I hate Smart TV's and prefer the AppleTV!!!

[jwolf6589]

They don't seem to sell TV's these days that are not smart. My previous TV was a Roku but I never used the Roku just the apple TV and blueray player. My new TV is Samsung but the darn TV kept on hassling me to connect to WIFi so I finally had to in haste. I don't have cable but only antenna so flipping channels is sluggish compared to cable. The smart TV has a mind of its own and defaulted me for day or two to the medium channel and I could not turn off the demons as fast as I wanted. It finally started to behave and I wish I know how to delete that channel so I never see it again.

But anyway the point. Why would anyone use the smart TV features which are sluggish and poorly organized compared to a polished AppleTV I have to wonder? ATV is fast, has lots of apps, and is far easier to use.

 

[BotchQue]

I replaced my 13-yr-old TV with a mid-level Sony Bravia a few months ago, followed closely with the newest ATV. The Bravia system worked, but was very frustrating; the ATV has made things much smoother, although it still frustrates me to have to hit six or so buttons, over about 15 seconds, to finally get to where I want to be.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

I am lucky I am still using Panasonic Plasmas connected to AppleTVs. I bought one of them so long ago, I bought it at Sears.

 

[gigatoaster]

Since many years, I always use Panasonic OLED. The colors are not flashy like Samsung and even though the panel is from LG Display, I prefer the built quality of Panasonic. Their HomeScreen OS is very simple, too and no Google. I still use an Apple TV but one button is only needed to access it.

 

[Juicy Box]

Why would anyone use the smart TV features which are sluggish and poorly organized compared to a polished AppleTV I have to wonder? ATV is fast, has lots of apps, and is far easier to use.

I prefer to use my Apple TVs. I am a long time Apple TV fan, and have used every generation since the original first gen from 17 years ago (still have it, too).

But, I understand why people use the Smart TV features over an Apple TV.

This topic has been discussed countless times on the forum, and there are many reasons. Some include:

1. The cost. The 2022 ATV4K3 is cheaper than the previous three ATVs, but it is still expensive for some. Think about it this way, they can get a decent Smart TVs for around the price of just one ATV.

2. Convenience. Many find it easy to just press their "Netflix" button on their Smart TV remote rather than connect another device and have another remote.

3. Picture quality. Not saying the ATV doesn't look nice, but in my experience, the Smart TV apps that are built-in to the Smart TVs tend to have better picture, especially for HDR content. Of course, this is just my experience, and other may disagree. That said, I still prefer to use my ATVs over the Smart TVs' apps.

4. Features. Some apps on Smart TVs have features that the tvOS equivalent does not. Netflix and YouTube come to mind. This isn't universal though, and there might be some tvOS version of apps that have features that the Smart TV apps do not have.

5. Apple.

Apple is the biggest problem for the Apple TV and tvOS. They hardly advertise it or explain to potential customers why an Apple TV would be worth it over using just a Smart TV. In one month, I am sure I see more ATV+ ads than all Apple TV hardware ads that ever existed.

Apple doesn't show much love to tvOS during events either. When was the last time you remember Apple mentioning something on the Apple TV that didn't involve another Apple product or service? I remember a few WWDC events ago, Apple spent more time on just the hand washing feature of the Apple Watch than the whole section of tvOS and the Apple TV. Many events, Apple doesn't even mention it.

Apple confuses potential customers as well. Apple TV, Apple TV app, Apple TV Plus, the naming convention is horrible. Not for the HW, but everything else Apple TV in it. The non-techie, which is most people, have no idea what the Apple TV is. Most people think it is an actual television or a streaming service.

 

[-Gonzo-]

As polished as the Apple TV may be, some of the apps however are a pale imitation of the Smart TV apps.

BBC iPlayer (UK) - No UHD, No Subtitles
Netflix - No Interactive shows.
Prime - Hit and miss whether 4K HDR/DV content actually plays in 4K HDR/DV or not, some series for example you’ll just have random episodes that will do so.

I’m sure there’s a few more examples.

 

[jwolf6589]

As polished as the Apple TV may be, some of the apps however are a pale imitation of the Smart TV apps.

