Samsung smart TV owners: What is "timeline?"

[Ichinisan]

I helped someone over the phone with a Samsung UN46F5500AFXZA smart TV. I believe it was purchased in 2013 or 2014.

I found no mention of "timeline" or "time line" in the PDF manual. Searching Google doesn't turn up anything. What the heck is it?

They got their cable box connected to HDMI1 and configured the TV so the IR blaster can control the cable box (and they can use the Samsung remote to change channels). However, every time they turn-on the TV, they say it's showing something called "time line," where the video from the cable box appears as a tiny thumbnail. They have to press Enter/OK on the Samsung remote control to watch TV in full-screen. It was doing that even before they had the IR blaster configured correctly.

 

[Phanuel]

Remote is configured to control cable box?

100% sure this is some cable box issue.

 

[zinfamous]

No Idea. I have a 2015 model, X1 (Comcast) box connected to HDMI1, with Harmony remote controlling everything.

I've never seen "time line" or this thumbnail thing pop up.

 

[waffleironhead]

It is part of the smarthub running on the TV.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/samsung-2014-smart-tv-system-review

 

[Ichinisan]

Remote is configured to control cable box?

Yes. Some smart TVs have an IR blaster to relay remote control commands to the cable box. I've experienced it with Samsung and LG. Probably others do it too.

Two of my friends bought fancy LG TVs with motion-sensing pointer remotes you have to use to navigate the Google TV interface. They have an IR blaster so you can control the cable box with the TV's fancy motion remote.

100% sure this is some cable box issue.

No. This is the TV. They have to press enter/OK on the Samsung TV remote to bring the thumbnail back to full-screen. The TV was doing this even before they went into the TV's setup menu and configured HDMI1 for having a cable STB connected.

 

[Ichinisan]

It is part of the smarthub running on the TV.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/samsung-2014-smart-tv-system-review

Thanks!

 

[zinfamous]

so that I can learn to speak fancy talk later, does "blaster" mean something specific in this case?

When you say "IR blaster," I first interpreted that to mean "remote," but in nerd talk because, you know.

But now from your latest post(s), I think that "blaster" refers to some sort of specific tech/firmware involving how the data is interpreted from the signal?

whatisit?

 

[waffleironhead]

The ir blaster is an IR relay. Think of a long cable with an IR on the end of it. You plug it into the tv and place it in front of the unit you are relaying the signal to. You aim the remote at the TV and it relays the signal.

http://support-us.samsung.com/cyber...p?modelname=UN55F8000BF&from_osc=&idx=424399&

 

[Ichinisan]

so that I can learn to speak fancy talk later, does "blaster" mean something specific in this case?

When you say "IR blaster," I first interpreted that to mean "remote," but in nerd talk because, you know.

But now from your latest post(s), I think that "blaster" refers to some sort of specific tech/firmware involving how the data is interpreted from the signal?

whatisit?

That term has been around since before smart TVs.

For starters, "IR" is infrared light that people can't see (past red in the color spectrum). Remote controls blink infrared LEDs to transmit commands, but you probably know that.

An infrared blaster is just an IR LED with a cord. A 3.5mm headphone jack is typical (though it has only 2 conductors, not 3 like a stereo headphone would).

The old analog TiVo boxes used an IR blaster to control a cable box.

Most Microsoft remote control receivers for Windows Media Center had 2 IR blaster outputs that could be addressed separately (it could control 2 cable boxes). So your TiVo or Windows Media Center PC could change the channel on your cable box(es) at the right time to record shows.

https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=ir+blaster

 

[zinfamous]

ahh, thanks. so it's basically the doohicky that I once plugged into my PS3 to convert the IR signal from my old Harmony remote into something that the PS3 could read? because PS3 is RF only, right?

I'd never heard that blaster term used in such a way before.

 

[Ichinisan]

ahh, thanks. so it's basically the doohicky that I once plugged into my PS3 to convert the IR signal from my old Harmony remote into something that the PS3 could read? because PS3 is RF only, right?

I'd never heard that blaster term used in such a way before.

The blaster is a transmitter, not a receiver.

The distinction might seem a bit blurry when talking about the Windows Media Center IR receiver (USB device). Most of them had 2 little jacks on the back to connect IR blasters.

The blaster is really just an IR LED with a cord.

 

[CZroe]

The term "IR Blaster" has been muddied in recent years by smartphones incorrectly hijacking and using the term to refer to their built-in IR transmitters (Samsung, LG, etc). In the past an IR blaster was a way for one device to remotely control another IR device without your direct input. TiVo doesn't have to say "Hey, dumba$$! The show you wanted to record is about to come on channel #, but you left the sat box on some other channel. Change it!" Instead, TiVo is like "I got this" and changes the channel itself. It's how SlingBox and all the others work too.

 

[CZroe]

The word "blast" is probably used similarly to an "email blast" because they we used even earlier for turning every home theater component on or off at once to consolidate remotes (no need to individually power on receiver, TV, video source, and recording device).