Smart tv apps

[mrmicbkktxl]

Hi I just ordered a Hisense 55n3000 Smart tv and I just realized that I have no idea about Smart tv's.Are there any apps what are a 'must have" for a Smart TV,like sport apps or news,movies,series etc?And how about VPN?On my notebooks and phones I use a VPN app and connect whenever I need or want.Can I do it the same way with a Smart TV?Thanks for any input

[killerbeez]

Your choice of apps is limited to the propriatory HiSense App store. This TV is pretty good if you just want to use it as a screen for your Android TV box... as  'smart TV' you may be disappointed. Also, unless you are going to add a sound bar (or speakers) you may want to boost the volume in Kodi by 20%. Only two HDMI slots, too. Good value TV screen. That's about it.

Edited April 29, 2019 by killerbeez

[marcusarelus]

My OS is Sony Android TV and there are apps on Google play and Sony and you can download APK and run them.  Google your OS. 

[mrmicbkktxl]

27 minutes ago, killerbeez said:

Your choice of apps is limited to the propriatory HiSense App store. This TV is pretty good if you just want to use it as a screen for your Android TV box... as  'smart TV' you may be disappointed. Also, unless you are going to add a sound bar (or speakers) you may want to boost the volume in Kodi by 20%. Only two HDMI slots, too. Good value TV screen. That's about it.

Oh well I actually like to watch sports,new and some series only,still if there is no google play then it is disappointing already

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Yes, it really depends on what kind of OS is running on your Smart TV...

 

--Some have a full regular Android OS, including the Google's Play Store for apps.

--Some have a manufacturer provided app store only, and you only can use their apps.

--Some have a manufacturer provided app store, but it may be possible to sideload regular Android apps.

--And sometimes, the OS varies from model to model by the same manufacturer, with lower price models having a locked down OS, but more expensive ones having an open/Play Store accessible OS.

 

It looks like Hisense in Asia/Thailand uses their own proprietary OS called VIDAA and app store. That includes the specific model the OP mentioned above. AFAICT, VIDAA is not interchangeable/interoperable with regular Android apps.

 

https://hisenseme.com/product/55″-uhd-series-3-2/

 

 

 

 

 

[mrmicbkktxl]

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Yes, it really depends on what kind of OS is running on your Smart TV...

 

--Some have a full regular Android OS, including the Google's Play Store for apps.

--Some have a manufacturer provided app store only, and you only can use their apps.

--Some have a manufacturer provided app store, but it may be possible to sideload regular Android apps.

--And sometimes, the OS varies from model to model by the same manufacturer, with lower price models having a locked down OS, but more expensive ones having an open/Play Store accessible OS.

 

It looks like Hisense in Asia/Thailand uses their own proprietary OS called VIDAA and app store. That includes the specific model the OP mentioned above. AFAICT, VIDAA is not interchangeable/interoperable with regular Android apps.

 

https://hisenseme.com/product/55″-uhd-series-3-2/

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks a lot

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

About your question about VPNs, with Android TVs, for example, various of the major commercial VPN services have developed their own apps that you can download and install on Android TVs directly to use their VPN services. Same with Amazon Fire TV devices.

 

But in your case, it looks like that TV has its own proprietary manufacturer provided app store that includes some basics like Netflix, but I'm doubtful they'll have many if any VPN apps available for you to install and use.

 

If there are none, the alternative is to operate a VPN connection off your wifi router, if possible, if it has a built-in VPN client in its firmware. ASUS wifi routers, for example, have their own built-in VPN clients where all you have to do is obtain a user ID, password and server address from the VPN service of your choice, enter those into the router's VPN client, and bingo, VPN wifi for any device you want to connect with it.

 

Even if you're using a Thai ISP provided router at present that doesn't have VPN capability, it's possible to daisy chain your own self-provided wifi router with VPN capability to the ISP provided one. And so you'd end up with the ISP router providing a Thai wifi signal, and your own VPN router wifi providing a wifi signal that geolocates to the server of your choosing.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Once you get the new TV and check out its proprietary app store, IF you find it's too limited and doesn't allow you to do the things you want, you always still have the option to add a low-cost TV streaming device like an Android MiBox or Amazon Fire TV device that would plug into an HDMI port on your TV, and give you access to a full app store environment in either the Google or Amazon worlds. There's also a whole range of Roku devices that work the same way and make up a 3rd OS environment for apps and streaming.

