RCA multi-directional amplified flat digital antenna CANT1450BF Review

After purchasing the GE Passive Indoor Antenna a few weeks ago and not really liking it, I returned it and decided to get the RCA multi-directional amplified flat digital antenna CANT1450BF.

I wasn't sure how a "multi-directional" antenna would perform but decided to purchase one to try because didn't want to constantly adjust the antenna. The RCA CANT1450BF was at a decent price so I decided to purchase it and give it a try with my Samsung UN32EH5300 LED 1080p Smart TV (HDTV).

RCA has four reception quality grade/categories (good, great, excellent, and superior) and they rate this antenna as one of their "excellent" reception quality antennas. According to the information, it supports 1080 HDTV broadcast and has 360 degree reception with no adjustment necessary. The frequencies supported according to the instructions is 54-88 Mhz, 175-216 Mhz, and 470-698 Mhz.

Inside the box is the digital flat antenna with a coax cable, an easel stand, a removable amplifier with coax cable, and the power supply.

The digital antenna either plugs in directly to the television or it can be plugged into the amplifier where the amplifier plugs in directly to the television. In my case, I plugged the amplifier to my satellite receiver's external antenna port and then connected the digital antenna to the amplifier. I tried not plugging the amplifier to the AC outlet but managed to get only 1-2 stations (similar to what I received with the GE/Omni Passive Indoor Antenna). If using a standard power bar, the AC plug will take up 2 AC outlets due to its size. It doesn't fully cover the second outlet on the power bar but does render it unusable.

I tried placing the antenna flat behind the television on the floor (close to a window) and after using the television to scan for available television stations, I managed to get 3 out of the 4 local stations that I was interested in. I moved the antenna and placed it flat on a table and I rescanned and got 3 stations (2 were the same as what I had gotten previously and 1 was different). I decided to connect the digital flat antenna to the easel stand and hang it over the table so it would be vertical (and facing the window). This time rescanning got me 4 of the local stations that I was interested in so I decided to keep this position. For this antenna, having the amplifier properly connected and plugged into an AC outlet does make a difference. Once I obtained the 4 local stations that I was interested in, I disconnected the amplifier and with the antenna positioned in the exact same location, I was only able to view 1 of the 4 channels. The other 3 channels produced a "weak signal" message. Surprisingly, as mentioned in my GE/Omni Passive Indoor Antenna review, with some adjustment and proper placement, my old rabbit ears non-amplified antenna was able to get the same 4 stations.

In terms of whether I would recommend this antenna, I think that it works well. I could probably get 1 or perhaps 2 more stations by readjusting the antenna but since I was mainly interested in the 4 local stations in my area, I didn't feel the need to readjust and then rescan for stations. Despite the information on the box, it will still need to be positioned in order to get the best signal (the information inside the box indicates that the antenna needs to be positioned in order to get the best signal).

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GE or Omni Passive Indoor Antenna Review

I subscribe to satellite and also subscribe to Netflix. Where I live, the satellite signal is very susceptible to the weather (I probably need a larger dish) so I wanted a backup for watching television programs on the HD Smart TV (Samsung UN32EH5300 LED 1080p Smart TV (HDTV)) that I purchased recently.

I already had a passive antenna (from a different manufacturer) that I tested on this television and I was able to get 4 local stations which is all I really needed so I didn't see the point in spending over $100 for an indoor antenna. I purchased this inexpensive antenna and when I got home, I assembled it.

Inside the box was 4 pieces; the base unit, 2 extendable antennas, and the circular antenna. The extendable antennas screwed into the base unit whereas I needed to push the circular antenna firmly into the holes on the base unit.

I connected the antenna to my HD Smart TV and positioned it so that it was facing in the same direction as the passive antenna that I used from another television for my testing. I went into the television menu and scanned for over the air television signals. This time, the television was only able to detect 2 local stations. I tried to reposition the antenna and rescanned for channels and the television only detected 1 local station. Since I wasn't sure whether something changed which could affect the reception of the OTA television signals, I reconnected my other passive antenna and did another rescan and my other passive antenna picked up between 3 to 5 stations depending on its placement (better than the 1-2 local stations that I received with the GE Passive Indoor Antenna).

As such, I returned the antenna and will probably purchase another passive antenna for my Samsung HD Smart TV sometime in the near future.

In terms of whether I would recommend this antenna, I can't really recommend it since it received fewer stations than the other passive antenna that I had from a different manufacturer using the same television in the exact same location. However, if the store has a liberal return policy, you can try it out to see if it gets the television stations that you are interested in.

Although the antenna that I purchased/test was from GE (General Electric), Omni also makes the same (type) of antenna.

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Samsung UN32EH5300 LED 1080p Smart HDTV Review

I purchased a Samsung UN32EH5300 LED 1080p Smart TV (HDTV) approximately two weeks ago and after using it I decided to write my review of this television.

This is actually my second Samsung television. I was happy with my first Samsung HDTV purchase (although my first Samsung HDTV purchase was not a Smart TV and was the B2430HD) so when my old CRT television broke, I replaced it with the Samsung UN32EH5300 which was on sale.

This television measures ~32" diagonally. I didn't want a television too large so it was either getting ~32" television or ~40" television. I opted to go for the ~32" television mainly because it was on sale at the time that my old CRT television broke.

It also has 3 HDMI ports, 2 USB ports (one rated as 0.5A and the other rated as 1A), component in, digital audio video out, and an ethernet port.

I wanted a smart television that had Netflix on it since I watch a fair amount of Netflix movies. For my non-smart televisions such as my Samsung B2430HD, I use the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600 or I use my Rikomagic MK802IIIS Android Mini PC (HDMI stick). I felt that having Netflix built into the television would be great.

When plugging my Samsung UN32EH5300 LED Smart TV into the AC outlet and connecting it to the internet, the first thing that it did was upgrade the system software. I liked the fact that it allowed upgrading the system software over the internet as opposed to upgrading it via USB stick. Configuring the television to access my wireless router was simple. The television has a RJ45 network jack but since my wireless router wasn't close enough to the television to connect a network cable, I opted to connect it to the internet using the wireless network.

The television gets the date/time from either manually setting it or from the broadcast stations. Since this television can connect to the internet, I was disappointed that it didn't get the date/time via an NTP server.

To begin with, I only installed 4 applications onto the television. I installed Netflix, NFB (National Film Board), YouTube, and the Accuweather application. I configured the Accuweather application for my home city. It gives the current temperature/weather along with a 6 day forecast (including today). I don't like how the search feature works on the NFB application. To search, it uses the remote control similar to how people would used to enter SMS using an old non-smartphone.

