Which Roku for 10 year old Plasma 57” Samsung

[StarHalo]

4K doesn't need to be big or expensive, Wal-Mart had 49" 4K sets for $220 a couple months ago, and the big July sales start next week. Two points: If you don't plan on buying a 4K disc player/media (I haven't,) do peruse the slim online offerings as you may find there's not enough to warrant another TV. Also, note that Smart TVs are their own "Roku" and you can download and use apps with nothing else connected to the TV. I frequently use the Youtube app on my Samsung, it also has Pureflix available.

My Roku is an older Roku 3 from ~2015, totally worth it for the Adult Swim app, that's all it's used for anymore.

 

[HarryN]

Valuable information HarryN, thanks! Can you give us a basic idea of just how old is your older Roku?

StarHalo: Once again your powerful persuasive skills are on display, this time in 4K... Guess my final excuse for not going higher definition is we do not have a room so large that needs so large a TV. But what you say does sound good.

The older roku stick is 2 - 3 years old. Prior to this we had used a sony blue ray player to access netflix via wifi, but the wifi on those seemed to last only about 1 year (2 - 3 units) and we were hardly watching BR discs anymore, so switching to the roku made sense.

BTW - we don't let roku force a registration that gives them a bunch of market collection data. Mostly we just use this thing to connect to netflix, and lately some roku TV movies and newsy. Netflix is kind of slipping on content - way too much reliance on their own content. Seems like movie access is really slipping. I tried to watch some J Belushi movies and nothing was available. Newsy is ok, just too many advs to watch more than the headlines.

My wife really dislikes all of the wires so we are always trying to find ways to eliminate them. That was the main driver toward using the stick vs console. Still has a wire though (5 volt) for power.

 

[adnj]

Do like I did: install a 5v USB jack direct wired fro the TV.

Nothing better that you can do with 2 days playing with a screwdriver and soldering iron. *intentional sarcasm*

I use a Chromecast on another set and just power it off of an unused USB port.

 

[HarryN]

My original plan was actually to build up a linux mint computer to be our media station and deal with playing discs, accessing internet, playing netflix and youtube videos in the family room.

I have had some challenges getting it all to work on my personal (small business) computer so that has delayed implementation a bit. Also, my wife wasn't as keen on the idea as I am.

She is a bit frustrated that it takes 4 remote controls to run the TV now (TV one, cable box, roku, and disc player.) The cable box one is perhaps the most annoying as it serves no real function that the TV could not have done. I am not ready to jump on the "all in one" remote yet as we would dump cable if we could access just a few shows another way.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Regarding the Fire: just read about this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1X28F1/?tag=cpf0b6-20

 

[StarHalo]

Hope you guys are seeing today's prices on some of the things we've been talking about, 'cause golly..

 

[adnj]

Some of your remote control problems would be solved by looking for and upgrading to HDMI CEC devices so that the TV will control the peripherals like a Chromecast, cablebox or DVD player.

My original plan was actually to build up a linux mint computer to be our media station and deal with playing discs, accessing internet, playing netflix and youtube videos in the family room.

I have had some challenges getting it all to work on my personal (small business) computer so that has delayed implementation a bit. Also, my wife wasn't as keen on the idea as I am.

She is a bit frustrated that it takes 4 remote controls to run the TV now (TV one, cable box, roku, and disc player.) The cable box one is perhaps the most annoying as it serves no real function that the TV could not have done. I am not ready to jump on the "all in one" remote yet as we would dump cable if we could access just a few shows another way.

 

[HarryN]

Some of your remote control problems would be solved by looking for and upgrading to HDMI CEC devices so that the TV will control the peripherals like a Chromecast, cablebox or DVD player.

That is probably true. I was too cheap to pay for "digital cable" (essentially double the analog version we had for the same access) so we held out under a "grand fathered price package". It is the absolute minimalistic setup you could get. They finally gave up and put in a super cheap box that gives us digital TV with analog outputs and the same mediocre show access we had before. For better or worse, I can't upgrade or the price of service goes up 2X for the exact same package of channels.

Really wish we had broadcast TV access vs this monopoly.

 

[StarHalo]

The Netflix/Hulu/Amazon combo simplifies things nicely, lived that way for several years..

