With love from me to me

[Horus]

Just treated myself to a new 50 inch LCD 'Smart' TV with the latest 4K screen resolution.
To be honest I dont really need a lot of what it has to offer, but I decided to "future proof" myself a little against the newer technology that I may wish to adopt in the future.
The main reason was that my eyesight is not getting any better, so a bigger screen with a sharper resolution will allow me to watch the interesting stuff without wearing my distance glasses which I hate doing. Living on my own I can often go for days without really seeing anyone, so a bit of TV in the evenings when not on my PC is one of my few indulgences, so I thought that I would treat myself. Still not got it fully set up and although it is very clever I reckon that I need a bloody degree to get everything working as I want it, fortunately when I get utterly desperate I have a mate that is super skilled in all things digital to call upon, but hopefully over the next couple of days I will have sussed it all out. I hate reading bloody manuals so tend to just get on with it and hope it is all intuitive, mostly it is. My biggest problem is I make the job bigger than it needs to be "Oooh I think I will mount the new one on the wall" (another job) "Oooh I may as well swap the one in my bedroom to this ex living room one as its bigger" (another job) "If I do that I could use the old bedroom one in my computer room as that one is better than the one in there" (another job) So I finish up re-tuning three TV's with all the attendant problems and I have not even got the new one fully set up yet! We have not even covered the fact that the new TV can be used with the internet, but that my internet is really too slow and I really should look at changing it to fibre optic because I can then stream movies from my pc .............................. etc .....................

[LovelyLadyLux]

:bar1: 50 inch LCD 'Smart' TV :bar1:

WOOOO HOOOO! That definitely sounds like you really LOVE yourself lots H!

Definitely sounds lovely and IMO seriously I think you'll love it lots and it will make TV watching of an evening lovely! I don't know your house layout but I also think if you can mount it on the wall it will give you more room re: display items than having it set onto a TV stand.

Way to go H!!!!!!!!!! I'm coming over now and will bring the Popcorn - what are we watching tonight?

[Robbo70]

I have a 48" smart and it took me about a week to figure out all the things it could do. connecting it directly to my broadband was the biggest issue as the remote was sensative and i kept putting the wrong bloody password in I have to admit, i was suprised how sharp the picture was, and on HD channels its amazing.

Best advice... ditch the book on how to do everything, press menu and scroll around so you can see all your options. you need menu, ok and exit. the other 83 buttons are not much needed

[Ruby Slippers]

When DH retired five years ago, his retirement present from him to him was a 50" TV but I got to choose it! :-) I looked all round and finally chose a Panasonic plasma with Internet access - which facility we have never used! He is extremely 'phobic' with electrical gadgets, but it's a beautiful picture. At the time, lots of people asked why we wanted one that size, but it certainly makes watching TV much better, especially wildlife programmes etc. Of course, technology has come a long way in the intervening years but this one still suits us. Enjoy it, Horus. You will love it!

[Horus]

@ LLL, I have a long low surface on each side of a tall chimney breast and it sits on the right hand side really nicely, but I have already ordered up a flush fitting wall mount and a couple of bits to direct cables downwards. The biggest problem will be concealling cables and wires although that should not be too big of a problem if I can shroud them in some way, I am sure there will be something available, so must look on Amazon as I don't want to chase out plaster to hide them.

@ Robbo, we are on the same level when it comes to reading manuals, one of the biggest problems I am having at the moment is a poor internet coverage from where my router is located, (in my PC room) plus it is a crap speed anyway, so I am also looking at having BT Infinity or similar put in and ditching the Sky altogether. Although this TV can show pictures at a rate 4 times better than normal HD I doubt it will get much chance to display at that quality because at the moment very little is broadcast in that higher resolution although a few bits on Youtube are, but maybe in the future who knows. It is also supposed to be able to 'upscale' a normal HD picture up to a 4K quaulity although I take claims like that with abig pinch of salt.

@ RS, yes stuff has certainly moved on, my old TV was a Panasonic Viera and it was/still is a great bit of kit. With the latest technology the plasma screens seem to be in decline now they can knock out bigger and bigger LCD displays. Also the weight difference, wow, as you know the plasma screens can be quite heavy and even my older Panasonic Viera which was an LCD weighs a ton compared to the much bigger new one which I can pick up quite easily and it is extremely thin.

