Should I buy an Apple TV now? Help me decide.

[alligator22]

Unplug the smart tvs from the internet. All they are doing is phoning home to show you adds and sending all your data to the manufacturer who will sell it. I, too, was waiting but broke down and bought an open box 3rd gen and I couldn’t be happier. I’m thinking about getting another one. I can already get it to open the YouTube tv app with my voice. I don’t need anymore intelligence than that. It’s 4k, looks great, and the included remote controls my LG. Using a device like this will also prolong the life of your tv. I installed Pihole on my Synology NAS and I can tell you before I disconnected the LG tv from the internet it was calling home on me non-stop. Now it’s just a beautiful panel controlled but a really excellent device that works. I also have an Nvidia Shield and I prefer the Appletv to it. Both are better than Roku, though. (If you don’t have pihole ask ChatGPT how to set it up. Will change your life.)

 

[Fallforward]

We have an LG OLED connected to a 7.1 home theater system. We use the LG webOS connected to the internet and with an antenna. It sends terrific audio to the home theater receiver, including 7.1. The antenna matters to have local morning news on when we make coffee and because of a couple foreign language stations in our area not available via streaming. The webOS easily flips between streaming apps to broadcast, no harder than moving between streaming apps. webOS has all the streaming apps we want, including Apple. Easy set up the apps UI on the screen and to use. In settings we limit things like ads - we get no ads. Not sure why some people do. You can also stop the snooping in the settings (make sure Live Plus is off, under privacy and terms user agreements uncheck various snooping options, and and limit ad tracking.) It is not as secure as Apple TV 4K, but good enough for us.

We have an older Samsung with Apple TV 4K. It functions okay but I don't much like it. Not the screen UI and especially not the Apple remote. Many here obviously love the Apple TV 4K UI, but I don't.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Unplug the smart tvs from the internet. All they are doing is phoning home to show you adds and sending all your data to the manufacturer who will sell it. I, too, was waiting but broke down and bought an open box 3rd gen and I couldn’t be happier. I’m thinking about getting another one. I can already get it to open the YouTube tv app with my voice. I don’t need anymore intelligence than that. It’s 4k, looks great, and the included remote controls my LG. Using a device like this will also prolong the life of your tv. I installed Pihole on my Synology NAS and I can tell you before I disconnected the LG tv from the internet it was calling home on me non-stop. Now it’s just a beautiful panel controlled but a really excellent device that works. I also have an Nvidia Shield and I prefer the Appletv to it. Both are better than Roku, though. (If you don’t have pihole ask ChatGPT how to set it up. Will change your life.)

My "Smart TV" If you can call it that, is a 1979 Mitsubishi 20" tabletop TV with an Apple TV 4K 2nd Gen connected to it via a HDMI-to-composite dongle connected to an RF Modulator. Given my experience with Apple TVs compared with actual 'smart TVs' (which often stop working two years later!) is that they will work forever. I can still use a 2nd Generation Apple TV if I wanted!

Best bit is that I can pair my old TV's remote to it because the Apple TV has a learning function. The 1970s aesthetic of my home remains intact! (the Apple TV is hidden out of sight--you have to look hard for it! I even got the annoying blue LED covered up.

 

[McScooby]

We have an LG OLED connected to a 7.1 home theater system. We use the LG webOS connected to the internet and with an antenna. It sends terrific audio to the home theater receiver, including 7.1. The antenna matters to have local morning news on when we make coffee and because of a couple foreign language stations in our area not available via streaming. The webOS easily flips between streaming apps to broadcast, no harder than moving between streaming apps. webOS has all the streaming apps we want, including Apple. Easy set up the apps UI on the screen and to use. In settings we limit things like ads - we get no ads. Not sure why some people do. You can also stop the snooping in the settings (make sure Live Plus is off, under privacy and terms user agreements uncheck various snooping options, and and limit ad tracking.) It is not as secure as Apple TV 4K, but good enough for us.

We have an older Samsung with Apple TV 4K. It functions okay but I don't much like it. Not the screen UI and especially not the Apple remote. Many here obviously love the Apple TV 4K UI, but I don't.

I've a G4 on WiFi and deliberately not connected to the interwebs. The G4 and LG Soundbar have attempted to phone home 2242 times in the last 24hrs despite having never used WebOS. My main purpose for an AppleTV isn't for its function, it's to prevent nonsense like this.