I have heard of some people selling their old flat screens for smart tvs. I even have my own landlord selling his old TV for money to get a smart tv. I have heard that the TV might do things you don't like , like spying and recording your conversation with people. I don't know if it us just the ramblings of some who are paranoid and create conspiracy theories. If smart tvs make watching TV more enjoyable than great. If not its not like you have to buy into the hype anyway.
I have read in some articles in the past that a few smart TVs were indeed constantly listening although from what I vaguely remember it was mostly just being used for advertising applications rather than actual spying. I think they are alright and it's a good option to have but personally I think I would much rather just use a separate device because that gives me more options and more accessible and customizable access and usage such as using Bluetooth keyboards instead of the tv remote etc.
A smart tv with a blue ray with Wi-Fi is a great alternative to cable. Add on Netflix and/or hulu and you will have just as many, if not, more viewing choices. Saves so much money in the long run.
When we bought our new Samsung 40-inch tv during the holidays of 2014, we were treated to a demo of the smart tv. It was exciting because you seem to have a giant tablet in front of you. However, after a few minutes of testing, I felt that it is an effort unlike when you are using the tablet or smart phone that you can sit back or even lie down. With the smart tv, I guess it is more convenient to use a desktop.
Smart TVs are OK but having one won't enhance your TV watching experience IMHO. If you've got ultra-HD TV then that will do just fine. I think that the novelty of smart TVs will wear off eventually and people will opt to buy regular TVs which are cheaper. Log In Smart TVs will become dumber over time as they don’t receive updates. New video services won’t work on old TVs, and their operating systems may never receive updates from the manufacturer. Some smart TVs may already lack services you’d want to use.
In almost ever room in our house there is a smart TV. We live in a four bedroom house and we have four smart TV's, plus three more normal televisions. I don't see much of a leap between the smart TV's and the old ones, although I am aware of the benefits and uses. Being able to use Youtube on smart tv's is fun though.
I do not personally own one but I know of a friend who has one and he raves about it. It has all sorts of features that make it easy to watch pretty much anything you want, and you can program everything you like and set up times and all of that good stuff. I probably would not use it to its full potential but if you are that type of person than I would say it is a good thing to go ahead and purchase.
All devices spy on you at least someone. I recently tracked my mum's "stolen" phone, without imei number. I could remotely ring the phone, lock it, and erase it. Then, I realized something - I could do a lot more to that phone if I knew how to. Considering that most smart tvs have some form of android or similar OS, it's possible that your data is being tracked, and used, for advertising. I don't mind being spied on, simply because i don't have much to hide, and also because I can't avoid being tracked.
I own a Smart TV and I never use the "smart" functions of it at all, as I am faithful to my cable to be honest. I only used YouTube once in a while when I just bought it but that's about it. It doesn't seem like a huge upgrade over a regular LED TV, as all the smart functions tend to be not that important while you own a desktop/laptop.
Yeah, you don't have to connect your tv to the wifi. If you don't connect it, it can't really spy on you.
OMG @DreekLass.....that's a lot of TVs for one house LOL You guys must watch a lot of TV! Anyway, I remember at one point my husband and I being interested in getting a smart TV, but we never actually got round to it. It was off the back of a colleague saying it was the best thing since sliced bread. He just couldn't stop raving about it!
If I didn't have a computer at all for watching videos, then a smart TV would seem like a good all in one solution for watching Hulu and YouTube, but since I do have a computer, tablet and smartphone, I don't feel any need to have another internet enabled device in my home. One might argue that it's good for cord cutters who want to ditch cable, but all my other devices show videos too so I can ditch cable without buying a smart TV.
Lol. Well the smart TV in the living room mainly gets used by the kids, and my mother, along with her boyfriend. I don't spend time in the living room. My mother's boyfriend used to be a chef, so he spends a lot of time in the kitchen. Naturally, he likes to watch tv in there. In the dining room, there is a normal tv. People play games on that tv. In my room, there is a smart tv that I literally NEVER watch. It stays on as a source of background tv. The kids have a smart tv in their rooms. And my mother and her boyfriend have a crappy little tv in their room, not that they use it.
What I like about that @DreekLass, is that there's no chance of you guys fighting over what to watch hehe!
Yeah. I haven't really watched more than 10 hours of tv in the last year. And that mostly included watching some live news that I wasn't streaming online. Other than that, I watch everything on my laptop, my tab and yes even on my phone.
Lol. I think that you would be surprised. The children fight about whose turn it is to watch things on their television in their room. And they will also often fight over who gets to tivo what, and when, and who gets to watch it and when. Usually when that happens, my mother will just put on one of her shows, and the kids will have to watch it : /
Most things will be smart soon enough and will be tracking your usage and whether or not it needs to be fixed etc. I'm not into that at all, but what can you do when their won't be any alternatives left? Our tvs were made recently, so there is NO way they'll live long enough to not need replacing soon. Then it's either no tvs (not complaining, we only use them for movies and games anyway) or smart, invasive, shady tvs.
Even with the news, you can find current and legitimate newsfeeds and news articles on the Internet. If you have a computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone, you can easily access one of those. I kind of think a Smart TV is a bit unnecessary, but I can see why people would like to either enhance their TV watching experience by adding the vast choices of what to watch from the internet or have the big screen of a TV to watch shows or videos. I think it's really up to personal preference.
Hehe I guess children will be children LOL They may be spoilt for choice, but they will always single out that one thing and fight over it, just because one of them got to it first. But I love your mum's style. I bet that soon shuts them up!
As unfortunate as it may be, even if you are worried about your smart tv spying on you, your computer more than likely already is as well. Especially if you have a newer computer with a webcam and mic already built in to it. Personally I wouldn't bother sinking extra money into a smart tv, nor would I sink extra money into some super high def tv with all sorts of bells and whistles - because I would never use them. I currently get cable for free where I am living, but once I have to start paying for it again I will definitely be cancelling it, and only keeping my internet connection. Most of the shows I watch are on my computer via streaming sites, so the quality is already lower - I have no need for a super high tech TV to watch them on if I decide to stream to it instead. Even if I did have cable, the cable programs themselves are already compressed, so you're not really getting the full benefit of a high def TV unless you are watching some uncompressed 4k video, such as on a blue ray or something you downloaded that was in that resolution, uncompressed.