To access the regional settings for the Samsung UN32EH5300 LED Smart TV, I managed to access the country settings in order to get the proper Samsung Apps Store, using the remote control, I pressed: », 2, 8, 9, « (fast forward, 2, 8, 9, rewind). This gave me the country listings and I selected Canada to get the Canada specific applications.

To log out of Netflix, since I could not see the gears/settings icon, I used the arrows on my remote to enter the following sequence: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, Up, Up, Up, Up. After doing this, I selected Deactivate. I was then given the option to sign in as a different Netflix member. This is also good to do before selling the television to someone else (otherwise the buyer will use your Netflix account on the television).

With Netflix, I initially had a few issues configuring it with my account but I think that the reason for this is that I was using Unblock-Us and the region I set was neither the US nor Canada. After setting Unblock-Us to Canada, I was able to configure Netflix with my account based on my Netflix e-mail address and my Netflix password. After Netflix was configured, I tested Unblock-Us by switching the country to the Netherlands and unlike what happens on my LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600 where Netflix wouldn't work if I selected a country other than Canada or the US, the Samsung UN32EH5300 was able to play my Netflix selection from the Netherlands as well as any of the other Unblock-Us countries. Barring any internet connection/speed issues, I was amazed by the the video quality and sound quality of Netflix.

If you are looking for a television that fully supports Netflix with Unblock-Us, you shouldn't have any issues with the Samsung UN32EH5300 and the Unblock-Us service.

I'm not sure if this is the same for other Smart TV brands/manufacturers but I find that it takes a long time to switch from watching television to one of the Smart TV applications.

One of the things that I found annoying with the television is that by default when navigating via the remote control, the television makes a noise (like a "clicking" sound). Removing this "clicking" sound was not intuitive in the menu since it did not appear in the Sound menu.

One of the things that I like about the remote control is that the buttons can light up. Pushing the "light" button on the remote causes the remote control buttons to light up for approximately 1 second after each button is pushed so that it is easy to view the buttons in the dark.

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Unblock-Us Manager Android Application Review

I've been using Unblock-Us for a few months and I'm really a fan of their service especially since it allows me to watch the different Netflix countries video offerings. As mentioned in my previous blog entries on Unblock-Us (I've written about 5 reviews on this service), I'm a Netflix subscriber and I find the additional subscription that I pay for Unblock-Us service to be worthwhile.

I will watch Netflix on my television using mainly two of my Android devices. The first device is my Rikomagic MK802IIIS Android HDMI stick and the second device is my Acer Iconia A100 Android tablet. When I am not at home, I will also occasionally use my Samsung Nexus-S or my LG Nexus-4 to watch some Netflix movies.

The Unblock-Us Manager available from the Google Play Store makes using Unblock-Us and Netflix a lot easier. The developer of the program (Matthias Käppler) is not affiliated with Unblock-Us. In order for this program to work, your Android device must be using the Unblock-Us DNS settings. I've configured my home router to use the Unblock-Us DNS settings so I use the Unblock-Us Manager program mainly to toggle/switch between the different countries before starting up Netflix.

The program is pretty straightforward. After installing it, you must configure the program by entering your e-mail address used for Unblock-Us service and pick the country that you want to use for Netflix. If your Android device is not connected to a wireless router or access point that uses the Unblock-Us DNS settings, you will also have to manually change the DNS settings for your Android device. After doing all of this, you will be able to easily watch the Netflix video selections from any of the 9 countries that Unblock-Us allows (US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, & Finland). However, in order to switch between the different countries, it is necessary to fully exit/quit Netflix using either a task manager program or the built-in Apps settings before using Unblock-Us Manager to change the country selection.

I find that the program works very well and I don't have a problem recommending Unblock-Us Manager for anyone who has an Android device and subscribes both to Netflix as well as Unblock-Us. The best thing about this program is that it is free. The Unblock-Us service is also free as a 7 day trial.

Please feel free to read my various other blog entries about Unblock-Us.

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Sony Glasstron Personal LCD Monitor Glasses PLM-A35 Review

I've used the Sony Glasstron Personal LCD Monitor Glasses PLM-A35 for awhile and decided to write a review of the product. The product is a few years old so if interested in the product, you will have to purchase it second hand.

According to the specifications, the glasses simulate watching a 50" display approximately 7 feet away from you. I find the picture quality to be "adequate" for watching a movie or television show or playing a video game. The resolution isn't high enough to do any reading at least for more than a few minutes.

The glasses are attached to a small box (roughly the same size as a regular sized computer mouse). On the box, there is the volume control, a series of on/off switches, the brightness control, an S-Video port, an A/V port with what seems to be a proprietary cable that outputs to the standard 3 RCA (yellow - video, red & white for audio) cables, and the AC adapter port. The box also houses an optional battery.

The glasses have 2 earphone buds. The earphone buds also attach to the side of the glasses when not in use. I find that the cable attached to the earphone buds to be on the short side. They do reach my ears but I find it to be somewhat tight.

I've used the Sony Glasstron Personal LCD Monitor glasses when playing video games or for watching DVDs or VHS cassettes (or plugged into my Tivo or television receiver box) when I don't want to disturb the other people in the room. It is extremely useful for watching a video in the bedroom in bed when you don't want to disturb the person next to you.

The glasses are meant for adults only and have a safety feature that powers itself off after 3 hours of continued use. When using the glasses and you are close to the 3 hour time limit, you will see a warning message flash on the screen for a few seconds prior to the glasses powering itself off. There is an over-ride button but I would only recommend using the over-ride button for a few minutes after the 3 hour time limit. Continued prolonged use of the glasses can cause eye fatigue. Over-riding the safety feature can cause damage to the eyes.

The negative thing with the Sony Glasstron Personal LCD Monitor Glasses is that it is not for everyone. According to the documentation, certain people will experience eye fatigue, nausea, or dizziness. Personally, I've never had any issues with using the glasses. However when I lent it to one of my friends, he did find that it was causing to give him headaches.

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XBMC Media Center Review

I've been testing out the XBMC Media Center on my Rikomagic MK802IIIS Android Mini PC as well as on my LG Nexus-4 for a few days and I thought that I would write a review on it as well as detail how to install it on Android devices. I attempted to install it on my old Samsung Nexus-S but even though it installed, I was forced to uninstall it because I couldn't get it to run consistently so I didn't want it to occupy space on my device when it wouldn't always run. I also tried installing it on my Acer Iconia Tab A100 Android tablet but the XBMC program was not compatible with the device.

