How do you watch TV?

[JHDK]

Well cheap RF headphones were a bad idea. I'm going to return them tomorrow. There was way too much white background noise. They also weren't loud enough. I think I'm now going to try a Bluetooth transmitter that plugs into the optical port of the TV and connects top the earbuds I already have. Maybe it will work better, we'll see.

I also tried to return the HDMI cable but since it was under $10 Amazon just refunded me and said I didn't have to return it, so that's pretty sweet. It can't hurt to have an extra, new HDMI cable lying around for future use.

My son used chromcast on our old tv to watch youtube. Became redundant on the new smart tvs and smart cable boxes.

Smart TVs are smarter than they used to be but they're still not all there. It would be cool if the TV could function the same way as a phone, just w/o the calls. The Vizio I keep rambling about has tons of apps and built in Chromecast and can pair with Alexa type devices but there is no app store or native browser and stuff like that. Maybe more expensive TVs already have that, idk.

And yea, it's nice having the apps like Youtube and all the streaming services. I use Chromecast for 2 things so far, to finish a song or podcast after I get back from a walk and right now I'm watching a 4K movie I DL'ed on my PC casted to the TV.

 

[JHDK]

While all of you here are at least equally as nerdy as I, none of you seem to be into modern gaming so I'm putting this here instead of the games forum.

I got the Xbox Series X about a week ago and I am still playing around with setting it how I like. Of course it's main purpose is gaming but I think it's on the way to taking over all the "smart" duties I was using the Vizio interface for before I got it. Since it has easy access to the Microsoft app store it makes putting all my streaming services in one place simple. Vizio has most of the apps but not all and since it doesn't have a store there is no way to add anything. Like I can now watch HBO Max, Starz and NFL Game Pass through it...3 things Vizio doesn't offer as standalone apps.

It handles all the 4K, HDR10 well.

Now one minor annoyance is that as soon as I start it up, my TV settings automatically show the resolution at 4K, or 2160p. I guess that's because the interface is 4K but when I start streaming something it always has to buffer up to 4K, usually that takes a minute or so. Running apps straight from the TV shows it go from 720 to 1080 to 2160 and I kinda liked checking that.

I still need to figure out how to pin the apps to my home screen. I have them all in a group but I have to go through 2 menus to get there. Now that only takes like 2 seconds but it would just be nice to have them at home.

Also I like the look of the hardware. IMO it's much nicer and cleaner than the look of the PS5. The cuboid shape reminds me of the monolith from 2001 and that's neat.

And the gaming is amazing. I'll move that talk over to the gaming forum (it's actually quite interesting how Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft all have very different ideas for how they see gaming moving forward) but going from Switch to Series X is really a massive jump in visuals. Now going from the previous Xbox to this one is less of a leap but the Switch has been my only console since 2017.

I know I posted basically this same pic yesterday in the Candle thread but the Series X is on the right. I think it fits in well enough with my new setup. And I wanted to show off the sweet lava lamp I got yesterday, they are only $11 at Walmart. What you can't see in the pic is that Athena's food dish is right in front of it so she gets to enjoy it when she grabs a bite.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

My son is into modern gaming. He has an Xbox One. Before that he had an Xbox 360 and before that a Wii. He has been doing online gaming on his laptop lately. Multi-player games.

As for the lava lamp, welcome to the 70s.

 

[JHDK]

Dude, I know bragging is gross and I'm sorry for that...but I have a freaking movie screen at my place now. It's really cool.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Ok, I'm an engineer, so I usually understand how technical things work. But I'm baffled about my cable system.

We had dinner on Sunday, and I had the TV tuned to a music choice channel. After dinner, I remembered that 60 minutes was on CBS, so I changed channels, but it was almost over. However, the DVR box enabled me to rewind back to the start of the program. I never programmed the DVR to record it beforehand.

How the hell can I rewind a live program, back beyond where I tuned-in?

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Ok, I'm an engineer, so I usually understand how technical things work. But I'm baffled about my cable system.

We had dinner on Sunday, and I had the TV tuned to a music choice channel. After dinner, I remembered that 60 minutes was on CBS, so I changed channels, but it was almost over. However, the DVR box enabled me to rewind back to the start of the program. I never programmed the DVR to record it beforehand.

How the hell can I rewind a live program, back beyond where I tuned-in?

