Is there any point in buying a Smart TV?

[FN-GM]

Hello,

 

I am thinking about getting a new TV. The one we have seems to occasionally develop lines on the screen.

 

We have one of the new Chromecast and it’s really good. We rarely use it to “cast” just use the apps to stream. As technology progresses and apps stop working we can replace it for $99. A smart TV isn’t so easy.

 

Is there any benefit to getting a smart TV. I am thinking about get a standard TV and connecting the Chromecast.

 

Cheers.

[jmak]

IME the smart functions on TVs are always worse than cheap streaming sticks/boxes. They're mediocre when new (either they use a 20 year old processor with 256kB RAM or have software written by incompetents), never really get updates and are completely out of date within 6 months.

 

I only buy TVs based on picture (which is subjective to viewer preference - objectively better tech or quality doesn't necessarily mean it'll look better to you). Sound can also be easily and relatively cheaply fixed.

 

Edit: the only thing the built in "smart functions" do that the streaming boxes don't seem to is allow BBC iPlayer play from start. I use it just often enough to remember how bad the built in smart functions are!

Edited December 5, 2021 by jmak

[Norphy]

In theory, the advantage is that the TV supports apps and streaming services out of the box and you can watch your content without third party device attached to it.

 

The drawbacks in practice, however, are quite severe. Unless you’re very lucky, the devices are either never updated or updates are few and infrequent. Considering how frequently Netflix et al update their apps on other platforms, that’s a massive drawback. That said, getting a TV with an inbuilt FireTV or Chromecast mitigates that issue, at least until the hardware becomes outdated.

 

They have a habit of sending adverts to you and reporting back to base your viewing habits and other metrics. I’m sure a ChromeCast, a FireTV or a Roku would as well, but I find Google, Amazon and Roku to be marginally more trustworthy that some random manufacturer or even Samsung.

 

In my opinion, if you can find a dumb screen, you’re better getting one and plugging in your streaming device into it. However, the challenge is actually finding one. It’s pretty rare to find one that isn’t these days, unless you get a large computer monitor but that comes with its own drawbacks.

[Protec]

I think it depends on the TV. We have had an LG smart TV for a few years now and it still gets updates. Luckily, most smaller TVs are not "smart" as one of my computer monitors is a TV. I had to turn off the timer as the TV kept turning off due to the static image being kept on for so long.

 

A disadvantage of the LG smart TVs is that even the input selection is "smart" and sometimes it won't even let you change the input until the OS has booted up fully!

[mavhc]

Can you buy a non smart tv? They're cheaper as they show you ads/gather data about you. But if you never plug it into the LAN, you've got a cheaper tv for no effort

[jmak]

Good point. My TV is "smart" and I think pretty much all of them are. I just wouldn't let whatever smart features are claimed influence my choice in any way.

[LeMarchand]

If you get one that runs Android you should (theoretically) be OK for apps. Otherwise, as others have said, things rarely seem to get updated. I'm still old school and have an HTPC connected to the TV, so don't really need the apps either - but finding a "dumb" TV isn't easy (if not impossible) and larger monitors cost the earth. Edited December 5, 2021 by LeMarchand

[jthompson]

I forgot that my TV is smart. I never connected Ito the network. I dread to think how many of those features/apps will still work now that it's probably nearing 10 years old.

I'm on my second Chromecast, however, which basically works far better than any on-tv streaming options. Pause from any household mobile device, browse the services without interrupting playback, etc.

 

Just buy a TV for the AV aspect and never connect it to your network.

[XiJ]

I stick with Samsung / LG as I know the UI and the responsiveness of it is good due to the spec.

 

I wouldn’t buy a non smart TV. Plex, Amazon, AppleTV and Disney+ all work flawlessly. They are my go tos. If I cast it’s usually via Airplay as we’re an iOS family. Only on the much older TV’s do we use Chromecast and/or Firestick

[MrEprise]

I don't know if it's still the case now, but when I last looked at TVs (which was about 4 years ago) I was looking at a specific Sony model where the smart version had something like: 4 HDMI, 2 USB 3.0 & 1 USB 2.0, DVB-T & DVB-S coax connectors (basically very well spec'd) whereas the non-smart versions only had 2 HDMI ports, 1 USB 2.0 and a DVB-T coax connector which seemed odd to me, but was probably their way of driving the sales to the smart set.

[Davit2005]

Jus got a 4k monitor, Apple TV 4K box and a FireStick 4K. Still a load of DVDs and Bluerays.

 

I was debating years ago about a new TV and could not decide, I had a Panasonic Viera smart TV before but the firmware/software updates never worked.