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Smart TV vs Regular TV

Stan Gable

Stan Gable

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My plasma that I bought about 7 years ago finally died on me. So, I'm looking to get a new tv. I found a very good deal for a Samsung 50 in LED at Best Buy for $800 (normally $1150). Ideally I'd like a little bigger but think this is a good value but is not a "smart tv". As someone who purchased a tv for close to 5k back in the day, I don't mind spending for quality but I just think it will be a waste for me.

My question is, is a smart tv worth it? I don't use Netflix or anything like that. Am I missing out? Will I regret not having that feature when it becomes more mainstream?
 
Stan Gable said:
My plasma that I bought about 7 years ago finally died on me. So, I'm looking to get a new tv. I found a very good deal for a Samsung 50 in LED at Best Buy for $800 (normally $1150). Ideally I'd like a little bigger but think this is a good value but is not a "smart tv". As someone who purchased a tv for close to 5k back in the day, I don't mind spending for quality but I just think it will be a waste for me.

My question is, is a smart tv worth it? I don't use Netflix or anything like that. Am I missing out? Will I regret not having that feature when it becomes more mainstream?
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you probably won't regret it, because if you ever do want to use streaming, you could just buy a $50-$100 device which would do the same things.

The only thing I use my smarttv for is netflix and pandora. You can get a roku player (or apple tv) which both allow you to use both of those apps, as well as lots of others. One thing you need to think about is how many hdmi ports that samsung has:

you probably need at least 3 - one for cable, one for dvd/blueray, one for potential roku player (do video game systems use one? if so, might need 4 ports)
 
I use smart functionalities almost daily. But, depending on your setup, you may be able to save money by getting a smart Blu Ray player or the like to go with your TV. You can get some pretty decent wi-fi blu ray players for $150 or so now that will do anything you need and not make you spend the extra money to get the wi-fi- connected TV.

The things I use are Amazon Prime for free streaming (old) movies and TV shows and to rent new movies for like $4 and Pandora, to have surround sound, so easy way to have a stereo system without having a different setup.
 
Personally, I agree with everyone else so far. No way would I pay a huge premium for smart apps built into the TV. I have a Blu-Ray player that already does it, or I can do it through DirecTV. You can always add a device later to do it.

I too am looking to get a new TV in the next year or so. I want about a 50 inch plasma, but I only want a monitor. No apps, no 3D, etc.
 
Smart TV has a social app that gives you access to Facebook, Twitter and GChat simultaneously. It's on the side of the TV so you can socialize/surf during commercials. It was cool for like a day. I tried gchatting with the remote control and it took me 30 seconds to send 'hey man what's up'...now I just use my phone during commercials since it is much quicker.

Agree that Pandora is a nice convenient stereo system. Smart TV has some other goofy apps like in-home workouts but overall it's probably not worth it.
 
The thing is, I wouldn't want any of this stuff now that I have a spouse. I don't really need my gchat and facebook up running on the TV for a number of reasons.
 
Don't need many HDMI inputs if you are running through your receiver. Everything runs through there then out to the TV via 1 HDMI cord.
 
The problem is all the best tv's (plasma and led lcd) have smart functionality built in. To get a tv with great picture quality, you'll just get the smart stuff with it. The "dumb" tv's usually don't have near as good picture quality. I heard somebody compare it to cruise control on a car. Try finding a sweet car that doesn't have cruise control, cause its not a feature you're going to use.
 
dubs21 said:
The problem is all the best tv's (plasma and led lcd) have smart functionality built in. To get a tv with great picture quality, you'll just get the smart stuff with it. The "dumb" tv's usually don't have near as good picture quality. I heard somebody compare it to cruise control on a car. Try finding a sweet car that doesn't have cruise control, cause its not a feature you're going to use.
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That's a good analogy
 
But i agree with posters above. If you want to save some cash and don't need the absolute best picture quality, you can get a dumb tv and then a roku or apple tv for the smart features. And agree with OriginalAdmiral on the HDMI input issue.
 
dubs21 said:
The problem is all the best tv's (plasma and led lcd) have smart functionality built in. To get a tv with great picture quality, you'll just get the smart stuff with it. The "dumb" tv's usually don't have near as good picture quality. I heard somebody compare it to cruise control on a car. Try finding a sweet car that doesn't have cruise control, cause its not a feature you're going to use.
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Completely untrue.
 
Thanks for the responses.

I've pretty much decided to get a Samsung LED tv without the smart features. I'm torn between getting the 50 inch or the 55 inch. Best Buy has the 50 inch on sale for $799 (regularly $1150). The 55 inch is being sold for $1299. Not exactly sure 5 inches is worth $500. Would like the bigger screen but can't quite reconcile the price difference.

Save the mom jokes for another thread..
 
I'd buy the cheaper one. Honestly, all these TVs are basically pieces of shit, so get the TV with w/e features you like for as little as possible.
 
Stan Gable said:
Thanks for the responses.

I've pretty much decided to get a Samsung LED tv without the smart features. I'm torn between getting the 50 inch or the 55 inch. Best Buy has the 50 inch on sale for $799 (regularly $1150). The 55 inch is being sold for $1299. Not exactly sure 5 inches is worth $500. Would like the bigger screen but can't quite reconcile the price difference.

Save the mom jokes for another thread..
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Have you checked amazon? I saved like 400 bucks compared to best buy on there.
 
I would mention, that I do regret only getting a TV with 60hz. Some HD sports, primarily hockey, suck.
 
RaleighDeacon can you list some great tv's picture quality wise that aren't "smart" tvs? I haven't seen any. All the best tvs i've seen reviewed have "smart" functionality.
 
dubs21 said:
RaleighDeacon can you list some great tv's picture quality wise that aren't "smart" tvs? I haven't seen any. All the best tvs i've seen reviewed have "smart" functionality.
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What is your cutoff for "great" picture quality? While I agree that if you want the highest of high end performers in CNET testing, for example, those will be your super expensive, feature laden TVs. However, there are TVs like the Panasonic U50 that offer a fantastic picture, without all the other stuff, for a pretty low price. It's more about where your cutoff lies. I would argue that most people, with the TV in the right environment, are going to be hard pressed to watch a Panasonic U50 and be able to tell with their naked eye a difference between it and the flagship Panasonic TC-P65VT50.

Now there are a LOT of factors that can change this assumption I am making, not the least of which would be how bright is the viewing area. This particular plasma TV deals with ambient lighting much worse than the high end one, but I don't think you can just arbitrarily say you can't get a great picture quality, "dumb" TV. By the numbers, it may not be the BEST (black levels aren't quite as good, etc.), but just between the two tvs mentioned here, you can find the U50 for less that 700 bucks and the TC-P65VT50 usually starts around 2800 dollars.
 
dubs21 said:
RaleighDeacon can you list some great tv's picture quality wise that aren't "smart" tvs? I haven't seen any. All the best tvs i've seen reviewed have "smart" functionality.
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Did you check out my link above? It's Plasma and only 720P but the reviews on multiple sites are excellent and I love it. It only has two HDMI's inputs but I have a receiver that I plug everything into and then from the receiver go to the TV so I really only need one HMDI.

Good luck.
 
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