Smart TV for Retired Parents - Good UI Needed

Adredocto on 18/06/2023 - 11:32

Seeking input from the OzB brains trust.
I'm looking to pick up a new smart tv for parents in their 60s. Majority of watching is through netflix and FTA apps (iview, 7play etc.) So quality user interface is essential. They are currently using a chrome cast with varying success.

I'm struggling to identify which brands are the current go to for this. Looking at latest deals there's a lot of mixed opinions.

Any suggestions on particular models? It will get basic everyday use but the UI is the no.1 requirement. Don't need anything beyond decent with regard to picture quality etc.

Budget is flexible but preference to keep around 800-1,200 and 55-65 inch. And if a decent deal I'll pick up two so they only need to learn one system.

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • Hybroid on 18/06/2023 - 11:37
    +5

    Frankly, doesn't get simpler or cleaner than an Apple TV and that would be ideal for this scenario.

    Pair it with any TV, even existing one.

    • thatonethere on 18/06/2023 - 11:47

      Yeah appletv is my go to for the in laws

    • Morien on 18/06/2023 - 13:38

      Agreed. Turn on CEC and they needn't ever know that there are two boxes.

      TV remote can turn on Apple TV, or ATV remote (very simple, but small) can turn on TV.

      • thatonethere on 18/06/2023 - 15:26

        The only issue is sometimes the apple remote drifts off and volume stops working.

        • Morien on 18/06/2023 - 23:37

          Oh, does it? I've never experienced it, but I guess your experience will vary.

  • Hellfire on 18/06/2023 - 11:38
    +2

    TCL have Google TV inbuilt so fairly good ui and usually well priced.

  • boomramada on 18/06/2023 - 11:55
    +3

    Good UI Needed

    There is only hand full of UI out there, Google TV/Roku TV/Web OS would be the most famous at the moment. Take your parents to HN or JB and ask them to check it out themself?

    • Adredocto on 18/06/2023 - 15:35
      +1

      Thoughts on sony x75k? Sitting at $995 on 'sale'

      https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/sony-65-x75k-bravia-led-4…

      • brian77 on 18/06/2023 - 22:11
        +1

        If it’s anything like the 55” Sony x70D which I purchased in 2017 for about $1100 and is still going strong today after 6 years, I would highly recommend.

        Specifically, the x75K has Android TV as its operating system, which in my opinion is excellent; easy to use, intuitive and responsive. The menus are easy to navigate and my apps still receive regular updates. It also has built-in chromecast which is immensely handy.

        Surprisingly, my TV still feels as quick as it did on day one. For reference, my parents have a newer LG OLED TV (B7 or B8 I think) which feels sluggish in comparison despite being much newer. I think the Android OS goes a long way to keeping it this way (c.f. LG OS). My TV boots up quickly, usually < 5 seconds from standby; for reference, I have a friend with a TCL which I think is also newer than our Sony but takes maybe 30 seconds to boot up, frustratingly slow.

        Although the remote is simple, I find the Sony TVs have the best type of remote; I’ve used Samsungs and LGs with more stylish-looking, sleeker and smaller remotes that can also act as a pointer, but I find these very difficult to use, with the pointer often intrusive and obstructive. I like a remote where I can press the buttons without needing to look at the remote or point it at a specific location on the TV screen. I guess the benefit of a pointer remote is to be able to select apps quicker but I find the pointer gets activated whenever I really just want to do simpler things like change the volume or channel.

        I find the panel to be great; I’m not a pixel peeper, but generally, my TV looks great and did so out of the box (I don’t think I really adjusted anything). My parent’s LG TV, in contrast, looks overexposed and overly bright. And although I know this can probably be changed via settings, the difference is akin to the Apple iPhone display vs the early Samsung super AMOLED screens; the Samsung screens always looked supersaturated and overly bright, whereas the iPhone screens always looked more ‘natural’. So if watching TV for many hours, I find Sony screens to be a much more pleasant viewing experience.

