Smart TVs - anyone have one?

misty8723

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So I was thinking about ditching cable and getting a Smart TV.  But...it looks like it might cost me more in the long run, what with the price of the TV itself and then an antenna to get the local channels (and no guarantee they will come in), and more on top of that if I want to get Hulu or Netflix or any of the other paid APPs.

If anyone has any advice I should consider, I'd love to hear it.  I was down looking at TVs today, and they do have special financing available, but I'm not sure I can justify spending $500-$1,000 or more right now.

I wish there was some other alternative.  I don't watch TV all that much, but there are some shows I do like to keep up with, so I don't feel like I really want to pull the plug entirely.
 

alismama

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Yes we have a samsung 40 inch smart tv and ours runs off of our wifi.  It is hooked up to our cable, and we watch tv mostly on it.
 

lokhismom

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I have a  smart tv.  I only have basic cable and I use the smart tv to access the internet so I can watch Netflix, etc.     I love it to watch Netflix and such but  I probably wouldn't buy one again because there are better options now to access the web on your tv. 

 I think one is better off with a tv and using something like Roku or Chromecast(really cheap) to watch Netflix, Hulu, etc.     Or sometimes I even just hook up my laptop to the tv (easily done with a HDMI cable) and I can stream anything on my laptop to my tv.  There are plenty of sites where you can watch every show out there.  

This might be helpful

http://www.howtogeek.com/176392/smart-tvs-are-stupid-why-you-dont-really-want-a-smart-tv/
 

micknsnicks2mom

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i ditched satellite tv (satellite dish) in late february/early march of this year. i had already bought a nice lcd tv and had been watching tv on it for several months.

what i did before making my decision was to sit down and figure out on paper what my current costs were vs what it would cost to stream (tv shows/movies, via the internet).

my new tv is not a smart tv, so i would need to hook it up to the internet. i prefer not to be plugging and unplugging cables on a regular basis, so i wanted the tv hooked up/set up so i wouldn't have to do any plugging/unplugging. so i looked into the cost of buying a roku. i decided i'd go with the roku 3, the most up-to-date model. i had a modem, but i would need a router to be able to stream. so i researched models/brands of routers, and found a brand/model that works well and is compatible with my internet service provider's system. i would need one cat5e cable -- to connect the roku to the router, and one hdmi cable to connect the tv to the roku.

with streaming, it's important to have the speed (internet) so you don't have pauses where it's "buffering" -- like you might see with youtube videos sometimes, spinning ball type thing while you wait for the video to start again/continue playing. so i talked with my internet service provider about the cost of upgrading to faster internet. you don't have to upgrade to a faster internet, but you would then need to be comfortable with pauses/waiting while "buffering" happens (not sure how often that would be).

something else that's very important to consider is if your internet service provider charges based on your usage. when you stream tv/movies/etc, you can use a lot. i'm fortunate that my isp does not charge based on usage.

then there's the cost of what you want for programming -- hulu, amazon prime, netflix, etc. i decided i'd go with both hulu and amazon prime. hulu has many of the (few) tv shows that i enjoy, while amazon prime offers great shows/documentaries/etc as well as other benefits (that i make sure to use too). i don't like to watch shows that are pay-per-view type of deals, i prefer to make do with the shows there is no extra charge for -- amazon has many tv shows/movies/etc, but not all of them are free to watch with amazon prime membership.

on the other side of my calculations was the satellite dish service cost, which was getting ready to have a(-nother) monthly increase take effect.

when i had completed by calculations, i knew i would save money by streaming. so i bought the equipment i needed, upgraded my internet speed, and downgraded my satellite tv to the lowest costing package (for the remainder of the contract). i had figured in how long it would take for me to start actually saving -- how long it would take for my savings each month to add up and off-set the cost of buying the equipment. by my calculations, i'll have the equipment cost off-set and start saving by the time my satellite dish contract ends in mid-november. after that, i'll be saving $54.16/month or $650/year, from what i had been paying for satellite dish. put another way, i'll pay $35./month for streaming -- includes hulu and amazon prime membership costs, and the cost of upgrading my internet speed (i'm not counting in the basic cost of internet, because i consider that a separate expense).

my experience with streaming has been that it's so much better than cable or satellite dish. i'm able to watch so much more variety -- all kinds of tv shows from around the world, documentaries, movies, music (pandora, which i just love and listen to every day). and i can watch any show/movie at any time of the day or night. tv series that are still making new episodes usually take a day or two before they're available via hulu, but i have no problem waiting for them.

also, i have no problem streaming on the tv while being on the internet on my computer. i can (and do) do both pretty much every day, and there's no "sluggishness" for my computer web browser while i'm on the internet.
 
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misty8723

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Thank you all for your advice.

