Does Smart + Smart = Boring

[ayabrea38]

I have a Samsung tv,and Hubby has offered to buy me a Dvd/Br player for Christmas (After a ps3 I decided I cannot live without upscaling!)So,wouild a Samsung smart BD player give me anything that I have not got with the TV?
As far as I can tell,I would have the same apps,and some models are just a step up from the one before,yet a lot of money more.
Would having a BD player from another make give me more in the way of connectivity headaches,or more fun,as in different yet usable apps.
Sorry if this is a daft question,but I don't want to get a player that is going to give me the same amount upscaling/basic quality as a cheaper model just because some extra 'smart' stuff has been put on it,that I will probably never use because the TV has it covered.
Thanks for any advice!

[Buenchico]

It should make no difference, with regard to connections, whether a blu-ray player was the same make as your TV or from a different manufacturer.

If the apps are the same then, as you suspect, you won't gain anything (except, of course, the ability to play blu-ray discs if you can't at the moment). However there might be some differences. e.g. I love the Youtube app on my smart (Now TV) box but Youtube often isn't among the apps provided by many smart TVs. So you need to check the specific apps available and consider whether they'd be of any use to you.

[ayabrea38]

Thanks Chris,nice to see you still advising,can I just ask,if a BD player says it can stream to your TV (both smart) I take it that should bve no different to a phone streaming to a tv?I'm trying to get my S3 mini to stream live TV to the tv,but cannot.I understand Netflix and others allow this,but between AllShare,Wi Fi Direct and screen mirroring,I'm having no luck and my head is spinning.
Thanks if you can help
Aya

[Buenchico]

A blu-ray player connects to a TV set via an HDMI lead and sends all of its output (whether derived from reading a disc or sourced, via an app, through the internet) through that cable. So the no wireless connection is involved at all at that stage.

A phone need to connect wirelessly and it's unlikely to be able to do that directly to the TV. If a connection is to be achieved (if it's actually possible) it's likely that it would need to be through the phone connecting to the router and the router connecting to the smart TV.

However there are so many different ways of connecting things together nowadays that I might might have overlooked something which could make it simpler.


I'm also mystified as to why you should want to stream live TV to a TV set. Isn't that what it already has???

[hc4361]

Chris, she wants to watch Virgin TV Anywhere on her 2nd tv by 'casting' it from her phone using Samsung equivalent to miracast. It will save her the cost of a 2nd Virgin box, £5 a month I pay for mine.

[Gromit]

I can cast video from loads of different sources from my iPhone to my AppleTV. The exception is NowTV which lets me play them on my phone, and on my TV, but will not let me cast from the phone to the TV. There is an on-Screen caption explaining it cannot be done for legal reasons. Sounds like Virgin do a similar limitation.
It is annoying when you are supposed to be buying a service, and the provider deliberately put obstacles in your way.

[ayabrea38]

£5!!!!!
I was told £21 bit of a difference there.But after buying the phone for me (and having his ear chewed A LOT) I don't think Hubby could take the news of something costing every month.
I settled on a Samsung BD H6500 in the end,maybe I'll be able to stream something by then!

Thanks for helping out everyone.