db821arc's profile

Scholar

 • 

86 Messages

Monday, April 22nd, 2013 3:08 PM

HD TV

I hope someone can help me.  I am an older uverse subscriber who has just bought my first HD TV which is a Samsung Smart TV.  I am confused about the different hdmi cables.  I see them in price range from about 5.00 to over 100.00 and am not sure why such a wide range in prices.  Some of the cheaper cables say hdmi cable and then when you get in the higher priced cables they say high speed hdmi cables and then when you go higher in price the say high speed Ethernet hdmi cables.  Can someone please explain to me the difference in the cables and which would be the best for Uverse?  I bought 1 of each kind of cable.  The person who set up my TV choose the high speed Ethernet hdmi cable.  So far picture has been good and the coax cable that went from the receiver to my TV was not needed with my new TV and the signal was carried through just the hdmi cable.  I have a blue ray to hook up.  What cable will be the best?

Also on the smart TV.  The on TV function does not work with uverse for the smart features.  Does that feature only work with an antenna?  Any help and advise you can give me will be appreciated.

Accepted Solution

Official Solution

Expert

 • 

10.1K Messages

11 years ago

db821arc - I think I see three concerns -

1) You have an HDMI connection from U-verse to the TV that works fine. So, you are all set. U-verse does not require any "latest & greatest" cables - only basic "good" quality cable, such as any available from monoprice.com.

2) For best picturethe blue ray does require HDMI not component. Get your HDMI cables at monoprice.com.

3) The smart part of the Samsung is not fed from a TV signal like OTA or U-verse. It is fed from the web. You need to make another connection from the TV to the U-verse internet. This can be wireless - refer to TV manual for setup - post if you have questions. Or ,connect via a cat5 cable (also available from monoprice.com) from the TV network connection to the U-verse RG or the STB (only if the STB is already fed COAX. If the STB feed is now cat5 it is unavailable.)

Don't hesitate to follow up with a post if more concerns come to mind.

Scholar

 • 

86 Messages

11 years ago

Thanks for your help.  Just one more question.  When the TV recommends shows I might be interested in is it not picking up what I watch on uverse but only what I watch through streaming services like netflix, vudu and the like.  Also am I correct when I go to the smart hub and search for a show or movie it does not search Uverse but only the streaming services?  I have noticed that a lot of them you have to pay like on demand per show or movie.  When you buy a show as opposed to renting it is it stored in what they call the cloud and you can watch it from then on with no time limit?  Thanks again for helping me out.

Expert

 • 

10.1K Messages

11 years ago

db821arc - Glad I could help.

I think that the best way to think about the smart/recommendation process is that they are separate. I do not see how the TV can tell what content is coming over the HDMI cable from U-verse. Maybe they can & maybe they will do it sometime in the future. Until you can see it working consider it to be a dream. At least that is the way it is with most of the new apps.

You can stream some U-verse shows from uverse.com. & there is espn & hbo & showtime & many sites available via a computer. Not sure if they are available via the TV browser.

Expert

 • 

10.1K Messages

11 years ago

db821arc - Missed this one on the previous post - When you buy a show as opposed to renting it is it stored in what they call the cloud and you can watch it from then on with no time limit?

Yes, content moves from a physical copy to access rights. Rent is short term & buy is "forever" or you dont do it anymore, whichever comes first.

Also, does the smart TV have Voodu & Roku software built in?? I see those as separate input boxes like the U-verse STB. They would receive/stream content over another internet connection and feed it to the TV via a video connection.

Your TV would only be able to identify content by whatever you stream vis the TV browser. Any content fed to the TV via video connections from U-verse vulkan or roku boxes cannot be identified. Not to say there is no parallel path to send the info via the web - but, I am skeptical about that being currently available .

Expert

 • 

10.1K Messages

11 years ago

db821arc - You really ask good questions. The answers are not always that obvious. RE: Also am I correct when I go to the smart hub and search for a show or movie it does not search Uverse but only the streaming services?

At first I was thinking How does it know what you like & I think the answer to that is it has to be generated within the smart paart of the TV. Could also be a separate feed over the internet. But that is unlikely, at least for now.

Then there is the other half of the question - How does it know what is a available to recommend? This is usually done with a browser that culls it down to shows available on the web on the various sites. Some might include the provider and OTA. For this it needs your location and provider to be entered in a setup step. You may even need to elect what sites to include. It makes no sense to tel you a show is available on HBO if you do not subscribe to HBO.

I do not know if your set has this capability or not.. It may or may not.

New Member

 • 

25.7K Messages

11 years ago

Monoprice.com, you can also find some good cables under $10 on amazon.com. The only difference in price, is just that. Now you will find that some of the really super cheap Dollar store cables have bad connection heads, and I personally would not buy those.

So, best places to get cables are Blujeanscables.com, monoprice.com, and amazon.com. Any other questions?

Scholar

 • 

86 Messages

11 years ago

I just want to thank everyone for the help setting up my first HD TV.  The manual reads like greek to me telling me I have to turn on DCHP whatever that is and talking about WAP.  I thought it would be diffucult to set up but all I had to do is plug in the ethernet connection and the tv set everything up and is working fine.  If I could bother you for one more question.  What is the difference between 720 and 1081.  Both are listed as HD also what is the difference between HD movies and HDX?

 

Once again thanks for all your help.

New Member

 • 

25.7K Messages

11 years ago

If you are talking about setting up the smart tv for apps, yes for some that can be hard. Greek it is not. Ethernet can be Plug and Play, which means you plug it in and it works, or it could be like for some, where you end up pulling your hair out trying to figure out why it is not working, then realize the person who setup the network, used MAC address locks, and other over the board security issues.

As for HDX, if you are talking about Netflix, it is their newer HD format. 720p, means that all 720 lines are being show progressively. Think of it like taking a pencil and starting at the Upper Left hand corner, drawing a line to the right, then go down a bit, go to the left, then repeat.

1080i, means that half the screen, or every other line is shown first, then the screen draws the next set of lines. It is how tv's have been working for years, which is called Interlaced mode. I think that you could look at it how a basket is weaved.

I leave all of our sets in 1080i, and our Blu-Ray player in 1080p. No need to change them around all of the tv.

Contributor

 • 

1 Message

8 years ago

I purchased a HDMI CORD TO WATCH MOVIES FROM MY PHONE. I HAVE A SAMSUNG GALAXY EXPRESS PHONE AND A SAMSUNG HD T.V. HOWEVER, IT'S NOT WORKING. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE ME SOME HELP?

Expert

 • 

10.1K Messages

8 years ago

@FeliciaHarris44 - You do have it connected & you have selected the right input on the TV? yes.

 

So what is the problem? No picture? Any error message? What site are you streaming from?

 

Does anything appearfrom the phone to the TV?

 

Some (read att last time I looked) did not allow this connection on the phone app. You can only watch on the small screen. Connecting to the big scren is technically/physically possible but niot included in service agreeements.

Not finding what you're looking for?
New to AT&T Community?
New to the AT&T Community? Start by visiting the Community How-To.
New to the AT&T Community?
Visit the Community How-To.