Our cable system is esentially a giant streaming platform. A lot of shows are available all day if they were played that day. The replay feature is the same. It is cached at the cable provider and your PVR just accesses it and sends it to the 'cable'. Once your cable went digital it kinda stopped being what we always thought of as cable.

 

[Aaron]

My Sirius radio does something like that. I can flip to a different channel, and rewind back in time to hear the song before the current song.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

My Sirius radio does something like that. I can flip to a different channel, and rewind back in time to hear the song before the current song.

The after market on my old car did that. It would record all your presets 1 song back.

 

[scotchandcigar]

My Sirius radio does something like that. I can flip to a different channel, and rewind back in time to hear the song before the current song.

The streaming service indeed buffers everything. If I stream in my car, then stop somewhere, it picks up where it left off, up to 6 hours later.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

The streaming service indeed buffers everything. If I stream in my car, then stop somewhere, it picks up where it left off, up to 6 hours later.

This feature is on the sats not the stream.

 

[scotchandcigar]

This feature is on the sats not the stream.

Huh? It's definitely on the streaming service. And with every satrad I've had (at least half-dozen) it's never done that. You pick a channel, it plays what's currently on. There's no facility to pause, go back or forward. It's just like a car radio, except it's satellite.

The portable satrad units may indeed have those capabilities, I've never had one.

 

[Aaron]

It's the Onyx Plus radio I'm using that does that.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Huh? It's definitely on the streaming service. And with every satrad I've had (at least half-dozen) it's never done that. You pick a channel, it plays what's currently on. There's no facility to pause, go back or forward. It's just like a car radio, except it's satellite.

The portable satrad units may indeed have those capabilities, I've never had one.

The radio which did it for me was hooked only to SXM sats. No streams as it was in the car. It had it's own buffer of the sat signals.

 

[HecticArt]

I think it's the tune start feature that's on some, but not all of the radios.
Like Aaron said, it will buffer your presets to the beginning of songs when you change channels.
The web player does it when you're streaming too.

 

[JHDK]

Ok, I'm an engineer, so I usually understand how technical things work. But I'm baffled about my cable system.

We had dinner on Sunday, and I had the TV tuned to a music choice channel. After dinner, I remembered that 60 minutes was on CBS, so I changed channels, but it was almost over. However, the DVR box enabled me to rewind back to the start of the program. I never programmed the DVR to record it beforehand.

How the hell can I rewind a live program, back beyond where I tuned-in?

Sometimes my lack of knowledge about basic things is astounding and scary to me.

For instance...I don't really know how a light works. I flip the switch, I imagine there is some power station miles from me that sends juice through wires or whatever.

Edison had something to do with it right?

 

[scotchandcigar]

Sometimes my lack of knowledge about basic things is astounding and scary to me.

For instance...I don't really know how a light works. I flip the switch, I imagine there is some power station miles from me that sends juice through wires or whatever.

Edison had something to do with it right?

I think you're kidding, but in any case: you know about electrical outlets and such, right? An old incandescent bulb has a filament that heats up and glows. The new LED bulbs have an element that lights up with electricity. Very simple.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I think you're kidding, but in any case: you know about electrical outlets and such, right? An old incandescent bulb has a filament that heats up and glows. The new LED bulbs have an element that lights up with electricity. Very simple.

I thought it was the concept of a switch he was having trouble with.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I thought it was the concept of a switch he was having trouble with.

I think it's what happens when he throws the switch, which just closes a contact to complete the circuit between the electricity that's already at the outlet and the lamp. So the lamp gets electricity.

It's like when you turn on a faucet, it's not sending some signal to the water treatment plant (or well), it's just allowing the water that's already sitting in the head of the faucet to flow.

 

[JHDK]

I think you're kidding, but in any case: you know about electrical outlets and such, right? An old incandescent bulb has a filament that heats up and glows. The new LED bulbs have an element that lights up with electricity. Very simple.

I thought it was the concept of a switch he was having trouble with.

im kinda jokining but also not.

its basic stuff im ignorant to. like i wake up and turn the tv on...how the f does that work? im aware its 24 frames/second and all but moving pictures, let alone HD and 4K? how?

 

[scotchandcigar]

like i wake up and turn the tv on...how the f does that work? im aware its 24 frames/second

Movies are shot at 24 fps, TV video is 60 fps interlaced. Your welcome.