Just wondering, how many people actually want Android/SmartTVs or just a 'dumb' display that works well? And if you do have/want what apps do you use? I see all this push for SmartTVs but is it push (like dead-end 3D) or is there real demand? Posting here as I want less techy consideration more general consumerism.
The three things I care about with a smart tv are netflix / amazon prime video / youtube access, saves me the "effort" of turning on the ps4. All the other functions of the smart tv? I wouldn't notice if they disappeared tomorrow.
I use it for Iplayer and Netflix, but to be fair, it's only one more button to turn the htpc on... When I bought this tv I did consider a dumb tv, but it doesn't really save any money and the smart tv's have all the nice screens/connections etc.
Smart for the reasons given above, plus a reasonable media centre so I can stream my own vids from my network. The cost saving is no longer a big concern, TVs are cheap as chips.
I've got 2 use cases for TV, reverse of what manufacturers would thought: 1. Big living room TV has Logitech Harmony hub remote, no need for smart TV features. It's seamless to switch between the boxes. With the remote, it's actually better to not use smart TV features as we all know the dedicated boxes does it way better and easier to upgrade. Big TV stand also has more space to store and more ports to connect smart boxes. 2. Small wall hang kitchen TV NEEDS best smart TV feature, in fact, best everything in one package. I don't want to keep multiple remotes in the kitchen, I just want to turn it on and access all the contents. Unfortunately my Sony 24inch have multiple shortfalls when it comes to smart features (slow, bad interface, no SRT sub support on DLNA). It's like cars, I would like a cheap small electric city car with queue assist (aka. adaptive cruise control with stop and go) whereas the larger motorway car doesn't need it. But manufacturers see fit to offer this in big cars such as A8 or E class while small city cars (like Up) don't even get reliable automatic transmission (automated manual is to be avoided at all costs!). I also have the same gripe with small Android phones getting less powerful processors. TLDR: Big TV only needs to be great at displaying. Small TV, with no space for additional boxes or speakers, need to be good at everything.
I really want all the the streaming apps I use in one interface, preferably fed by a low power always "on" external box so I can upgrade it down the road. The waters are a little muddy at the moment since there really aren't many 4K streamers out there (don't think the roku 4K is even available in Blighty)
'Dumb' display, 'smart' box connected to an AV receiver along with all the other gubbins. Means when whatever service/protocol inevitably goes belly-up, you only need to replace a box rather than a whole TV. Also offloads performance upgrades to a little box rather than a whole TV.
Dumb display. My TV does have apps but they are all German lol. That's why they literally sell it as a monitor. I have a Fire HD box, Youview (with ethernet) NowTV (black one with Ethernet) and a Madcatz Mojo taking care of anything else (like movies Kodi etc).
I use iPlayer, All4, Sky Go (tablet only, not supported on my particular smart devices) and Amazon Prime. I use this on a Roku 2, through a smart BluRay player, on tablets. Right now I am unsure whether I'd buy a smart TV over a dumb TV just because I already have my devices and I am comfortable with them. If the cost differential was neglible I'd probably do it just for less remotes around. The BluRay player is always pushing additional apps at me: I want nothing to do with them. Luckily that's as a "recommended" screen on the left; my pinned favourites are on the right and I ignore them and just use my usual. Roku allows you to pin your favourites, so again I've removed everything else. There's a wealth of apps/channels but they're all noise to me.
Well. It pretty much boils down to : - non-Android OS. Unfortunately, the app ecosystem is dead on pretty much all of these, and even those who have at least half-working ecosystem (Samsung) have only very limited app list. - Android OS - it is pretty nice thing (you can install even Kodi on these, how cool is that), but unfortunately these TV's are hampered by slow CPU (hey, here is your 55" 1080p Sony TV for 800 euros, let's put in a CPU you have in a 150€ phone) and tons of bugs (both Sony and Philips are meh). - then there are the dumb Smart TV's from Vizio in US. They killed the tuners (TV has none), they killed the remote (you get a tablet instead), they killed the smart TV apps (you get Google cast instead). http://www.vizio.com/smartcast I personally bought a Samsung Tizen based TV, installed Plex on it and in the end never using it, because i have a full PC connected to it, which has Kodi on it. Other family members usually use only one app on the smart TV's - Youtube.
Dumb TV all the way. In my experience, the smart TV apps suck balls compared to FireHD or Chromecast.
If I were to ever buy a TV, I would not buy a smart one. Instead I would use a small media computer connected to a standard television. Trying to block it phoning home at the router level seems more hassle than it is worth.
I've got a Panasonic Firefox OS 4k smart and use the smart features all the time. Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, Firefox browser and an ever-growing list of apps - not to mention the DLNA features for streaming from my NAS media drive.
Streaming services built in are essential for me. My 5 year old daughter simply had to turn the TV on, press the Netflix button on the remote, and scroll through the kids shows. Using external systems is a no-go for kids, old folks or technophobes. Hell, my old man had only just mastered the art of the VCR before they were made obsolete! Netflix/Youtube 4k streams are OK too, bit of a noisy image if you get up close but I like to sit on the sofa when I'm viewing...
Well, my Raspberry Pi B boots up as I switch on the TV, which kinda nixes the idea of a smart TV, TBH. That said - I hate the Pi, really. It's slow and was a shlepp to set up. So I am a bit on the fence about SmartTVs in general
Smart TV stuff isn't essential IMO. If the TV comes with it then I probably wouldn't use it. More important is the quality of the panel. A dedicated box kicks the arse of any Smart TV I've ever seen or used, and you have the reassurance of being able to update or patch it yourself rather than have the TV manufacturer ignore security flaws.
I have a couple of Samsung smart TVs. I use Netflix, iPlayer, All4, YouTube and Plex on both of them on a regular basis. I could do the same with a connected dedicated box but I like having everything in one place. Don't think I'd buy a non-smart TV in the future.
Our living room TV is an older smart TV, used entirely as a dumb display. Everything is fed via AV receiver and separate boxes - namely PS4 and AppleTV. The 4K in the den is a new AndroidTV thing, which is useful as there isn't the space for extra boxes. It gets used for Netflix/iPlayer/YouTube/4od. As others have said though the biggest issue is speed as the UK can be quite laggy due to anaemic CPU.
Dumb all the way, Smart TVs can be hacked and that's too much hassle, and any way I can get a device that will give me the Freeview catchups, then Netflix, Blinkbox/Talktalk and Sainsbury rental apps without a 24/7 Wi-Fi connection active like there is in the 360, that'll be my next purchase - for the moment Youview or Freeview Play will do the domestic TV stuff and stay wired, will have to research the other apps I want if Youview doesn't provide them in the same box.
The only advantage I see from smart over "dumb" is that can help to minimises the number of remotes/controllers lying around and you don't have to power up another box just to access another content source...