        If my current Sony TV were to suddenly stop working, I would get another Sony TV in a heartbeat (or perhaps wait for a sale if it’s within a week or two), probably OLED this time. I can’t recommend Sony TVs enough. I know they often command a higher price and it’s tempting to go for a similar TV for even several hundred dollars less in your case (which is significant), but I think you won’t be disappointed with the Sony.

        The big caveat is that I’m basically recommending my 6 year old x70D, but I can only assume the x75K would be better. The 75” x75K for $995 seems like excellent value. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions.

        • Adredocto on 19/06/2023 - 01:22
          +1

          Legend. Thanks so much for the detailed response. Feeling pretty confident the must haves are all ticked for them with this one.

          • brian77 on 19/06/2023 - 09:33

            @Adredocto: Nice, let us know what you end up getting. I can’t believe TVs have come down in price so much over the last few years, particularly the OLEDs, but really shouldn’t be surprised.

  • Pcosmic on 18/06/2023 - 12:27

    TCL c835

  • skid on 18/06/2023 - 13:46
    +3

    The Samsung ones are a bit harder to use nowadays. LG is ok-ish.

    Another thought is to pick a remote with the normal numpad, volume up/down, channel up/down, power on/off and maybe a dedicated netflix shortcut button. I think the simplicity of the remote control matters more than the UI.

  • Adredocto on 18/06/2023 - 14:35

    Great insights, thanks all. I'll have a look into Apple tv, as well as a unit backed by Google Tv and dedicated streaming buttons on the remote.

    Cheers.

    • boomramada on 18/06/2023 - 18:31
      +1

      Apple TV is another extra attachment. I have given Google tv to my 89yo oldie with English as second language havinng no issues watching Netflix/Kayo/Unix desto. They swear at it few times then get used to it. Plus Sony has dedicated buttons for each app.

  • coxjon on 18/06/2023 - 16:36
    +1

    If you go Apple TV make sure you get the new remote without the awful touch panel!

    • Morien on 18/06/2023 - 23:38

      The touch panel remote hasn't been available for a couple of years now, I thought?

      • coxjon on 19/06/2023 - 08:07

        Yeah but one might be tempted to pick up a 1080p model from Facebook marketplace

  • Mugsy on 19/06/2023 - 07:06
    +1

    I got my folks an NVIDIA Shield. May have been overkill as the Chromecast with Google TV would have me their needs.

  • Bilby s on 19/06/2023 - 08:37

    Sony is my favourite for ease of use.

  • Karfaffel on 19/06/2023 - 10:44

    Funny, I had the opposite experience to many stated here.

    Bought my parents a Sony and found the Android UI absolutely terrible. Also they did not backup their product when an issue occurred and I will never buy another Sony TV due to this.

    My LG B7 on the other hand has been a superb device. Web OS is much easier to use and the pointer remote is great. Picture quality is amazing and I still can’t see any reason to upgrade. Just set it to one of the cinema presets and you won’t have any issues with colour saturation etc. Most likely the poster above had their B7 set to some kind of hyper store setting. The LG TVs are widely regarded as having some of the best picture quality available.

    • brian77 on 19/06/2023 - 14:58

      Each to their own I guess, hence the huge variety of TVs available. I may tinker with my parent’s LG one day haha

    • paulojr on 23/06/2023 - 22:41

      This is correct depending on the user because what people find easy to use depends on many factors, most important is age and their ability to learn

      I note the poster has said his parents are around 60 years old. Would also be useful to determine their ability to learn new things, are they constantly reading and exploring new gadgets or preferring to stick to what they know?

      In design of these devices you have a variety of levels of skill of each user, generally more tech literate and younger people see usability by how quickly they can get into more advanced and convenient functionality, they also worry about speed and smoothness. A person in that group will find Sony interfaces usable as particularly the newer X90 series does things like order apps based on usage so they are very fluid and configurable targeting users that fit into that class of user.