 

If you go one of those routes, then you don't even have to worry about or use the TV's own built-in app store. Just use the TV for watching regular TV, and when you want to use apps, just switch the input to the HDMI port with your connected device, and use the apps there.

 

I bought a Thai TCL TV a few years ago and made exactly the same mistake. Thought it being listed as a "smart TV" meant I could download and install any Android apps... NOPE!  My TCL model also has its own proprietary TCL app store that's WAY old, out of date and limited. And although it is apparently vaguely Android based, the TV OS is so out of date that sideloaded Androidapps don't really work very well, and it has very little available space for adding any.

 

I use apps a lot, and don't watch a lot of local Thai TV needless to say, so my TCL TV's input is almost always tuned to an HDMI-connected Fire TV stick, or Android TV box, or Roku device that allows me to watch the content I want to watch (which isn't Thai local or cable system TV).

 

Never going to make that mistake again...  In general, these days, I'd almost advise someone shopping for a TV to not worry about the Smart TV aspects of it at all, and even get a non-smart TV if you find one with other good features available, and just assume from the get-go that you're going to use your own external streaming device, which can be changed and upgraded in the future as your needs desire for a whole lot less money than buying a whole new TV.

 

 

 

 

[trd]

That's exactly why I always buy dumb TVs and a 1,500 Baht Android box to plug in with full Google play store access.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

A lot depends on the end user. If the user really just wants to use apps for watching Netflix and YouTube, I think most all of the proprietary smart TV platforms, even from Thai or Chinese companies and intended for the local market here, are going to provide built-in apps for those...even if they may be older and more limited than the current Android versions of those apps.

 

But if the end user is also interested in more specialized apps that provide content from sources in their home country that isn't as international like Netflix and YT and a few others, then adding your own streaming device with wide access to the full Amazon, Android or Roku app stores is likely going to be more satisfying and useful. (Though Roku devices AFAIK don't support VPN apps directly, so that's a more limiting factor for them unless you're going to connect them to a VPN-providing router).

 

In my most recent TV purchase here, I ended up getting a Sony smart TV.... not because I intended to use its own proprietary app store, but because the smart TVs I looked at often tended to have 3 HDMI ports, and a lot of the non-smart TVs I looked at had only two HDMI ports. And I knew going in, because of my various external devices, I really needed a TV with at least 3 HDMI ports.

 

I never use the built-in app store on my Sony smart TV... but I do use its 3 HDMI port connections.  If I had found a non-smart TV with 3 HDMI ports and all the other features I wanted at the right price, I would have bought that as well and not cared a hoot about the lack of a TV OS app store.

 

Here in Thailand, meanwhile, AFAIK, there are a couple of TV manufacturers that do provide TVs that come with access to the full regular Google Android TV app store. But those are more the exception than the rule, and you have to be careful, because in some of those, the lower priced models in their lines have their own proprietary app stores and it's only when you get to the more expensive models that they come with the regular Google Android TV app store (which is, in and of itself, far more limited than the broader Google Play Store for phones and tablets).

Edited April 29, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[dick dasterdly]

I don't understand any of this, and had to involve a friend of a friend to add the Netflix app. to my 'smart' TV ☹️.....

[WorriedNoodle]

4 hours ago, mrmicbkktxl said:

I just realized that I have no idea about Smart tv's.Are there any apps what are a 'must have" for a Smart TV

Don't get too despondent. Most 'smart TV's are pretty useless and you just need to treat them like a display for an Android TV box you must buy extra to plug in the back. They cost around 70USD for a decent one. Unlimited TV channels from around the world available then.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, dick dasterdly said:

I don't understand any of this, and had to involve a friend of a friend to add the Netflix app. to my 'smart' TV ☹️.....

 

So-called smart TVs and their apps are generally analogous to smart phones and their apps.... in terms of accessing them and using them.

 

But one of the differences in the world of Smart TVs is there are lot more different OSs and platforms compared to the main choices of Android and Apple on smartphones. And a lot of the so-called Smart TV platforms, especially here in Thailand, have locked down, proprietary app stores provided by the TV manufacturer that only allow the few apps they seem valuable for this local market. And oftentimes, the versions they provide in their own app stores are old and/or limited compared to those in the bigger, broader Android and Apple app universes that are more likely up-to-date.