To install XBMC onto your Android device, the first thing that you should do is to download it from the XBMC site at http://xbmc.org/download/. You must also enable your Android device to accept 3rd party applications by going into Settings -> Security -> Unknown sources (enable this option). After doing this and having the XBMC APK file, you must execute/install the APK file onto your Android device. There are many ways of doing this depending on the particular Android device. In my case, I used my Dropbox account in order to get the XBMC APK file onto my Android device and install it. The installation takes a few minutes to complete and after it is fully extracted/installed onto your Android device, you should have the XBMC program.

Once the XBMC program is installed, the next step is to launch it and configure it for at least 1 add-on. There are various add-ons available and various repositories. I won't detail any particular one but you can find various sources for things ranging from movies, videos, and television shows. By configuring the proper add-ons and repositories, people can get media on par or better than what is available on the various Netflix sites even when using a service like Unblock-Us with Netflix which allows me to get the Netflix selections from 10 countries (Canada, US, UK, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, & Finland).

I highly recommend installing XBMC on your Android device (or another compatible device/platform) if your device supports it. I find it to be a useful additional resource for videos/media that can't be found on Netflix, YouTube, NFB, or some of the television broadcaster's own websites. On another note, I attempted to install XBMC on my jailbroken iPhone 3GS but because my iPhone 3GS is on iOS 4.01, XBMC is not compatible on it (even though according to the documentation on the XBMC website that it is compatible with iOS 4.x and above). XBMC works very well on both my Rikomagic MK802IIIS Android Mini PC device as well as on my LG Nexus-4.

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Rikomagic MK802IIIS Android Mini PC Review

I was searching for a device to use on my HD televisions since I had the LG Smart TV Upgrader ST600 Box connected to my main television set (I purchased the TV Pad for my parents). I was using my Acer Iconia Tab A100 on my HD television (using a micro-HDMI to HDMI cable) when I wanted to watch Netflix programming outside of the Canadian and the US Netflix selection using the Unblock-Us service but I thought that there must be a better solution.

Enter the Rikomagic MK802IIIS Android Mini PC. The device is slightly larger than my USB SD card reader and my Nokia CS-18 Internet Stick.

The device plugs into an HDMI port on your HD television/monitor. The unit comes with a small HDMI extension cable, a micro-USB male to USB male cable, and a micro-USB male to USB female adapter. The Rikomagic MK802IIIS includes a small HDMI extension cable in case it is difficult to plug the device into your television's HDMI port. The included micro-USB male to USB male cable is provided since the device is powered by USB (micro-USB port) and most HD televisions have a USB port that it can be connected to in order to supply power to the unit. In my current set-up, I don't use the micro-USB male to USB female adapter but it can be used in order to plug an external memory/disk drive to the unit or a wired mouse/keyboard to the unit. The Rikomagic MK802IIIS also has a port for adding a micro-SD memory card. The device is wireless and there isn't a port for wired ethernet connection but I suppose that you can perhaps use a micro-USB (or USB) to ethernet adapter. I will probably purchase such an adapter and test it on my unit in about a month.

According to the specs on the MK802IIIS, it has a dual-core CPU and a quad-core graphics processor. I find the MK802IIIS to be very responsive. As mentioned, I use the device mainly to watch Netflix and YouTube videos and I find that the MK802IIIS does this very well.

Here is a list of some of the things that I don't really like about the Rikomagic MK802IIIS:

1) On one of the HD television that I tried, there was either something wrong with the unit itself or the USB port on the HD television did not supply enough power for certain tasks and the unit would power off. For example, when I went into the Google Play store, the unit would immediately power off or when I went to Netflix, it would power itself off immediately. When I plugged my micro-USB AC adapter to the unit and performed the same task, it didn't power itself off. On another HD television that I tried, the unit did not power itself off when it was powered by the television's USB port.

2) The ability of the Rikomagic MK802IIIS to lock onto the wireless signal (even when my wireless router was within 2 feet of the device) was sometimes problematic. Whenever it didn't connect to my wireless router, I would sometimes have to reboot my wireless router (although my other devices were able to connect to this wireless router without the need to reboot it occasionally). This is why I am looking for a wired solution for it although it isn't a high priority for me. When the unit locked onto my wireless signal (remember that my wireless router is within 2 feet of the television that I wanted to use), there was no problems maintaining the signal.

3) The included version of Android (v 4.1.1) on the Rikomagic MK802IIIS doesn't come with the Android default screen locking feature. This is a problem because if you configure the device to use your Google account (for Gmail, Calendar, and the GooglePlay store) and later lose the device (or it is stolen), the person has access to your Google account on the device. To prevent this from happening, I downloaded a program/application locking app so that in order to launch any particular app on the MK802IIIS, a password was required.

4) The first time I connected the device to the internet, the device immediately updated/downloaded the GoogleMaps and StreetView application but after the download, there was no GoogleMaps application on the device nor can you launch it or redownload it for the device.


Here is my list of the Rikomagic MK802IIIS positive aspects:

1) As stated previously, it plays Netflix videos very well. I find the video quality to be amazing. This is of course dependent on your internet connection speed as well as the type of HD television you have.

2) It includes the actual Google Play store as opposed to some third party Android application store.

3) The MK802IIIS has multiple resolutions. I'm not sure what the maximum resolution is but on the television that I was using I was provided with resolutions of 1920x1080p-60, 1920x1080p-50, 1280x720p-60, 1280x720p-50, 720x576p-50, & 720x480p-60. On another HD television that I tried, I didn't see as many resolution options so it is probably dependent on the television used.

4) Rikomagic included an application called eHome Media Center on the MK802IIIS which allows the MK802IIIS to either function as a media server (enabling you to play videos stored/connected to the MK802IIIS) or a media player (enabling you to play videos onto the connected television from a media storage device such as a media drive or a media computer). On a secondary note, I tried to copy this program onto my other Android devices (Acer tablet, LG Nexus-4, and Samsung Nexus-S) and even though the program installed on these devices and ran, it was not able to see my media drive or my media computer on the same network.

5) The MK802IIIS comes pre-rooted so you can run applications requiring root access. The only thing that you might want to do is to download SuperUser from the Google Play store so that you have control over the which programs have root access to the system.

6) There is a free Android application called MK802III Remote Client available at the Google Play store that will allow you to remotely control the MK802IIIS device via your internal network (both your Android device and the MK802IIIS must be on the same network).

I'm not sure if this was an issue with the television that I connected my MK802IIIS to or the resolution that I selected or a problem with the MK802IIIS unit itself but occasionally/randomly (maybe after ~5 hours of viewing Netflix, the television would turn black for ~1 second and then would resume the Netflix playback.