BBC iPlayer (UK) - No UHD, No Subtitles
Netflix - No Interactive shows.
Prime - Hit and miss whether 4K HDR/DV content actually plays in 4K HDR/DV or not, some series for example you’ll just have random episodes that will do so.

I’m sure there’s a few more examples.

I prefer to use my phone or siri when typing on my appleTV verses not having that on the smart TV.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Even though my Samsung TV is great with apps, I still prefer using the Apple TV on it. It's just a smoother experience. My only gripe is native apps on Samsung have better HDR quality than Apple TV. So every now and then, I would use a native app just for better HDR.

On my Sony Bravia, I actually use just the apps from the TV itself. A premium Sony TV with Google TV OS, is a great native experience.

In my experience, Apps for Tizen(Samsung), WebOS (LG), TVs with Roku and Fire OS, and etc, are just inferior compared to Apple TV and Google TV apps.

 

[bluespark]

Lots of us prefer Apple TVs to so-called Smart TVs. The answer for me has been to buy the TV I want but to set up the TV so that it turns on directly into the Apple TV input. Even if the TV has "smart TV" features, I ignore them completely.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I don't use the smart tv aspect of the tv. I stick to Apple TV and the apps available.

 

[jwolf6589]

Lots of us prefer Apple TVs to so-called Smart TVs. The answer for me has been to buy the TV I want but to set up the TV so that it turns on directly into the Apple TV input. Even if the TV has "smart TV" features, I ignore them completely.

How? My TV kept on annoying me to connect and I could not get rid of the message so I had to connect to WIFI.if they sold non smart TV’s I would buy one.

 

[jwolf6589]

I don't use the smart tv aspect of the tv. I stick to Apple TV and the apps available.

You can’t avoid not connecting to WIFI unless you want to continue to get messages to connect.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

How? My TV kept on annoying me to connect and I could not get rid of the message so I had to connect to WIFI.if they sold non smart TV’s I would buy one.

What brand do you have? I am never buying that brand.

Edited to add: Ah, I see it's a Sammy. That makes it easy. I won't buy a Sammy then.

 

[Apple_Robert]

You can’t avoid not connecting to WIFI unless you want to continue to get messages to connect.

I understand that. When I turn on the tv, the Apple TV turns on and the tv screen is already showing Apple TV. I don't ever use the TV tuner side of the TV. I have an LG and it's hardwired to ethernet.

 

[jwolf6589]

Lots of us prefer Apple TVs to so-called Smart TVs. The answer for me has been to buy the TV I want but to set up the TV so that it turns on directly into the Apple TV input. Even if the TV has "smart TV" features, I ignore them completely.

Fixed it!!! Played with settings to get rid of the smart hub and defaulting me to a Samsung channel so I won’t ever get that demonic medium channel again!! No more demons in my house!!!

 

[jwolf6589]

I understand that. When I turn on the tv, the Apple TV turns on and the tv screen is already showing Apple TV. I don't ever use the TV tuner side of the TV. I have an LG.

I fixed it by playing with the settings. No smart hub and no demon channel again! However antenna is still sluggish and I wish I had cable here. Landlord does not like sports so no reason he would have cable. Cable is essential for sports fans,

 

[AlmightyKang]

The last two smart TVs I bought, a Sony and Samsung were hell. Sony deprecated all the apps so it turned into a dumb TV. Samsung one the same and didn't keep up with HDCP so nothing external could be plugged in.

I haven't owned a television since and on principal I use either the computer or sail in international waters making Arrrrrrr noises a lot.

 

[Deine Mudda]

They don't seem to sell TV's these days that are not smart. My previous TV was a Roku but I never used the Roku just the apple TV and blueray player. My new TV is Samsung but the darn TV kept on hassling me to connect to WIFi so I finally had to in haste. I don't have cable but only antenna so flipping channels is sluggish compared to cable. The smart TV has a mind of its own and defaulted me for day or two to the medium channel and I could not turn off the demons as fast as I wanted. It finally started to behave and I wish I know how to delete that channel so I never see it again.

