Smart TV vs Regular?

3TrueFans

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I have smart tv but never use the features because I have two other devices hooked to it that do the same things. I didn't really go looking for one, but the one I liked just came with that stuff.
This is exactly my scenario, and on top of that my TVs Netflix app sucks compared to the PS4 one and isn't as fast to navigate.
 

ChrisMWilliams

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I recently bought a Samsung Smart TV, basically because it was on sale at the time and was like 100 bucks more than the, shall we say, "dumb" TV. Honestly, I rarely use the smart functions. On occasion, I will pull up Cyclones.TV on the browser and watch something, which actually provides a great picture.

If I had the choice to do it again, I would go without it. Having said that, I'm not a very techie guy and the TV has worked fine for us. I'm not unhappy with the purchase by any means.
 

HoopsTournament

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We have 6 TV's that we can watch Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and other stuff on. 3 have Roku's. 1 has Apple TV. 1 has a WiiU and 1 has an XBox 360. None of them are Smart TV's. It is as easy to switch from the TV to the device as it would be on a Smart TV.

The other thing is that you can upgrade easily without buying a new TV if you want. Hard to do if you buy a Smart TV. I think buying a Smart TV is one of the worst buying decisions there is.
 

RunDMCyclone

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Not directly. My point is the only options out there without smart functionality are budget priced TV's that are lacking in other areas as well. At least that's what I found when I looked into buying my new TV last fall.

This. I just bought a new TV a couple months ago and initially set out completely against getting a Smart TV because I have a 360 and thought it would be worthless. After browsing for a while and doing research, I ended up getting a Smart TV because it had the other features I wanted. The non Smart TVs either had less picture quality (usually buried in lower refresh rate instead of pixels so that the n00bs who only look at pixels and price would buy it) or had like 1-2 HDMI ports or were just cheap brands that have worse picture compared to something like a Samsung. The non Smart TVs are essentially just budget TVs anymore for someone looking to get a big LED tv and not pay much or care about the picture quality. Even the Samsungs or other nicer brands that had non Smart TVs in 1080p with 120-240 Hz refresh rates didn't look as good because they are often a couple year old models since they haven't updated those basic models and their new models are only Smart TVs.

I use the apps more than I thought I would. The Netflix works 10x better than the Netflix on my 360 works. I'm not sure why, but it never buffers at the beginning of a show and it's instantly in 1080p whereas on my 360 half the time it would sit in 720p for some reason (despite having internet easily capable of handling 1080p streaming).
 

ISUCyclones2015

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I got a Smart TV. It's ok to be honest. But they didn't have the regular in the size that I wanted.

Also, I price matched it at Best Buy using British Pounds off of Amazon. The dumb cashier and manager didn't realize it was the pound symbol instead of dollar sign. Saved like $700. They just kept asking themselves how Amazon could sell it so cheap
 

RunDMCyclone

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Get a nice, high quality, large TV for much cheaper than a smart TV, and get a google TV box or something that updates its software. You won't need to buy another TV for a very long time.

Those options are not out there for the truly "nice, high quality" TVs without Smart features unless you want models from 2012 (which will not look as good as a new model).
 

Rhoadhoused

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Those options are not out there for the truly "nice, high quality" TVs without Smart features unless you want models from 2012 (which will not look as good as a new model).

There's really not much they can do that matters other than make it thin and 1080p. At least that matters to me. Nothing has been really improved upon in in the past 5 years.


There is essentially no benefit to buying your internet tv software and TV together in one package.

One becomes outdated, you have to replace both.

Google has some of the best software and remotes out there, that's what I would buy.
 
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NorthCyd

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There's really not much they can do that matters other than make it thin and 1080p. At least that matters to me. Nothing has been really improved upon in in the past 5 years.


There is essentially no benefit to buying your internet tv software and TV together in one package.

One becomes outdated, you have to replace both.

Google has some of the best software and remotes out there, that's what I would buy.

LED LCD technology has barely been on the market for 5 years, and the technology has definitely improved. Then of course there is OLED which is the next big thing. There have definitely been improvements in the last 5 years. Granted, some advancements, like 4K and super fast refresh rates are probably pointless. There have been improvements, like better local dimming, that can make noticeable differences in image quality.
 

Rhoadhoused

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LED LCD technology has barely been on the market for 5 years, and the technology has definitely improved. Then of course there is OLED which is the next big thing. There have definitely been improvements in the last 5 years. Granted, some advancements, like 4K and super fast refresh rates are probably pointless. There have been improvements, like better local dimming, that can make noticeable differences in image quality.

Like I said, LED has been around longer than 5 years and all of those improvements combined don't equal the difference between 720p and 1080p. If you're looking for a price point get the nicest plain, thin, 1080p TV and get the Internet TV stuff separate.

The new stuff is BS until people actually film in 4k. TV manufacturers are desperate to find a new gimmick to get people to buy new TVs. Samsung is trying to sell curved TVs. It's all a load of crap.
 
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NorthCyd

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Like I said, LED has been around longer than 5 years and all of those improvements combined don't equal the difference between 720p and 1080p. If you're looking for a price point get the nicest plain, thin, 1080p TV and get the Internet TV stuff separate.

The new stuff is BS until people actually film in 4k. TV manufacturers are desperate to find a new gimmick to get people to buy new TVs. Samsung is trying to sell curved TVs. It's all a load of crap.

Color, contrast, and black levels matter just as much to image quality as resolution IMO. Especially when talking about the difference between 720p and 1080p. The difference is imperceptible at most screen sizes and viewing distances. For a 50" screen you need to be closer than 10 feet to notice the difference. However, improvements in back lighting and local dimming have improved pictures on LED LCD screens quite a bit. As for the curved screens, those are OLED. It's pretty amazing technology, making flexible screens possible. Pretty amazing pictures too, as each pixel is individually illuminated making the contrast ratio infinite.
 

mkadl

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I put a smart DVD player that can be controlled from our smartphones (bluetooth) in an out of the way place. I the ran hdmi to our most popular TV, and also to the second most used tv. I just go to the dvd player and switch the wire to the one I want to use. Our 5 year old dumb tvs now stream anything, including internet access, (the browser sucks) It all cost us less than 150 dollars. We never play dvds anymore. And no clutter or visible wires, both tvs are wall mounted.
 

NebrClone

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I like my LG Smart TV. It has internet explorer built in so I can access Cyclones.tv on the big screen. I tried chromecast and it did not work well.
 

no2cyclones

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In my bedroom where I just have TV and no other devices, I like the Smart TV and would pay for it if it was upgradable. I have Amazon Fire TV in my main room and I like that much better than the smart TV. Much smoother and easier.

I'm actually very interested in hearing more about the Amazon Fire TV. I remember when they first were advertising it, and it looked cool, but what more can you tell me about it? Does its function compare to something else?
 

peteypie

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I like my LG Smart TV. It has internet explorer built in so I can access Cyclones.tv on the big screen. I tried chromecast and it did not work well.

Well, crap, I was kind of planning on buying it to use with Cyclones.tv. Can you explain what didn't work?
 

Bobber

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Lot of good stuff already posted. Prices continue to drop. You can buy a decent large screen TV for a lot less money than it would have been just a few years ago. I have older LCD TV's that still work great with great picture and the smart part are a Blue Ray DVD player and an Apple TV. Both work great.

If you stick with half way decent brands(Samsung, Vizio) you shouldn't have any problems(however one of mine is a Toshiba and the other an LG and they both work great...)
 
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