Kitz Forum
Chat => Tech Chat => Topic started by: broadstairs on March 03, 2020, 05:20:56 PM
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We now have 4 smart TVs and all 4 have at least one issue on Freeview Play. I should add they are all badge engineered Vestel TVs, it's almost impossible to find smaller TVs these days which are not Vestel and interestingly I have discovered how you tell - just look at the label and above the bar code there are a series of numbers four of which have a black rectangle round them which indicates a Vestel based TV.
Now on to the issues. On the ITV Hub we have an issue that some 20-30 seconds before an advert break comes up the sound disappears on the program and continues to be messed up until the program starts at the end of the break. This I am informed by ITV is a known issue which they are trying to get corrected with the manufacturer(s). You may or may not see this, it affects 3 or our 4 TVs, the JVC one does not have the problem despite running the same version of the ITV Hub and being a Vestel TV!
The issue which does affect the JVC TV is that Britbox will not connect and gives either a blank screen or sometimes an error message saying 403 Forbidden which is a message generated by Cloudfront an Amazon streaming service. This has been reported to Britbox but as yet I have no resolution from them. The other 3 TVs connect to Britbox just fine.
I thought I'd post this just in case others see either of these issues. The ITV Hub one has been reported widely to affect many differently badged TVs.
Stuart
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the general rule with "smart" TVs is to try and not use the smart features at all. they may work but most likely will stop working at some point when they stop being "supported".
always best to use a connected device for features that like - Android TV / Fire TV / Apple TV etc.
the only exception i would make are the TV that run AndroidTV (Sony etc).
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Of the 4 TVs the JVC adjust over 12 months old and the other 3 are less than 6 months old, so not old! Anyway the Britbox issue is a network problem and the ITV Hub is a different problem but it should not happen.
Stuart
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the general rule with "smart" TVs is to try and not use the smart features at all. they may work but most likely will stop working at some point when they stop being "supported".
always best to use a connected device for features that like - Android TV / Fire TV / Apple TV etc.
the only exception i would make are the TV that run AndroidTV (Sony etc).
Agreed. Its why ShieldTV is such a popular option, its also far more compatible for playing your own video files/Bluray rips than TVs tend to be. Bluray players are even worse.
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Like every other modern usage of the ‘S’ word as in smart meters, smart motorways, I have come to simply equate the word ‘smart’ with ‘hidden agenda’ and ‘treat with caution and suspicion’.
In the case of Smart TVs I suspect, the hidden agenda is mainly one of increasing product sales, by inducing early obsolescence. Plus of course, mutual back scratching trade deals. I’ve no doubt for example that Panasonic get paid a few bucks by Netflix, every time they ship a TV with a ‘Netflix’ button on the remote.
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The thing is these days there are a huge number of TVs which are badge engineered and are actually Vestel TVs no matter what it says on the front. When I get a chance I intend to try to see how many TVs in Currys are actually Vestel despite what is on the front.
Stuart
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Just to say Britbox have fixed their problem and now my JVC TV works with Britbox just fine.
Stuart
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Britbox has bigger issues going by the recent survey on subscribers numbers