Veon 50 inch"smart " TV

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matabo

36 posts

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# 165945 25-Feb-2015 14:50

This just turned up in my email from the warehouse , its 700bucks .

My views on Veon are on par with most on here ,they don’t rate . Is this a new release , has anyone purchased one , have the updated the quality of picture/sound , and the "smart " side of things, does it deliver ? .

thanks for any comments

http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/red/catalog/product/Veon-50-Inch-Full-HD-LED-LCD-Smart-TV-VN50S90LED?SKU=1897847&utm_source=ym25february2015&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ym25february2015&utm_content=Veon+50+Inch+Full+HD+LED-LCD+Smart+TV+VN50S90LED

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# 1246464 25-Feb-2015 15:03

Wow, it runs Android. That's pretty awesome in my opinion.

richms

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# 1246466 25-Feb-2015 15:03

It's a low spec android stick internal to it from what I have been told.

Not even on display or powered up at my local warehouses.

Richard rich.ms

Jaxson

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# 1246508 25-Feb-2015 16:10

55" non smart was on sale there via the red deal thingy today

tchart

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# 1246525 25-Feb-2015 16:20

So I have an Android TV stick thing, the TNVZ On Demand app complains that it cant output to a duplicate display (even though HDMI is the only display).

I wonder if a baked in Android would suffer the same issues? Hopefully they get some buy in for local apps otherwise it really isn't any better than having a Android TV stick.

ianboag

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# 1309854 22-May-2015 12:54

One person supports this post

The Android in this "Smart TV" is (intentionally) crippled beyond belief.

no Google Play Store app and no way to install it. I tried sideloading the apk etc but no go
a "Warehouse" app that you can't uninstall or delete
a browser that when you fire up Gmail tells you that this is an old version and needs to be updated. And you can't ....

No option in the apps menu to load apps from "somewhere else"

I logged in initially with an exisiting Google account. When I tried to install a sideloaded app that I had on another device it told me I already had it ... When I made a new Google account it told me I had no device to install it on. Round and round, the odd factory reset etc etc. Tearing of hair .... dark langiage ....

Warehouse Tech support sent me off to Kevin Lu from the firm that supplies the Warehouse with these TVs. He pretty much agreed with all the points I mentioned above and said that's how it is. He gave me some flannel about how not all "Smart TVs" are the same.

If anyone came out with a tablet with this feature set, they might sell two before the world caught on :-) Me - I read the ad and went to the store, confirmed it was an Android device and figured it was just like a tablet. If your needs are Youtube and a browser then go for it.

Otherwise ......

The TV quality is Ok, the sound is normal Veon rubbish and the price is pretty good even without the Smart TV thingo. I got an old stereo ($65) off TMe to fix the sound issue. I won't bother to go through the hassle of taking it back.

Anyone know enough about how to root it? I wouldn't care if it got bricked - for all the use it is, it might as well be.

matabo

36 posts

Geek

# 1309916 22-May-2015 14:05

ianboag: The Android in this "Smart TV" is (intentionally) crippled beyond belief.

no Google Play Store app and no way to install it. I tried sideloading the apk etc but no go
a "Warehouse" app that you can't uninstall or delete
a browser that when you fire up Gmail tells you that this is an old version and needs to be updated. And you can't ....

No option in the apps menu to load apps from "somewhere else"

I logged in initially with an exisiting Google account. When I tried to install a sideloaded app that I had on another device it told me I already had it ... When I made a new Google account it told me I had no device to install it on. Round and round, the odd factory reset etc etc. Tearing of hair .... dark langiage ....

Warehouse Tech support sent me off to Kevin Lu from the firm that supplies the Warehouse with these TVs. He pretty much agreed with all the points I mentioned above and said that's how it is. He gave me some flannel about how not all "Smart TVs" are the same.

If anyone came out with a tablet with this feature set, they might sell two before the world caught on :-) Me - I read the ad and went to the store, confirmed it was an Android device and figured it was just like a tablet. If your needs are Youtube and a browser then go for it.

