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Gear / Technical Help => Playback Forum => Topic started by: OldNeumanntapr on September 06, 2020, 02:30:55 PM
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Hey all,
I thought I'd put this out to everyone who knows more than I do about these things and see what people think.
We have an eight-year-old Samsung 32" smart TV that we mostly use for watching Hulu and Netflix, and occasionally DVDs.
Everything has worked fine until just this past week.
Recently, the Hulu app will Load, but it will NOT play anything.
We spent a total of 3.5 hours yesterday on the phone with tech support from Both Samsung and Hulu. The consensus is: Our TV will not support the newest Hulu app.
Apparently Hulu upgraded their app recently and when our TV did it's routine updating of the smart hub it is no longer compatible.
We are Unable to uninstall it because the app came preloaded on the TV, and they tried to update the software but that didn't work. (Our Hulu logo is green with white lettering and the new one has a black background.)
Netflix works fine but Hulu does not.
It seems our only recourse is to buy a Roku streaming stick for the Samsung TV or get a new TV.
From what I understand the Roku stick uses the signal from Wifi. Currently we have a hardwired ethernet cable running through Powerline Adaptors to utilize the electrical current in the wall to carry the signal from the router.
We have had problems in the past with Wifi buffering when we tried to watch Hulu through the TV back in our condo, so that's why we switched to the powerline adaptors. That solved the buffering problem.
We are now in a mobile home but the router is still about 30 feet from the TV.
I'm not adverse to buying a new TV but would rather not if I could avoid it.
But, since our TV is eight-years old now, I wonder if it would be better to just get a new one, rather than spend $50 on a Roku stick for an old TV.
If I went with a new TV I would like to upgrade the screen size a bit. Because of the size limitations of our oak cabinet I think I could only go up to a 40" screen size, and even that would take some minor modification.
Anyone have any ideas?
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All things considered from your post, go for a 40" TCL which has built in Roku streaming. It will be a nice upgrade and frankly nothing streams better than Roku. You won't have to rely on WiFi with built in ethernet connection. Otherwise I'd recommend a Roku Ultra and stay away from the streaming stick idea.
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if you are happy with the TV an amazon fire stick will run all the apps you could ever think of
i have several. hulu netflix, amazon prime, youtube, plex, nnugs etc etc etc
https://www.amazon.com/Fire-TV-Stick-with-Alexa-Voice-Remote/dp/B0791TX5P5
4K version
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079QHML21?ref=ods_ucc_smp_ms_nrc_ucc
So if you have an open hdmi port you good to go
We run ours over wifi no issues. my wifi is pretty good but access points are in other rooms / floors
adding i do believe they have an ethernet adapter for them as well
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if you are happy with the TV an amazon fire stick will run all the apps you could ever think of
We run ours over wifi no issues. my wifi is pretty good but access points are in other rooms / floors
Agreed. We went this route last year. I was using a smart Bluray player that ran streaming apps and all of a sudden it gave me a "Hulu is no longer supported on this device" message. We got a Fire Stick and it's been fine for all our streaming needs. Only disadvantage is no digital output for the soundbar for movie watching. The BR player has an optical out but the TV doesn't. No big deal really for everyday use. We have a cheap 40" Polaroid TV that getting old but it works fine.
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Thanks.
We are problably going to get a new TV because we can get a bigger screen for a decent price.
I'm looking at either an LG UN 7000 or a Samsung Series 7, 43" UHD TV.
The LG has the older style component video inputs, which my DVD player has, but the Samsung does not.
Everything changes.... :(
Neither one of them has an analog audio output. My eight-year old Samsung has a coaxial audio output that I have an 1/th inch to RCA adapter plugged in which takes the sound to my NAD integrated amp.
The new ones all have toslink optical audio outs, which would have to be converted with a converter box.
I'm beginning to realize now that the new 4k TVs outshine the capability / performance for standard DVD players, but I don't have a blu ray player and I have at least 200 DVDs and no blu ray discs.
