Built in chromecast soniq N65UV17a firmware issue - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Paso
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 12, 2020, 04:43:24 am
content: This is probably the wrong sub forum for this, general chat might be more appropriate.I was watching (eevBLAB #77 - TV Packaging Technology is INTERESTING)and noticed Dave mentioned built in chromecast on his Kogan TV. So I am curious if Dave or anyone else has had an issue with late or non-existent firware releases. (related to the packaging which was identical to the Kogan it took 3 deliveries to receive a working model without a broken screen but that doesn't relate to this issue)Anyway getting to the point. I have a Soniq N65UV17a.revA chromecast tv. It doesn't have any android layer I am aware of. It is simply a menu system like a standard TV and then the smarts part is controlled by chromecast and google home app. I was generally happy with TV overall considering its price point. It was purchased in January 2020, so its relatively new for any planned obsolescence issues.Today I ran into the issue of not being able to stream disney+ on this TV only. I have other chromecasts which work with disney+.The Soniq N65UV17 currently runs chromecast firmware ver: 1.22.78594The current gen2 chromecast firmware ver is: 1.42.172094The current 4k chromecast firmware ver is: 1.42.183786Now my issue is Disney+ casting requires firmware version 1.36 and above to cast. So I am unable to use their site.I have spoken to google today after submitting a help request and getting a phone call back within a few minutes(Well done google).Their response was that they are not responsible for updating the firmware on an open source piece of hardware that is the built in chromecast. I am waiting for this to be confirmed in writing from them. They got back to me a couple hours later today and will hopefully be putting their response in an email. I find that quite strange considering its a chromecast slapped into a TV, but I also didn't realise chromecast hardware was open source.When I receive this and its a weekday I will be speaking to Soniq regarding a refund.Now bear in mind I picked the built in chromecast version because of planned obsolescence issues with other devices and smart TVs. I did so to avoid this exact issue so I am glad it has come up within such a short time period of my purchase. I could potentially just purchase another chromecast device to plug into this TV, although this may also cause major conflicts running two in one device.I wonder how long it will be until netflix, youtube, stan etc etc.. set their minimum firmware version to 1.36 and essentially brick my TV.Is anyone else having similar issues and what have you done to resolve the issue? Has anyone been able to contact their manufacturer and received a usb firmware update specifically related to updating an in built chromecast?It seems an odd way to do it and I don't appear to be the only person having issues across a range of manufacturers.Cheers.ps has Dave done a tear down on a chromecast and an inbuilt chromecast tv? It would be really interesting to see the hardware difference that is supposedly blocking these updates.

author: TomS_
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2020, 07:44:25 pm
content: I would imagine that it is just an "app" running within what ever OS the TV is running, rather than any kind of hardware module.That means you're pretty much stuck with what ever software updates they choose to make available. If it's a cheap TV, good luck with that!It's one of the reasons I actually prefer to have the external Chromecast dongle, because then you're not stuck with a built-in app that may never get updated, and which effectively cripples the intended use of the TV.

author: Paso
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 13, 2020, 12:30:01 am
content: The Smart part is essentially chromecast only. There are no other GUI interfaces other than the menu of the tv controls. eg. power saving, tuning, type of sound output etc. There is no android interface. no web browsers, app store etc on the tv. That is essentially why I bought it. I was sick of the GUI layer fake android OS or webOS smart TVs becoming unsable because of playstore/webOS store issues issues. Had I realised the IN built chromecast was not supported by google I would have looked harder for a plain panel. It essentially feels like false advertising when they are claiming in built google chromecast on the box. They should be claiming casting chip or some such rather than linking google to it. Its not a smart TV plus inbuilt chromecast. it is chromecast only.I agree a plain panel and a chromecast that you can throw away when it becomes obsolete would have been the ultimate choice. Big computer monitors are not cheap..

author: racemaniac
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2020, 07:03:55 am
content: Congratulations on realizing why buying smart tv's isn't smart.Their software just isn't kept up to date, the best you can hope for is that you can easily turn off all smart features, and just connect some decent android box or chromecast or.... to the tv and use something that can be updated/upgraded. All the smart functions do is maybe work decently for a year before they're hopelessly outdated, and then make your tv feel old (don't you suddenly feel like you could use a new TV?). Some companies are even looking into pushing some extra ads to your tv since they now got software running on your tv :p (and it's awesome, your chromecast might then be outdated and borderline useless pushing ads will never be an issue XD).So yeah, do yourself a favor, see if you can disable all the 'smart' stuff, buy something smart to connect to the TV, and if that dongle has an issue, buy a new one. Having it built into your TV is just a terrible choice. It may work if they want it to, but they don't care. You already bought the TV, why should they help you?

author: Haenk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2020, 08:21:55 am
content: (It is already "industry standard", to have your TV coming with pre-installed ads, streaming channels and whatnot - being subsidized, this allows for lower sales prices. It is almost impossible to buy a TV without that "smart stuff", at least not that cheap. A very annoying trend.)

author: racemaniac
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2020, 10:07:05 am
content: Quote from: Haenk on September 13, 2020, 08:21:55 amYup, that's why i spent a bit extra money to buy a 40" 4k monitor, not TV. No bullshit, just a device that properly displays what i want it to display.

author: Paso
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 13, 2020, 10:39:57 am
content: Quote from: racemaniac on September 13, 2020, 07:03:55 amThe TV is 9 months old an under warranty at this point. This is not my first trip down smart TV lane. The whole point of buying a chromecast only TV was to avoid this exact issue, and now its actually come up way sooner than I thought. Honestly I just assumed it was a google chromecast slapped into a tv and would be supported by google. I had no idea it wasn't an official or licenced component, that I would have to fight with the manufacturer to update.. Hence why I find it dodgy!To expand on this and why I was also curious about a teardown was to see if it actually isn't directly connected to the HDMI rail of the circuit board and in a sense making it no different hardware wise to plugging in an external chromecast.. I mean thats the argument google is using. They won't update it because its opensource hardware and they don't specify a standard way to implement these so that it can run the same firmware an external device is running. It actually did a firmware update via the google servers out of the box if I recall correctly, although I am possibly wrong about this in hindsight.

author: racemaniac
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2020, 10:55:43 am
content: Quote from: Paso on September 13, 2020, 10:39:57 amHow would buying a TV with chromecast embedded avoid this exact issue? Whatever is embedded can get out of date & neglected...And i hope warranty will help, but in the end you got a TV with chromecast. Maybe a vastly outdated version, but not sure if that's enough of an argument... You got what you paid for :s.

author: Paso
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 13, 2020, 11:10:45 am
content: Quote from: racemaniac on September 13, 2020, 10:55:43 amIts essentially a 4k chromecast. albeit embedded. I havent thrown out my current 4k external chromecast yet. Hardware/DRM protection should still be the same. Why should I be throwing this embedded one out??Yes you should get what you paid for. Which was a 4k chromecast.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2020, 01:51:27 pm
content: What we need are smart TVs that are supported by XDA.