      That said, many 60 year olds will see this as completely unsuable. They are generally comfortable with interfaces that have clean and simple controls and where the interface remains fairly static. The Sony's are nearly unusable for someone in this generation as the interface adapts based on usage, in fact the remotes are bluetooth so its not even possible to swap them to a remote that is more user friendly for this age group such as a logitech universal remote. Even if it was possible, the adaptive nature of the interface means programming it is near impossible. (using the TV is much harder to build into your muscle memory)

      So its depends, if you have older parents who are not super tech savvy stay clear of the newer Sony models and the other brands that are constantly changing how their remotes and interfaces work. Ironically the cheaper brands that don't waste money over engineering the interface are probably better for this user group.

      Interesting apple has maintained a reasonable amount of consistency over the years (actually following design principles when applying changes unlike the other manufacturers that just care what looks cool not what works) Apple has maintained consistency even to the point where the limitations haven't really changed! Ironically this is good for the older generation where change is not a good thing.

      One thing, if your going with a media box over a smart TV, look for excellent HDMI CEC control. Not all devices work the same, e.g. A Vodafone TV CEC could turn on but not reliably turn off an amplifer connected to the TV and frequently would turn back on by themselves. I personally despised the earlier firesticks and especially the google chrome cast devices, I haven't had the desire to test the newer models.

      The Shield TV, while they are awfully expensive, have fantastic CEC control so do work seamlessly with a TV that supports CEC. Also relatively stable and simple interface. I like the idea of a fetch tv.. as it is along the idea of using a more classic interface. I cannot recall if its CEC control was any good but for the price of a fetchtv I think you can get a shield when on special and even prime works on a shield.

      But basically keep usability in mind in terms of what your parents define as usable. Its easy to overlook this, you might think a slightly different remote control will have no impact and they will just learn it but to the older generation even if the buttons are in different places they may find it impossible to operate, an adaptive screen interface will probably ensure they give up trying to even use the TV. If you think they have this issue look for something that is similar in design to what you have, just better specs.

      BTW if you make a mistake and ordered the Sony or similar, before giving up, you can try to teach them to use the voice interface. Once thing we've found is that when faced with a choice to relearn something you know vs learning something you don't know, people will find the new concept easier to learn. e.g. imagine learning to drive on the left side of the road if you have driven for decades on the right side, usually you end up nearly smashing into traffic after straying back to the right side without realising it as its all muscle memory now. Now imagine learning to pilot a boat. The latter can be actually easier as your not fighting with an established muscle memory. So a voice remote they may find fun and learn it after having already given up on using a bluetooth remote that looks kinda similar but functions totally differently. (e.g. sony remote don't even have numbers on the newer models)

      good luck.

  • R081N on 19/06/2023 - 11:57

    I would highly recommend the fetch mini tv box. Beautiful interface and easy to use. Much better than any native tv system that I've seen. It has quick access to all the apps, catch up tv can appear in the tv guide (if you like), a bunch of extra free channels like old music videos for example. Remote can turn on your tv. It operates similarly to apple or Google tv but because it's a free to air tv box it integrates everything much better with the normal channels, which parents are more used to.

  • furys12 on 19/06/2023 - 12:02

    my particular tv (q80t) is above the stated budget range and im not sure if the interface is the same across others in their range but ive found the samsung interface to be very easy to use, especially once its setup, pretty much only need the "dpad" and menu button on the remote which doesnt have that many more buttons, press the menu button and you get a bar across the bottom with all your inputs and apps to choose from, its very out of the way

    on the other end of the specturm i find googleTV to a be a mess of bs recommendations and upsells, which is maybe fine if they are going to be watching the latest FTA stuff anyway, but it will happily recommend you an amazon prime movie that is "for rent" at a price above the prime sub, which could be a landmine for the less savvy, you can turn off stuff like that in a round about way but it still doesnt leave you with a good interface imo

  • Tigercjn on 20/06/2023 - 17:17

    Samsung as it gives them heaps of IPTV channels for them to watch just the same way as standard free-to-air.

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