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Spouse's facility in CA has mysterious "HomeFree TV" (I may have that name wrong but Free is in the name) with amazing looking channels; what he'd like to do is watch his usual shows: Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune on ABC *channel 10 in our broadcast area* plus Rachel Maddow. I'm also confused about what a smart TV can do, but would anybody know how to operate a Vizio smart TV in these circumstances? Thanks for any help; Spouse needs stimulation.

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Find a teenager. Seriously--when I was regularly tending my grands, I could NOT manage their TV. They had about 5 remotes and I couldn't even turn the darn thing on, much less 'surf' channels. The 4 yo could find anything!

My SIL actually made a "nonny remote" (that's what they call me, 'Nonny') and he taped off the unneccesary buttons and all I had to do wa push one or two and we could navigate through the setup.

You can also google 'Vizio smart TV' and try to follow along. Again, it's not HARD, it's just our old brains are wired to turn on the Tv and try to find something on the 3 channels we had to choose from.

Or maybe find a resident who has mastered this and ask them.

DH and I joke that we have 700 stations to choose from and I watch none and he watched FoxNews and the History channel.

You should be able to program in the channels you want and 'ignore' the many you don't. So I am told. I can't turn on the TV in our bedroom!
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pronker Nov 2021
Ha, yes, I too taped off the Hulu, AppleTV, etc. buttons to avoid complications on the remote. ;) The big picture is for Spouse and Youngest to watch the Detroit Lions game on Thanksgiving, so all efforts are going into making this happen; that's not to put down the little picture, which is Jeopardy at 4 and 7, Wheel at 7.30 and Maddow at 6. Yesterday right before I left, Spouse tried to use the remote and accidentally hit 'input,' which I figured out he did after returning home. I'll attempt to fix that issue today. Thx for replying.
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Pronker, who is your cable tv provider?   You might call that company, or call Vizio directly.  When I bought my smart tv, I learned that it really was a dumb tv, especially since it had so many options that to  me were completely useless.   And there was NO manual at all, which I've realized may have been a trend (and still is) with all these different tech devices.  

I did get help from the cable tv provider though.    If you already have cable, you might check with their help department to see if you can get HomeFree in one of their packages.   But I think you might also be able to get the shows he wants to see as part of a cable basic package.

Or:    Apparently HomeFree is an app:

https://homefree-tv.en.uptodown.com/android/download

I wouldn't know how it could be used on a smart tv though.
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pronker Nov 2021
Thanks for this helpful input. The smart TV seemed going well yesterday when the HDML1 cable got installed to make the TV look for Facility's cable input rather than the internet. I taped off the Hulu, AppleTV, etc. buttons so Spouse and myself couldn't accidentally hit them. We'll see today if I can get the thing to work as it did yesterday until right before I left, when Spouse accidentally hit 'input.' *crosses fingers*
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Rachel Maddow is on cable, so if they don't have a cable connection, you're out of luck. As for ABC, you could get an antenna installed on the TV. They're small, flat things that hang on the wall or just get propped next to the TV, not rabbit ears like the old days, but then he'd have to deal with changing inputs (telling the TV where the signal is coming from), and that starts getting complicated.

Honestly, get someone in there from the rehab to help figure out the TV they do have. It's probably some kind of subscription programming. Ask someone like the activity coordinator rather than a nurse, because nurses don't have time to learn how the TVs work.

I know he'd like to watch what he's accustomed to, but what could be more stimulating than watching something new?
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pronker Nov 2021
Thanks for replying and in particular, your mention of 'input.' Yesterday, Maintenance had everything working well; originally, the tech put in the TV with the assumption that either I or Spouse would know how to handle the remote and now he knows better, ha. He hooked up the TV to regular cable and all seemed well until I left, when Spouse tried to use the remote and hit 'input.' It changed everything, so today I will return to hit 'input' again and, I guess, go to HTML1 as the input? That's what I'm trying to make it work properly once more, because getting Maintenance is dauntingly time-consuming. We watched 4 p.m.'s Jeopardy episode together as we used to and that seemed a little slice of heaven.
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Pronker, you remind us all that it is the simple things, like watching Jeopardy together, that bring us great joy.

I feel for you. When I went to intern my dad I had to call the office in the hotel to have someone come help me turn it on. I don't have a TV and things have changed ALOT since I owned one. Heck mine had a dial to change the channels it's been so long.

If you see a youngster in the facility they can help you figure it out and they usually LOVE being able to show off.
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pronker Nov 2021
Yes, I reminisced a few days ago with Spouse about how we had snowy reception during rainy weather and how someone needed to go out into the rain and turn the antenna this way and that, with us inside shouting out a window "It's better, keep going" or "No, it's worse." Today I figured it was the HDM1 button and another younger person came in and between the two of us we fixed it enough so we watched Jeopardy once more. Spouse seems to mirror my drinking a Coca Cola and he actually asked for some soup to eat. That was heartening. The downside was that he asked me to take him to our home when I left. I said "when you're stronger" and then he begged me not to leave him there alone. There is a 100+ year old man in the next bed who talks to me through the curtain when he hears Spouse and I talking; he asks me to help him with this and that.

Thanks for replying.
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You can get digital antennas. They pretty much work like the old rabbit ears from back in the day. They're less than $50 and get lots of local channels.
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pronker Nov 2021
Thanks for replying.
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I would check into the antenna. If that was an option here I would do it in a second. I am too far from a metro area (it is heaven out here in the boonies) for an antenna to work. I subscribe to YouTube tv as my tv service. If I could get by with various apps to watch tv, I wouldn't need youtubetv. Peacock is a free streaming service as is paramount either could be installed on the tv and I am sure you would be able to get tomorrow's games.

Ask a kindly CNA to help you get everything setup. On the tv menu, maybe the three bars called a hamburger, navigate to it with the arrows on the remote and see what options are there. That is where you should find a help menu with An online manual. An option to find help is a YouTube video that has been uploaded by the tv manufacturer on using the tv.

Best and simplest idea, get an antenna, there will be an option on your "input" to select antenna. Then you are done with pressing wrong buttons if you get a simple remote. Search for those on Amazon.

Remember when instant on was such a big deal on a new tv. Now, as far as I know, instant on is a dream. You have to wait until the internet comes up to begin making your selection.
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pronker Nov 2021
Thanks for replying - it's complicated and I appreciate all input.
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