Does anyone like smart TV operating systems or do you use a streaming device?

[foxfirev5]

Tried the Roku stuff at the lakehouse and have reverted back to the old Comcast system at home. Internet, landline phone, and cable for lass than $200 per month. Worth it to me.

Of course my DS jokes that the only newer movies we see are on our frequent Delta airlines flights. ��

 

[gooddog]

I have a few Roku devices sitting in a drawer. Spending the extra money for Apple TV devices was worth it to me.

There is a big difference between the Roku devices and a Roku TV. I have 3 of the add-on devices hooked up to older stuff. The new TV's all have Roku built in. The TCL Roku TVs have good sound and are a good bang for the buck, and extremely coinvent.

 

[JohnnyBGoode]

I got a nice new LG TV right as the pandemic started with google’s WebOS installed. It was a pretty good UI but I ended up using a Roku streaming stick instead. We have other Roku ‘s in the house and I like their UI and content selection. We have Comcast/Xfinity as our cable provider and the Comcast app on Roku was quite good.

 

[Dash man]

There is a big difference between the Roku devices and a Roku TV. I have 3 of the add-on devices hooked up to older stuff. The new TV's all have Roku built in. The TCL Roku TVs have good sound and are a good bang for the buck, and extremely coinvent.

It’s good you’re happy with them. There are definitely enough options out there for all of us. Isn’t technology great?

 

[PointBreeze]

Years ago I started streaming using the smart features on our Samsung TV, mostly just YouTube. But once we dropped cable/satellite for streaming (PSV then Hulu+Live) we bought Rokus for our 3 TVs, and we've never looked back. There are so many more channels available thru Roku, there's no comparison with the Samsung Smart UI, we never use it anymore.

+1

 

[jollystomper]

I still prefer "normal" TVs (I do not call them "dumb" ). I do enough networring around the house that it is easier for me to hook up a streaming device/tablet/laptop as needed if I want to stream something on one of our TVs. I am not in front of a TV long enough for it to matter. Also, the fewer appliances that track our activity, the better .

 

[2177V]

I suggest people should identify the year of the device since technology of user interface is changing and improving. When people state the Smart TV is lousy without identifying the year can be meaningless if the actual age is 5 years or older…for example. The next step in this technology is the ability to update the user interface via internet update of the software. I do not believe that is happening now….but I expect it will in the future.

 

[hotwired]

Quick reply

We have 4 Samsung Smart tvs and wouldn't dream of using their hideous interfaces for streaming. Every 18 months that interface is radically different and none work as seamlessly (and for over fifty brains) intuitively as the ROKU.

 

[semosier]

Question: We just got a ROKU device and have amazon prime. Is there any way to get live news, CNN, MSNBC, FOX and others without buying a Hulu live subscription for 70 a month?

Hubby insists on live news.

 

[hotwired]

I think you'd be able to get those by having a basic cable subscription if you don't already. For example we use Spectrum. There is a spectrum app on the Roku which allows you to access all the channels and more based on your subscription. Otherwise, you may already know this but with a digital antenna you can often get the local network channels over the air.

 

[Midpack]

I have high praise for my 2020 82 inch Samsung Q80 TV on the user interface and the remote control. I have a HD TV antenna for my local channels, Netflix for my movies, and Sling orange with season tickets to the golden state warriors for all my sports. I can easily switch channels on my antenna signal, switch to Netflix and select the movie and switch to Sling to my sporting event. The interface is intuitive and fast. I am amazed how good the system is and how much improvement they made since my older 2004 42 inch Samsung TV. For example: my old Samsung, I have to press the source button to switch the tv input. On newer Samsung, you see numerous icons on that describes what to want to watch and simply scroll to that icon and press ok. I can’t think of how they can improve this user friendly interface.

