Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Brought a smart tv in May this year after beaning told by the shop that it will work in Australia.
Rang up manufacture to get update of skype software, move to australia came up in conversation, was then told that the smart function won't work in Australia:frown: he doubled checked with the technical dept which confirmed the same.

Now I am on the phone to the shop who sold it to get my money back as I was miss old it... Let's see what happens

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

I cant see why it shouldn't work in Australia unless it wasn't 'designed for Australian conditions' :D Seriously though I cant imagine why it shouldnt work as it just involves an internet connection and those are umniversal.

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Apparently it's only set up for uk, I rang the manufactures up again to double check and they said the same thing. Apparently in Oz they sell the tv I have but the model number is slightly different as that one would be set up for oz. he said I might get on Internet but none of the apps will work. Paying £2000 for a tv I'm not prepared to take the risk!

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Look up dictionary

Next too "Smart" I don't see Australia
Nor Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie

But Oi look under Ars#

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

OK, there are various bits of thing here, so to unpick

1. It depends on the Freeview decoder if it will work with the Freeview HD channels in Oz. You'd need the set number to find out.
2. As a UK set you will have apps for things like iPlayer. As default these won't work in Oz (geolocked), but you will find having them is a distinct advantage since (with the addition of a VPN) you can appear to the set to be still in the UK, and thus pick up UK services. You will want to do this, Oz TV stinks.
3. Many of the apps won't give a hoot where you are.
4. There is a ready underground in both getting the apps for particular services to install on your Smart TV even if you are not allowed them, and even changing the firmware entirely. Specifically, there is sometimes a hidden menu to change the location. Doesn't fix the hardware related 1) though.

Personally I wouldn't pay £2000 for a TV anyway, and TVs are one of the (few) things you can often find cheaper here.

As a general rule of thumb, the official channels either don't know half of what you need, or aren't allowed to tell you. Treat their advice carefully unless you are talking techie2techie (which you will rarely do).

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Thanks mate
I spoke to a really help bloke from manufacturer yesterday who spoke to his techie and he didn't know the answer so he phoned me back telling me they have gone to Korea which is where all the techie stuff comes from to get a definitive answer, so hopefully will know in the next day or two ;)

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Probably best to post your model number and issue on the Whirlpool forum. It can only be a software issue. Someone on there will be able to help, they'll also be likely to know more than the manufacturer. I've got to admit It's not a problem I'd like to solve myself.... Sounds rather time consuming. Hopefully one of the local Geeks will come to your rescue.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/126?g=186

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Avforums seems to be the heartland of firmware transplants.

My guess is the hardware won't be an issue its likely that all the decoders share the same hardware past the DVB stage. Its most likely to be the need to reset the location at most, or maybe a firmware transplant. Problem is your Samsung's aren't likely to be allowed to tell you that.

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Thanks guys. It'll be interesting to see what LG have to say for themselves! Also how currys react as they sold it to me telling me it will work in Australia, of which the store manager reiterated yesterday, let's see if they wanna put their money where their mouth is as I am certainly not taking the risk!

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Noel Cowardian wit.

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

I use a Smasung smart TV with a router and VPN from www.*****************, i can stream iPlayer no probelms. Its a good set up.

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Hmm, quick googling, and I find:

http://openlgtv.org.ru
http://beau.org/~jmorris/linux/lg-hacking/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...oid.lgsm&hl=en (for an Android app, if you don't have the other methods)

It's at the techie end of things, but looks like a hidden menu change is what's needed, using a universal remote. Careful though, the possibility of bricking exists.

Smart TV UK to Aus
 

Hi all,

In the next few weeks we are relocating from the UK to Aus and before we ship our stuff I plan to buy a couple of electrical items to bring over (cheaper)
The main thing is a Samsung smart TV however I am wondering if anyone has had any experience doing the same and will the UK loaded smart apps still work in Aus e.g ITV Iplayer. Can anyone offer any advice please?

Si

Re: Smart TV UK to Aus
 

Hi and welcome to BE - I've moved your post to a thread on a similar subject from a week or so back, might give you a starting point :)

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Thanks!