Otherwise ......

The TV quality is Ok, the sound is normal Veon rubbish and the price is pretty good even without the Smart TV thingo. I got an old stereo ($65) off TMe to fix the sound issue. I won't bother to go through the hassle of taking it back.

Anyone know enough about how to root it? I wouldn't care if it got bricked - for all the use it is, it might as well be.

WOW ! a bit of a sad read ianboag....but thanks for taking the time to inform/warn .

ianboag

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# 1309930 22-May-2015 14:28

For completeness - I lied a bit.

Since the post I have managed to sideload a few apks - including Netflix even! But some of them complain that they need the Google Play Services App which is not supported on this device ... sort of run for a while and croak. TradMe dies with some cryptic message about permissions. Stuff seems to work. Kevin Lu told me he had managed to make Skype work - not that the TV has a webcam of course.

IB

richms

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# 1309936 22-May-2015 14:33

3 people support this post

Return it then. The more they have come back the less of this crap they will sell.

Richard rich.ms

ianboag

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# 1309940 22-May-2015 14:37

Can't be bothered. It's big and awkward and has OK picture quality for the price. They threw in a basic soundbar for $99 as part of the deal. FWIW the EPG/PVR function for Freeview is also rubbish.

But I have an Apple TV anyway ..... and that does all the things I need.

chr1s0fnak1

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

# 1316480 2-Jun-2015 21:51

Big question is! Can it install kodi?

macuser

2120 posts

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# 1316501 2-Jun-2015 23:04

I'm sure if you get to the fast boot menu you will be able to flash Gapps (which is want you actually want) and contains the Google Play Store etc

Obviously this Android ROM is not Google approved. Look for a Gapps.zip that suits your version of Android

raytaylor

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# 1316506 2-Jun-2015 23:14

I bought one of the 42" models
I saw on the side of the box that it said it was a "smart tv" so i thought okay maybe it does have some crappy youtube app.

I was surprised to find it runs android.

Its a horrible implementation though with all the limitations, lack of play store etc.

But i was able to install EZ file browser from an apk file and my flatmates can watch programmes stored on the file server. It would be nice to get netflix going on there though.

edit: for $500 it is very good, and i must say it gives almost every samsung and panasonic smart tv a run for its money in GUI responsiveness and speed.

Ray Taylor
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For my general guide to extending your wireless network Click Here

macuser

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# 1316508 2-Jun-2015 23:22

raytaylor: I bought one of the 42" models
I saw on the side of the box that it said it was a "smart tv" so i thought okay maybe it does have some crappy youtube app.

I was surprised to find it runs android.

Its a horrible implementation though with all the limitations, lack of play store etc.

But i was able to install EZ file browser from an apk file and my flatmates can watch programmes stored on the file server. It would be nice to get netflix going on there though.

Try get to recovery!!

It might even be as simple as pressing power while holding volume up on the TV, just like a phone...or some odd power reset combo.

Then flash Gapps

raytaylor

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# 1316517 2-Jun-2015 23:53

Its really weird too
I was thinking how does this work.

Have they got a normal tv and hard wired an android unit to an hdmi input and relabeled the "hdmi3" port to "smarttv"?

I dont think so because the actual tv tuning can be launched from within the android menu.

I am almost thinking that the normal tv function is actually an android app.

Ray Taylor
Taylor Broadband (rural hawkes bay)
www.ruralkiwi.com

There is no place like localhost
For my general guide to extending your wireless network Click Here

tchart

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# 1316538 3-Jun-2015 06:27

raytaylor: Its really weird too
I was thinking how does this work.

Have they got a normal tv and hard wired an android unit to an hdmi input and relabeled the "hdmi3" port to "smarttv"?

I dont think so because the actual tv tuning can be launched from within the android menu.

I am almost thinking that the normal tv function is actually an android app.

This might explain why the power usage is higher than the other 50"Veon they have. I think it's ~300kw PA for the non smart model and ~440kw PA for the smart model - I'm referring to the energy stars rating sticker.

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