Author Topic: First World Problems (Read 1563 times)

targetrasp · « **on:** March 12, 2018, 09:25:33 PM »

Gripe and Moan time

TV Manufacturers are slowly but surely cutting out the number of inputs on the television while the amount of connected devices per television is going up.

I could care less in my living room... A receiver chews up everything and spits it out all in one hdmi output to the television but in a bedroom where i'm trying to minimalize this is painful.

I ditched a huge entertainment stand for a small floating one. i got rid of a 5.1 channel receiver for a decent 3.1 sound bar. I even bought a newer, larger tv, that has a smaller footprint because theres no beezels.

The problem now is there are 3 hdmi ports and a component. i have 4 4k devices and 3 1080p devices AND my hdmi switcher is only 1080p. a 4k switcher is not in the cards yet sooooo i'm either stuck with going back to the receiver or not using a 4k device...

maybe the cable box can be plugged into the hdmi switcher, its not like anything is broadcast in 4k anyway..

but still tv guys, why go with less inputs. it CANT be that much more expensive to make. The old people you're worry about confusing has their kids put these things together anyway, or pays geek squad.

CreepinDeth · « **Reply #1 on:** March 12, 2018, 09:35:54 PM »

HDMI connectors might not seem like much but to add those could affect the form factor. People want thin bezels and small footprints. This means sacrifices need to be made and usually inputs/outputs are the first to go.

Quote from: targetrasp on March 12, 2018, 09:25:33 PM

The problem now is there are 3 hdmi ports and a component. i have 4 4k devices and 3 1080p devices AND my hdmi switcher is only 1080p. a 4k switcher is not in the cards yet sooooo i'm either stuck with going back to the receiver or not using a 4k device...

Also, holy crap. All I have on my bedroom TV is a Roku and a PS4. I have cable but I just use the Comcast app on my Roku, saving me from having an additional receiver charge and taking up space.

Mai Valentine · « **Reply #2 on:** March 12, 2018, 09:44:22 PM »

I use a 24" Vizio for my pc, my PS4, and Xbone and it only has one HDMI port. Unfortunately every HDMI switcher I've tried has been awful, so I end up just switching the actual cable.

But now I mostly only use the PS4 and I have a laptop now so I haven't looked into better switchers.

mastermario · « **Reply #3 on:** March 12, 2018, 09:50:52 PM »

I'm with you on the lack of HDMI ports. The only reason I have enough is that my "game room" has two TVs so I was able to split the consoles between TVs, although it's a pain because only one of the TVs can have cable and one can have a DVD player and one can have a Fire Stick so I have to get creative on the timing of which activities I do at the same time haha.

CreepinDeth · « **Reply #4 on:** March 12, 2018, 09:54:14 PM »

Quote from: Mai Valentine on March 12, 2018, 09:44:22 PM

I use a 24" Vizio for my pc, my PS4, and Xbone and it only has one HDMI port. Unfortunately every HDMI switcher I've tried has been awful, so I end up just switching the actual cable.

But now I mostly only use the PS4 and I have a laptop now so I haven't looked into better switchers.

Sony consoles tend to have issues with switchers. For some reason, it has handshaking issues with TVs. PS3s were notorious for this and I still believe it broke the HDMI input on my old TV that I no longer have. Had to switch to Component since I didn't have another HDMI input.

My first guess would be the PS4 is the culprit but could also be the switcher or the cable. My roku did not like the ultra thin HDMI cables I got from Monoprice but worked fine with a normal sized one.

BLUEVOODU · « **Reply #5 on:** March 12, 2018, 09:55:20 PM »

Yeah I've had awful luck with switchers, Kvms allowing hdmi / 1080p / 5.1 surround quality... etc. Always artifacting, weird stuff on screen, cool green dots on the screen ... and more. The company that made the kvm couldn't figure it out either. I spent $700+ on it. So... after a few months they setup a return with Newegg for me. That ended my time with kvms of that spec... and I just haven't gone to a receiver of anything yet.

I get it... server Kvms don't need 1080p / hdmi. But if you're doing media centers and other pcs where you need graphics... they are handy.

I've simplified every setup I have now to 1 connection.... except for my 10 year old plasma which has the connections you are talking about. I still love the LG Plasma. At some point I'll buy a newer tv ... probably a 4K at that point.

targetrasp · « **Reply #6 on:** March 12, 2018, 09:56:26 PM »

I purchased launch versions of each console and then purchased the 4k versions when they came out. VR took over the living room so one of the xbone and ps4s went to the bedroom. I could give up the fire tv and use one of the aps on the xbone or ps4 but i'd miss out on the automation tied in with alexa.

I think at this point I should just buy a bigger house, put vr in the kids room and get my living room back.