Overall, even based on some of the issues that I mentioned above, I have no problems recommending the Rikomagic MK802IIIS unless the issues that I mentioned above is a show-stopper for the person (ex: the person wants to use Googlemaps on the device).

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment which contains a URL link (whether it is embedded or not) will automatically be labelled as spam and will not be posted.

Unblock-Us and non-Netflix Subscribers

I was asked at work a few weeks ago about Unblock-Us and decided that perhaps it was time for another blog review on it especially now since Unblock-Us has updated their website recently. The person who asked me did not have Netflix but I had mentioned that I watched an entire episode of an American show from an American broadcaster's website (CBS). He was looking for a service that would allow him to watch certain videos from television websites (ABC, CBS, NBC, etc.) without getting the prompt that the video was not available for the region.

I use Unblock-Us mostly for Netflix as you can see from some of my previous blog entries on Unblock-Us but I also use it occasionally to watch some of the television programs that I've missed for whatever reason (didn't/couldn't record it on my Tivo, etc.).

Because Unblock-Us is not a VPN service, it doesn't change your computer's IP address but changes the DNS (Domain Name Server) that your computer/devices use in order to access certain websites/applications, it will only allow you to watch videos from certain websites. For a list of the websites that Unblock-Us supports, you can click *HERE*.

Accessing the videos on the websites is seamless. After configuring your computer/network to use the Unblock-Us DNS servers, there is no configuration that you have to do. With Netflix and Unblock-Us, there is a country selection that must be done on the Unblock-Us website. However, with the supported websites shown in the above list, the website will think that you are in the respective country. You would access the CTV videos at http://www.ctv.ca as if you were in Canada and you would access CBS videos at http://www.cbs.ca as if you were in the US.

Because the cost of the Unblock-Us service is roughly the same cost as VPN service, I told my friend that he should probably look into getting a VPN service since he wasn't a Netflix subscriber. A VPN service would also allow for better access to videos since it would not be limited to only the Unblock-Us supported websites. A VPN service would also work for other websites (ex: Google, etc.) which restrict IP addresses to a particular host country. The only thing to watch out in terms of the VPN service is that I've heard that the response rate (bandwidth) for a lot of VPN services are not very good for streaming and I've never really experienced any issues with Unblock-Us and bandwidth as long as my regular internet bandwidth was fine. For me, I find accessing videos from certain websites to be an added benefit from my Unblock-Us subscription since I use Unblock-Us mainly for my Netflix subscription.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to write a comment in the comment section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment that contains a URL link (whether or not it is embedded) will automatically be flagged as being spam and will not be posted.

YouTube Remote for Android Review

I've tried the YouTube Remote for Android for a few weeks now and thought that I would write a review on it.

The YouTube Remote application allows you to remotely play YouTube videos on another device like a SmartTV with YouTube capabilities. What you have to do is add your SmartTV to the YouTube Remote program. To do this, you would either go to http://www.youtube.com/leanback or you would go into the YouTube Remote application and go to "My YouTube" and then pair the device.

On your Android device you would basically at the screen. I've tried using my Chromebook as a screen as well as my LG Smart TV Upgrader Box and got similar results for both of them.

The YouTube Remote application works but in my opinion it doesn't work as well as it should. You can add a list of YouTube videos to display. However, sometimes I've noticed that the YouTube Remote application will not find the device configured as the screen even though they are on the same network and both have a very good connection. It will then display the video on the application window on the upper right corner of the screen. Also, when viewing a lot of videos in sequence, the application stays on all the time. Turning off the Android device causes problems for the videos which sometimes range from the video stopping after it has finished playing (won't play the next video) or the video repeating.

I've also noticed that sometimes the YouTube Remote application will find the video but refuse to play it on the device configured as the screen as well as on the YouTube Remote application as well.

I find that YouTube Remote for Android is a useful tool but is not a "must-have" for people who watch YouTube on their SmartTVs.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment that contains a URL link whether or not it is embedded will automatically be flagged as being spam and will not be posted.

TVpad Review

I purchased a TVpad and installed it recently and decided to write my thoughts on the device after using it a few hours. The main device (box) is basically the same size as my LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600. The remote control is a full sized remote control (unlike the remote of the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box which is about 1/3 the size) and uses two AAA batteries.

The unit that I purchased came with the wireless USB stick with CD containing drivers, an HDMI cable, an AV cable, a remote control, a TF memory card, the AC adapter, and the TVpad box itself.

The TVpad runs on a modified version of Android (the one that I tested is running 2.3.4). You can install additional programs on it but it is limited to the TVpad Apps programs unless it is heavily hacked/modified. The version that I tested is running TVpad Version 3.2.6 and the model number is M121S_3311_GV0S2 and it is the International version.

What I like about the TVpad is that unlike the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box, the TVpad has an AV port which supports older television sets that don't have an HDMI port. It also uses a standard HDMI cable for the newer television sets. It has a USB port which is used to plug the USB wireless adapter and a TF memory slot. It also has a standard ethernet port.

The menu has different language settings (I recognized traditional/simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, & Korean). Even though you might select one of the languages (ex: English), this only changes the main interface menu. It does not change the description of the program/application/episode.

My ability to read Chinese is almost non-existent and most of the descriptions of the programs/applications/episodes are in Chinese (except those programs which are in Korean).

In order to get the most out of this box, you should be able to read Chinese (so you can read the subtitles if necessary) and understand Mandarin since most of the programming is in Mandarin. There are a few programs in Cantonese (~5%) but most of it is in Mandarin.

When using a wired connection, the quality of the stream is very good. I would compare it to what I get when I use my LG Smart TV Upgrader Box on the same internet connection. Using the HDMI connection, the audio/video quality is very good. Using the AV connection, I find that the quality is still good but it is not good enough to read the Chinese characters for those people who want to read the subtitles or descriptions.

With the wireless connection, I found that the device didn't detect all my wireless access points. It only detected the access point that was a few meters away from the device. During my testing, my LG Smart TV Upgrader Box which is in the same room managed to detect 3 of the access points. I also found that using the wireless connection, there was a lot of buffering and pausing.

There is a YouTube application that can be installed on the device. There are also ~3 games (a jigsaw puzzle game, sudoku, and an reversi-type game) that can be installed on the device as well. There are ~4 applications that allow you to watch external videos or listen to external audio files. I installed these programs but quickly uninstalled them.

