I assume that Netflix will fix their Windows 10 app so that this errorI've been a cord cutter since 2007, when I got a 24 inch iMac and a TV tuner.
Yes, if you get a Roku it will work in Hungary. But your monitor is going to be a problem. Newer Roku's only do HDMI, so you will need an HDMI to analog converter. Not too expensive, but you'll only be able to get 480p or 576p quality out of one.
I've had a few Rokus over the years. I bought a Roku stick last Christmas, to upgrade to 802.11ac. I had bought one last year because we got another TV in the house. And I had bought two in the years before then. I think one was a replacement for a gift (i.e., I let my ex-gf have one and bought myself an upgrade). They're reliable enough, I guess.
Do you use the TV for watching "regular" TV? If not, replace it with a big cheap computer monitor and a Roku. If you do watch regular TV, consider getting TV with a built in Roku (Sharp and a few other companies do it).
To get a Roku on a VPN, you will want to have your router connect to the VPN, and have the Roku connect to it on Wifi. You can get fancy if you want. One obvious optimization would be to make it so that only the Roku/BitTorrent traffic gets sent to the VPN. There are lots of options for that.
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@captain said in Smart TV boxes:
you'll only be able to get 480p or 576p quality out of one.
He's only going to be able to get 576p out of his analog TV.
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@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
Makes sense, except that to me, it does not make sense that Paramount or Universal does not want me to watch their movies apparently?
Could be some other media outlet in Hungary has obtained the right to show The Force Awakens (and beyond?), so Netflix is denied them. (Here in the Netherlands, though, TFA is on Netflix together with the six previous Star Wars films.)
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@tsaukpaetra said in Smart TV boxes:
With a VPN, anything is possible...
Except using Netflix. They decided to crack down on the evil scourge of consuming content from other regions of the world a little while ago.
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@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
Is the Chromecast really useless on its own without some other device that you cast to it?
"Other device" can be any smartphone or tablet, maybe even computer. You probably have something like that.
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@captain said in Smart TV boxes:
Not too expensive, but you'll only be able to get 480p or 576p quality out of one.
His TV's from 1993, that's more than enough.
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I wouldn't recomment netflix. I liked it when it had close to everything. Now it's a patchwork of missing stuff. I liked it for the feeling of having everything.
I liked that you had the option to change to another country to "get yer holes filled"
but since they made that annoyingly difficult, i've cancelled my subscription.
I see no good solutions.
To get the level of content i expect for a single service i'd have to subscribe to several services ranging from 14-22 usd. It's not worth that for me, so i read a lot.
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@swayde said in Smart TV boxes:
I liked it when it had close to everything. Now it's a patchwork of missing stuff.
Streaming video started by promising all the films and TV you'd want from a single service rather than subscribing to different cable/satellite packages for the couple of channels you wanted. Now they're all doing their own exclusive content and you need Amazon Prime, Netflix and individual channels' streaming services to get all your programs, remember which ones are on which services and hope your smart TV or set top box has the right app.
Frankly, it's getting back to the point where piracy is a more appealing option, after a brief glimmer of hope that companies had understood what they needed to offer
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@jaloopa said in Smart TV boxes:
piracy is a more appealing option
I've done my research, and i'd recommend Plex with radarr and sonarr (yes i know how dumb that sounds), but that doesn't benefit OP in any way. The best solution to OP's problems woud be a pi with a large usb hdd, transmission and kodi. But i'll never advocate piracy ;)
IIRC the original pi even has analog video out - the newer one might too https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=87619.
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@captain said in Smart TV boxes:
Newer Roku's only do HDMI
Again Roku Express+
Thanks for the tips though.
@blakeyrat said in Smart TV boxes:
Srsly. TVs are dirt-cheap.
It wouldn't get approval from the rest of my family.
- The old one works (and has worked since 1993)
- The new one looks different
- It will probably not last until 2041
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@tsaukpaetra said in Smart TV boxes:
You'd connect your router to the VPN.
Or, if you buy an Android TV box, you can connect it to a VPN.
But now we're getting into @Lorne-Kates territory.
He's gonna start killing trans-hookers ?
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@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
It wouldn't get approval from the rest of my family.
The old one works (and has worked since 1993)
Easy fix : just spill your beer on the TV "by accident"
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@timebandit Nah, the repair cost will set back the expected purchase date of a new TV by another 5 years.
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@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
It will probably not last until 2041
Ah, but by then the barriers to upgrading should have expired, no?
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@pleegwat said in Smart TV boxes:
Nah, the repair cost will set back the expected purchase date of a new TV by another 5 years.
The time machine required to find a TV repair shop would dwarf the actual repair cost.