Mai Valentine · « **Reply #7 on:** March 15, 2018, 11:18:04 AM »

Quote from: CreepinDeth on March 12, 2018, 09:54:14 PM

Quote from: Mai Valentine on March 12, 2018, 09:44:22 PM
I use a 24" Vizio for my pc, my PS4, and Xbone and it only has one HDMI port. Unfortunately every HDMI switcher I've tried has been awful, so I end up just switching the actual cable.

But now I mostly only use the PS4 and I have a laptop now so I haven't looked into better switchers.

Sony consoles tend to have issues with switchers. For some reason, it has handshaking issues with TVs. PS3s were notorious for this and I still believe it broke the HDMI input on my old TV that I no longer have. Had to switch to Component since I didn't have another HDMI input.

My first guess would be the PS4 is the culprit but could also be the switcher or the cable. My roku did not like the ultra thin HDMI cables I got from Monoprice but worked fine with a normal sized one.

Yeah, my PS4 was the biggest problem. It worked fine at first but eventually stopped working with the switcher at all. But after that happened I realized the switcher was an issue because even with my PC the screen would flicker a lot! I thought at first it was just the tv (because it fell over once) but once I hooked the PC HDMI right up to the tv instead of through the switcher, all the issues went away.

BLUEVOODU · « **Reply #8 on:** March 15, 2018, 09:37:23 PM »

I know there are different opinions and facts out about this... but I found certain HDMI cables to NOT look at good and can cause issues.

Spartanevolved brought over this RocketFish (Best Buy) HDMI cable... and we were under the impression is should look as good as a Monster cable. My PS3 was hooked up to the TV and we played Mortal Kombat X I think it was - the latest Mortal Kombat to come out on the PS3 at the time. Colors were not as good and the outlines of characters were not as crisp.

The only think I could think of was... the PS3 was scaling back what it was sending across the cable. Perhaps a transmission rate thing? I don't know...

CreepinDeth · « **Reply #9 on:** March 15, 2018, 10:13:06 PM »

HDMI cables that are built well and are up to spec will all display the signal identically. It's digital, just 1s and 0s. But yeah, some cables are poorly made and will just cause issues. That's why I stick to Monoprice cables. Well built and inexpensive.

Quote from: BLUEVOODU on March 15, 2018, 09:37:23 PM

Spartanevolved brought over this RocketFish (Best Buy) HDMI cable... and we were under the impression is should look as good as a Monster cable. My PS3 was hooked up to the TV and we played Mortal Kombat X I think it was - the latest Mortal Kombat to come out on the PS3 at the time. Colors were not as good and the outlines of characters were not as crisp.

The only think I could think of was... the PS3 was scaling back what it was sending across the cable. Perhaps a transmission rate thing? I don't know...

Did the picture look fine on Spartan's PS3?

Mai Valentine · « **Reply #10 on:** March 16, 2018, 10:30:44 PM »

For the most part I try to keep the cables that actually come with the system, so I still have the Microsoft one for the Xbox One and the Sony one for my PS4. That's why I was concerned with it not working, but fortunately it was just the switcher and not the HDMI cable.

targetrasp · « **Reply #11 on:** March 18, 2018, 10:14:56 PM »

Everyone who said hdmi switchers were crap was right. I'd assumed the switchers have come a long way (and honestly they have) but there were still noticeable problems. The picture was great, no issues there, but the sound cut out often enough to be annoying.

As such, my Sunday was spent ripping everything out and starting all over. I used a 4k pass-through receiver and put my old speakers (left right and center) in a row like a gigantic sound bar and reconfigured the receiver for left, center, right, and sub.

The subwoofer mad a God-aweful noise every time I hit. I thought somehow the speaker was blown so i took it apart to see if maybe i could switch the speaker out. It turns out someone had put everything from hotwheels to tennis balls in the port on the cabinent. A ball from a ball pit had even partially melted against the amp.

Now all i really have left is to program all the activities in my harmony remote and my nightmare bedroom project will be over.

BLUEVOODU · « **Reply #12 on:** March 26, 2018, 03:54:49 PM »

LOL. A ball from the. All pit?! That has to be @targetrasp sarcasm but I'm hoping it's true because that's hilarious... though sucks you had troubles.

Speaking of first world problems... this thread:
Playstation 4 First world problems in Playstation 4 - is it your main console? Thread

targetrasp · « **Reply #13 on:** March 26, 2018, 08:07:01 PM »

its true, when my daughter was tiny I bought a small inflatable ball pit that came with enough balls to coat the bottom of it. When I upgraded the speakers in the living room I stored the old subwoofer in her closet.

retro junkie · « **Reply #14 on:** March 27, 2018, 09:09:36 PM »

I have an HDMI switcher. It has three inputs, PS3, Blu-Ray, XBone. Had it about 6 months, but I have not had any issues as of yet. But I will keep this thread in mind in case something weird starts to manifests itself. I have an old flatscreen, one of the first, the kind that has the light bulbs in the back. It is very thick. The bezel around the screen is almost three inches.