 

It also makes buying a TV more of a headache in Thailand, because even though you may recognize the name of the TV manufacturer (Sony, Sharp, Samsung, Toshiba, etc etc.), knowing the manufacturer often doesn't tell you anything about what kind of OS is used on a particular model of their TV, in part because some of them even have different OS/platforms among different models of their own brand TVs. And then there are major OS differences among the various TV brands themselves.

[killerbeez]

If you do opt to buy a box for your new screen, don't get a cheap one. The X99 is worth the extra. Comes with a proper air mouse remote, built in microphone for searching Google apps like YouTube, etc, and the box has a solid hardware structure. It does run warm, so put it on a small laptop cooler! 

[videosmusicfor]

I was looking for somewhat similar thing, lets hope i find Music screen related info around here somewhere in those smart tv apps.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, videosmusicfor said:

Music screen related info

 

Huh????  What's "music screen related info"?

[killerbeez]

28 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

What's "music screen related info"?

...and why would you want to play music through your TV?

[mrmicbkktxl]

On 4/29/2019 at 9:10 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Once you get the new TV and check out its proprietary app store, IF you find it's too limited and doesn't allow you to do the things you want, you always still have the option to add a low-cost TV streaming device like an Android MiBox or Amazon Fire TV device that would plug into an HDMI port on your TV, and give you access to a full app store environment in either the Google or Amazon worlds. There's also a whole range of Roku devices that work the same way and make up a 3rd OS environment for apps and streaming.

 

If you go one of those routes, then you don't even have to worry about or use the TV's own built-in app store. Just use the TV for watching regular TV, and when you want to use apps, just switch the input to the HDMI port with your connected device, and use the apps there.

 

I bought a Thai TCL TV a few years ago and made exactly the same mistake. Thought it being listed as a "smart TV" meant I could download and install any Android apps... NOPE!  My TCL model also has its own proprietary TCL app store that's WAY old, out of date and limited. And although it is apparently vaguely Android based, the TV OS is so out of date that sideloaded Androidapps don't really work very well, and it has very little available space for adding any.

 

I use apps a lot, and don't watch a lot of local Thai TV needless to say, so my TCL TV's input is almost always tuned to an HDMI-connected Fire TV stick, or Android TV box, or Roku device that allows me to watch the content I want to watch (which isn't Thai local or cable system TV).

 

Never going to make that mistake again...  In general, these days, I'd almost advise someone shopping for a TV to not worry about the Smart TV aspects of it at all, and even get a non-smart TV if you find one with other good features available, and just assume from the get-go that you're going to use your own external streaming device, which can be changed and upgraded in the future as your needs desire for a whole lot less money than buying a whole new TV.

 

 

 

 

Hi good morning,unfortunately you are right.Apps are limited and downloading apps is not possible.So I guess I need an Android tv box.Which boxes are good?I had a look at Lazada and they have thousands there

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

9 minutes ago, mrmicbkktxl said:

Hi good morning,unfortunately you are right.Apps are limited and downloading apps is not possible.So I guess I need an Android tv box.Which boxes are good?I had a look at Lazada and they have thousands there

 

A lot of the Android boxes sold on Lazada and elsewhere online in Thailand are no-name Chinese junk, so you really have to be careful about that.

 

Reasons include:

1. Some Chinese boxes may have Android OS, but are not certified for the Google Play Store.

2. Some Chinese boxes may not have the DRM (Digital Rights Management) certification or video streaming codecs you need to view sources like Netflix.

etc etc.

 

Some of the more mainstream models are:

--the NVidia shield

--the Huawei MiBox model MDZ-16-AB (you have to be careful because there are similar Chinese market Mi Box units that have a Chinese UI instead of Android TV, which is sometimes referred to as their international edition),  or their newer Mi Box S (model MDZ-22-AB as their international version).

 

--there also are, supposedly, a couple of off-brand Android TV boxes here that users have had good experiences with (as in, they work with western content, have reasonable quality and specs, etc etc...)  But someone else is going to have to chime in with which particular models those are.