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@blakeyrat said in Smart TV boxes:
@luhmann said in Smart TV boxes:
A new TV?
Srsly. TVs are dirt-cheap.
He is at Hungary, your perception of cheapness don't apply.
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@wharrgarbl said in Smart TV boxes:
He is
atin Hungary, your perception of cheapness don't apply.Around here €200 gets you started on a new TV without anything special. If I understand it right he might be spending €50-100 in cable and converters. So not even counting the fiddling time to get it working and keep it working ...
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@luhmann said in Smart TV boxes:
@wharrgarbl said in Smart TV boxes:
He is
atin Hungary, your perception of cheapness don't apply.Around here €200 gets you started on a new TV without anything special. If I understand it right he might be spending €50-100 in cable and converters. So not even counting the fiddling time to get it working and keep it working ...
Correct. What you still don't take into account is the risk associated with buying a new TV. The old one has been working for 24 years now. No one expects a current TV to last that long. That is a serious consideration when upgrading anything that is not broken.
For example, our fridge has worked for like 30 years. When it gave up and we bought a new one, the plastic door handle broke off in like a year. Same thing for my dad's 1996 phone (second one on image).
When he bought a new one it started crapping out the day after warranty expired.
http://img.phonescoop.com/img/a/m/18786.jpg
Et cetera.
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@luhmann Especially if said new TV is one of the cheaper models.
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@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
What you still don't take into account is the risk associated with buying a new TV.
Yes. You are not taking into account the risk that the old TV will implode tomorrow.
Look, I'm not even advocating to get the latest shinny. I just see little advantage in bolting new shit onto an old timer. Because that's what what it is. If it was a car you could register it as an old timer.
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@luhmann said in Smart TV boxes:
I just see little advantage in bolting new shit onto an old timer.
Understood. I find it fun though. (I enjoy LaTeX too.)
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@marczellm Still not seeing the usefulness. Picture quality of those things is awful (especially after 20 years - CRT screens age too!), they consume huge amounts of power and take up lots of space.
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@rhywden said in Smart TV boxes:
Still not seeing the usefulness.
Give it a rest ... he just admitted at liking LaTeX ... he is lost beyond salvation.
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@captain said in Smart TV boxes:
Newer Roku's only do HDMI
Do they still make one that does wired ethernet? I want to reduce the number of gadgets on my crappy wifi connection >.>
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@yamikuronue Yeah, the Roku Premier and higher do.
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@captain said in Smart TV boxes:
Roku Premier
$60 used >.< yeah, I can swing that, just not immediately. Thanks!
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@marczellm I think you should get an HDMI to analog converter, then you can plug anything
There are several devices like this on ebay ( http://www.ebay.com/bhp/hdmi-to-analog-converter ), between 10 and 20 usd
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@wharrgarbl And all of them will give you crappy image quality. But considering the crappy TV on which it's gonna be plugged, that's not really an issue.
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I take it you're not in the UK, or I'd recommend Lovefilm (which is now owned by Amazon). AFAIK it's UK only.
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@rhywden said in Smart TV boxes:
@marczellm Still not seeing the usefulness. Picture quality of those things is awful (especially after 20 years - CRT screens age too!), they consume huge amounts of power and take up lots of space.
Picture quality: It's what I'm used to. I go into the consumer electronics store, look at those new TVs and I get a bad feeling that something is wrong. Like if a movie shouldn't be that crisp. Robert Downey Jr looks pretty ridiculous in those computer generated suits when the image is so clear he could be standing next to you.
Space taken up: Actually this goes against buying a new TV. See, the TV lives in our living room bookshelf. The shelf is designed so that a CRT TV fits nicely in that space. Putting a flat TV in there would either leave a huge empty space behind, or in front of it. Assuming it's not wider than our new one, in which case we would have to completely rearrange/refurnish the living room.
Kind of like this, except much older and much smaller:
http://megfizethetobutor.hu/bmz_cache/b/b7ad8785860d6e4bf65b9eabcc29dac0.image.300x225.jpg
Related:
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@marczellm I was actually talking about the contrast ratio. When I replaced my CRT against an LCD, that was a difference like between night and day. Resolution didn't actually change.
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@marczellm said in Smart TV boxes:
Picture quality: It's what I'm used to. I go into the consumer electronics store, look at those new TVs and I get a bad feeling that something is wrong. Like if a movie shouldn't be that crisp. Robert Downey Jr looks pretty ridiculous in those computer generated suits when the image is so clear he could be standing next to you.
I remember this when I first started watching HD content, too. You'll get over it.
Belling-Lee connector - Wikipedia
SCART - Wikipedia
