Hi,
My grandmother left me £1,000 in her will and we've decided to buy a 'family entertainment' system with it. By this I mean a TV that we can access the internet with + a new games console.
Our somewhat bedraggled current set up is as follows:
- LG 32 inch LCD TV (must be getting on for 5 years old now)
- Freeview box (non-HD) with harddrive video recorder
- Cheapish LG Cinema sound system (including DVD player that doesn't work anymore)
- Wii console (which also stopped playing games discs about 6 months ago.
What we would like to be able to do with the new set up:
- Watch Freeview TV - probably with HD option
- WiFi capability so we can stream things like movies (e.g. lovefilm, netflix, itunes) direct to the TV without having to plug in a laptop etc
- A new games console to replace the Wii (open to Playstation or XBOX rather than just a like for like)
- The ability to record TV programmes to a hard drive, memory stick or such like using a built in TV guide
- The ability to directly access TV channel players (BBC iPlayer, 4OD, ITV player, etc)
- The ability to watch YouTube videos
- The ability to surf the internet (including the option to use a wireless usb keyboard and mouse)
- The ability to easily show photos on screen with friends/family (here I thinking this would possibly be achieved via the internet capability - i.e. sharing photos using online facility such as Picasa
I guess the main decision I need to make is whether I should go for as much of these features built into the TV as possible (i.e. one of these Smart TV gizmos that I keep hearing about or whether it would be better to keep things separate (bear in mind the lady of the house hates having separate units cluttering up the lounge!). Also, I'm not sure if it's best to get the WiFi access directly through the TV or perhaps via an all singing all dancing games console.
Any recommendations appreciated (including which TV manufacturers are better than others for this kinda thing)
Cheers,
Trousers