BLUEVOODU · « **Reply #15 on:** November 05, 2018, 10:30:28 AM »

In the news of other 1st World Problems... I want to buy a second switch... but cannot get myself to spend the money... nor should I.

retro junkie · « **Reply #16 on:** November 05, 2018, 05:45:23 PM »

Quote from: BLUEVOODU on November 05, 2018, 10:30:28 AM

In the news of other 1st World Problems... I want to buy a second switch... but cannot get myself to spend the money... nor should I.

I don't want to even think about purchasing a 1st Switch. Just the price point alone has discouraged me. It makes me totally satisfied with my "new" 3DS.

CreepinDeth · « **Reply #17 on:** November 05, 2018, 07:26:46 PM »

Quote from: BLUEVOODU on November 05, 2018, 10:30:28 AM

In the news of other 1st World Problems... I want to buy a second switch... but cannot get myself to spend the money... nor should I.

You should at least wait for the new version if you do end up getting one. Next year is just around the corner.

targetrasp · « **Reply #18 on:** November 05, 2018, 09:40:35 PM »

@CreepinDeth

I always fall for the crap. Right before a new version of a console comes out the other consoles go on sale or get a cool pack in game or some sort of variant. I pull the trigger, then a few months later the upgraded version is out.

Bomber Man · « **Reply #19 on:** November 05, 2018, 09:53:53 PM »

Quote

I always fall for the crap. Right before a new version of a console comes out the other consoles go on sale or get a cool pack in game or some sort of variant. I pull the trigger, then a few months later the upgraded version is out.

@targetrasp The wii U

targetrasp · « **Reply #20 on:** November 05, 2018, 10:02:20 PM »

@Bomber Man

I'd say the wii u is the only console that didn't last long enough to upgrade so it was one of that few that didn't get me, but in the grand scheme of things it was really just a place holder for the switch. Since all the good stuff on wii u has been made into switch games or on their way to becoming switch games, Bomberman is right.

Bomber Man · « **Reply #21 on:** November 05, 2018, 10:09:59 PM »

This topic (by far that I've seen) has the most quotes yet.

BLUEVOODU · « **Reply #22 on:** November 06, 2018, 10:08:09 AM »

Quote from: Bomber Man on November 05, 2018, 10:09:59 PM

This topic (by far that I've seen) has the most quotes yet.

That in itself may be a 1st world problem.

Quote from: CreepinDeth on November 05, 2018, 07:26:46 PM

You should at least wait for the new version if you do end up getting one. Next year is just around the corner.

Exactly @CreepinDeth and @targetrasp - That's what I'm trying to avoid... but it's so tempting right now because they always bring out cool new sets and bundles.

And yes... I'm a little surprised we didn't see more of a updated Console for the Wii U. I get what you mean @Bomber Man ... it seemed like it was barely out before the Switch came out.. unlike the Wii to Wii U transition time frame.

@retro junkie The price point of the switch is pretty high... 100% agree and no doubt about that. That's the biggest factor of me not pulling the trigger. If it was $250 for the Switch Super Smash Brothers bundle... I probably wouldn't have hesitated. $350+ ... that's pretty high.

BLUEVOODU · « **Reply #23 on:** October 13, 2019, 09:25:15 PM »

Bumping this up. I think we need to keep it moving.

targetrasp · « **Reply #24 on:** October 14, 2019, 12:24:28 AM »

my beloved 3d tv took the deuce on my one day off this week so instead of fixing it, having it fixed, or reading a book I bought a new tv, that's still sitting in the store because it wouldn't fit in the car. It's not "Jeevs, should I take the beamer or the rolls" but its as first world as I've got in me.

Mai Valentine · « **Reply #25 on:** November 30, 2019, 01:10:09 PM »

First world problem here; my roommate ordered a sale TV last week expecting that it would be shipped on Dec. 3 (since that's what it said) and instead they started shipping it on Thursday and she felt bad because now the FedEx guy had extra work on Thanksgiving! Then the tv actually got here yesterday, and we weren't prepared for it to be here early so we didn't have a new stand yet, and we had to make a trip to Ikea to get a new TV stand.

targetrasp · « **Reply #26 on:** December 16, 2019, 12:18:01 AM »

Closest Ikea to me is two hours away

, I've always wanted one nearby... kids destroy furniture and Walmart / target furniture sucks

BLUEVOODU · « **Reply #27 on:** December 17, 2019, 10:45:21 PM »

lol @Mai Valentine Those are 1st world problems... however, they are problems. At least you could rock the tv on the floor for a bit

As far as IKEA... I haven't bought much from them... but their SKYDD mineral oil works AWESOME on Guitar fretboards AS WELL AS wood cutting boards and other types of natural wood that need to be oiled.