Watching the monthly broadcasting on your TV

[Brother_Bliss]

I'm in the ROKU camp myself. Love it. Very user friendly. The JW Broadcasting App sits at the top of the list ;)

[Bob]

1 hour ago, Dismal_Bliss said:

I'm in the ROKU camp myself. Love it. Very user friendly. The JW Broadcasting App sits at the top of the list ;)

 

I tell you Bob, if my mother can use Roku, ANYONE can!

Edited February 24, 2018 by Bob

[Peanuts]

On 22/02/2018 at 5:43 PM, Rose Flower said:

I use Roku the first one manufactured and it is plugged into a slot on the back of the TV.

 

Works great.

 

I did lose the remote once and ordered another one and found the first one about the same time the second one came!  LOL

 

I have been really careful not to lose any of them now.

 Did you know there is a roku app you can download and then you can use your phone or tablet as the remote. Our roku remote never really worked so ive always used my phone.

 

My parents use a roku stick. They are not tech savvie at all but they have been getting on fine with it. (My brother set it up for them mind you!) Its a much cheaper solution than a whole new TV especially if they dont need a new one.

 

I got an Amazon fire stick for an older sister in my cong (it was cheaper than the roku) it works fine...but i would say its slightly more complicated to access the broadcast....its not complicated just the layout is not as obvious as it is with roku. She can never remember how to do it (and she is used to using her ipad etc)

[Phil]

I’ve got a Roku 3 box & it’s great,2 yrs ago I thought i’d Buy a smart tv, to replace my ageing plasma tv,I bought a Sony on the strength of seeing a sisters tv & thought the pic quality was great,it was a big mistake on my part,the browser is slow & it has android os which is so glitchy, crashes often, also doesn’t support my iPad for mirroring,if you decide  on the smart tv route, avoid Sony at all cost

[Qapla]

27 minutes ago, Phil said:

if you decide  on the smart tv route, avoid Sony at all cost

 

Not sure I can agree with this statement. I have used a Sony TV to mirror my tablet and it worked just fine - but then, I was using an Android tablet not an iPad.

 

Just because your Apple tablet does not work well on that Sony does not mean all tablets, Android and Windows included, have problems working on Sony TV's or that ALL Sony TV's are bad.

[dove]

I've been thinking about replacing our old plasma as well; it's not only old but has been struck with lightening at least once, which damaged the sound. I'm looking at an LG Oled 4K smart TV. It will be our last TV so hope it works out.The Blu-Ray recorder I had just bought was damaged but I don't know if I should re-buy one or not. Don't seem to play many DVD's anymore now that so many things are on JW.ORG..I have a Roku also but some have it built-in now. Don't know if it's compatible with the TiVo..have so many problems with it lately but I like it so much better than our service providers DVR's..

[Phil]

1 hour ago, Qapla said:

 

Not sure I can agree with this statement. I have used a Sony TV to mirror my tablet and it worked just fine - but then, I was using an Android tablet not an iPad.

 

Just because your Apple tablet does not work well on that Sony does not mean all tablets, Android and Windows included, have problems working on Sony TV's or that ALL Sony TV's are bad.

The screen mirroring is just a minor issue,it’s the android operating system with 2015  models that is a major issue. https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/android-tv/bd-p/Android_TV

[njwinans]

19 minutes ago, Dove said:

I've been thinking about replacing our old plasma as well; it's not only old but has been struck with lightening at least once, which damaged the sound. I'm looking at an LG Oled 4K smart TV. It will be our last TV so hope it works out.The Blu-Ray recorder I had just bought was damaged but I don't know if I should re-buy one or not. Don't seem to play many DVD's anymore now that so many things are on JW.ORG..I have a Roku also but some have it built-in now. Don't know if it's compatible with the TiVo..have so many problems with it lately but I like it so much better than our service providers DVR's..

 

Good taste in TV.  hahaha.  I'd probably get the same type.

Buying a blu-ray player?  There are still some good blu-rays and dvds out there.  Get a cheap one...  Amazon $50 used & Walmart $60 new

Tivo and roku issues?  Not sure there are any since they use separate inputs and aren't tied together.

 

[Shawnster]

Since we only use a Roku, we never worry about changing inputs 

[Loje]

On 2/21/2018 at 7:17 AM, carlos said:

Can you offer some suggestions that are very easy to use?

 

I have both Smart TV's and Roku's - they both work well however, you have to have at least two remotes and, switch your inputs when going from TV to Roku. 

 

I recently purchased a Hitachi Roku TV and this is a game changer.  If you are looking for the ultimate in simplicity, this is it.  Normally, you buy a TV and add Roku to it.  This is the opposite, the TV is built around Roku!  The below photo shows the remote - doesn't get easier than this. 

 

When you press the "power" button to turn on the TV - you're right there at JW Broadcasting. 

 

No words to type in, no changing inputs, nothing!

 

It acts as all Roku's do - you can add any app you wish - Amazon, Netflix etc.  Your cable or antenna TV inputs show up as an app icon right alongside your other apps. 

 

This remote controls everything.

 

Turn on - select app, done!  I highly recommend it.

 

 

 

[njwinans]

We stream all our media through the Roku except when I cast my phone's screen to the TV so we can do nightly Family Worship (Text and a paragraph or 2 in WT).

[Astrid]

I just link my tablet to my TV via cable and then stream the video. The sound quality isn't the best sometimes, but it's not too bad.

 

The cable was pretty cheap, I think about 10 Euro, so it was the easiest solution for me.

[carlos]

Let me see if I am understanding it well.

