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by comte7092 1179 days ago
>Pretty much every TV is a "smart TV" now with built-in streaming apps. Why would anyone buy a Roku?

I have a Roku, the “smart tv” I have is absolute trash and takes several minutes to start up the app based functionality. Once it starts, it’s glacially slow.

I’m sure newer tvs are faster, however I also have no desire to see my panel hit EOL due to a lack of software support when it works perfectly fine. TVs can last for years, and I see no reason why I should look to upgrade on a smartphone level lifecycle, when a reasonable dedicated streaming device is priced below $50.

2 comments

I typically use an Apple TV or Chromecast.

Even leaving the cost of buying a new 60" TV aside, the effort of mounting a new one and disposing of the old one would make me hesitate to upgrade even though my existing one isn't 4K.

Same here. I have a 10 year old Panasonic plasma that still works great. I have it hooked up to an Apple TV. In fact, I prefer this setup to newer smart TVs that have tracking and phone home features built in.