Elder friendly TV

[greenhorn]

Hi all,
A friend of mine is looking for a budget TV that will be used with a set top box and entirely for watching cable tv by his parents. They are not too tech savvy, and a lot of newer TV's (eg one koryo I have) boot to the smart tv home page instead of any particular input (either configured or last used). The UI is somewhat overwhelming for them - are there any brands, ideally budget ones (looking for something in the 20k range) which let you bypass the smart UI and go directly to a configured input ?

 

[zero7]

I was trying to achieve the same in my relatives place. They have a Hisence TV and it does not have any option in settings to achieve this. I don't own a smart TV and I am worried about the same issue, once my current TV reaches it's end of life. My mom will face the same issue.

 

[sandeepmohan]

My folks have a Mi 4A and that comes out of Stand By to the last used input, which is usually terrestrial TV or one of the video inputs. My Sony Smart TV does the same too. If I left off on a specific Video input, it boots back to the same again. If this is a TV that will be powered off at the mains everyday, then its unlikely to avoid the operating system booting. Thats something you will need to advice your friend. There is no avoiding that, unfortunately. This does not require a sharp learning curve. Once you explain it to them, they will get the hang of it. They are your parents after all. A call every now and then to help them sort out the TV should not be seen as a burden.

 

[zero7]

If this is a TV that will be powered off at the mains everyday, then its unlikely to avoid the operating system booting. Thats something you will need to advice your friend.

Agree with you that from standby mode it goes back to last active input. Unfortunately, we are forced to shut down the power to avoid any damage due to lightning, power surges etc. Also, frequent power failures forces the TV to load the OS and stay in Smart TV home screen. From there, selecting the input to connect to set top box is one additional step and deters senior citizens from enjoying the TV.
Believe it or not, my mom gets worried that she will damage the TV by pressing a wrong button on the remote. With continuous encouragement she has started using a little bit of WhatsApp and YouTube on her phone now. It's not easy task for them to learn at their age and remembering the steps is also a challenge. Whatever a 2 years old kid can do now, is not easy for a person who is 70+.

Like a Demo/Store mode available in the TVs, senior citizen friendly mode also should be provided or a customization option should be provided

 

[sandeepmohan]

Whatever a 2 years old kid can do now, is not easy for a person who is 70+.

Its a matter of explaining how the TV works. My folks are in the same age bracket. They are used to seeing the little Android start up animation. If the TV is power cycled, explain to them to give the unit about a minute before power on. Power On or Standy followed by repeated press of the Input, to get to the desired Input. You can't possibly make it more easier than this. In fact, you may not need to press the Input button at all once the TV boots up.

 

[etios]

I have taught my parents how to use Firestick to watch their TV channels and shows, if you teach them patiently they will learn, maybe they will get a doubt about one or other function after few months but usually those can be explained even on phone.

 

[greenhorn]

It comes down to how they accept technology. My own mother has embraced technology and is pretty active on FB, Whatsapp, and is happy to search on prime to watch big boss.
On the other hand my father is very set in his ways and refuses to adopt new technology. He used cassettes until 2018 when he switched to CD's, and refuses to accept any smart phones and sticks to his dumb phones. any suggestion of learning to use technology is met with a stream of abuses.
There are all sorts of people in this world. Some will refuse to learn. this is more for them.

 

[zero7]

There are all sorts of people in this world. Some will refuse to learn. this is more for them.

Completely agree with you. There are many reasons for them not to adopt to latest technologies.
I strongly believe that we should consider all type of users and develop OS / apps and not force people to use it the way a developer wants to build.
When we get old, there may be some new technologies, which we may desist too. Only time will tell.