We use apps installed in our Sony for almost all viewing, via Wi-Fi. The TV outputs sound via optical and a converter directly to the 252. No delay…
I have a Sony TV, I predict the apps will stop working and disappear faster than you expected.
I use a Roku express 4k. (£40). Works flawlessly, searching via the Roku phone app is top notch.
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That’s strange. We’ve had 4 Sony smart TVs and I don’t recall an app ever disappearing. Must have been lucky.
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My TV was a Sony flagship model, but BBC iPlayer stopped working after a few years.
Smart TV dongle’s also become obsolete after a few years.
I started with a fire stick. Became unusable after a few years.
Upgraded to a newer Now TV dongle, same thing happened.
Upgraded to a Roku TV dongle. So much more advanced than the old Now dongle, but I’ll probably need to upgrade that eventually.
That doesn’t sound good.
I used a fire stick for a while, but that became redundant 3-4 years ago. Never used any other dongles and Now TV has been fine for the 3 years I’ve used it. BBC IPlayer always works fine.
It’s variable. The smart TV I bought in 2014 had the apps not working right from day one and they stopped supporting the platform before the next model even came out. More recent ones work better and aren’t managed by Sony at all. The current Bravias are all Google Assistants (not just supporting Google Assistant) and the entire software ecosystem is managed by Google directly.
My first generation Amazon Fire 4K box is 11 years old and still working and still getting updates.
I had a Fire tablet once and Amazon literally just disabled it after 6 years.
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Luckily our Sony is old enough not to have any apps.
I am tempted to buy a small Loewe. We don’t buy TVs often (as will be obvious) and lived for ages with a beautiful B+O that was the first decent TV we owned. It was a quality item. We’ll probably keep the new one until TV becomes something beamed directly into your brain…
Bruce
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Worth checking the number of HDMI inputs.
I’d want 3, preferably 4.
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You may want to bypass a TV altogether and get a 4 k monitor , feed it with the signal from your Sky box and BluRay
I have been using my TV like this for the last forty years when I started with cable TV
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Hi, there are some good 32” LED TVs (which is the wide screen dimension so quite small) from the likes of LG and many others.
I would choose a smart TV for flexibility with online cloud services such as from the BBC and Netflix.
I have found on small TVs the sound tends to be weak so you might want to consider a small sound bar.
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Sky box?
We currently use Freesat, and a Roku box thing for iPlayer, Netflix. Those apps will come on the new TV I realise
Looks like reasonable choice at 32" looking around. Just need to decide.
Thanks for all your contributions. I have done some research and now know there is LCD, LED OLED, QLED and probably ABCDEFLED too…
Bruce
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The picture quality, and specifically contrast, improves as you move up to the better LED types. LCD is cheap but performs worst. That said, LCD panels today are better than OLEDs were ten years ago.
OLED/QLED over LCD any day…
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Look at LG, one of the best brands around. But small tvs are ok, but i guess it depends what the tv is for. If it’s for just ordinary tv, that’s fine, but if you’re looking at tv like your hifi (you are on a NAIM site hence i assume your into high end hifi) then you will need a bigger and OLED tv
Smart tv has no need for freesat and as long as you have a speedy good broadband, then no issues.
PhilA
We have no desire or space for a large TV. 32" is pushing it frankly, but seems to be the entry for good quality and spec. On average we watch probably less than an hour a week, even in retirement. A screen that rolled up and went in the cupboard would be ideal. The HiFi gets 50x more usage in our living room!
Our old Sony actually has a 26" screen diagonally but with a large bezel. Technology has changed since we bought it (we had Freesat only then and bought it when analogue TV was switched off). It is effectively obsolete. Before that we had a beautiful Bang + Olufson CRT set for a similar length of time. I am hoping if I buy a quality TV now with modern technology it will last a good while again so I have ordered a 32" Loewe that hopefully meets the bill and looks OK when it is switched off, which is the case 99% of the time after all. The modern edge to edge screen means it will only be a few cm larger than the old TV, and in theory it has good sound quality from the built in speakers. Because the TV is tucked in a corner piping sound through the HiFi speakers on the other side of the room is actually a bit odd, but can be done.
Thanks for all the suggestions and advice on this thread. Looks like the old TV, Humax HDR box and Roku gizmo are heading for Freecycle. Our original B+O is probably in a museum now.
Bruce
Viewing angle is another factor, although acute viewing angle less likely in a bedroom situation. OLED far better than QLED if anyone is viewing off to the side rather than straight on
If the small tv is on the home network you should be able to stream your own music library played on the Naim system on the tv.
One more suggestion, and forgive me if it seems a bit odd at first. Considering how low TV is on your list of priorities, have you considered just watching via an app on a laptop or big tablet? A tablet may cost more than a TV (which cost peanuts these days) but it would be small, portable, and could be put away.
I find it hard to remember the last time I saw normal broadcast television. If you’re the same, you could prop a tablet up anywhere and pay no heed to the aerial at all.