There are also some American movies. Some of them are are in the original English language while others have been dubbed to Chinese/Mandarin. Some of these movies are subtitled in Chinese and/or English while others are not subtitled). As of the date of this blog entry, I watched "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "Batman The Dark Knight Rises." Both of these movies were in English with Chinese and English subtitles. I also watched portions of "Bourne Ultimatum" but this was dubbed into Mandarin without any subtitles while "Bourne Supremacy" had the original language track but included Chinese subtitles.

If you have a comment or question regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that comments are moderated and any comment that contains a URL link (whether or not it is embedded) will automatically be flagged as being spam and will not be posted.

Getting the most out of Netflix (using moreflicks and Unblock-us)

I've been a subscriber to Netflix for about 2 years and up to about 4 months ago, I was somewhat content with the offerings by Netflix in my country (Canada) for the price of ~$10.00.

I knew that the Netflix offering was based on the country that you were using it in and not the country that you subscribed in so using a proxy server (or virtual private network VPN service) you could watch the Netflix offerings for different countries while still being in your home country.

I started to use a service called Unblock-Us about 4 months ago. They offered a free 1 week trial so I decided to try it and was very satisfied with their service. For an extra ~$5.00 per month, they offered me the ability to watch movies and television shows that Netflix offered in other countries. I wrote 2 blog entries/reviews about Unblock-Us. You can find out more about my thoughts on their service from my blog entries *HERE* and *HERE*. I also got their service to work with my LG SmartTV Upgrader Box but because of a firmware/hardware limitation in the device, the LG SmartTV Upgrader Box will only work with the Canadian Netflix service and the US Netflix service. When I want to watch another country's Netflix offering (other than Canada/US) on my HD television, I basically use my Android tablet which has the Netflix application on it, plug a micro-HDMI cable to my Android tablet and connect it to the HDMI port on my television and I can watch Netflix's offerings for Canada, the US, the UK, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland on my HD television.

Now the problem is that in order to know what is offered in the Netflix country, I have to go to the Unblock-Us website, set the country, go to Netflix on my computer, and then do a search for what I am looking for (and hope that it is available or that something similar is available). Since Unblock-Us offers 10 Netflix countries to choose from, this can get tedious and very time consuming. This is where the Moreflicks website comes into the picture.

By going to the Moreflicks website, you are able to do a search for movies and television programs and see where it is available (whether on Hulu or Netflix). For Netflix, it will also show what country the movie is available for viewing on Netflix.

For example, let's say that I wanted to see "Batman", I would just go onto the Moreflicks website and then unselect Hulu (optional) from the search and just type in Batman in the search field (making sure to either select "Movies" or "TV Shows" depending on my interest) and it will come up with all the Batman movies (in my case). I would just click on the "Netflix" icon next to the movie and I can see that "Batman: Under the Red Hood" is available for Netflix US, "Batman Begins" is available for Netflix Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway, etc.

I would then go back to Unblock-Us and follow the instructions found *HERE* to set the country for Netflix and then watch the movie that I am interested in.

So far, Moreflicks is a free service so I am not sure whether this will change but it is extremely useful/helpful to find specific movies or television shows for Netflix in the different countries, making it an indispensable tool for anyone with Netflix who either uses it with a VPN service or a service like Unblock-Us.

If you have a comment or question regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that comments are moderated and any comment that contains a URL link (whether or not it is embedded) will automatically be flagged as being spam and will not be posted.

Using Netflix, Unblock-Us, and the LG Smart TV Upgrader ST600 Box

I had some spare time today and was making a few changes/adjustments to my LG Smart TV Upgrader ST600 box and I noticed that it started to partially work with the Unblock-Us service which was a pleasant surprise.

What I decided to do was to switch the region of my Unblock-Us service account to Mexico and reconfigure the network settings of my LG Smart TV Upgrader ST600 box to use the DNS settings from my router as opposed to my ISP. I had previously set the DNS settings directly on my LG Smart TV Upgrader box to use my ISP's DNS settings instead of using the DNS settings from my router (which I set to use Unblock-Us's DNS servers since I routinely connect multiple devices to Netflix) after I couldn't get Netflix to work at all on the LG Smart TV Upgrader box because Netflix would appear in a weird state. The previous time when I checked it, the listings were the Canadian listings (my home country) but these videos were not available from the Unblock-Us Netflix country settings which was set to the US. When I would select one of the movies, it would say that the movie wasn't available and tell me to pick a different movie or try again later.

I'm not sure if what I did fixed the problem or whether the problem was fixed on Unblock-Us's side but my Unblock-Us Netflix country selection was set to Mexico (because I was watching a lot of Pixar movies), I wanted to try my Smart TV Upgrader ST600 box to see if I could get the Netflix Mexico listings. This was the first time that I was trying to use my Smart TV Upgrader Box with the Mexico listings (previously I had just tried it with the US settings).

Because my LG Smart TV Upgrader box was set to use the DNS settings from my ISP (I was using it to only watch movies from the Canadian Netflix selection), I changed it again to start using the DNS settings from my router (which was set to use Unblock-Us's DNS servers). After doing this, I clicked to test whether it properly connected to the internet and the LG Smart TV Upgrader box showed that it had an internet connection.

I then unplugged the power cable from the LG Smart TV Upgrader box, waited a few seconds, and replugged the power cable back into my LG Smart TV Upgrader box.  The box rebooted/restarted and then I turned it on and went into Netflix and noticed that the Netflix application on my LG Smart TV Upgrader box was now showing the US listings (even though the country selection on Unblock-Us's website was set to Mexico). I tried one of the movies and it didn't work (since the actual Netflix listing was somehow the US listings on my LG Smart TV Upgrader box whereas the country selection on Unblock-Us's website was set to Mexico).

At this point, I went to Unblock-Us's website and changed the country to the US and unplugged the power cable again from my LG Smart TV Upgrader box, waited a few seconds, and replugged it in. After it rebooted/restarted, I powered on my LG Smart TV Upgrader box device using the remote control and went into the Netflix application. The Netflix listing was still showing the US listings. I selected one of the movies and this time it worked.

When I have some additional time I will try my LG Smart TV Upgrader box again with the Brazil or Mexico country settings on the Unblock-Us service to see if I can get this to work properly. More details will follow once I do this.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that any comment that contains a URL link or an embedded URL link will automatically be flagged as spam and will not be posted.

My thoughts on Netflix US content

I've been using Netflix Canada for about 9 months now and so far I've been satisfied with it. I watched Netflix when I was in the US (US selections) using my Canadian Netflix account and I thought that there was quite a lot of good movies as well as television shows available on Netflix US which were not available in Canada.

There are many ways of seeing the US Netflix content while outside the US and I discovered one such way about a month ago called Blockless which I reviewed *HERE*.