I am sure the interface is great and if it suits your needs, that’s perfect. But no OEM smart interface has ever remotely matched what Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV or ChromeCast can offer. Roku and the others can also add or remove channels any time. For example Roku offers thousands of content sources (many free but all the popular subs too), updated all the time:

Stream top free or paid programming from services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV, HBO, SHOWTIME, PBS, and The Roku Channel. Thousands more channels for sports, news, international, and kids programming plus broadcast channels like ABC and CBS. And major music services like Pandora, Spotify, and Vevo are available.

Have TCL Roku TV's in both our homes now. Wouldn't get another regular 'smart' TV again. Once you go Roku, you never go back.

 

[jollystomper]

The next step in this technology is the ability to update the user interface via internet update of the software. I do not believe that is happening now….but I expect it will in the future.

In truth I will be surprised, as this is one way they "encourage" people to buy new TVs. TVs by themselves can last a long time, by not (or minimal) upgrading of the smart UI they can roll out a new TV with a "better" UI to market to people to upgrade to.

That is one reason why I prefer "normal" TVs, I can choose which interface to use and change that interface over time without changing the TV.

 

[DayDreaming]

I was a big fan of the earliest Roku devices. The last one I had was a Roku 2 purchased in 2015.
When I got a new Samsung TV in 2018, I liked the Samsung smart-TV interface much better than Roku so I stopped using Roku.

From what I recall, Roku had a lot of channels, but a lot of them were junk - lots of cooking fitness, news and special interest channels that I think were just repackaged videos that were free on the web. The smart-TV gave me the channels I used - Netflix, Hulu, PBS, weather so I was happy with that. Last time I used my Roku box was 2015. Does Roku now provide more useful channels than your typical smart-TV?

 

[Midpack]

I was a big fan of the earliest Roku devices. The last one I had was a Roku 2 purchased in 2015.
When I got a new Samsung TV in 2018, I liked the Samsung smart-TV interface much better than Roku so I stopped using Roku.

From what I recall, Roku had a lot of channels, but a lot of them were junk - lots of cooking fitness, news and special interest channels that I think were just repackaged videos that were free on the web. The smart-TV gave me the channels I used - Netflix, Hulu, PBS, weather so I was happy with that. Last time I used my Roku box was 2015. Does Roku now provide more useful channels than your typical smart-TV?

2015 is a long time in streaming media, literally 6 generations ago! There’s no comparison, even though some are “junk” Rokus offer thousands of “channels” including every popular content source. No smart TV remotely compares to Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast or Apple TV.

 

[rayvt]

We had a Samsung smart TV for several years. The only streaming channel we watched was Amazon Prime video.

Then one day Samsung removed the Amazon Prime app, from the TV and from their app store.

 

[DayDreaming]

2015 is a long time in streaming media, literally 6 generations ago! There’s no comparison, even though some are “junk” Rokus offer thousands of “channels” including every popular content source. No smart TV remotely compares to Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast or Apple TV.

I just took a quick look at the channels listed on roku.com and I don't see anything I'd be interested in that I can't already find on my smart-TV. I'm curious what content folks find useful on Roku that can't be found on a typical smart-TV?

 

[Luvtoride]

I’m not sure if anyone mentioned this, but our Xfinity Cable service now has many more of the most common streaming services built into their App area and they work very well.

In addition to the standard Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, they have HBO Max, Paramount + Peacock (which Comcast owns) and several others (that you don’t have to subscribe to through their cable service).

We have only one Xfinity Cable box in our home here. Every other TV has the HD Roku sticks and we used the Xfinity Stream Beta app (not sure why they still call it “beta”) to access the full array of cable channels we subscribe to. This saves the $10/ month box rental fee per TV plus gives us access to other streaming services that we use. Win/ Win !

 

[cathy63]

I just took a quick look at the channels listed on roku.com and I don't see anything I'd be interested in that I can't already find on my smart-TV. I'm curious what content folks find useful on Roku that can't be found on a typical smart-TV?

