Is Smart TV, yay or nay?

[blackeagle007]

In the market for one. And getting the atenna. I know you can use internet stuff as well. What channels and how many you get?

Updates

3 mo

Thanks everyone. I now have a pioneer Roku. Pretty cool for sure. Got 60 channels on the antenna got from Amazon. Not sure if other antennas have more? But I like it so far

[MrOracle]

I don't know where on the planet you are located, but if in the US, you might want to wait another year, especially if using an antenna is important to you. That's because the FCC recently did a review and are allowing broadcasters to schedule a shutdown of ATSC 1.0 (the current, unencrypted digital TV standard that can handle up to 1080i) and move to ATSC 3.0 (which can do 4K, but also allows encryption to be used, restricting what you can do with the content). Right now, there are nearly zero TVs that support ATSC 3.0 with encryption on sale in the US, because the encryption has been a big issue, and as we all expected, the government sided with big business instead of end users by putting usage restrictions on what has always been free TV. This will prevent things like network tuners from working.

Anyway, it's likely that a TV you buy today won't support ATSC 3.0 encrypted channels, and most broadcasters have encrypted their ATSC 3.0 broadcasts already - it's just that most are currently simulcasting in ATSC 1.0 as well - but they want to turn that off, ASAP.

Anyway, for the most part, you can't buy anything but a smart TV today anyway - something like 95% of TV models available in the US are smart TVs. All that means is that the computer needed to stream from apps is built in to the TV.

I've long thought that that was a big mistake, because the computer in the TV will be obsolete long before the TV itself will be, but if the computer breaks - and they do - the whole TV is useless because smart TVs run operating systems that require the computer to be operational. It would be much smarter to use a "computer on a stick" such as an Amazon Fire Stick or a Roku stick plugged into an HDMI port - which can be easily and cheaply upgraded if they wear out or become too slow - which they do.

Anyway, you don't really have a choice anymore - at least not in the US - because nearly every TV you can buy new is a smart TV today.

[RavVid]

A good warning. I'd be sad if I watched free to air. It seems to be a determined effort to shut down TV networks. Love it when major companies kick own goals and from what you have documented it looks like that.

[MrOracle]

Yeah, most people have no idea about any of this and just assume it will -"just work" because it always did in the past. But things are a'changin'.

[RavVid]

Subscriptions is what companies want now. TV just isn't worth paying for but I am willing to pay for some youtube channels - it has to have good analysis and good opinion to be worth my money. TV is devoid of those qualities.

[RavVid]

Definitely a maybe - explain further down. Internet is all I use now. Rarely use free to air.

I more have a home entertainment smart phone now. Samsung S20FE because it is the last that will take SD memory card extensions. 1 TB so I can put a lot of content on it if I want.

I don't cast to TV but that is a good reason to have a smart TV. Instead I've bought RayNeo AR glasses. About 200$ USD. They give an effective 210" screen so if it is you alone they are a far better deal. That is why I said maybe.

If it is not you alone than the smart tv is the way to go. or both :)

The AR glasses are a major part of my life now. Go to sleep watching YouTube. I'm going buy a spare pair cause it would be a disaster if they broke.

[RavVid]

Thanks for a mho

[FreyaRed]

Watching YT without addblocker on Smart TV is a pain in the behind so I don't recommend. It works with national VOD (video on demand services) in your country and pay apps like Netflix or Apple tv. However entering login data is often a lot of work or you have to operate with QR codes and smartphone to deal with that.
I don't think you will find a TV around 1k USD without operating system, inbuilt browser and preinstalled apps.
Generally 120hz OLED Panels are great PC Monitors for Desktop PC with powerful graphic cards (at least Nv RTX 5070 with 12GB VRAM or AMD RX 9070 with 16GB ) which can handle in games 4k resolutions. However you have always look how much response time those TVs have in game mode. There are huge differences from 15ms to 350ms by some models. This is something you should take under account if you want use TV for PC output.

[midnightmoon05]

I have no idea. I don’t own a TV. Haven’t for decades. I refused to be brain washed.
also, lots free on YouTube.

[Telekinetic-Potato]

Get a Visio with roku built in. A lot of them have antennas built in and you can upgrade to the real deal later if you want but I never had a problem watching the news on mine.

Spent $600 on it back in 2017 and it works like new. I can play videos from my phone on it, yours will be able to type for you if you press a button on the remote.

There's really no reason to buy anything other than a Visio unless you're planning to spend over $1500 then it's Samsung and and after maybe 3k I'd say the best picture on the market is the top of the line Sony display. It's like a window.

[Static_In_The_Attic]

As for my television it’s smart & I downloaded the Pluto Tv app & now I have 5225 streaming channels. It requires an internet connection so keep that in mind. In addition I installed an HDTV antenna in my attic & I have 32 over the air channels that come in really good. I don’t have cable & cut that cord a long time ago because it wasn’t worth it.

[Chazmatazz269]

Is there even an option anymore? I thought all new TVs are “smart” now. That’s the main reason that Texas lawsuit went the way it did, in my opinion.
I’ve had LG and Sony. Both were good. My cousin tends to choose lesser known brands to save money and then ALWAYS ends up having troubles with quality and longevity. Buying cheap and getting the warranty doesn’t actually save you anything in the long run. Especially if you value your time and energy.

[Massageman]

We can get about a hundred, just on the plain old antenna on the roof. We have a smart tv and can access a few of the services. (Grand kids are more likely to use these when they are visiting). We like many of the offerings on ME-TV. Running through all those sidebands on all the stations is a pain, though.

[exitseven]

A Smart TV will let you access many different streaming channels over the internet providing that you pay for them. You can access many channels over the air with an antenna and it does not cost anything.

[blackeagle007]

That’s my goal totally being service like dish is pricey

[exitseven]

I have a summer house that does not have cable. I use a digital antenna and get about 20-30 channels. Mostly network TV and some extra channels like MeTV and Grit. I can access FOX and Paramount + and the local MLB games on my laptop so I can stream to the TV/

[Anonymous]

I've bad a 50 inch walker tv for 10 years. No problems with it.

I've a Samsung one i bought recently for the bedroom, it has to warm up and it constantly switches to the Internet screen by itself.

[Nikki1989]

They are good for streaming videos on YouTube, Thunderflix, Quello, etc. Outside of that, they are pretty much useless.

[queenofcardio]

There's different channel packages you can get. You pay more for certain channels.

I like my smart TV.

[beenherebefore]

I love my smart TV. I use my TV mostly to stream Youtube and Netflix. Once in a while I'll watch the news channel.

[jshm2]

Meh - if you have an Amazon stick or Internet box already then the "smart" means nothing. Go for a better screen instead.

[CrystalPeak]

What is your reason or goal?

[blackeagle007]

Trying to get channels without having to get dish or xfinity. Expensive

[CrystalPeak]

When my computer monitor crapped out, I went in search of another one.
I discovered that you could buy a TV cheaper than a monitor, so I just bought a TV. I don't know if you if can still buy a non-smart TV, but if you can just hook it to a computer and watch that way. If you don’t have a computer, that tiny one in the picture is pretty cheap. It’s a Google Chromebox. Then sit on the couch and change channels with a remote mouse.

[Jeff51]

I like it