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.

Fido Nokia CS-18 Internet Stick Review

I've been using a Fido Nokia CS-18 for a few months and I thought that I would take a few minutes to write about it. Previously I was using a Novatel Wireless MC950D and I thought that I would upgrade it even though there was nothing wrong with my Novatel Wireless device.

The Nokia CS-18 is an HSPA+/HSPA/UMTS device (850/1900/2100 MHz). It is also compatible on the GSM/EDGE network at 850/900/1800/1900 MHz.

As an HSPA+ device, it is rated for 21.6 Mbps download and an upload speed of 5.76 Mbps. In terms of real-life performance, I did get 10 Mbps download once. However, most of the time, I get performance that is only slightly better than what I would get with my older HSPA device (Novatel Wireless Ovation MC950D).

The Fido Nokia CS-18  comes with a USB Extension cable (CA-175) and a guide. You can view the online user's guide *HERE*. Excluding the obvious speed difference between my old Novatel Wireless MC950D device, another difference is that the CS-18 supports the insertion of a MicroSD card. According to the documentation, it supports a MicroSD card up to 32GB.

The device is nice. I prefer the SIM insertion of my older Novatel Wireless device over my Nokia CS-18 device. The MC950D allows for easy SIM insertion and removal whereas with the Nokia CS-18, you must lift a small lid/lip in order to insert the SIM card (and then close this small lid/lip). On the Nokia CS-18, I do like the fact that the USB cap/cover is attached to the internet stick via a small cable which prevents the cover from becoming lost.

In terms of speed, I do notice a slight speed improvement between my Novatel Wireless device and my newer Nokia CS-18 using the same SIM card in the same device and in the same location.

One of the reasons I decided to upgrade was because the CS-18 is compatible in my 3G/4G wireless router. I also expected a larger increase in performance but this didn't turn out to be true. However, I believe that the performance issue is due to my location since I get unreliable coverage where I'm located.

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