I find that the Netflix US selection oftentimes compliments the Netflix Canada selection. For example, currently as I write my review, Netflix US has all the Star Trek television series/episodes (Star Trek original series, Star Trek Animated Series, Star Trek The Next Generation, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager, and Star Trek Enterprise) but none of the Star Trek movies while Netflix Canada has all the movies (except the recent Star Trek reboot with the new Captain Kirk) but none of the television series/episodes. Netflix Canada did have the new Star Trek movie (the one with the new Captain Kirk) but for some reason, it was removed a few months after I watched it. There are other examples where the Netflix US selection compliments the Netflix Canada selection (ex: Terminator appears only in the US selection while Terminator 2 - Judgment Day appears only in the Canadian selection)

There are other shows/movies that appear on both the US selection as well as the Canadian selection. For example, the NBC cancelled television show Heroes appears in both selections as does a lot of other cancelled television shows (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Family Guy, etc.) as does a lot of movies (Thor, Captain America, Iron Man 2, etc.)

I find the Netflix US selection to not be "better" than the Netflix Canada selection but "different". If anything, if I had to choose (and based on my personal viewing preferences), I would say that the Netflix US selection is only slightly better than the Netflix Canada selection. I would say that 50% of my Netflix viewing are only available to the US whereas 40% are only available in Canada (with 10% being available in both selections).

For me, because I use the Blockless service, I get the US selections on certain "mobile" (portable) devices in my house I like having both Netflix Canada and Netflix US available to me for the additional cost of Blockless service. I wouldn't stop viewing the Canadian selection just because I have access to the US selections on Netflix.

If you have any questions/comments related to what I've written on this blog, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments selection below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment which contains a URL link (whether embedded or not) will automatically be flagged as being spam and will not be posted.

Watching US Netflix while outside of the US

I've been using a service called Blockless in order to get access to the Netflix US content while in Canada. They offer a 7 day free trial so I decided to give it a try before subscribing to their service.

The first thing I want to mention about their service is that they do NOT give you free Netflix service. You have to be an active Netflix customer in order to watch Netflix using their service. As long as you haven't subscribed to Netflix before (or within 1 year), Netflix has a 30 day free trial offer.

The way that their service works is that you either configure your individual device or you configure your router to use their DNS settings and you log onto your blockless account with your PC in order for their service to determine that you are either on a trial membership or you are an active subscriber. Because their service requires the changing of the DNS settings, their service will probably not work with some public WiFi access points especially if the access point requires a type of logging-in (or accepting the terms of service).

I find their service to be very good as it allows me to watch Netflix and get the US content when physically I am not located in the US (similar to a VPN service). The Blockless service works with other geographical IP restricted content/websites as well such as Pandora, Hulu, etc. but I mainly use their service to view Netflix US content while outside of the US on my mobile devices. You can also use their service to access Netflix Canadian content or Netflix United Kingdom content while you are outside those areas as well by logging onto your Blockless account and then configuring the Netflix content to point to either Canada, US, or United Kingdom. So far I haven't accessed the United Kingdom Netflix selection since I have plenty of things to available to me with Netflix Canada and Netflix US but according to the Blockless website, Netflix United Kingdom selections are available as well.

I noticed that the Blockless service only seems to work on "portable" or "mobile" devices. By this, I mean that after configuring my home router to use their DNS and I access my Blockless account on my computer, I'm able to watch Netflix US content with my Android tablet, my Android phone (over WiFi), my iPhone 3GS (over WiFi), my Chromebook (over WiFi), my Windows computer, and my Windows laptop/netbook. It did not work with Netflix my LG SmartTV Upgrader ST600 box even though my LG Smart TV Upgrader ST600 box was using the exact same router and as such it had the same public IP address information/settings.

When I tried to use my LG Smart TV Upgrader box while it was connected to the same router, the Netflix on it would be in a weird state. I would see the titles for the Canadian content (which is where I am physically located) but I would not be able to watch any of the Canadian content because they were not available (in my area). I reset the LG Smart TV Upgrader box and tried changing the settings on the box itself to the US but it still didn't work. I also contacted Blockless' technical support department but they couldn't help me (although they were very helpful when their service stopped working for Netflix on my Android devices). Instead, what I decided to do was to configure the box so that it used the actual DNS settings from my internet service provider. This way I could continue to use Netflix on my LG Smart TV Upgrader box and watch Canadian Netflix content while if I wanted to watch US Netflix content, I used one of my "portable" devices. When I want to watch US Netflix on my television set, I plug in one of my "portable" devices to my television (in my case, I plug my Acer Android tablet using an HDMI cable) and I start the Netflix application and then select the Netflix video that I want to watch.

So far I've used their free trial service and it worked for me enough that I decided to actively subscribe to their service. Based on the cost (~$5/month), I found that I was using their service enough to watch US Netflix content to make it worthwhile for me to subscribe to their service.

If you have any questions/comments regarding anything written on this blog, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section. Please note that comments are moderated and any comments that contain a URL link or hyperlink will automatically be flagged as being spam and will not be posted.

YouTube on LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600 Review (Updated)

Since the last time I wrote about using the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600 to watch YouTube videos, there was a firmware update to it which invalidates most of what I wrote in my previous blog entry located *HERE*. I wrote a comment in my own blog entry mentioning that instead of using your YouTube/Google account to log in, it now requires using your computer to go to http://www.youtube.com/activate and then enter a code which is generated by the LG Smart TV Upgrader box.

As of this blog entry, the firmware is ST.8.79.207. For my previous blog entry regarding using the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box to watch YouTube videos, the firmware was at ST.8.79.202.

In terms of the video/audio quality, I will say that the upgraded firmware version is comparable to what I was getting with the older firmware.

The most noticeable change with the firmware is that the menu for YouTube has been revamped/altered drastically. The menu is now on the left side of the screen instead of on the top and the selections are "Discover Channels", "Search", "My YouTube", and "Featured".

For the "Discovered Channels", you have a submenu (on the side of the screen) that includes Animation, Automobiles, Beauty & Fashion, Causes & Non-Profits, Celebrity & Gossip, Comedy, Cooking & Health, Family, Film & Entertainment, Gaming, How To & DIY, Music, News & Politics, Science & Education, Sports, Technology, and VLOG Stars.

Within the "Featured" menu, you have YouTube Trends, Gaming, Music, Sports, Film & Animation, Most Popular, and Most Liked.

I've tried the various menu options and it basically shows a selection of videos that are related to the category. The News & Politics selection seems to be limited to US news even though I'm located in Canada.