 

[KITROBASKIN]

An update: Ordered the Roku Streaming Stick+ 4K capable with on/off, volume control and voice search. When we first tested the plasma TV, it was on the floor in the living room and I believe we only watched a Blu-ray disc. Well, I installed the TV on the wall and then setup the Roku when it arrived. Everything was smooth until we tried to watch content. The live-chat Roku troubleshooting fellow was helpful but got cut off when I disconnected the WiFi while using an Android phone as a hotspot for the Roku. After bouts of frustration and testing, we now know that when the plasma TV is on, ALL internet is effectively gone, including hard wire ethernet! A cursory web search involving plasma TV and internet connectivity reveals that we are not the only ones afflicted (RF interference and such). We moved the Roku to our primary TV because it is quicker and more capable, though we have not used hardly any features other than Netflix and YouTube. We use the plasma TV with our new (used) Wii console playing Sports and Sports Resort. No one in the house is likely to waste their time trying to get internet while that TV is on.
Thanks for everyone's input and discussion.

 

[StarHalo]

I forgot about that; yeah, I remember back when plasma was the hot thing but all the radio people know it was an RF disaster, so when Art Bell went to buy a new TV, he took a pocket radio with him and tried listening to it standing next to each TV - the TV that interfered the least was the one he got. Kind of a bummer, but for a free TV, the price is still right..

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Thanks SH. It was free and we now have a current interface that is compatible with 4K and really is quicker than our old Blu Ray player and old smart TV.

 

[adnj]

Ethernet is shielded against RFI. I had a 50 inch plasma for years that didn't cause any problems in the Wifi B/G bands.

Before giving up on it, I would suggest that the TV be properly grounded back to your electrical panel. There are many room additions and basement remodels where the electrical service is not properly grounded resulting in a standing wave on the ground or neutral path.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Thanks adnj, I'll check that out. This house has been added on, with the original service panel right behind the wall the plasma is attached. A lot of wired-together junctions where the breakers used to be in there.

One thing I read was that it is a mistake to have data lines near power lines in the walls (something like that)

 

[adnj]

Having the panel near by is lucky for you. If you need a new circuit, you can run one easily.

Most RFI is in the lower MHz bands. Wi-fi, cordless phones and most cell phones are in the GHz band.

I would also check to make sure that your electrical service panel is properly grounded direct to earth. Yours may be grounded to a water pipe or an earthing rod just outside of your home.

Some electricians mistakenly use the casing from shielded cable as a path to earth.

On a side note: recently, there has been a shift in using the terms earth and ground in household electrical codes. Earthing goes straight to the earth. Grounding gives you zero voltage in reference to the earth as a ground.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Very much appreciate the information.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

3 weeks ago I used a long extension cord to power the plasma TV from an outlet far away; still lost internet.

2 weeks ago an electrical friend of our son's grandmother accepted my request to assist on this. Using 12 gauge, sheathed solid copper wire about 6 inches long, he placed one stripped end into a hot plug-in slot of an older power strip at the (now unplugged) plasma TV, and the other stripped end in the ground (where a round prong on an electrical plug goes). A brief but energetic expression of electricity occured. That indicates the ground is functional, right?
Reset the power strip; no juice. Reset the circuit breaker (not sure if it broke); nut'n honey. Our friend was getting a concerned look on his face. We confirmed there were no other circuit breakers. He started fishing around. Just south of that wall is the kitchen. He looked at a GFCI outlet near the sink and found that it had tripped. All is well, except we still lose internet when plasma is cooking.

 

[HighlanderNorth]

I'd love to know how much a 57" plasma tv cost a decade ago! A client of mine bought a 40" Sony 1080dpi LCD tv about 10-12 years ago, and paid over $2,000 for it new. Recently a storm caused a power surge that somehow got by his large, expensive, but older surge protector and fried the tv. So I helped him pick out a new Sharp 47" 4k LED smart Roku tv for like $290 or so! That's a huge price difference over 10 years!

 

[StarHalo]

TV prices have been in a free fall for a while now, I've been watching it over in the Avatar thread; it will only continue with the introduction of 8K TVs this month..

Edit:

I'd love to know how much a 57" plasma tv cost a decade ago!

Looked it up for fun: Samsung's 50" plasma in 2008 was $2,900, Pioneer's flagship Kuro (which was the apex of plasma TVs) in 60" size was $12,000. So if this TV was meant to compete with the Kuro, we could be looking at used car pricing..

Also found that plasmas use at least three times more electricity than same-size LED-backlit models, so a 57" is requiring ~400 watts. My current 65" Samsung has a typical power rating of 75 watts.