 

With a Chromecast, your tablet or phone connects to your Chromecast device by wifi and either mirrors its screen or tells it what media to play. But if you are connected to the Chromecast by wifi, you cannot connect to your home wifi at the same time, can you? Therefore you cannot play media on streaming at the same time you use the Chromecast (unless you do it using you data plan). am I misunderstanding anything?

 

Roku sounds like the perfect solution, but I'm not sure you can use the JW channel in Roku in Spain. Officially Roku is still not sold in Spain, although it can be bought from Amazon. I'd love to meet someone who has one and has tried the JW thing.

[Stavro]

1 minute ago, carlos said:

But if you are connected to the Chromecast by wifi, you cannot connect to your home wifi at the same time, can you?

 

Once the Chromecast is set up on your network, you can connect any mobile device to the Chromecast while keeping your home WiFi connection.

 

Once the setup is finished, you can choose between total screen mirroring or casting only the video, both work equally well for JW Broadcasting.

[carlos]

25 minutes ago, Stavro said:

Once the Chromecast is set up on your network, you can connect any mobile device to the Chromecast while keeping your home WiFi connection.

 

Thanks, Stavro. Then Chromecast may be the way to go in my case.

[GeordieGirl]

I have recently had to buy a new TV so I bought a smart one which has built in Chromecast.  So all I have to do is turn on my TV, open the broadcast on my tablet or phone and click on the chromecast button and it loads on my TV.  Before I bought the TV I used the Chromecast gadget that you plug in via HDMI and USB which was great, too.

Edited March 1, 2018 by GeordieGirl

[jwhess]

This thread is about video streaming (mostly).  I can't but help remembering that it costs the organization more to allow streaming than it does to provide the download.  8 million strong it may amount to a fair bit of money.

[GeordieGirl]

7 minutes ago, jwhess said:

This thread is about video streaming (mostly).  I can't but help remembering that it costs the organization more to allow streaming than it does to provide the download.  8 million strong it may amount to a fair bit of money.

If the brothers didn't want us to use the Chromecast streaming they wouldn't have made it available to us.  If you research Google Chromecast partners and look under additional partners, you will find JW.Org on there front and centre on the very top line. https://store.google.com/product/chromecast_2015_apps

Edited March 1, 2018 by GeordieGirl

[jwhess]

3 minutes ago, GeordieGirl said:

If the brothers didn't want us to use the Chromecast streaming they wouldn't have made it available to us.  If you research Google Chromecast partners and look under additional partners, you will find JW.Org on there front and centre on the very top line. https://store.google.com/product/chromecast_2015_apps

Sr. Terri, it was not a criticism just useful information.  We have a lot of comments on "wise use of dedicated funds" in our LDC programs.  It was just a "Heads Up" kind of thing.  Love to all....

[Stavro]

2 minutes ago, jwhess said:

This thread is about video streaming (mostly).  I can't but help remembering that it costs the organization more to allow streaming than it does to provide the download.  8 million strong it may amount to a fair bit of money.

 

A stream is simply an on-demand download, and uses an identical amount of data.

 

Watching the same videos again and again over stream would use more data than a one-time download, and would incur an extra cost, but that cost is around $0.01 per 100 viewings/downloads, even a donation of $1 per publisher would offset the entirety of the bandwidth costs since JW Broadcasting first launched, with enough funds left over to cover bandwidth for the next couple years.

[GeordieGirl]

28 minutes ago, GeordieGirl said:

I have recently had to buy a new TV so I bought a smart one which has built in Chromecast.  So all I have to do is turn on my TV, open the broadcast on my tablet or phone and click on the chromecast button and it loads on my TV.  Before I bought the TV I used the Chromecast gadget that you plug in via HDMI and USB which was great, too,.

 

@carlos here I am quoting myself because I forgot to tag or quote you in my comment.  I just wanted to let you know that there are now Smart android TV's with inbuilt Chromecast in case that made it even easier for your parents. 

Edited March 1, 2018 by GeordieGirl

[Stavro]

I'd recommend staying clear of anything built-in.

 

For both built-in and plug-in, the end-user functionality will be completely identical, even down to the keypresses. But in the case of a built-in device, you're stuck with that one device for the life of the TV, which will quickly become obsolete due to a lack of updates.

[jwhess]

24 minutes ago, Stavro said:

 

A stream is simply an on-demand download, and uses an identical amount of data.

 

Watching the same videos again and again over stream would use more data than a one-time download, and would incur an extra cost, but that cost is around $0.01 per 100 viewings/downloads, even a donation of $1 per publisher would offset the entirety of the bandwidth costs since JW Broadcasting first launched, with enough funds left over to cover bandwidth for the next couple years.

Very well clarified, Thanks.

[GeordieGirl]

11 minutes ago, Stavro said:

I'd recommend staying clear of anything built-in.

 

For both built-in and plug-in, the end-user functionality will be completely identical, even down to the keypresses. But in the case of a built-in device, you're stuck with that one device for the life of the TV, which will quickly become obsolete due to a lack of updates.

Sorry, I beg to differ. There are 2 options for updating built in Chromecast. It will either do it automatically or if not, you can unplug your TV for a couple of minutes and when you plug it back in, it updates. Mine has automatically updated and has the latest version installed.

Edited March 1, 2018 by GeordieGirl

[Stavro]

2 minutes ago, GeordieGirl said:

Sorry, I beg to differ. There are 2 options for updating built in Chromecast.

 

That completely depends on the manufacturer. The cheaper manufacturers don't allow updates at all, and the more expensive manufacturers will allow updates for two or three years (the date should be listed on the manufacturer's website), after which the updates will be discontinued.

 

Personally, I cannot see the benefit of buying a $600 TV that provides zero extra functionality over a $30 Chromecast.