When I actually watch YouTube with my LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600, I normally just use the "Search" feature and the "My YouTube" feature.

The "Search" feature allows you to search the videos for a specific topic in the exact same way as what I reviewed in my previous blog entry. After playing the first video, it will automatically go to the next video within the selection.

The "My YouTube" feature allows you to watch videos or channels that you've subscribed to using your Google/YouTube account.

Excluding the drastic change in the menu (and the new way used to link your Google/YouTube account to the ST600 box), not much has changed in terms of video/audio quality from what I stated in my previous review and this review. Videos will sometimes buffer/pause but not that often and this will depend on the internet bandwidth available. I find that videos will buffer/pause more often when I'm using my PC to watch YouTube videos than when I'm using my ST600 box to watch YouTube videos.

Overall, I would say that just like during my last blog entry regarding my YouTube experience with my ST600 box, I'm satisfied with using it to watch YouTube videos.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry (or anything written on this blog), please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section. Please note that comments are moderated and any comments that contain a URL link or hyperlink will automatically be flagged as being spam and will not be posted.

Netflix Canada Review

After having used Netflix Canada for a few months, I thought that I would post my thoughts about its offering and the quality.

There are a few devices that have Netflix capabilities. I've seen Netflix enabled televisions, blue-ray DVD players, game consoles, and smartphones. I access Netflix mainly on my television set using a small box called the "LG Smart TV Upgrader box ST600". I've written a few reviews about this box which based on the number of hits when compared to the hits of my other blog entries seems to be a popular search feature. I've also accessed Netflix on my Chromebook, my Windows netbook, my iPhone 3GS, and my Android Samsung Nexus-S. I'm able to access Netflix content very well using the devices that I've tried.

When I first decided to try Netflix Canada, I wasn't sure what movies and television shows they offered. The reason for this is that there is only a partial list on their website of the available content. I heard that the offering in Canada was not as good as it is in the United States. Luckily, Netflix Canada offers a 1 month free trial (credit card required) in order for users to see whether Netflix is right from them.

Having gone to Las Vegas in January 2012, I was able to access my Netflix account on my laptop as well as on my smartphones while in the US and I can say that the offering in Canada is extremely limited when compared with what is available to Netflix US customers. When I went to the US, my Canadian Netflix account automatically gave me access to what American customers have access to watch. There was a warning/disclaimer message when I accessed my Netflix account informing me that I would be accessing country specific media. Because of time constraints, I only managed to watch 2 Netflix movies while in the US and both of these movies are currently not available to Netflix Canada customers.

While the Canadian Netflix content does not compare with the US Netflix content, I do notice that there is new content added on a somewhat regular basis. I would estimate that every 2-3 weeks, there are new movies and new television series that are added to Netflix Canada.

Because I've seen a lot of movies in the theatres, most of the content that I watch on Netflix Canada are television programs. I would say that 80% of the content I watch from Netflix Canada are television programs and 20% of the content that I watch are movies. There are a lot of television programs available using Netflix Canada. I've personally watched Heroes, Dragon's Den, Early Edition, and Family Guy. Movies that I've watched include a few of the Star Trek movies (as of the date of my post, all the Star Trek movies including the 2009 Star Trek movie are available), Unstoppable, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Next, and Thor.

To access Netflix on a Netflix capable smartphone or on your computer, it requires logging on using the e-mail address you used to sign-up for Netflix and your Netflix password. To access Netflix on the blue-ray DVD players or Netflix enabled television sets that I've seen as well as on the LG Smart TV Upgrader box, it requires that you add the device to your Netflix account. You do this by logging onto your Netflix account on your computer and entering a code which displayed by your device. Your computer will then display a code to enter into your device.

Once you log into your Netflix account, you are able to select what quality you want the media to stream to your devices. There are 3 settings: Good (up to 0.3 GB per hour), Better Quality (up to 0.7 GB per hour), and Best Quality (up to 1 GB per hour, or up to 2.3 GB per hour for HD content). Since I have unlimited internet, I keep my setting at Best Quality but I have tried the other qualities as well and the quality is comparable to what you can get with the different settings in YouTube.

The big question is whether Netflix Canada is worth the money. At the time of this blog entry, the monthly subscription cost is $8.00 per month. Netflix gives a 1 month trial subscription (valid for new subscribers only) so that users can see the type of content available and whether the service is right for them. Even though the Canadian content doesn't compare with the American content, because I currently have unlimited internet and the cost is only $8.00 per month for unlimited viewing (which is comparable to ~3 DVD rentals at a DVD/video store), it is worth it. The only thing that I would advise users if they don't have unlimited internet is that they should actively monitor their internet usage and reduce the Netflix video quality settings if necessary.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section. Please note that comments are moderated and any comments that contain a URL link will automatically be flagged as being spam and will not be posted.

Netflix on LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600 (Part 2) Review

With a few topics/reviews that I wanted to write about this week, I wasn't sure what topic I should pick. Rather than pick a new topic/item to write about, I've decided to write some additional comments that I had regarding watching Netflix using the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600.

I could have modified my first blog entry on this topic but thought that it was a better idea to create a new blog entry this week for it. You can click *HERE* for the first blog entry/review that I wrote about using the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600 to watch Netflix.

As of the date of this blog entry, the firmware on the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600 is current (up to date) and is at ST.8.79.202.

One of the problems that I've been noticing a lot lately regarding using the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600 to watch Netflix is that when watching television episodes, sometimes the program will not be available for viewing. This generally happens after I've watched a few episodes from the program already.

Previously, to fix this problem, what I did was I simply rebooted/restarted the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box and the problem would go away but now (or at least with this current firmware), restarting the unit more often than not does not fix the issue. The only time that I've noticed that this problem will go away is by waiting a few days (or sometimes weeks).

What appears on the television screen during this Netflix episode "weird" state is when the television program is selected, the option to play the television episode will show a strange message such as "Resume episode undefined." Also, the number of episodes will not be displayed for the particular problem television series and you will also not be able to go through the television episode listing.

The problem only seems to happen when using the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box to watch Netflix since when I use my phone (iPhone 3GS or Samsung Nexus-S) as well as my computer, I'm able to watch the program/episode without any problems. Since I have access to two LG Smart TV Upgrader Boxes, I wanted to see if it happens with both boxes and when the television series is in this "weird" state where you can't watch it, it seems to be account related because on the other LG Smart TV Upgrader Box, the particular television series experiences the same issue.

If you have any comments/questions regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comments in the comment section. Please note that comments are moderated and any comments that contain a URL link or hyperlinks will automatically be flagged as being spam and will not be posted.

