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  1. Member
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    Originally Posted by lingyi View Post
    The best advice has already been given, get a separate media player and you'll get a much higher level of playback compatibility and value. A built-in media HDTV media player is analogous to an OEM stereo in a car. The cost to the manufacturer is minimal, but they'll tack on the full retail price to car. Better to save the additional $50-$100 retail cost on the HDTV and get a good separate media player.
    I think your reasoning is flawed. A new HDTV from any of the big names in consumer electronics is almost certainly going to have a built-in player for playing various kinds of digital video and audio files. It isn't an optional accessory like a car stereo.
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  2. Dinosaur Supervisor KarMa's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    The license key needs to be purchased from the Raspberry Pi Store. I thought you had checked, but apparently not. The Raspberry Pi Store charges £2.40. ($3.42 at the current exchange rate)
    I did check, considering I originally said $4. Weird that they have not dropped the price if the decoder fee is 50 cents as of the start of 2016.

    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    The one-time fee is nominal regardless. Most family restaurants charge more for a slice of pie.
    Restaurants normally don't sell two decade old slices of pie.

    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    micallen has so far said nothing about the Raspberry Pi's MPEG-2 decoder license fee being too high. That was all KarMa.
    I'm sorry, was I talking to myself? I wrote two short sentences in post #7 and did not plan on this draw out discussion over $4. But you just kept talking about it.

    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    I think your reasoning is flawed. A new HDTV from any of the big names in consumer electronics is almost certainly going to have a built-in player for playing various kinds of digital video and audio files. It isn't an optional accessory like a car stereo.
    My 2013 Sony (kdl-40r450a) has a pretty limited file play back from USB. It can decode JPEGs, MP3s, and certain videos.

    For videos on USB it can decode .TS or .MPG files that contain MPEG1/MPEG2 video with MP2 audio (maybe PCM but have yet to try). This is probably the weirdest thing about it. Because it has a ATSC tuner for watching broadcast tv, which is MPEG2 with AC3 +99% of the time. For what ever reason it won't decode AC3 audio via USB , yet it certainly can with broadcasts. Making me think that Dolby needs an extra royalty for non-broadcast/non-ATSC decoding, which Sony did not pay for with this model. Leaving me with the free MP2 and maybe PCM.

    This is all fine with me as I never had a smart tv in mind when buying it and just wanted it to display what is imputed to it. Like a separate media player. Currently the Chromecast fills most of my media playing needs, at least for H.264 video.

    While my TV is currently a few years old, I'd still say built-in media decoding is still optional. Especially on the cheaper models, and also the smaller models.

    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    Mom's TV plays HEVC video and AAC audio in an MKV container. I tested it with a legal download of Sintel, which is 1920x824 and 2:35:1 aspect ratio. Will it play everything? No. No hardware-based media player will play everything.
    I've only heard of 4K TVs having built-in HEVC support.
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    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    Originally Posted by lingyi View Post
    The best advice has already been given, get a separate media player and you'll get a much higher level of playback compatibility and value. A built-in media HDTV media player is analogous to an OEM stereo in a car. The cost to the manufacturer is minimal, but they'll tack on the full retail price to car. Better to save the additional $50-$100 retail cost on the HDTV and get a good separate media player.
    I think your reasoning is flawed. A new HDTV from any of the big names in consumer electronics is almost certainly going to have a built-in player for playing various kinds of digital video and audio files. It isn't an optional accessory like a car stereo.
    I'm sure I could have phrased my statement better, but I think my analogy stands. IMHO, almost every OEM product / component (included or optional) is valued and priced over an equivalent or better aftermarket product. It's been a long time since I bought my truck, but I'm sure there's still the good, better, best options for stereos (and fabric, rims, moulding, etc) at a premium price.

    To tie the analogy back to HDTVs, just a I wouldn't base my purchase on a vehicle based on what stereo is installed, I wouldn't purchase an HDTV because it had a good media player. Especially almost certainly bettered by a standalone product and definitely bested by an HTPC.

    @micallen

    I recommend you head over to www.avsforum.com to research and ask your questions there as Videohelp is great for most video related topicst, but HDTV (and related home video product) recommendations aren't the primary focus of this forum.

    Also, I highly reccomend you reassess your HDTV priorities. As stated earlier, put picture quality first as you can always upgrade your media player, but you can't upgrade the picture quaility*

    *Yes, I know, picture quality can be tweaked by calibration, but a silk purse can't be made from a sow's ear.
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    Originally Posted by KarMa View Post
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    The license key needs to be purchased from the Raspberry Pi Store. I thought you had checked, but apparently not. The Raspberry Pi Store charges £2.40. ($3.42 at the current exchange rate)
    I did check, considering I originally said $4. Weird that they have not dropped the price if the decoder fee is 50 cents as of the start of 2016.
    Write to the Raspberry Pi foundation and demand to know why they are, in your opinion, over-charging for their MPEG-2 license.

    Originally Posted by KarMa View Post
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    The one-time fee is nominal regardless. Most family restaurants charge more for a slice of pie.
    Restaurants normally don't sell two decade old slices of pie.
    LOL I have been served many a slice of stale pie at restaurants and was charged full price for it.

