What's your favorite smart TV?

[RocketFoot]

Hey guys! As the title implies, what is your favorite smart TV? What is your go to brand for big screen, home theater and/or living room daily driver? While we are at it, how do you feel about smart TV's with streaming platforms baked in like Amazon Fire TV or TCL's Google TV vs. LG's WebOS and Vizio's Home or do you prefer a plug in device like Fire TV Stick or Google TV?

I just picked up a new 75" Vizio for the living room and felt like chatting about it, LOL! I'll be running a Fire TV Stick Max but I like the Vizio Home UI and will spend lots of time exploring all it has to offer! This is the first step for my family in our quest to cut the cable! Tired of paying $340 per month for Xfinity and still watch mostly streaming! The new TV is replacing a rock solid, 14 year old 60" Vizio that still works great but shows it's age with digital artifacting and color gradienting. Still OK for the bedroom or garage maybe! So yeah, lets talk TV's just for fun!

 

[JoeESP9]

I have two "dumb" 4K UHD HDR TV's (43" and 65"). I looked around for dumb TV's because I have two Roku's with all the apps. Plus, both of my Blu-ray players (one is 4K) have all the same apps built in. Besides, buying a "dumb" TV doesn't seem to be all that popular with the general public. That saved me some money.

 

[RocketFoot]

I have two "dumb" 4K UHD HDR TV's (43" and 65"). I looked around for dumb TV's because I have two Roku's with all the apps. Plus, both of my Blu-ray players (one is 4K) have all the same apps built in. Besides, buying a "dumb" TV doesn't seem to be all that popular with the general public. That saved me some money.

I didn't even know that dumb TV's were still available other than computer monitors or something!

 

[OldJBL]

I won't buy any TV without the Roku operating system. It is the "Android" of TV OSs and has nearly every TV app available in its library. The amount of free content to be had through the Roku OS is staggering. As for brand, I have had really good experiences with TCL.

 

[tiga]

I would typically buy 'dumb' tv's to save money and use a Roku box, however the last TV I bought a few months ago was a TCL 6 Series running the Roku platform. I have to admit it's been great.

 

[OldJBL]

I would typically buy 'dumb' tv's to save money and use a Roku box, however the last TV I bought a few months ago was a TCL 6 Series running the Roku platform. I have to admit it's been great.

The TV in our family room is a 2-3 year old 65" TCL 6 series QLED. It has been flawless. Having Roku for the OS is much better than Samsung's OSs I have experienced. It is nice to not have to deal with two remotes and additional equipment.

 

[davidhun]

We bought a Samsung "The Frame". It is nice is that it it subtle in its looks. Haven't purchased any of the "frames" for it. I like the matte screen, and it makes for decent mixed lighting conditions viewing. It doesn't have the best specs, but we wanted something unobtrusive rather than a feature monster.

I got a Roku soundbar to go along with it, and it works well. I agree with @OldJBL that the Roku OS and channel/application selection is better than Samsung's Tizen OS. It doesn't play super well with The Frame -- the off button on the Roku remote won't turn the TV off, so I'm still dealing with two remotes.

My gripe and concern with Roku, is that we had a Roku Express+ that developed an audio ticking after an update, and would not go away with factory resets or newer update releases. Not a lot of help from Roku nor via community forums.

 

[Sgt Shultz]

 

[Yamaki]

You can use the app feature on the Vizio and add almost any available streaming app to it. I've set up more than a few smart TVs and added apps to Vizio, Samsung, LG (hate 'em) and Roku units. The TCL Roku equipped TVs are pretty easy to set up if you are familiar with the Roku GUI found on the separate little streamers.

The Vizio & Samsung app features are way more intuitive than the LG's.

Just this past week I set up a new Vizio for a neighbor, who also had a Firestick he used on a previous TV, and found I didn't need it. I could add all the apps he normally used right from within the TV menu vs. plugging the Firestick into the TV.

Personally I am partial to Samsungs probably because my current 75" unit is the third in a series of Samsung units stretching back about 15 years.

 

[twiiii]

First don't believe in smart TV's, I don't want the entire world wanting know what I am watching or snooping in . Just give me a monitor and I will be happy. That said the next set will be a Sony. 85" or maybe larger. I will miss my Elite when and if she passes away.

 

[Tom Brennan]

I have a Sony A95L but I use the smart features of my Apple TV box rather than those of the TV. The Apple portal is simpler, cleaner in appearance, connects to my iTunes music, movies and photos and has no ads. The Sony remote works it.

 

[jayvis]

78" Sony OLED in the basement home theater.
48" Sony in the living room.
50" Pioneer Plasma in the master bedroom.

 

[Ross6860]

Sony

 

[RVT1K]

I currently have an LG but it is at least 10 years old by now. I would like to replace it with a OLED unit. I don't use the smart functionality, just a Firestick.

What I will NOT replace it with is a Samsung since the current LG came after two, separate Samsungs died very prematurely.

 

[RocketFoot]

I’ve always been a fan of LG for big screens and home theater setups. Their OLED displays are top-notch, and WebOS is super easy to use. As for built-in streaming platforms, I prefer Fire TV or Google TV over proprietary systems like WebOS or Vizio's Home UI. They offer more flexibility and usually get updates faster. But I totally get why you’d stick with Vizio’s UI if you enjoy it! Cutting the cable is a great move — no more hefty Xfinity bills, and streaming gives you so much control over your content

I am enjoying streaming but I do miss the quality of Xfinity! The TV is doing great but sometimes the streaming going into it is absolute garbage quality! Especially when watching Youtube and Hulu.

 

[Yamaki]

My last two "smart" TVs were a Sony and my current Samsung. Both had the ability to download and connect to most popular apps.

However, using this function downgraded the audio signal to two-channel PCM via optical output to my pre-amp/processor. After doing some research, I procured and installed a Roku device and revised my connections. I used the HDMI out from the Roku and connected it to an HDMI in port on the pre-amp/processor. The video signal was sent to the TV from the pre-amp/processor via HDMI out.

This made for an impressive improvement in audio quality and the 4K performance in the TV.

While using the monitor internal app processing for video and sound is convenient, using a good streaming device to pass the audio & video signal to your AVR/processor would be my recommendation going forward.

 

[Dudeman7]

Samsung for me. Our last two TV purchases have been Samsung smart tvs, one 55" and one 65". Compared to the other manufacturers that we demoed, the Samsungs rendered people more realistically than anything else. The UI is intuitive enough to figure out, it works reliably and the Samsung shakes hands well with my Yamaha HT receiver.

 

[1MoreFord]

I have a 27" LG in the bedroom and a 65" TCL in the living room.
I have not owned either one very long but have been impressed with both so far.
There is a Roku on each one.
The TCL is a Google TV. It was cheaper to buy the Google version and a Roku than the Roku version TV.