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Smart TV?

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Ace, Aug 17, 2015.

  1. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Thinking about getting a new TV with a Smart feature.

    Idea is to scale back and maybe disconnet from cable.

    Anyone have any experience? Seems like all Smart TVs aren't the same and some have more options than other.

    Or maybe it's all just a big gimmick that means they are Wifi enabled.

    Any feedback from the sj.com gang?
     
  2. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    You should be good. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Apple TV, Chromecast, etc should be available to you on the big screen.
     
  3. bigpern23

    bigpern23 Well-Known Member

    I love, love, love my smart TV. I almost never insert discs into the blu-ray player anymore and I stream everything from new movies to kid shows. I can mirror my computer screen to my TV, which is handy for some of my photography work (nice to see some of my photos on the 55-inch screen). If it weren't for live sports, I probably wouldn't pay for cable, I'd just stream everything.

    Also, think of it this way - If you're spending $1,000-$2,000 on a new TV (I don't know your price point), you want one that will last at least five years and, even better, closer to 10. If you get a "dumb" TV, it will be obsolete in five years and you'll be buying another one.

    And make sure you negotiate. If you get it at Best Buy, for instance, they'll price match online competitors such as Abe's of Maine (an awful store from which you should never buy anything - but they're useful for driving down the prices of big box retailers). They will often also include additional equipment, such as a wall mount, subwoofer or media player to get you to purchase from them. I recently bought a 55-inch Sony 4K TV at Best Buy and they matched Abe's price, and gave me a wireless subwoofer ($300 value) and 4K media player ($700). On top of that, they didn't have the model they were advertising in stock, and gave me the next model up for the same price. I saved like $1,700 total.
     
    Ace likes this.
  4. NoOneLikesUs

    NoOneLikesUs Active Member

    I refurbished an old desktop that was sitting around doing nothing and turned it into a media streaming device. There's a powerful program called Kodi that you can customize into making it stream pretty much whatever you want (see tutorials on youtube). I can control the thing from my cell phone. I'm sure there are options to add Netflix and all that other stuff too.
     
    Ace likes this.
  5. JohnHammond

    JohnHammond Well-Known Member

    Buying a "smart" TV is a pretty dumb idea. TV manufacturers don't update the firmware as regularly as set-tops such as Roku or Apple TV. Save yourself money and buy a "dumb" TV and get a Roku or Apple TV.

    Tip: Smart TVs will be just as obsolete in five years as a "dumb" TV.

    To bigpern: You got ripped off paying $700 for a 4K Media Player when there is little original content shot in 4K. Been better to wait a year or two.
     
    JackReacher likes this.
  6. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    True. And you can get Netflix through a PlayStation or XBox or something, too. Between that, the Amazon stick, and Roku/Apple TV, you should be set.
     
  7. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    We watch Netflix through my DVD player instead of the Smart TV because the interface from the DVD is better.
     
  8. bigpern23

    bigpern23 Well-Known Member

    I got the media player and subwoofer free.
     
  9. da man

    da man Well-Known Member

    Isn't "smart TV" a contradiction in terms?
     
    SFIND likes this.
  10. Jake_Taylor

    Jake_Taylor Well-Known Member

    Not if you get HBO so you can watch Sesame Street.
     
    expendable and Ace like this.
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