[mythtv-users] Smart TV hacks

[Tom Dexter]

On Sun, Apr 30, 2017 at 4:40 AM, Mike Perkins
<mikep at randomtraveller.org.uk> wrote:
> On 30/04/17 02:48, Andrew wrote:
>>
>> On 04/29/2017 03:13 PM, airdrummer wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Andrew wrote:
>>>>
>>>> "Dumb TV's" are called monitors.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> vizio's latest smart tvs r "tuner-free" making them monitors...
>>
>>
>> Perhaps the expansion of proprietary and encrypted cable TV systems
>> requiring crufty external
>> tuners, and cord-cutting network streaming video services will render OTA
>> tuners into a niche?  I
>> had not considered that; it seems that a lot of people don't really
>> understand OTA TV any more.
>> When I tried to explain my separate high gain UHF and VHF antennas to one
>> of my contractors, he was
>> amazed at the concept of "free TV" but then lost interest when he found
>> out that he could not get
>> free ESPN.  I had a date with a local TV station program editor and she
>> did not understand the
>> timing of our local ATSC transition.  It makes me feel so old when I think
>> of my trusty Samsung
>> SIR-T165 ATSC tuner, long since packed away.  I had high hopes of getting
>> something out of the
>> Firewire interface.
>>
> And yet, strangely, the entire rest of the world has no problem
> understanding OTA TV. Yes, we have cable in urban areas, but mostly TV is
> broadcast.
>
> It seems to be the US who is out of step with everybody else.
>
> --
>
> Mike Perkins

It really is odd isn't it? Even where I live where you can pick to OTA
from not one but two major markets (New York and Philly), I get
dear-in-the-headlights looks when I tell people I'm using an antenna.
I've even had people ask me if it's legal. I recall the very beginning
of cable TV in this area when the selling point was having no
commercials for less than $10 a month in some cases. Now everyone is
spending massive sums of money to watch commercials, and have no clue
that antennas even exist anymore...crazy.

On the smart TV thing: I finally replaced my 13 year old 1080i RP CRT
with an LG OLED55B6P recently. Yea, it's a smart TV, but the picture
quality was just too amazing...couldn't pass it up. I used the wired
network to update it, but always leave it unplugged otherwise.

Tom