Still not got it all sorted yet, solve one problem, find another

[Kiya]

Oh wow!!! 50 ".....shuv the kettle on I'm coming to yours

[Horus]

Kettles always on Kiya
Actually, now it is sitting there it does not look particularly big, maybe because it has little or no outer frame.

[Kiya]

Things do look smaller once they're out o' the box

[Horus]

Things do look smaller once they're out o' the box

Well thats always been my excuse awyway

[Robbo70]

H before you totally ditch your internet, have a look at boosters. I have one that plugs from my ethernet cable into a plug on the wall. In the room i have my tv i have a second booster plug. the 2 connect up to each other via the plugs/electric through the house. my sky box (in y our case firebox) plugs direct with an ethernet cable and into that second booster plug. Now the internet in my lounge is almost as fast as here at my desk 2 ft from the router.



I also have one of these as they can be plugged in pretty much anywhere to boost the signal



Bearing in mind my house is over 400 years old and made of solid thick brick and sandstone, it now has good internet throughout.

[Ruby Slippers]

Over 400 years old??? Wow! Photos pretty please, Robbo!

[Robbo70]

if you use Facebook RS, go search for Clock Face Kennels. The top pic is the front of the house. I will dig out some more up close and personal ones. Inside is great.. max headroom of 5'8" or you hit all the origional beams

Im told by local historians it was used as an illegal place of worship during Cromwells times, but burnt down on discovery and rebuilt. The beams are from a shipwreck that sank on the Mersey Estuary. One has a carving of someones initials and 1676. That was part of the eaves, but when i extended, I kept it and made it part of a small feature wall that divides my dining room from my sun room. Its a lovely old house

[Ruby Slippers]

Sounds absolutely beautiful, Robbo! Would love to see some photos of the inside. How long have you owned it?

[Horus]

Had a quick look at your FB page Robbo, never seen so many doggie pictures you must take a photo of every dog you have ever boarded I think I spotted Omar in a few of them, if so he looks to be enjoying himself

[Robbo70]

RS I am coming up to 14 years here. I have knocked down just about every kennel block and rebuilt it, and a few years back I had to take the roof off the house, so while I was at it, I built up 3 meters and out 2.5 meters and made it a bit bigger. It was very dark as all its windows were small original type, so the back of the house is all French windows to get light in. Upstairs is a great improvement as I can now stand upright in all the rooms. Before I had to walk with a stoop!

H - yep we take pics of the dog walks every few days so that owners can keep an eye on their dog while they are away. They use messenger to check personally, but when you are missing your dog, seeing a pic of your dog happily trotting down a lane takes the stress away a little bit. Omar is the one who looks like the Pakistani/indian/sri Lankan/Spanish bloke He loves the work, and typical Egyptian... loves having his photo taken too

[Horus]

Omar is the one who looks like the Pakistani/indian/sri Lankan/Spanish bloke

I guessed as much saying as he didn't have a name tag on seems like a nice bloke anyhow

[LovelyLadyLux]

@Robbo - I checked your FB page and all the photos of the dogs and cats are lovely and really a great idea for keeping anxious parents worries to a minimum that their baby is ok

Love you house too and I super like your planters hanging on the wall. They'd be fantastic full of colour in the warmer summer months.

The history of your place sounds more than intriguing too. Am a real building buff and just love interesting old places. I'd of had that 1676 date chiseled out and mounted as a prime over the mantel piece!

[Grandad]

I feel like I am living in the dark ages, 40" Sony about 6 years old. But it is fine, Mrs G sits about 6 feet away with her eye problems and I am fine about 10 feet. I do however have a broadband booster plugged into my modem, about 10 meters from the TV, and a receiver plugged into the TV, for catch ups like iplaer, pause and record.
Don't think I need to change just yet.

[LovelyLadyLux]

What is this "booster" thing? Generally I'm getting that to give a boost is to give a bit more "oomph" but related to the internet?

[Robbo70]

its plugs into any normal electric socket near your router. you pop a cable from your pc to your first booster. You take the second booster to another room where the wi-fi is weak and plug it into another electric socket and they pair up and whooosh... you have stronger internet where it was weak. A decent booster will also have slots in it for cables from your satelite box so you can boost your internet to your sat box to improve on services such as catch up and recording.