But anyway the point. Why would anyone use the smart TV features which are sluggish and poorly organized compared to a polished AppleTV I have to wonder? ATV is fast, has lots of apps, and is far easier to use.

I absolutely agree with you on that point.
Got me a nice 65” Samsung TV but never used the “smart” interface.
I’m a long time AppleTV user and will never not use it. It’s just smooth and nice to use.

 

[theluggage]

But anyway the point. Why would anyone use the smart TV features which are sluggish and poorly organized compared to a polished AppleTV I have to wonder? ATV is fast, has lots of apps, and is far easier to use.

I mainly use my AppleTV as its mostly better (and I had it before my current TV) *but* my current LG/WebOS Smart TV could do most of what I need in terms of streaming services, and there are one or two things that it does better.

As @-Gonzo- said, some of the ATV streaming apps have missing features - like subtitles on iPlayer - whether that's the fault of the app writers or Apple I don't know.

Also, my TV has a perfectly usable web browser for looking at news headlines, etc. - something that ATV seems to lack.

If I didn't already have an Apple TV, I probably wouldn't bother, even if the ATV interface is generally smoother and nicer than WebOS - the real USP of the ATV for me is that I can stream music from my Mac with the Computers app, but the TV itself has Spotify and Airplay, so I can stream from an iPad - it would do the job.

The main issue is the danger that LG will drop updates in the future and the TV streaming service apps will eventually become unusable - at which point an external box rather than replacing the whole TV is the best solution.

Yeah, I'd get a "dumb" TV if available, but economies of scale probably mean that they wouldn't cost any less than "smart" TVs - joe average punter is going to choose the one with Netflix etc. built in.

 

[AlixSPQR]

Smart TV's are great! As displays for Apple TV...

 

[-Gonzo-]

As @-Gonzo- said, some of the ATV streaming apps have missing features - like subtitles on iPlayer - whether that's the fault of the app writers or Apple I don't know.

According to BBC iPlayer support it’s due to the Apple TV being built differently to other devices which presents its own unique challenges that makes certain functionality not compatible.

 

[jwolf6589]

I mainly use my AppleTV as its mostly better (and I had it before my current TV) *but* my current LG/WebOS Smart TV could do most of what I need in terms of streaming services, and there are one or two things that it does better.

As @-Gonzo- said, some of the ATV streaming apps have missing features - like subtitles on iPlayer - whether that's the fault of the app writers or Apple I don't know.

Also, my TV has a perfectly usable web browser for looking at news headlines, etc. - something that ATV seems to lack.

If I didn't already have an Apple TV, I probably wouldn't bother, even if the ATV interface is generally smoother and nicer than WebOS - the real USP of the ATV for me is that I can stream music from my Mac with the Computers app, but the TV itself has Spotify and Airplay, so I can stream from an iPad - it would do the job.

The main issue is the danger that LG will drop updates in the future and the TV streaming service apps will eventually become unusable - at which point an external box rather than replacing the whole TV is the best solution.

Yeah, I'd get a "dumb" TV if available, but economies of scale probably mean that they wouldn't cost any less than "smart" TVs - joe average punter is going to choose the one with Netflix etc. built in.

I don’t use I player. I also don’t need a browser on a TV as that was attempted in the mid to late 1990’s with a platform that failed. Bad idea…..

 

[jwolf6589]

According to BBC iPlayer support it’s due to the Apple TV being built differently to other devices which presents its own unique challenges that makes certain functionality not compatible.

I don’t know what iplayer is.

 

[-Gonzo-]

I don’t know what iplayer is.

UK based app from the BBC

BBC iPlayer - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[bluespark]

How? My TV kept on annoying me to connect and I could not get rid of the message so I had to connect to WIFI.if they sold non smart TV’s I would buy one.

I stepped away from MacRumors for a bit so glad to hear you were able to get this working. Yes, in mine, it has been a matter of messing with the settings to change defaults, get rid of pop-ups, etc. With some of my TVs, that's enough. With my LG OLED, I occasionally still get an annoying notification to update the TV's software (which of course I never use), but it goes away after 20 seconds or so.