The main reason I was looking at Smart TVs instead of the non-Smart ones is that I understand you can't "surf the web" on anything other than Smart.  I know you can get Roku, and that was my original intent, but DH wants to surf not just stream.

For us, the upfront cost would be a lot more and take a lot longer to break even, because we don't currently have a digital TV.  We would probably also end up buying two TVs, one for down here and one for the bedroom.

I'm currently trying to figure out what kind of antenna would work around here  - we have quite a few tall trees around. I'm also thinking about seeing how much it would cost to downgrade the cable to just basic and then stream everything else.  It is definitely a steep learning curve because I'm not technology savvy.
 

micknsnicks2mom

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@Misty8723 -- may i ask why you're looking at antennas? if you're going to be streaming, you'll use your internet connection and won't need an antenna. if you're going to use both basic cable and stream, then you'll have two cables attached to your tv -- one for the cable tv and the other cable will connect your tv to the internet.

i don't use wifi, i'd rather have a solid connection by cable(s).
 

bigperm20

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I have a  smart tv.  I only have basic cable and I use the smart tv to access the internet so I can watch Netflix, etc.     I love it to watch Netflix and such but  I probably wouldn't buy one again because there are better options now to access the web on your tv. 



 I think one is better off with a tv and using something like Roku or Chromecast(really cheap) to watch Netflix, Hulu, etc.     Or sometimes I even just hook up my laptop to the tv (easily done with a HDMI cable) and I can stream anything on my laptop to my tv.  There are plenty of sites where you can watch every show out there.  



This might be helpful





http://www.howtogeek.com/176392/smart-tvs-are-stupid-why-you-dont-really-want-a-smart-tv/
I agree. Do you currently own an HDTV that accepts an HDMI connection? If so most(if not all) new laptops have an HDMI out. This will easily Plug into your hd TV and will be much better for surfing the web and streaming video than a smart TV. I personally use my laptop and imho it's the way to go. You can easily add a Bluetooth key board and mouse and sit on your couch while surfing the web.

Roku is another option but for my money I'd buy the Google Chromecast- $30 and it will display anything open in your chrome browser on you hdtv wirelessly. It will stream straight from your tablet, phone, or computer.

My friend has a Roku and although user friendly, I don't care for the user interface.


As far as adding an HD Antenna, I say go for it. HD signals are much stronger than traditional analog signals. My antenna was only $20 and the picture is WAAAY better than Comcast's awful picture. Trees won't make a big difference, but distance is a factor. If you are more than 50 miles from the broadcast, an outdoor or attic mounted antenna will be better.

I unplugged from cable TV over 3 years ago and anything I can't get OTA I get from da internets...
 

bigperm20

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With regards to the first paragraph i posted above. You an also just have a very long HDMI cable as well and have the laptop with you on the couch.
 
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misty8723

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@Misty8723 -- may i ask why you're looking at antennas? if you're going to be streaming, you'll use your internet connection and won't need an antenna. if you're going to use both basic cable and stream, then you'll have two cables attached to your tv -- one for the cable tv and the other cable will connect your tv to the internet.

i don't use wifi, i'd rather have a solid connection by cable(s).
Antenna to get the local channels.  No cable tv involved.  Streaming for other stuff that I can't get with the antenna.
 
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misty8723

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I agree. Do you currently own an HDTV that accepts an HDMI connection? If so most(if not all) new laptops have an HDMI out. This will easily Plug into your hd TV and will be much better for surfing the web and streaming video than a smart TV. I personally use my laptop and imho it's the way to go. You can easily add a Bluetooth key board and mouse and sit on your couch while surfing the web.

Roku is another option but for my money I'd buy the Google Chromecast- $30 and it will display anything open in your chrome browser on you hdtv wirelessly. It will stream straight from your tablet, phone, or computer.

My friend has a Roku and although user friendly, I don't care for the user interface.


As far as adding an HD Antenna, I say go for it. HD signals are much stronger than traditional analog signals. My antenna was only $20 and the picture is WAAAY better than Comcast's awful picture. Trees won't make a big difference, but distance is a factor. If you are more than 50 miles from the broadcast, an outdoor or attic mounted antenna will be better.

I unplugged from cable TV over 3 years ago and anything I can't get OTA I get from da internets...
I don't want DH plugging MY laptop (he doesn't have one) into a TV so he can surf!  It is moot anyway at this point, since he went out Sunday and bought a smart TV. Which he can't get to work with the cable I haven't cancelled yet. I don't want to cancel it until I get everything figured out, and he is in charge of that.

One thing so far I don't see that I can get is local sports channel.  We also can't get ABC with the antenna (Too far away), so I would have to watch my favorite show 8 days late on Hulu Plus.  I may look at attic antennas.

