# Help the non-techy please.



## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

It seems Everything is WiFi nowadays. We just bought a washer/dryer pair the other night, and it touted WiFi compatibility. For what? I can start the washer from 2 miles away??? Not sure what a WiFi DVD player is.

The only time I saw an appliance with useful WiFi was at our local college. Kids would put their clothes in the washer, wave their RFID card over the sensor and go about their business. When the load was ready, it would send them a text.


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

from the google. 

What does a DVD player with Wi-Fi do?


The wifi function on your DVD player is not to send movies over wifi but *to connect the player to your network to access online streaming services such as netflix, access web content relating to a movie you are playing*, or to update the player firmware.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Fix'n it said:


> online streaming services


Aaaah, good call.. Yes, My DVD player has those options, but so does the TV, so we don't need it. Mike???


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## quatsch (Feb 4, 2021)

Mike Milam said:


> Why would that be needed?


To surveil your viewing habits.

Sometimes I leave the set-top on a Spanish channel to make my ISP think I speak Spanish.


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

chandler48 said:


> Aaaah, good call.. Yes, My DVD player has those options, but so does the TV, so we don't need it. Mike???


Going to have a hard time finding one without, so best bet is get one with it and not use it. Funny thing is, I search two different sessions looking for one the same dimensions as the cable box I'm removing. I found one that's close enough to work.


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## oggy bleacher (May 3, 2011)

Basically all tech gadgets have proprietary "free" apps to lure you into thinking you need some pay service that is not necessary. Most older smart televisions have 5 different obsolete yahoo sports apps that no longer update but did require wifi when they worked.

Its a double edged sword because google and facebook and netflix and youtube are basically sponsoring a portion of the cost of the gadget because they are gambling you will use their services and pay them or watch their ads and indirectly give them money. The tvs and other gadgets would probably be free if we really grasped how much they are subsidized by the services we already contribute to. And if they were free because facebook treats them as a complimentary ad distribution tool then facebook would STILL make money from ad revenue.

That's all they are now: revenue acquisition devices. 
And we are revenue targets. 

The gadget is only affordable because we are inviting big business into our home and that has value to them and to us.


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

Depending on the model DVD (Bluray?) you have, the wifi will be more robust, and it may have more apps to chose for streaming from.


I do not use the wifi in a TV, but much refer to use the wifi in a Sony Bluray, a Roku, or a Tivo. They just work better...


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

The other thing is it can update the firmware on the machine easier over WiFi, rather than you having to jump through hoops.


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

ktkelly said:


> Depending on the model DVD (Bluray?) you have, the wifi will be more robust, and it may have more apps to chose for streaming from.
> 
> 
> I do not use the wifi in a TV, but much refer to use the wifi in a Sony Bluray, a Roku, or a Tivo. They just work better...


Yes, I'm using the Roku in this TV.


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

Of course a lot depends on the router you're using. Cheap routers are cheap for a reason...


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## Deja-vue (Mar 24, 2013)

DVD is so 1997.🤢
Get a Blu-Ray Player, or even a Ultra HD Player.
Yes, they will play your old DVD Collections.
And yes, most of them have Wi-Fi.


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

Deja-vue said:


> DVD is so 1997.🤢
> Get a Blu-Ray Player, or even a Ultra HD Player.
> Yes, they will play your old DVD Collections.
> And yes, most of them have Wi-Fi.


I have Blueray in a couple rooms now. I was just wondering if I could ignore the WIFI. Thanks


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

Mike Milam said:


> II was just wondering if I could ignore the WIFI.


i have been doing it since its inception. 


one good thing about DVD's is that they are widely available and dirt cheap.
i bought over 100 BR's for $100. i watched many of them. now i am trying to trade them, no luck.


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

Fix'n it said:


> i have been doing it since its inception.
> 
> 
> one good thing about DVD's is that they are widely available and dirt cheap.
> i bought over 100 BR's for $100. i watched many of them. now i am trying to trade them, no luck.


I usually wait for a movies I want to see come out on DVD and buy it. I don't enjoy sitting in a cinema (when you could) with a bunch of half wits with there phones chirping or them talking during the movie. Last time we went several teenagers came in and sat it the back and were talking loudly during the movie. I went out and told the usher they needed to stop them and the security person I was talking to clearly wasn't going to do anything. Finally I said "if you don't stop it, I'm going to and it may not be pretty". Then they went in and put a stop to it.


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

we hardly ever go out to the movies, but i do miss the Nacho's , Yum , wish i could make them at home

i don't buy retail media. used, is good, if the price is right. 

i still have a bunch of the $1 BR's left to watch. that, and the library this coming Home Theater season. 
and "maybe" Redbox.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

We usually go the Habitat store and buy BR's or DVD's for 50 cents, watch them and return them as a donation. Our library system has a good selection of both, so, even though they aren't this week's releases, we get good entertainment.


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

i've not been to our local library, so idk what they have, but i don't need new movies, last 10 or so years old is fine. no Habitats around here. if the library has a nice selection, i may donate mine to them.


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

Went to a few live on stage shows (back when you could) and of course there were idiots the didn't turn their phones off.

Everyone in the small theater knew who the offenders were, including the manager, so it was no surprise that they were asked to leave, and never return, during intermission. The applause was deafening....

The little theater has signs posted all over the place: 

*"NO CELL PHONES". If you didn't leave it at home, or in your car, TURN IT OFF!*


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## squared80 (Feb 18, 2021)

Much of today's tech requires firmware and updates from time to time. A Wi-Fi connection can do those automatically. Otherwise, you may have to hardwire it to your network or use a thumb drive.


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## SW Dweller (Jan 6, 2021)

That's all they are now: revenue acquisition devices.
And we are revenue targets.

The gadget is only affordable because we are inviting big business into our home and that has value to them and to us.

I violently disagree with value to us. These services have no value to me at all. I have said for decades social media is a virus waiting for a place to happen. 
I pay for an ISP and have over the air television. I will admit if I was out in the sticks that might change. I am not so OTA works well for me. I have places where I can down load movies and put them on a USB stick and see them on the TV. 

My old Visio TV used to update twice a month. Then I shut off the wifi on my computer and it is just fine now.


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

squared80 said:


> Much of today's tech requires firmware and updates from time to time. A Wi-Fi connection can do those automatically. Otherwise, you may have to hardwire it to your network or use a thumb drive.


I can connect it to the WIFI. Thanks


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