What makes a TV Smart?

[GreenLantern]

Man I feel so old, trying to research buying a new TV and I can't figure out what Smart means. It just means that it gets internet? But I still can't stream my ipad/iphone to it without a cord or apple tv?

But I could stream my laptop possibly?

And 4k is a thing of the future, but I won't necessarily use it today?

[oilyfan]

Smart means it is connected to the internet, and has the ability to install "apps" like Netflix, pandora etc. Saves you the expense of buying a secondary device. Now some fo these smart TVs are quite slow running these apps because the hardware inside them is not as good as what get with an Apple TV or a Roku, that's why I recommend to friends to get a standalone device to run the apps.

If you want to wirelessly cast videos/pictures from your ios device to the TV, then the apple tv is your only answer

[Hack&Lube]

SMART TV is a marketing term that doesn't mean much. Usually it just has a low power device inside so it can connect to the internet and you can install apps like Youtube, etc. on it. Usually, the apps are clumsy and slow to use. Similar to apps on PS4, etc.

A few rare sets might have streaming built in but usually you will still need an Apple TV, Chromecast, etc. plugged into HDMI or computer connected by cable.

4K is here today and there are 4K Ultra HD Blu Rays. There is also HDR technology which is what makes 4K pop visually with a wider dynamic range and color spectrum. The thing is that 4K content is rare aside from the 4K Blu Rays (which needs a special 4K Blu Ray player too). There is some 4K stuff on Youtube and online. The new PS4 Pro supports gaming at higher than 1080p resolutions up to 4K but it depends on each game whether it supports it or not.

[Erick Estrada]

I don't care about the apps and stuff but it's nice that these Smart TV's will do automatic firmware updates.

[McG]

in the past, I have always recommended that people not pay a premium for "smart TVs" for all of the reasons that others have put above, however recently I have been changing my thoughts on this, particularly depending upon the end user and their tolerance for extra buttons and "casting".

I absolutely love the fact that I can one touch a button on my remote and I am running Netflix or two buttons and I am on youtube. I have demoed this for a number of friends, and they all like the idea. I have also bought a number of "non-smart" TVs, and there are a number of extra steps to get things working. you do need an entry point to the other input, and that could be apple tv or a chromecast device or similar on the non smart tv.

it is not true that you need apple tv to watch things from your iPhone or ipad; I cast to my smart and non-smart tvs all of the time using my iPhone. For my non smart tv, I bought a google chromecast for $30.

I don't care particularly for all of the other apps on the tv though; Netflix, youtube, home network and internet access are all that I really use, and the internet access really is a cheap add on for connectivity. I don't think that anyone would use their TV for internet access unless their mobile devices/tablets were low on battery.

For me, have a look at the remote and, if you are a Netflix user, look at the pause/play etc buttons as well; they make Netflix work just like a pvr which is awesome!

YMMV however for end users in my house (wife, kids, parents) the one button Netflix with controls is a big win; I never get asked to help now which is cool.

On the 4k, I now would really consider going 4k over 1080p unless the price differential is so significant that you could justify not buying the 4k on price alone. My advice is a bit different from others. Yes HDR will come, and yes it is on Xbox One S and likely every new PS and Xbox going forward. For me though, you need to be careful about the brand that you are buying. Every 4k tv MUST output in 4k on the screen, no matter the source material. So what does that mean? it means that the TV is upconverting every signal that is not 4k so that it can show on the screen. You want a really good engine on your tv so that it can handle this well. I have a Sony 4k and the upconversion is noticeable on all shows and sports in a good way. The picture is sharper and just plain looks better whether from cable, the xbox, or Netflix. I also have 4k Netflix coming in, and while it is good, it is nowhere as good as some of the 4k demos from youtube. when I want to demo the 4k tv, I use youtube demos. some of them are quite breathtaking in 4k.

tl;dr? I won't buy or recommend a tv that isn't smart or 4k going forward.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

It means the TV has been putting money away towards retirement over the years. It may also be a doctor and/or lawyer.