/
 

bigperm20

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I agree. Do you currently own an HDTV that accepts an HDMI connection? If so most(if not all) new laptops have an HDMI out. This will easily Plug into your hd TV and will be much better for surfing the web and streaming video than a smart TV. I personally use my laptop and imho it's the way to go. You can easily add a Bluetooth key board and mouse and sit on your couch while surfing the web.

Roku is another option but for my money I'd buy the Google Chromecast- $30 and it will display anything open in your chrome browser on you hdtv wirelessly. It will stream straight from your tablet, phone, or computer.

My friend has a Roku and although user friendly, I don't care for the user interface.


As far as adding an HD Antenna, I say go for it. HD signals are much stronger than traditional analog signals. My antenna was only $20 and the picture is WAAAY better than Comcast's awful picture. Trees won't make a big difference, but distance is a factor. If you are more than 50 miles from the broadcast, an outdoor or attic mounted antenna will be better.

I unplugged from cable TV over 3 years ago and anything I can't get OTA I get from da internets...
I don't want DH plugging MY laptop (he doesn't have one) into a TV so he can surf!  It is moot anyway at this point, since he went out Sunday and bought a smart TV. Which he can't get to work with the cable I haven't cancelled yet. I don't want to cancel it until I get everything figured out, and he is in charge of that.



One thing so far I don't see that I can get is local sports channel.  We also can't get ABC with the antenna (Too far away), so I would have to watch my favorite show 8 days late on Hulu Plus.  I may look at attic antennas.



/
I've heard that outdoor and attic HD Antennas work much better. You cam pick up stations that are not even in your viewing area.

Good luck
 

ginny

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I know this one is from two years ago, but I have recently been looking at options other than satellite and cable.  I am in my late 50's and remember the grand old time when TV was free, what little you could get from it.  But I hear that nowadays antennas are much better than they used to be so I'm looking at that option again.  I don't really watch much TV nor movies.  About the only thing I do like is HGTV which I'm sure will have to go, but honestly I don't watch it even when it's on.  It's usually just for noise.  Plus I can look at any episodes I want to on their website.  

The question I have is will any antenna work with my TV?  I have a big flatscreen Samsung which is about 5 or 6 years old, so I'm pretty sure it's digital.  Anyone like any certain brands over another?  

While I'm at it, are there better internet options such as secure personal hot spots.  Some are pay as you go, like Karma, but Karma isn't secure, anyone can borrow your bandwidth if they are close enough to you.  

If I ditch satellite, and my landline phone with internet, that'll save me about $120 a month, which is huge for me!  
 

foxxycat

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I have to look for the post about this on my town facebook page- one guy who lives behind me and works with me said don't buy an antenna at Walmart. Let me dig up the link for the one he bought. Evidently they tried several models and they didn't work well. I will be back on here tomorrow so hopefully I can remember to post this info here. I believe it was bought from Amazon.

If you have DSL you can access amazon etc. I have dsl and last I checked there is no limit to data but the picture quality is soso. often times you need to pay for internet via cable tv to get the best quality but at $65+ a month just for internet never mind the extra fee for basic cable I just couldn't justify high speed internet yet...I will get back to you.
 

ginny

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I started searching online this morning so this is new to me.  They've made many advances since the 70s.  I want to avoid getting products that aren't as good as they say.  So far, I have found an antenna that can be mounted outside OR inside in the attic.  I'd have to hire a handy man for that I suppose.  But this one is good for 200 miles reception which I think is pretty good.  So I could pick up Charlotte and Asheville real easy.  Even Greenville SC.  I'm sure the reception won't be really great but from what I've read, It'll be MUCH better than it was in the 70's.  Some even say it's better than reception from cable because it won't be so many channels being compressed into one bandwidth.  Not exactly sure what that means but it sounds good.  

I have DSL and land phone through our local provider and DirecTV.  I like bundles, but I think over time extra charges creep up.  Recently the discounts that I'd forgotten about came off and all of a sudden my bills went up.  There has to be a better way.  We get so used to our high tech environment that we tend to forget (or at least I do!) that we got along fine before without it.  My microwave just went bad on me and quit working.  Today I went to put something in there out of habit and stopped and thought "Oh no! HOW will I heat this up?"  Lol.  Luckily the old ways STILL WORK!  I'll have to open my bags of popcorn and pop them in a pan just like the good old days.  

I like high speed internet but I've never got the highest speed available because of the cost.  What I've got works fine.  I think hotspot may be all I need for home use, although I'm wondering what the cost will be for that as well as what the reception would be.  I'm concerned about having my current wireless connection on 24/7 in my house and what I am exposing myself and my kitties to on a continual basis.

Thank you, @foxxycat  for any information you can give me.   
 
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