Streaming apps we use:
Roku only: Hoopla

Both Roku and Samsung 2021 TV: Spectrum, Amazon Prime, Kanopy, Disney+, NBC Sports, ESPN, YouTube, Peacock, MLB, Paramount+

We are not currently subscribed to Disney+, Peacock or Paramount+, but will do a month-to-month next time there's something on one of these channels we want to see. MLB was just added to the Samsung app store after the end of the last baseball season, so we'll see if it sticks around for the 2022 season or if we have to use the Roku for it again next year.

We also have a TiVo and a lower tier Spectrum cable subscription. I do not ever channel surf or browse content just to see what's on. I hear or read about something interesting and record it or watch it on a streaming app.

 

[schellem]

My hope is that over the next couple of years, someone will figure out how to offer a great DVR that works reliably with a great streaming device, where the DVR will be future-proofed. And offered by an experienced company that will reliably continue to offer programming for a long time in future.

So sad that with all this technology we have now days that the old VCR blew it all away in terms of cost, being able to record and fast forward thru anything.

 

[fatboymike]

As of last month using T mobile home internet for $50 and it works great! T-Mobile also gets you YouTubeTV which has great channel selection. I ditched Comcast and SlingTV while saving a chunk of change……. YouTubeTV is free to try and I recommend you do.

Got rid of the Roku devices and use the Samsung TV remote only simplifying my set up too

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Question: We just got a ROKU device and have amazon prime. Is there any way to get live news, CNN, MSNBC, FOX and others without buying a Hulu live subscription for 70 a month?

Hubby insists on live news.

I have attached a link for all the channels for Pluto TV which is free which includes some news channels.
https://echannellist.com/pluto-tv-channel-lineup/

If you have a RoKU TV, they have free streaming live TV channels as well, no antenna needed.
https://www.roku.com/whats-on/live-tv

Almost every new smart TV offers the same, I know my son has it on his LG, he hit the wrong button one day and all these channels appeared from nowhere that he did not know he had.

 

[Cobra9777]

Streaming devices are dirt cheap. So you can upgrade every couple years for better speed, features, etc. We normally keep TVs much longer than that, typically 10-12 years. So we're still using the smart TVs we bought in the 2012-2015 timeframe. But the "smart" system and apps on those TVs are pathetic and completely un-watchable. So we use Fire TV devices on both TVs.

That said, DS also used Fire TV with 5-10 year old TVs. But they recently bought several new Samsung 4K TVs and they only use the native smart OS. They like the simplicity of the set-up and the integration with live TV, etc. I've used it several times at his house and it feels very similar to our Fire TVs, maybe better. It's fast, responsive, and the apps are same quality and availability. Plus, smooth integration with OTA and other TV functions. So when we finally get around to upgrading our main TV to 4K, I plan to give this a shot.

...No smart TV remotely compares to Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast or Apple TV.

At one time, I would have agreed with you. And I probably posted that same sentiment a few years ago. But, as a blanket statement, it's clearly not true anymore.

 

[fatboymike]

YouTubeTV includes live network tv too, you can watch local news along with a lot of other in demand channels

 

[WestUniversity]

Our one smart tv is a Samsung but the selection of streaming apps available for download is pretty limited.

We use ROKU devices for all of our TVs except for one TV that is actually a ROKU TV that we purchased on a deep discount. We’ve had zero problems or complaints with ROKU…

 

[Midpack]

As of last month using T mobile home internet for $50 and it works great! T-Mobile also gets you YouTubeTV which has great channel selection. I ditched Comcast and SlingTV while saving a chunk of change……. YouTubeTV is free to try and I recommend you do.

Got rid of the Roku devices and use the Samsung TV remote only simplifying my set up too

From what I read with T-Mobile Home Internet YTTV is free for 3 months, then a $10/mo discount thereafter?

Anyone can try YTTV for free, but’s it’s $64.49/mo after trials and promotions end.

https://www.t-mobile.com/support/plans-features/tv-discount