[McG]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

Man I feel so old, trying to research buying a new TV and I can't figure out what Smart means. It just means that it gets internet? But I still can't stream my ipad/iphone to it without a cord or apple tv?

But I could stream my laptop possibly?

And 4k is a thing of the future, but I won't necessarily use it today?

I realize that I went on a bit of a ramble in my previous answer. oops!

smart tv means apps like Netflix and youtube, and connectivity to the internet with multiple inputs, lots of HDMI and a network port, and likely with wifi. non-smart tv is a screen with multiple inputs, HDMI and maybe ports for other connectivity options. remember that it is also ease of use, so if you watch Netflix a lot you should have a Netflix button on the remote and controls so that you can use Netflix with pvr controls.

iphones/ipads cast to the TV using either built in software in the tv or through a secondary device like apple TV or a Google Chromecast device. The built in software in some cases is exactly the same as the software in the secondary hardware device. I personally cast using my iPhone to my Sony TV (smart) directly and to an LG (non smart) using a chromecast that is plugged into hdmi port 2. make sure that the tv that you buy will work with your mobile device if you want to cast directly, otherwise you have to buy the extra hardware.

laptops can be connected two ways; the first is cabled to usually go through hdmi ports from the pc to the tv, the second is using the casting method described above. I haven't casted using my pc however one of my buddies brought his apple MacBook over and he casted to my sony tv in seconds. it was very cool.

when you ask about 4k, the real question is about native content. all 4k tvs must output in 4k on the screen, so the tv upconverts any signal to the 4k standard. the better the upconverting engine, the better the picture. native 4k content is becoming more common, with tsn and sportsnet advertising it for various sports. afaik, shaw does not transmit in 4k due to hardware and network limitations.

I watch 4k Netflix and 4k youtube videos through my network connection. some of the content is jawdropping, whilst others just look really good.

on HDR, this is the new colour standard. those who have seen it, say it is awesome, so whatever you buy, make sure that it is hdr capable so you are ready.

check out the remotes and ease of tv use as well when you buy. I have a non smart lg and it works like a tv with a chromecast. I have a smart lg and while it has apps, and Netflix, man sometimes it can be a hassle getting it to work smoothly. I have a smart sony (4k) and it is very, very easy to use for Netflix and youtube. I am very impressed with the sony; I have said many times that it is as if sony engineers watched how people use their tvs, and then designed their tv for people. my other tvs are as if they had to have certain things on them, and I have to go and look for them. I hope that makes sense because now it is about more than just a good picture on the screen, although of course an amazing picture is your end goal.

[Erick Estrada]

I can't comment on HDR as I have it enabled on my PS4 Pro for games on my 4K TV but I haven't seen any movies or video that's HDR. PS4 games with HDR enabled look very nice but to date I don't think there's proper 4k (Skyrim is but it's an old engine) native games out atm for the system that utilize all the bells and whistles.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Teh_Bandwagoner

It means the TV has been putting money away towards retirement over the years. It may also be a doctor and/or lawyer.

Great. So even the TVs have it all figured out. Now I'm really depressed.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Great. So even the TVs have it all figured out. Now I'm really depressed.

I, for one, welcome our new TV overlords.

[EldrickOnIce]

Lots of choices (not just apple TV) for turning a dumb TV into a smart one.
Chromecast and Amazon TV will also, as well as countless other streaming devices.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Teh_Bandwagoner

It means the TV has been putting money away towards retirement over the years. It may also be a doctor and/or lawyer.

They're not really doctors or lawyers. They just play one on TV.

[GreenLantern]

I don't play console games so there will never be a PS4 or a Xbox hooked up to my TV unless a friend brought it over. I use it for TV, movies and netflix. My cable provider actually has netflix built in now and it is very easy to use. I guess I just need to look at the price of the TV with 4k versus normal and see if the price justifies it.. everyone else I have talked to says that paying for SmartTV is just a cash grab so it is interesting to hear the other side of it.

[PsYcNeT]

Previous to getting a smart TV I kind of thought they were pointless, though nowadays they are pretty standard.

