Smart Vu X vs Vodafone TV Gen 2 - which one is better

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Benoire

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#265699 5-Feb-2020 18:44

I would like to move away from my homebrewed nvidia shield setup with Kodi to an easier to use system for family reasons. I've had my eye on both the Vodafone TV gen 2 unit and the Smart Vu X as they're both designed to show freeview content natively but in slgihtly different ways.

How do people find the Smart Vu X's freeview implementation for freeview? Does it offer rewind/fast forward/pause on all channels? Does the on demand part carry everything from the channels in case you've missed the show or is it simply what ever they've put online for ondemand consumption, i.e. a few days 'rewind' or just replication of the ondemand stuff from the websites?

What about the Vodafone TVs? They seem like an interesting approach to online tv and good mix between linear and ondemand... but the lack of certain apps makes it harder such as Plex, Disney+ and steam link / parsec (for game streaming from my pc to the 'big screen'.

I know I could use the IPTV stuff for Kodi but the issue is that Kodi via an android remote is just not that friendly and without a central recording location that all clients can access and see all the recordings its just not that good, tvheadend as a central recording system would work but its quite hard to get it going with the IPTV stuff and a proper guide.

What's the general consensus Smart Vu X or Vodafone TV?

Chris

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#2413296 5-Feb-2020 19:28

SmartVU is crap. Mine regularly locks up and needs to be powered off.
Support has no solution, others here report the same.
Consider buying something else.

foxy38

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#2413299 5-Feb-2020 19:40

owned smart vu for a year or so...no issues...plays when i want it..on bedroom tv..netflex..spark sport on demand tv etc..turn it off when not in use as it can heat up...happy with mine..

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Benoire

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#2413304 5-Feb-2020 19:52

nathan: SmartVU is crap. Mine regularly locks up and needs to be powered off.
Support has no solution, others here report the same.
Consider buying something else.

I would be using ethernet which I understood to not be plagued by the same issues as when using Wifi?

What's the freeview app like with the ondemand stuff? How well does it work and can you go back in time or is it simply a linear stream and if you've missed the programme, you've missed it... does it then show on the ondemand part or just gone?

eracode

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#2413305 5-Feb-2020 19:53

foxy38:

owned smart vu for a year or so...no issues...plays when i want it..on bedroom tv..netflex..spark sport on demand tv etc..turn it off when not in use as it can heat up...happy with mine..

We have one of each. In broad terms both seem to work OK - but SV is seldom used. VFTV is used every night for an hour or two. The thing I find most useful on VFTV is being able to start watching a programme after it has begun, then very easily re-start the programme and FF through the ads. SmartVu can’t do that. VFTV can record stuff to the cloud but we don’t often use that feature.

If you want to turn SV off when not in use, as recommended in the post quoted above, use its ability to be powered from a USB port on the TV - then when the TV is off, SV is off.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Benoire

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#2413322 5-Feb-2020 20:37

That's what I fear with the freeview app only approach, that it effectively is a simple linear stream with no ability to move backwards in time OR even pick up the missed programmes via the ondemand function, but being Android TV it does have plex, steam link etc... where the VTV box has quite good tv stuff but not all the apps :-(

Stu1

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#2413329 5-Feb-2020 21:05

None of them Buy an Apple TV so much easier and great app support we watch all live tv via ondemand apps

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Benoire

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#2413330 5-Feb-2020 21:08

I'm looking for a single integrated solution for NZ freeview, not a bunch disparate apps... I can already pretty mcuh do that with my Nvidia Shields, apple tv would be much of the same. I'm a TV guide sort of person, I hate trawling netflix et al. looking for stuff that may interest me... for the most point I don't even have the time or inclination to watch netflix as a result...

freitasm

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#2413364 5-Feb-2020 22:38

If you are not interested in the Google apps then Vodafone TV all the way.

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Benoire

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#2413367 5-Feb-2020 22:55

freitasm: If you are not interested in the Google apps then Vodafone TV all the way.

Its not necessarily the android tv platform, more the freeview implementation and whether it actually offers a decent freeview experience including pause, play, rewind, fastforward and the how the app works wtih the ondemand side and whether missed programmes are available easily. I use apps now on my shields but I just dislike Kodi on android effectively.

freitasm

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#2413374 5-Feb-2020 23:12

The experience on the Vodafone TV is far superior.

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Kiwifruta

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#2413380 5-Feb-2020 23:36

At the Vodafone hosted GZ IRL on Nov 30th last year, Vodafone stated

Vodafone are in talks with Disney regarding having Disney+ on the VTV,

They are also planning to bring their App Store to Vodafone TV, the App Store is already in Europe where it has thousands of apps already.

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mattwnz

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#2413381 5-Feb-2020 23:52

My smart vu started off ok, but over time it became less and less reliable. It got to the point where it kept freezing, and pressing the on and off button, which would normally put it in and out of standby and that would usually correct freezing, but instead it would crash a reboot each time. So have returned it to the retailer.It is a pity because it should and could be a good device, and I like the android TV interface.. I haven't tied the vodafone tv, but may replace it with that, but my concern with that is how long the backend will continue to be supported for. .

alasta

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#2413410 6-Feb-2020 07:49

Have you read the Vodafone TV thread? In a nutshell it's usable, but has a lot of irritating minor bugs which seem to be a combination of device and content cataloguing problems. Vodafone staff in that thread have been generally helpful, but reluctant to engage on some of the more complex issues which makes me think they are unlikely to get fixed.

I used my VTV for a couple of months before stuffing it in a drawer and going back to Apple TV, but I probably could have tolerated it if I were desperate to have a Freeview device with live pause and a consolidated content catalogue.

eracode

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#2413472 6-Feb-2020 10:47

alasta:

Have you read the Vodafone TV thread? In a nutshell it's usable, but has a lot of irritating minor bugs which seem to be a combination of device and content cataloguing problems. Vodafone staff in that thread have been generally helpful, but reluctant to engage on some of the more complex issues which makes me think they are unlikely to get fixed.

I used my VTV for a couple of months before stuffing it in a drawer and going back to Apple TV, but I probably could have tolerated it if I were desperate to have a Freeview device with live pause and a consolidated content catalogue.

Wondering why you didn’t return it under CGA?

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alasta

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#2413476 6-Feb-2020 10:50

I probably should have, but it's borderline as to whether it's fit for purpose and I don't really have time to argue about it.

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