Have a fit elderly friend living alone who gets frustrated with technology but somehow manages to watch lots of content such as from YouTube, iView, the BBC on his computer monitor hunkered away in his study.
He does not want to spend lots of money on, say, a new Android smart TV, and I am not sure that is the best alternative anyway. His near eyesight is not the best and he struggles to manage complicated remote controls.
Would a streaming device suit him if it comes with an uncomplicated and a simple remote?
He'd want to watch free-to-air TV plus Netflix etc.
Media Streaming Device for an Elderly Person
Bill48 on 02/04/2020 - 13:12
Comments
I hadn't heard of this. Compared to the Shield, looks like it is less capable (i.e. less complicated), cheaper, and you can plug the antenna in so you don't have to switch sources. Perfect!
Is this ever on OzBargain?
It is… for $72
Does Voda TV have Disney+?
@ShortyX: I don't have it, but Google seems to say no, though I'm not sure if it can be side-loaded somehow
Sometimes refurbs are available on ebay
$72 new is good though, two year warranty too
So you want something that is relatively simple to control. If this person is good with their phone I might suggest a Chromecast, however I think you will not find happiness there. They can be incredibly frustrating and temperamental.
Take a look at the 2017 NVidia Shield TV. The controller is dead simple. Later model is more complicated and doesn't add much, certainly nothing your friend will use. I've hooked my parents up with one since they were getting frustrated with their Chromecast. They are 60-something and relatively good with tech.
Ideally there would be a setting to maybe lockdown some parts of the software to make it easier to use but I dunno if this is possible. Anyway there is a home button that should get your friend out of trouble if he gets stuck in some settings menu. Apparently there is a setting to disable the volume slider on the remote which I would recommend for simplicity.
EDIT: this is assuming he already has a TV and is comfortable using it
Can't find any Shield products under $200.
Correct.
It's a dumb recommendation.Cheapest shield is 3.5x the price of VTV, and has no tuner.
"Horses for courses"
Xiaomi Mi Box is an affordable Android TV based box. Can he handle changing inputs between different sources eg DVD player, Live TV, etc?
How about Roku Express or Roku Streaming Stick currently $78 and $110 at eBay?
The good thing about the Voda TV is it does FTA tv, inbuilt and native. For an older person, the best thing you can do is have 1 remote, and 1 input in the TV, and not have to switch between the 2.
You were the one who mentioned the use case scenario involves FTA tv, yet you're looking at the Roku's which don't have that. They rely on the streaming apps
Not as simple and easy as just having standard FTA TV that he already knows
Fetch Mini is easy to use. Not great value if you have to buy it retail and you can't add more apps but it's available as a bolt on to postpaid mobile phone plans from Optus, and broadband plans from Dodo, iPrimus, iiNet, Westnet, Internode and Aussie Broadband. It doesn't have BBC but I'm not sure how he's watching that - VPN?
Does Voda TV have Disney+?
Edit: asked this question above.
Apple TV. Can hook into all the streaming services. To find a show just press the mic button and literally talk into the remote with the show name you want to watch. No need for tiny remote buttons he can't read, or typing using a remote once he can't read. Just keep it simple! Otherwise you will be tech support for the next few years.
Vodafone TV
There's really nothing else worth recommending