YouTube on LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600 Review

I've decided to make another blog entry about the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600. This time I wanted to write about the/my YouTube experience using this box.

When I first got the box and used it to watch some YouTube clips/videos, I was not overly impressed with it. The videos would pause/buffer often even when I was sure that my internet bandwidth was more than sufficient to support the stream because I didn't have the same pausing/buffering experience with watching NFB videos or Netflix videos using the same box (and the same internet connection).

However, after upgrading the firmware to ST.8.79.202, I would like to say that I'm satisfied with the video/audio quality that I'm getting when I'm watching YouTube videos with the box.

The YouTube screen has a menu on the top of the screen which shows 8 options: Featured, Recent Videos, Most Viewed, Top Rated, Search, History, Sign In, and Local Site.

I don't spend a lot of time using my box to watch YouTube videos. I will do the occasional search on a specific video or topic such as "Nikon D5100" and I will watch a few videos on the topic. The video and audio quality that I've experienced with the box and the ST.8.79.202 firmware update is very good. It used to buffer/pause a lot with the older firmware but now, the buffering/pausing that I used to get is as rare as what I see with NFB or Netflix. You can either watch the video fullscreen or using ~40% of the screen where the remaining 40% of the screen is the video description with 20% of the screen shows some of the LG Smart TV Upgrader box's menu options and titles/headings).

I've tried to watch some of the free movies available on YouTube that I've seen on my computer using the LG Smart TV box but these movies are apparently not supported since they don't show up when I try to search for the movies. The pay movies also don't show up in the search.

I've logged in using my YouTube account (actually using my Google account) and it doesn't seem to give me any additional functionality except to give a different history list. The videos that I watched on my computer were not reflected in the history list on on the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box even though I was signed in using the same account. The only thing that I think that signing in might allow for (although I haven't tested it) is the ability to watch videos that have a more mature rating.

I've also changed the Local Site setting from "Worldwide" to "Canada" and I didn't notice any difference in the menu or the items found in the search or videos selected in the other menu options.

Overall, I would say that I'm satisfied with watching YouTube videos using the LG Smart TV Upgrader box (although as I mentioned, I don't use it a lot for watching YouTube videos).

If you have any comments/questions regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below.

National Film Board of Canada on LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600 Review

I've decided to post another review (3rd review as of the date of this posting) about the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600 but this time dealing with using it to watch material from the National Film Board of Canada. The first review that I posted was a general overall review and the second review that I posted dealt with using the LG Upgrader box to watch Netflix content.

Please note that I am basing this review from Canada so depending on your location, the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box might not allow you to access material from the National Film Board of Canada.

As of this review, the firmware/software on the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box is ST 8.79.198.

Before getting an account on Netflix, I used the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box to watch material from the National Film Board of Canada.

In terms of the video and sound quality, I find it to be very good. I would say that it stops/buffers less than both Netflix (which rarely stops/buffers) and YouTube. I believe that all the material available on the National Film Board of Canada's website is available using this box.

I've watched mainly political documentaries but there are also a lot of cartoon shorts including the famous "The Sweater" by Sheldon Cohen which is a cartoon from Quebec about a boy much to his dismay whose mother buys him a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater to replace his Montreal Canadiens sweater. Something that I was surprised to see was "Hitman Hart - Wrestling with Shadows" by Paul Jay.

If you enjoy content from the National Film Board of Canada, you shouldn't have any issues with using the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box to watch the content. My main negative comment is only the amount of content available and the type of content available. However, it is the same negative comment that I had regarding using the box to watch Netflix Canada content.

I find the NFB search feature of the LG box to be very good. It is much better than what is available with the box for Netflix content. The NFB search on this box will search keywords whereas the Netflix search feature using the same box doesn't do this.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with the video/audio quality that I get with the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box when I am using it to watch material from the National Film Board.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section.

Netflix on LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600 Review

There seems to be a lot of interest on the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box ST600 based on the number of hits I'm getting for that particular blog entry so I thought that I would write a few separate blog entries for each of the services that I use it for... and even though I have a few electronic gadgets that I've tested/used, I'm at a lost of topics to write   ;-)

As of this review, the firmware/software on the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box is ST 8.79.198.

One of the main reasons that I purchased the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box was to try Netflix and after trying it, I can definitely say that Netflix works very well with the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box. With my internet connection (the speed varies dramatically but the average speed is ~2 Mbits/s download), the pausing/buffering happens very rarely once the movie or television show starts.

After selecting the movie or television show, the video starts after approximately 30 seconds (based on the internet connection speed) and rarely buffers/pauses during playback of the video. Based on my experience, I would say that it pauses less than 5% of the time which is far better than the results that I've gotten with using this box to watch some YouTube videos.

The Netflix's video and audio quality using this LG box is very good. Since I have an unlimited download/upload internet connection, I set my Netflix video/audio settings (done on the account settings page after logging onto your Netflix account on your computer) to "Best quality (up to 1 GB per hour, or up to 2.3 GB per hour for HD)". I've seen some of the Netflix offerings in HD and the video/audio quality is very good with this box.

Excluding Netflix content (which has nothing to do with this box), I only have 3 negative comments regarding using the box to watch Netflix content. The first negative comment that I have regarding watching Netflix on the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box is that the search feature is very limiting. You can only search based on the title of the television show or movie. You cannot do a search based on the actor or actress. The second negative comment that I have regarding watching Netflix on the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box is that sometimes you will not be able to watch a particular television show since the entire episode listing for the television show will be blank. I'm not sure if this is because Netflix is doing an update but within a few hours, the television show episode listing is back to normal and you will be able to re-select the episode that you want to watch. The third and final negative comment that I have regarding using the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box to watch Netflix is that sometimes after stopping, you will not be able to continue from where you left off and you have to start at the beginning of the video again. This seems to happen more with television show episodes than with movies. It is a minor inconvenience since you can easily fast forward to the point where you left off and continue watching from that point onward.

Speaking about fast forwarding, when fast forwarding, you get a preview of the video (no audio) so you are able to estimate where you want the video to start. You also get a "time bar" on the bottom of your screen so you can also use this to estimate what point in the video you want it to start.

The interface when selecting a movie or television show using the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box is very similar to what appears when you select a movie or television show on your computer. You are presented with what you recently watched, the top ten items that Netflix assumes you will like based on what you've previously watched/rated, some of the genre categories, some selections based on particular movies that you've liked, etc.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with the video/audio quality that I get with the LG Smart TV Upgrader Box when  I am using it to watch Netflix.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section.