Perhaps someone can guide me through with TV streaming maze.
We now have an internet connection that will just about support Netflix etc at about 7Mbs and increasingly our movie disc subscription to Cinema Paradiso (previously Lovefilm) seems to have more gaps in the catalogue. We watch probably only 1-2 hours TV a month but do play Blu-ray Discs and record movies. So I am trying to get Netflix etc up and running.
We have an old model Sony Bravia so-called Smart TV but it does not have a Netflix app and their support page indicates it cannot access it. No wish to change it, not least as it is 26inch and nobody seems to make small TVs now and looking at new TVs just made my head spin with the jargon!
We have Freesat but no TV aerial. We have a Humax Freesat tuner/HDD thing which is really old but works fine. It does not have network connectivity.
Also a Sony DVD/BluRay player that has WiFi and in theory a Netflix app but it seems incredibly fickle. It often doesn’t connect to the network or just drops out. It is maybe 3 years old. Maybe one time in 10 it all works and plays Netflix perfectly OK.
Other devices ie laptop connect to Netflix fine, and so far I have connected the HDMI port from the laptop to the TV to get pictures but this is pretty clumsy.
Wired network connection to the TV or Blu Ray player is not really an option.
So it seems to me that my best option is replacing the Humax with a more up to date connected model that has Netflix as an option, or a newer Blu Ray player.
Does that sound logical? With our relatively low usage I am not trying to throw vast amounts of money at it. I think Humax do an HDD/tuner that has Netflix included. Any other options/brands or suggestions appreciated. It would be nice to have a bit of future prooofing in any solution!
Another approach would be to buy a Chromecast dongle. This costs around the £30 mark. You plug it into an HDMI port on your TV (assuming it’s not too old to have a spare HDMI port) and you need a mains socket nearby too. Then you put the Google Home app and the Netflix app on your phone. You use the Google Home app to set up the Chromecast device. Then you forget all about that app.
Now when you start to play a video on Netflix, you tap the “cast” button and your TV should switch to the HDMI input with the Google Chromecast device on it and the Netflix programme will restart and play on your TV. You can use your phone for something else, or indeed leave the house with it. The TV will be getting the programme direct from the Netflix servers.
I have a similar setup with old Sony and Humax. My Sony did have an Ethernet socket which made things easier.
I started out with a Roku stick that plugs into the HDMI socket (ÂŁ30 or so). Worked fine, then upgraded to Apple TV, which is a superior product, but more expensive. I think Amazon fire sticks work much like the Roku.
I have 3 Amazon Fire Sticks on TV’s around the house and over 3 floors. They all work fine on WiFi, dont need a phone they come with a remote that can be set to control your TV volume and standby.
Amazon Prime has some very good exclusive content eg we very much enjoyed The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Hunters drama series recently. Plenty of good film content too
If you get a fire TV stick make sure you get the 4k version, they are so much faster than the standard firestick. I don’t have a 4k TV but I still found upgrading to a 4k stick worthwhile. If you wait a while Amazon are always having offers on them so if you’re patient you can normally get one for 30 or 35
I’d struggle not to recommend an Apple TV, so easy to use my 3 year old is fine with it. Yes a bit more than a fire stick, but this forum will spend +300 on a cable.