What are the better smart TVs ?
 

I have an older Sony with android.. Let me tell you that's not one of the better ones ;-)

having cut the cord - happily, I am now using Netflix, Prime, Fubo TV, Redbull (WRC), F1TV, Peacock (indy/IMSA/yellowstone), youtube and a couple others... All good... Except:

I find the TV atrocious in terms of switching from one app to another (not to mention the stupid sounds it makes doing so), in terms of app loading time for certain apps (peacock is the worst), the TV loses internet all the time (Wifi Gig mesh, very reliable) and often needs a reboot to reconnect, or it slows down so much interface wise it also needs a reboot to respond better, I mean I am rebooting the TV easily 3x a week or more. It's crap. It's fully up to date too, I tried that.. Oh also some apps lose ID/passwords periodically, very annoying ot re-enter - this is likely the apps themselves though.

It's on Android. I hear now Sony uses Google TV... Is that better ? I have an old gen 2 Apple TV unit and also an amazon firestick, may tru using these as point of entry instead (and load those apps on that) to see if it's any better. The native TV OS is crap...Smart? no. Any recommendation on solid TV OS you are truly happy with, or on best devices to use (roku, fire, apple, etc) that switch apps well and have quick interfaces, and rarely drop network ?

For the most part the issues you are experiencing now are prevalent among many if not most "Smart" TV's

Part of the issue is the apps themselves.

If you are developing cross platform apps you build iOS and Android first. If we were talking an Android phone for example we develop for Samsung and google Pixel devices because they represent 75% market share combined.

The remaining 25% of devices will be anywhere from 100% supported (because they are vanilla enough android) to doesn't run at all.

There's really not much point in developing or updating / maintaining apps for those "maybe they work, kinda, sorta" fringe devices.

I don't buy Smart TV's, I buy dumb TV's and hang an Apple TV off them. Your net investment in a dumb TV and dedicated streaming device is on par with the cost of a Smart TV and you get better performance, flexibility and reliability.

If you've got an old PC hanging around you could always try rolling a PLEX Media Server.

Free to play with and the system requirements are pretty low.

https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-media-server

I absolutely believe all of that is true.

I know in the past two of the biggest, best names in TVs were Samsung and Sony.

These days, there are two inexpensive brands that seem to really have (per all of the reviews and everything that I've heard here) great value for the money, and those are Hisense and TCL.

Smart TVs are computers. From time to time you'll have to reboot computers, and you're likely to get buggy behavior out of them at times if not most of the time.

I have been using an Apple TV for years.

Do they still make dumb TVs and if so, do they still have the features of the smart TVs like higher refresh rates, darker blacks, etc...? I imagine that buying a dumb TV means that it's small and using 15 year old tech that results in a moderate picture.

On top of everything else, the smart TVs spy on you as bad or worse than smart phones.

My smart android TV (Hisense) is 8 years old. It was pretty good until it updated and installed a new browser. Then the browser sucked. When I started using a Firestick and the apps on it, it became like a new TV. I would hope the newer ones are better.

My Smart TV is ancient. I don't use any of the built in apps.
Buy something that plugs into it. Firestick, Roku, Apple TV, etc.
When it gets old, throw it away and get another one. Lots cheaper than buying a new TV every couple of years.

Our TV is either a 2007 or 2008 Samsung. It was considered "smart" when we got it, but it's about like a box of rocks compared to current smart TVs. We'd like something a little bigger. About 2 months ago, the then 2 yo grandson drove his cars on the screen which is now has a few permanent lines for a few inches on the bottom. We'll eventually get something new, but we just don't watch that much TV.

I like the idea of getting something dumb, maybe like a big monitor like might be used in a lobby or something as long as it's got a good picture.

What is a dumb TV? My SONY Bravia?

My 65" Vizio is about 6 years old now. The apps and updates are done during the night and I've never noticed them.
I've had zero problems and the picture is great.

I've never had an issue with Samsungs. I believe we currently have a Panasonic, as well. Four relatively new smart TVs in the house (one in my mancave is probably the "oldest" at ~7 years), and I've had no issues with any of them. I cut the cord from cable many moons ago, and run Hulu, Netflix, and a few other apps on all the TVs.

They are becoming hard to find but it used to be up till a couple of years ago you could buy the same specs with only difference being ability to run apps.

Last few I've bought have been Smart but I don't use the built in functions, they get an Apple TV and life is grand.

Just purchased a 65" Samsung Q6. I landed on that because I use Samsung phones. Otherwise I think I would have gone with the Hisense U7G. That smart features on the Samsung have been perfect so far.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

It's a TV that doesn't have "apps".

That's what our 14-15 yo TV is, a Samsung. Damn thing just won't die! hahaha

Whatever you buy, get one with Android, so you can install Smart YouTube and get rid of damn ads when watching videos.

All others, yuck.

rjp

This is the current issue with a lot of smart TVs.

This is from RTINGS.com about one of the Samsungs.
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/samsung/qn90a-qled
I think one of the two brands, Hisens or TCL at least allows you to opt out of the ads and other crap. My plan, if I get a smart TV is to put a firewall on my network that I use to block the TV from sending info about what I'm watching home. Most folks don't think much about it, so most smart TVs are doing crazy stuff.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-warns-about-snoopy-smart-tvs-spying-on-you/

IMO you can buy the cadillac ROKU for less than $100 and you never have to mess with any of the TV operating systems at all. I have a 2 year old Samsung with Tizen OS and it works but it's clunky.

I have a ROKU on every TV and they all show up the same, look the same, sync the same, yadda yadda. Remote turns on the TV and controls volume and mute. It's worth the $49, 79, 99 whatever you like.

I also got the Hue HDMI Sync box and the gradient lightstrip for bias lighting and it's unbelievable. I thought it would be annoying and it's awesome.

Yes I think that's the ticket...

I first tried a 2-3y old AppleTV - it was typical apple hell. Could not log in because of the appleId password ( which was correct). Found out later it's because of 2 factor authentication, which apple will *not* remove anymore! you need to enter your password+6 digits # you get on your phone, all within 30sec. How the F would a non technical person even find that out? A good reminder of why I ditched my Mac after 35y of apple - I hate appleID. When that was done, I found out that model would still not add apps, too old ;-( I think it landed near the edge of my yard and scared a deer.

Then I tried a 4K firestick I had laying around... Much faster interface, sadly you are limited to 6 apps on the main menu, I wanted more.. Also it seriously messed up the screen colors. Still as a proof of concept, it's miles faster, less annoying, and more responsive than my Sony TV's native OS. Not even close.

Based on what I'm reading it seems Roku is indeed the cadillac - more apps - more screen customizations, since they aren't selling Prime or Apple.... I'll get one next time there's a sale.

Also, ROKU has made deals with everyone, more than your smart TV. You might find that brand "A" TV doesn't get HBO, or brand "B" TV doesn't get AppleTV, but ROKU? They get everyone, they're the freaking belle of the ball. It's their thing, they invented it, they perfected it, and they do it WAY better than any TV manufacturer.

Apple are doing you a favor.

I don't mean to be harsh here but anyone not using MFA or 2FA anywhere it's offered deserves what they expose themselves to.

People are lazy creatures of habit.

Maybe you don't but 99.7632% of people will use the same user /pass combo for their Netflix account as they use for their financial institutions.

All it takes is one account to be compromised and it's game over.

MFA / 2FA are the minimum standard for account security these days.