Smart TV anyone?
 

So I'll be shopping for a new TV in about a month. Samsung has a 50" 4K Smart TV for about $800. What is "smart" about smart TV's and are they worth it? I know you can watch Netflix and other streaming services on them, but what else?

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There isn't much smart about them besides the streaming apps. At least I haven't used the SmartHub much on my Samsung beside those. Don't know about LG and their webOS.

I believe the term "smart" as used in "Smart TV" refers to the TV's ability to connect to the internet with apps for content streaming and such.

For years I never used those functions in my older 45 inch smart tv.. But recently I got a 60 inch smart TV and found myself using it more and more.

smart tvs are great, i stream movies from my pc over wifi, use the apps and browser all the time, good for skype. Its hooked up to my phone so i can use my phone as keypad for youtube etc. Games are crap and pointless but everything else is great

Greek definition of television and much smarter.

nothing sopecial in smart tv that i know of , get any tv and hook up the androiud tv box it will make your tv smart.,

Just remember your buying a screen 3d, channels, streaming, media player, android operating system can all be done with a set top box. Since all this is useless these days without a hard drive that your screen won't have anyway you may as well just buy the best android set top box media player and the sharpest screen you can get for the buck.

Same experience here.

But that makes it worth it tbh, it's easy to use and you don't need all kinds of other stuff hooked up.

I have Universal Media Server installed on my PC and the TV streams all the stuff I share over the network. It's pretty neat.

I have a couple smart tv's. Used those features once and never touched them again. Everything is slow and cumbersome. Trying to use a browser with your remote control is about as intuitive as it sounds.

I can see how some people might use the netflix app, but that is about it.

I connect a pc to each of my tv's and would never consider anything else.

Samsung smart tv the curve one is cool. :)

http://www.samsung.com/us/system/con...600x600_10.jpg

Here 55"

if you want real smart tv then just plug your laptop in to it.

I use mine to watch netflix

I've got a 55" Samsung Smart TV and in almost a year haven't used any features except channel/volume.

We usually just use it to watch youtube videos on the big screen - netflix too.

exactly the same here

Smart Tvs are just a waste of money, better getting a normal tv and an android tv box for the living room, $150 for the device and another $30 for a keyboard/trackpad combo, great for streaming moving and watching youtube.

Aren't they all Smart TVs? I just bought three 32in LEDs for my kids rooms and they've all got the ability to stream via Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and more. They were dirt cheap too, all under $200.

That said, the interfaces are always slow in comparison to the Roku or Fire TV Sticks that we have.

We have one and it works well for us because of the position of the tv in relation to a wall. No cable needed for the internet.

I bought a 4k curved Samsung and its the worst picture I have ever seen. On dark scenes there is a lot of clouding which makes it almost unwatchable. There was also a ton of motion blur but after digging around I figured out how to eliminate that in the settings. Samsung support is horrible to deal with, no help from them. Not cool that I have to spend hours fucking with the TV to make it look better. It should be like this out of the box.

As far as the Smart TV goes, I think this is the only good thing about the TV.

Some apps include,
Pandora
Youtube
Amazon Prime Video
Netflix
Hulu
Social Media Sites.

I also like the Wii type remote control that came with the TV where everything is point and click. The voice recognition on the TV is excellent as well.

All in all Im pretty disappointed. Priority #1 should be a great picture. Maybe I just got a junk screen on mine, who knows.

I have an LG Smart TV. It's ok.

the prob with the smart tele is twofold-
1. the interface is proprietary. so you may like the LG picture qualtiy but their smart tv interface suk. or you may like the samsung interface but their screen suck

2. the OS does not update, what you buy is what you're stuck with, for instance some smart TVs can't stream Amazon Prime and they never will since they are not updated.

I have a 40" LED Smart TV and it's awesome, I can pair it with my phone and watch pics stored in the phone in the screen without having to set up anything.

Looking forward to Playsation Now on Samsung Smart TVs.

Thanks for all the feedback.

It seems that all TV's in the 50" range are "smart". I watch Netflix, Vevo and Youtube via an Apple TV adapter. I'm pretty sure that browsing sucks for sure. I can connect my Apple computers wirelessly to the Apple TV box to make the TV into a computer screen and extended desktop, but I'm assuming I can't do it with any built-in "Smart" gadgets of the Tv.

I've seen the curved TV's and don't really like them much. It seems that you have to sit in the middle / sweet spot to see the picture clearly, so it might not be good for a large room. Plus the cost is much higher anyway.

I like the idea of using Skype on the TV. Very Back to the Future Part 2 'ish.

Yea the apps are horribly slow on smart TVs, a Roku, xbox or ps3 even is much better to stream from.

I got a new "smart" Samsung TV with 3d, 3d is cool...for 5 minutes, wouldn't want to watch an entire movie with those glasses, I don't use ANY of the smart functions, my directtv box does most of the same functions, the bluray dvd player does all the same functions, my AV receiver is also connected to the net and plays music from my phone or computer

not sure about smart, but i'll second your choice in samsung, best tv brand i've ever bought. won't purchase anything otherwise

So it looks like a majority of smart tv consumers on gfy does not use the "smart" functions at all. Looks like a big fail from these so called big corporations consumer relation departments.

But yea when someone says buy a smart tv, it both sound and "taste" like im being smart buying a smart tv. Im not saying you are dumb there's not really any other choices than buying a smart tv. Maybe if someone came out with a "dumb" tv you could go the other route. But you're doing alright using your tv without the integrated smart functions, afterall some geniuses here connect their smart phone, laptop/pc to it for extra features. Im still waiting for a smart tv that can take care of my household and maybe work.....im still waiting though....

My Samsung Smart TV is stupid as dirt so I run a zbox on it....
Moved it to the bedroom as I don't use it as much...

All my other Smart TV's (4) are LG smart TV's with the Magic mouse...
They have full voice command etc.. and the built in web browser is find ...
Just remember that streaming videos in the browser is hit and miss (lag etc) So if you want to stream use the app not the browser...

Can also control them with my phone and do a few other things that are not exactly needed.

You should be able to connect direct to the LG TV and show your display.. I do this now from my laptop .. Not sure if it supports Mac .. But supports my non apple/mac phone and laptops fine...
Also has no issues with finding media on the network (wish the media UI was better but it works fine.)

Stop wasting electricity. Go for a 13" instead.

Many people do the same. They buy it because it is trendy and "current", but turns out they do not need it :)

We're building a house right now and purchased all Samsung kitchen appliances + Samsung Washer & Dryer too, based on consumer reports. I'll hopefully share your enthusiasm once we move in and take delivery.

Do you mean an Xbox One? If so, do you use the Xbox to control the TV as in, what you watch, via the Gesture controls? If so, does it work well?


What? Solar powered smart TV is what I should get? Hmmmm... :)


I would tend to agree except that it seems like every TV is now "smart". Do they even make "dumb" tv's anymore? Which TV is the "smartest"?

so does smart mean wifi and app capable?

this one is pretty sleek. with a high res too. you'll never revret having this beast on your living room :thumbsup

I have 3 Smart TVs. They are useful with Netflix and Hulu if you don't want a set top box. However, on 2 of the 3, I've installed Chromecast and Roku anyway. The interfaces are much nicer, than those on the Smart TV.

I have a big TV, but its not smart - But then neither am I...

Only if you don't want to sound like a hypocrite.