TV as Router?

[Zarin Loosli]

A lot of modern flatscreens have ethernet and wifi built in. The thought occurred to me: what if someone made a TV that doubled as a router?

 

We know that routers perform better when out in the open. This has caused several companies to try to make more attractive routers, which is great, but they can still be shoved in a corner. A TV almost by definition is the centerpiece of whatever room it is in, leading to better performance.

 

It would also allow for antenna sizes that would be ridiculous on a standalone router. By integrating the antenna into the frame or bezel, the router's strength would also see a massive boost.

 

Is there a technical hurdle I'm failing to notice? Or have I accidently stumbled across a million dollar idea?

[knightslugger]

except the shielding on many TVs would preclude useful signal propagation. Google had this problem when the ChromeCast first came on the scene. They suggested using HDMI extenders so that the device would extend beyond the TV bezel when Wifi signals were poor due to the shielding.

 

Also i'm sure you meant "double as a Wireless AP".

[hardtofindinthefuture]

7 minutes ago, Zarin Loosli said:

A lot of modern flatscreens have ethernet and wifi built in. The thought occurred to me: what if someone made a TV that doubled as a router?

 

We know that routers perform better when out in the open. This has caused several companies to try to make more attractive routers, which is great, but they can still be shoved in a corner. A TV almost by definition is the centerpiece of whatever room it is in, leading to better performance.

 

It would also allow for antenna sizes that would be ridiculous on a standalone router. By integrating the antenna into the frame or bezel, the router's strength would also see a massive boost.

 

Is there a technical hurdle I'm failing to notice? Or have I accidently stumbled across a million dollar idea?

but most Tvs arent made to be routers

 

there made to be TVs, so you would lack some features and maybe even speeds

[Mira Yurizaki]

It sounds like a good idea, but at the same time, it'd have to be Apple-level of user friendliness, otherwise it won't really work as well. At the minimum, you'd have to be able to configure the router from the TV itself, not like today's routers where you plug into it and use a web browser to configure it.

 

The other issuing I'm feeling iffy about is integrating yet another major component in a list of "essential" electronics. What if you want to upgrade the Wi-Fi or something but the TV is still rock solid? Either you'd have to upgrade the TV unit itself or live with the what you got for networking.

[Doomed83]

Maybe a TV with a built in wireless access point, but not as a router please!

[manikyath]

because their wireless capabilities suck, they are "excessively" shielded, and  a standalone device would most likely be cheaper than the cost to implement that into a modern flatscreen, and more universally applicable.

 

you're trying to make a blender thats also a bread oven. dont make a blender thats also a bread oven.

[Electronics Wizardy]

17 minutes ago, manikyath said:

you're trying to make a blender thats also a bread oven. dont make a blender thats also a bread oven.

Stop giving me ideas.

 

but for shielding, if designed well this won't be a issues as most devices has shielding for the boards, and the antennas are external to this shield. They could easily make the antenna on the bezel and it should have good coverage.

[manikyath]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Stop giving me ideas.

we used to have one, it was a great idea. just click in the right kneading hook, toss in the stuff you need for bread, close it up and press go.

 

downsides were the bread had a hilareously unhandy size, it tasted terrible (which wasnt due to my mom's cooking, the same bread made in the regular oven was super tasty), it was a bitch to get out the machine, and half of your slices had this really nifty hole of where the kneading hook was during cooking.

 

for every upside a "dual purpose" device has, it has several downsides. essntially if you have a company that can make both devices seperately really well, they're probably gonna be able to make a device thats mediocre at doing both.

[Electronics Wizardy]

2 hours ago, manikyath said:

we used to have one, it was a great idea. just click in the right kneading hook, toss in the stuff you need for bread, close it up and press go.

 

downsides were the bread had a hilareously unhandy size, it tasted terrible (which wasnt due to my mom's cooking, the same bread made in the regular oven was super tasty), it was a bitch to get out the machine, and half of your slices had this really nifty hole of where the kneading hook was during cooking.

 

for every upside a "dual purpose" device has, it has several downsides. essntially if you have a company that can make both devices seperately really well, they're probably gonna be able to make a device thats mediocre at doing both.

Ive used a bread machine a few time myself(and not a blender combo). Many of the same problems show up. You have the kneader hole in the middle and this thich crust. But that inside was great and pretty soon you only had crust left.

 

But yea mixing devices doesn't always work well, esp in this example.