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Question

SmartTV user interface

Jan 1, 2015 11:14AM PST

I bought a new 4K Samsung TV with the expectation that its user interface would be intuitive and consistent across the platform. It is neither. Pairing a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard was very difficult, and even then they don't work consistently. Tech support has been unhelpful. I'm extremely disappointed. Anyone had similar experiences? Advice to offer?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Yup.
Jan 1, 2015 2:14PM PST

As you discovered, and why I just turn off Smart Hub and use other things.
Bob

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SmartTV user interface
Jan 1, 2015 10:40PM PST

To R.Proffitt:
Good advice. I'm going to fall back on streaming content from my computer to the Samsung. That'll give me full control on a familiar (Windows) interface, with far greater reliability.
I wrote a review criticizing the unit and Samsung's dreadful user support. Samsung found it "unsuitable" and refused to publish it. So much for Samsung's interest in its customer base.
Oh, and I have been unable to log into my Samsung account through the TV. Works fine from the computer, though. Samsung even sent a technician to make a house call. He pronounced the TV just fine -- but it still works like an early buggy beta unit.
'Nuff said. No more Samsung for me.
Thanks.

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I can explain that.
Jan 2, 2015 12:31AM PST

TV makers think their stuff is fine because they compare it to days when the TV had no such features. They don't compare it to non-TV solutions and this is where everyone flies apart. That is, we are used to response times we see on smart phones, PCs and many other devices.

So if you put your blinders on, this would seem great compared to a TV of prior days.

I'm not saying it's right but they have their perspective. My thought is they invested a boatload of time and money that while pretty, is nothing I use.
Bob

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SmartTV user interface
Jan 2, 2015 11:25PM PST

Very good point about Samsung's marketing mindset. As we get ever closer to the convergence of personal technology into what theoretically will be a single unified and integrated system -- television, tablet, personal computer, phone, wrist watch and automobile chauffer, all rolled into one -- every device necessarily must be measured against every other device in terms of usability -- especially its user interface.
Samsung's SmartHub falls down badly on that score.
It's subjective, I know, but my "gold standard" is the GUI that Windows and Apple have made nearly universal. The SmartHub contains bits and pieces of it, but overall it's a radical departure, clumsy and unreliable, from the de facto standard.
And it's just too early for it to be on the market. Samsung still has not been able to log me into its own servers via SmartHub. It doesn't yet have a grasp of its own technology.
I've come to see all SmartTVs as a metaphor for a set of roller skates that are suddenly all the rage, a trendy new thing that can get me from my home to the grocery store, but with a lot of falls and wobbles and stumbles along the way. Meanwhile, there's a nice little Chevy (my PC) in the garage. It's a far superior vehicle. Why not use it instead of the roller skates?

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Answer
try another bluetooth mouse
Jan 2, 2015 1:31AM PST
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SmartTV user interface
Jan 2, 2015 11:32PM PST

Thanks for the advice. Actually, my mouse works OK as far as it goes. My complaint was a larger one about the lack of consistency and reliability across all the SmartHub apps.
Glad to see you're a MicroCenter fan. Me, too. Good outfit, that one. Never got a bad piece of advice from them, or a product that they would not happily stand behind.
Enjoy the TV!

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consistency
Jan 3, 2015 2:40AM PST

Yeah....as for consistency/reliability it is like any other computer system. Different companies develop apps and some are better programmers or have a larger budget than others.