    Originally Posted by KarMa View Post
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    micallen has so far said nothing about the Raspberry Pi's MPEG-2 decoder license fee being too high. That was all KarMa.
    I'm sorry, was I talking to myself? I wrote two short sentences in post #7 and did not plan on this draw out discussion over $4. But you just kept talking about it.
    A quibble is defined as a small objection or complaint. You were the only one complaining that the price of the license is too high, so yes that was only you quibbling about the fee. You could have stopped any time...

    Originally Posted by KarMa View Post
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    I think your reasoning is flawed. A new HDTV from any of the big names in consumer electronics is almost certainly going to have a built-in player for playing various kinds of digital video and audio files. It isn't an optional accessory like a car stereo.
    My 2013 Sony (kdl-40r450a) has a pretty limited file play back from USB. It can decode JPEGs, MP3s, and certain videos.

    For videos on USB it can decode .TS or .MPG files that contain MPEG1/MPEG2 video with MP2 audio (maybe PCM but have yet to try). This is probably the weirdest thing about it. Because it has a ATSC tuner for watching broadcast tv, which is MPEG2 with AC3 +99% of the time. For what ever reason it won't decode AC3 audio via USB , yet it certainly can with broadcasts. Making me think that Dolby needs an extra royalty for non-broadcast/non-ATSC decoding, which Sony did not pay for with this model. Leaving me with the free MP2 and maybe PCM.

    This is all fine with me as I never had a smart tv in mind when buying it and just wanted it to display what is imputed to it. Like a separate media player. Currently the Chromecast fills most of my media playing needs, at least for H.264 video.

    While my TV is currently a few years old, I'd still say built-in media decoding is still optional. Especially on the cheaper models, and also the smaller models.
    I did say a new TV from a major brand.

    LG, Samsung, Sony, and Vizio are the only consumer electronics giants still making TVs for N. America. Panasonic, Toshiba, and Sharp left last year. Hisense licensed the Sharp name. Compal Electronics licensed the Toshiba name. Panasonic licensed its Sanyo brand name to Funai.

    I have shopped for a TV more recently than you. I looked at nearly every small 2015 TV made by LG, Samsung, and Vizio on my mother's behalf. I looked at some larger Sonys too, for fun. Every one of the TVs I researched had a built-in media player.

    Samsung and LG have been putting media players in most or all of their TVs for a few years. I have a 2012 Samsung 24-inch TV ($220) and a 2011 LG 32-inch TV ($330) myself, both with built-in media players. Both play AC3 audio from my recorded TV shows using the USB port. Neither is a smart TV.

    Originally Posted by KarMa View Post
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    Mom's TV plays HEVC video and AAC audio in an MKV container. I tested it with a legal download of Sintel, which is 1920x824 and 2:35:1 aspect ratio. Will it play everything? No. No hardware-based media player will play everything.
    I've only heard of 4K TVs having built-in HEVC support.
    Samsung UN32J5500AFXZA from Best Buy, which cost $320 on sale last year.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 14th Jun 2016 at 00:52.
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    A story I just remembered.

    Decades ago, I got a professional video monitor (Sony PVM-2530) that cost twice as much as the best consumer TV at the time. When we got it home, my then girlfriend wondered why such an expensive "TV" didn't even have Picture In Picture. I explained to her that we spent all that money because it was one the best "TVs" available and everytthing was focused on picture quailty. "But that still doesn't explain why it doesn't have Picture In Picture?" *SIGH*

    Later,when we watched a football game, she complained that she didn't like the picture quality because it was so clear and color accurate that everything looked like "moving photographs"! *DOUBLE SIGH*

    Actually she was right! It took me a while to get used to the amazing picture quality and as good as my current HDTV is, I've never been wowed like I was back then. *TRIPLE SIGH*
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    Originally Posted by lingyi View Post
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    Originally Posted by lingyi View Post
    The best advice has already been given, get a separate media player and you'll get a much higher level of playback compatibility and value. A built-in media HDTV media player is analogous to an OEM stereo in a car. The cost to the manufacturer is minimal, but they'll tack on the full retail price to car. Better to save the additional $50-$100 retail cost on the HDTV and get a good separate media player.
    I think your reasoning is flawed. A new HDTV from any of the big names in consumer electronics is almost certainly going to have a built-in player for playing various kinds of digital video and audio files. It isn't an optional accessory like a car stereo.
    I'm sure I could have phrased my statement better, but I think my analogy stands. IMHO, almost every OEM product / component (included or optional) is valued and priced over an equivalent or better aftermarket product. It's been a long time since I bought my truck, but I'm sure there's still the good, better, best options for stereos (and fabric, rims, moulding, etc) at a premium price.
    My point is that there is probably no way to avoid paying for a built-in media player if you buy a new TV from Sony, LG, Samsung or Vizio, which are also the brands presently selling the highest-rated models in N. America.
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  7. I'm a Super Moderator johns0's Avatar
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    I would never buy a tv based on it's builtin media player for the fact that the audio goes through the tv to speaker/receiver and it's not sent to the receiver as pass through.
    I think,therefore i am a hamster.
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