LG seems to unanimously have the best smart OS (LG WebOS 3), and I have to say combined with the LG Magic Remote (which works like a pointer/mouse) it's a pretty flawless system. It's also excellent for 4K/HDR content as all the apps are 4K ready and stream directly to the TV, are decoded by it's quad-core processor and displayed at a top-level for streaming.

I have Chromecasts hooked up to all my other TVs in the house, and they are way more fussy than the WebOS. It also has GoogleCast/MiraCast compatibility out of the box, so any GoogleCast enabled app can activate the TV. You can also use your phone as a keyboard so browsing YouTube though the Smart App is terribly convenient. All apps project or upscale to 4K natively as well, at 4:4:4 without any worries of cable/box/connector compatibility. Auto-updates are just the icing on the cake.

That said, if you are running apps through a TV that doesn't have 5.1/7.1 out through ARC or another external connector, then it's all moot as you are sacrificing sound quality for convenience and video quality.

[Erick Estrada]

I have an LG OLED TV and I just can't get down with the magic remote. The remote itself is actually well designed but the pointer is annoying. Also not a fan of LG's menus. The smart app is pretty cool but I haven't used it much as I primarily use that TV for gaming and sports.

[PsYcNeT]

Personally, I'm pissed that Logitech hasn't made a Harmony remote that is compatible with the Magic Remote functions. Love the thing, makes app use a breeze. Sucks that I have to have a receiver remote on hand to turn the thing on now though since my Harmony is now a brick. At least ARC controls the receiver volume/settings and turns it off.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Personally, I'm pissed that Logitech hasn't made a Harmony remote that is compatible with the Magic Remote functions. Love the thing, makes app use a breeze. Sucks that I have to have a receiver remote on hand to turn the thing on now though since my Harmony is now a brick. At least ARC controls the receiver volume/settings and turns it off.

My Logitech works for the standard commands such as power on/off, change input to correspond to activity, etc. What functions aren't you getting to work outside of the pointer? Is it control over the OS? I admit I haven't used the Logitech for stuff like this.

I'm generally more annoyed with the continual change in HDMI standards as my Sony receiver supposedly has 4k compatible HDMI inputs and outputs but I have to connect my PS4 Pro HDMI output directly to my TV or I don't get HDR which is annoying as HDMI switching through the receiver is so much smoother than switching receiver audio and HDMI TV inputs (not to mention less cables for audio, etc) every time you change activities. I get that futureproofing is futile but these days you are lucky if you can get two years out of an HDMI device before it's obsolete.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

My Logitech works for the standard commands such as power on/off, change input to correspond to activity, etc. What functions aren't you getting to work outside of the pointer? Is it control over the OS? I admit I haven't used the Logitech for stuff like this.

Yeah mainly the pointer. The only thing the Magic Remote doesn't control is turning my receiver on. Literally everything else it handles through ARC. A Logitech that incorporates the pointer tech would be handy however.

[Finger Cookin]

It means TV manufacturers don't know what people want to do on the internet with their TVs, so they're all making their own versions of crappy apps and interfaces trying to guess what kind of things you might want to do.

Get a dumb TV (if you can find one) and a Roku or Chromecast. You'll be better off.

[Aleks]

I would put a vote in for Vizio on the smart TV front as well. The M and P series sets are fantastic, and they have Google Cast built in, you can cast from your phone, tablet or the remote control, which just happens to be a tablet itself (6" android tablet). The apps are installed on the remote, and the casting then happens in the TV, no apps installed in the TV at all. No menus in the TV, all in the remote. And the upconverting is amazing, 4k content also looks incredible. I know you don't game but it has (IIRC) the lowest latency inputs of any of the new TV's.

I personally found LG's to be bizarre and cumbersome to use (I have an older LG smart, and my buddy has the pointer remote one), plus with the input board problems I've had, I wouldn't buy another LG TV.

The statement of an apple TV being the only choice to smarten up a set is BS though. Apple TV probably has the worst limitations. Any DNLA device, anything using Miracast, any android or other internet TV box can accept casting. Roku, Apple TV, Boxee are all relatively limited ecosystems that don't allow much flexibility in terms of apps or casting/streaming.