I'm going to have to mount the new TV on a piece of plywood slightly outside my oak cabinet. The glass doors on the sides won't be able to open completely but that's OK.
Prices have come down a lot. We paid $339 for our 32" Samsung from Costco in 2012 (Maybe 2013. It could have been last-year's model). The new 43" ones I'm looking at are abouty $250.
I've been happy with my Samsung but don't like the fact that they have dropped the component inputs that I need for the DVD player.
I could go with a component video >HDMI converter box but I hear the quality drops.
Went to Best Buy yesterday to check them out. We will get something soon.
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Again before you buy I'd recommend a serious look at a TCL/Roku television, 40" - 43" to fit your space, available in 4K. Personal experience with streaming built into Samsung and LG has been less than thrilling, they were just okay when new but those manufacturers didn't keep up with updates for their built in streaming as they would like you to keep buying a new set. As a former Roku beta tester, they really stream more program options/channels/services very well. Never cared for Amazon hardware but Amazon can be easily streamed from Roku as can Apple TV+. You'll get a better streaming experience long term with TCL with built in Roku streaming. Not a fan of the streaming sticks by any manufacturer.
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I only buy as dumb a panel as i can get for the very reason you ran in to trouble
the TV manufacturers are terrible about updating their software IMHO
an inexpensive AV receiver and dumb LG panel is what i have in the main room now. i think the yamaha AV multichannel was like $100+ everything plugged in to the receiver >TV
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I had an old Sony type streaming box that all of a sudden lost Hulu. Switched to a Roku and problem solved.
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I'm looking at either an LG UN 7000 or a Samsung Series 7, 43" UHD TV.
That's the TV my family has...I'm almost certain. We like it, even though it is lacking on the I/O. It has all the streaming stuff, but I treat it like a dumb TV and don't connect it to the internet. We had a Roku connected via HDMI, but recently got a fire stick thing for $25 or so. We've used two total models of Rokus before and this is the first fire stick. It's nice, but there's many menus and channels to download or that come preinstalled. Wifi hasn't been a problem with the fire stick, but the AP is mounted in the living room.
By the way, is your TV 12 years old or 8 years old?
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I'm looking at either an LG UN 7000 or a Samsung Series 7, 43" UHD TV.
That's the TV my family has...I'm almost certain. We like it, even though it is lacking on the I/O. It has all the streaming stuff, but I treat it like a dumb TV and don't connect it to the internet. We had a Roku connected via HDMI, but recently got a fire stick thing for $25 or so. We've used two total models of Rokus before and this is the first fire stick. It's nice, but there's many menus and channels to download or that come preinstalled. Wifi hasn't been a problem with the fire stick, but the AP is mounted in the living room.
By the way, is your TV 12 years old or 8 years old?
My Samsung 32" is a 2012 model, so it's eight-years old. (Sorry, I made a mistake with the original subject line.) Going to move it to the bedroom as it still works fine but Hulu does not play.
After much consideration, we went to Costco and purchased a 43" LG UN7300, which includes the 'magic' remote and component video inputs. (I found out that the LG UN 7000 model (sold by Best Buy) has NO component inputs, so that was a no go.) Judging by the reviews it is a good 'budget' TV and good for streaming TV shows but not as good for watching movies in a dark room. I just couldn't see spending almost twice as much for a 43" QLED Samsung, which was my next choice, when all we really do is watch Hulu and Netflix. The Samsung had no component video inputs, so I would have been forced to buy a converter box or upgrade to a Blu Ray player and use HDMI. My Toshiba DVD player is 16 years old and still works fine, but uses component video cables. As it is, I had to order a Toslink optical >RCA audio converter to run the audio signal into my NAD iintegrated amp, as none of the new TVs have analog audio outputs anymore.
We also bought a Sanus wall mount at Costco that I can mount to the wall behind the oak entertainment center so the TV will hang just infront of the cabinet and extend a bit on either side.
Thanks again for everyone's input,
OldNeumanntapr