Re: Smart TV UK to Aus
 

I have an Australia-bought Samsung Smart TV - so not directly relevant, but...I suspect your problem is going to be whether the ITV/BBC/C4 website identifies that you are in Australia and locks you out. (That is to say, I would have thought the problem will be with the service, not the TV). Unless there is some sort of VPN app for the Samsung TV (I have no idea), you would need to have a VPN set up at the router to which you connected your TV. That's not impossible but it takes a bit of buggering around. Loads of threads on here about VPNs etc.

Hmmm, I should try to download the UK ITV app on my TV and see what happens...

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Hi, just wondering if anyone has shipped their smart TV to Australia from the UK and if they managed to get it working ok once over there? We are emigrating at the end of the year and wanting to buy a new one here before we come, but want to confirm it will be able to work ok - looking at buying one of the new Samsung smart LED TVs. Thanks!

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

FWIW, I was just reading a review of the Toshiba 32RL958 smart TV at £354 and it said the best choice for a smart TV currently was a Samsung UE40ES6800 which was much better value at £699. See:

www.computeractive.co.uk/2219200

I'm not sure though if this model is available in Oz.

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

The best TV I have found for this is the E-series Samsung. (Be careful of the later F-Series as the trick doesn't work with that model), likewise, many E-series Blu-Ray players will work as well.

Basically, you can change the country store very easily and install all the UK apps, which include the BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD, Demand5, Netflix, LoveFilm etc.

You will need a smart DNS service (NOT A VPN) to access them, but this is both cheaper and has far better bandwidth which is great for video streaming.

I have plenty of tips and How-To's at my blog called Eye on-Demand, including a more complex method that will mix the widgets from all the different countries together, i.e. you can also keep the Australian apps, and TVNZ as well etc. But that is harder than just choosing the one single store.

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Thank you, I will have a look at the TV's mentioned and check out your blog too.

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Not to turn this into a shopping thread but:

To be honest, if you dont already have a Smart TV that you've bought, paid for and enjoyed in the UK then wait until you get to Oz, sure you can save some ££'s/$$'s - but get here and find it doesnt work correctly (more from the smart features side of things) then you've just got a regular TV.

There are plenty of places you can pick them up from at reasonable prices (by Oz not UK standards), check sites like:

www.dse.com.au
www.thegoodguys.com.au
www.bigbrownbox.com.au
www.appliancesonline.com.au
www.harveynorman.com.au
www.jbhifi.com.au
www.kogan.com.au (cheaper end cant comment on buidl quality/features most are own brand)

To get an idea of the models here and $$'s.

Whirlpool Forums (forums.whirlpool.net.au) are also quite a good source for information.

Never pay the retail advertised price at places like The GoodGuys or Harvey Norman - there's always room to move, the online retailers like bigbrownbox.com.au not so much.

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

You can order one from this mob for circa AU 849 when they come back into stock.

Only seconds though but with a 12 month warranty.

http://www.buysmarte.com.au/samsung-...-smart-tv.html

Best place to buy Samsungs latest no problem models in Aus will be Exeltek.

http://www.exeltek.com.au/

Can order a 46 inch ES 6800 for 1100 Aud.







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Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

I work in IT (for my sins) but nonetheless, everytime I come across a sentence with the word VPN in it I always break out in a sweat and cross to the other side of the street....

it just all sounds so miserable..:p

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Kinda on topic, kinda off...

Not that I've looked for a long time, but I was under the impression that shopping for electronics at least was pretty comparable price wise to the UK. I know just about everything else is more, but I had heard electronics were the exception. Is this not really the case then? S'pose I could do a few quick google searches, but I'm lazy. ;)

Is it even worth picking up smart TV's these days when you could just pick up an Android stick? Genuine question. I've never had either so I can't fairly compare, but I'd have thought you'd be able to get a lot more functionality out of an Android stick for much less $. EDIT: Ignore this. Going to get a Roku 3 to try out with my old tellybox instead for now.

I'm going to be TV shopping again myself soon, so I'm starting to ponder these things.

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

Meh. Ignore my last post. I don't want to spark a cost debate and I can do my own research!

I'll give myself a damn good talking to...

Re: Smart TV's aren't that smart!
 

We brought our 'smart' Sony Blu-ray player with us - in the UK it had the BBC iplayer app on it which we used. Pluged it in over here and updated connected to the internet - iplayer app has gone.

I've subscribed to Unblock US - is there any way to get it back you think!?