Buying new TV's. Regular TV or Smart TV?

[Goneracin]

Since it is superbowl time, I figure I can get some good deals on TV's, and our new camper needs TV's.

I am planning to get a 32 inch for the bedroom and a 43 inch for the living room per the manufacturers recommendations. I plan to go with LED, and have them installed by the dealer.

The question is, do we get smart tv's, or will they be useless? Some of the places we camp have WiFi, but I'm not sure if its strong enough to stream. I have heard of getting a hot spot or running off a phone with unlimited data. Anyone have any opinions on this?

I guess the bottom line is, I don't want to save money and get regular tv's then regret it later on.

Thanks in advance for the help and advice.

[docj]

IMHO the decision to buy a smart TV shouldn't be based on whether or not you think you'll do streaming, because it's an almost sure thing that within the useful lifetime of the TV you will be watching streaming video because that's the direction the world is going. Just the other day I read yet another news story about several cable companies that have chosen to no longer provide TV channels over their cable--all they will provide is internet so people can stream.

So IMO the real question is whether or not to pay the extra for the built-in features of a smart TV or should you buy a separate streaming device such as a Roku or Fire TV?

My experience with smart TV's is that the TV manufacturers don't have a good record of continuing to update the streaming apps in them after the year that the TV was a current model. We have one smart TV and two dumb ones--all of them now have Rokus attached because the apps on our "smart" Samsung were never all that good and the Roku is a much easier to use interface.

TVs with Roku software embedded might be a good option but most of those appear to be low-priced models and I haven't explored whether or not they provide as good a picture as higher priced models from name brand suppliers. Features such as HDR do make a big difference in picture quality and that's what I would want to investigate.

[crb478]

I don't think you will regret getting smart TV's whether you use their full capacity or not.
My motorhome came with one Roku smart tv and then another Smart tv of some other brand. I replaced the other brand with another Roku.

I also just went through the $40 a month unlimited internet thread. As of Yesterday I have the phone and router set up and I am down to $30 a month for unlimited internet. The phone is used only as a hot spot and is left on plugged into the router which is plugged into the motorhome which is plugged in at home.

Yesterday I was streaming amazon prime to one TV, netflix to the the other, and searching on the internet on my cell phone all at the same time from this hotspot/router combination.

So far this is working great for me and I live in a cell signal challenged area. I will look at adding the recommended antenna's soon.

The smart tv's can be used like regular tv's and the price is close. I can also get OTA channels for local broadcast, but with streaming and having tons of free or already paid for options I have more TV than I can possibly watch.

[reubenray]

If you want a really smart TV check out the specs or manual for it. I have two "dumb" Vizio smart TV's.

[Goneracin]

All very good points, thank you and keep them coming!

Do any of you run DVD players too? Im thinking of trying to get one and hook it to both TV's since they are on the same wall. Maybe through Bluetooth if not wired.

[steve52]

The price difference is minimal, and most decent TVs come with the "smart" stuff built in anyway. Unless you deliberately look for a non-smart TV you'll probably end up with one anyway.

[docj]

Originally Posted by steve52

The price difference is minimal, and most decent TVs come with the "smart" stuff built in anyway. Unless you deliberately look for a non-smart TV you'll probably end up with one anyway.

This is probably very true by now. But if you buy a smart TV and find that it loses its WiFi connection repeatedly or has a "clunky" interface you may find that buying a Roku, Firestick, etc, improves your overall steaming experience. I'm talking from experience on this point!

[Goneracin]

Good point, I'm not opposed to the Roku idea, I use them on some old TV's in my house.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by docj

IMHO the decision to buy a smart TV shouldn't be based on whether or not you think you'll do streaming, because it's an almost sure thing that within the useful lifetime of the TV you will be watching streaming video because that's the direction the world is going. Just the other day I read yet another news story about several cable companies that have chosen to no longer provide TV channels over their cable--all they will provide is internet so people can stream.

So IMO the real question is whether or not to pay the extra for the built-in features of a smart TV or should you buy a separate streaming device such as a Roku or Fire TV?

My experience with smart TV's is that the TV manufacturers don't have a good record of continuing to update the streaming apps in them after the year that the TV was a current model. We have one smart TV and two dumb ones--all of them now have Rokus attached because the apps on our "smart" Samsung were never all that good and the Roku is a much easier to use interface.

TVs with Roku software embedded might be a good option but most of those appear to be low-priced models and I haven't explored whether or not they provide as good a picture as higher priced models from name brand suppliers. Features such as HDR do make a big difference in picture quality and that's what I would want to investigate.

Good advice, as always!

[aether_one]

For an RV IMHO the only way to go is an ROKU Smart TV: not for the streaming and Apps (although that is also a major plus) bit for the OTA Channel Guide. Connect the ROKU to a WIFI signal and put the local zip code in the settings and you have a cable-like Channel Guide for all the channels you picked up on your channel scan. I haven't seen any other smart TV that has this feature.

I bought a small Vizio TV for a cargo camper conversion I did thinking it had this feature based on the literature, but the channel guide on the Vizio is only for there streaming "free TV" app which is next to worthless.

[Podivin]

Get the TV that has the best screen for the amount of money you want to spend. They don't all look the same, some of them are downright bad. If it's a tie between two and one of them is smart, get the smart one. If a non-smart TV is clearly the best then get that, you can always add 'brains' later with one of the several devices that are out.

[RI Expat]

X2 on using a Roku or Firestick. Built in applications become outdated too quickly.

Another consideration IMHO is how invasive is the embedded streaming services? I have one that defaults to the applications screen at every power up. Since I generally use my satellite, it is inconvenient to have to use the original remote to select the HDMI slot that the satellite is connected to and then switch to the satellite remote to do everything else. On my dumb TV in the bedroom, I only need the one remote and it goes straight to the satellite or whatever the last session was (Roku or antenna).

[mike625]

Originally Posted by docj

My experience with smart TV's is that the TV manufacturers don't have a good record of continuing to update the streaming apps in them after the year that the TV was a current model. We have one smart TV and two dumb ones--all of them now have Rokus attached because the apps on our "smart" Samsung were never all that good and the Roku is a much easier to use interface.

+1 with Docj - You will get a 1000% better application "interface, more up to date apps & better performance" than what the TV makers do. I using the amazon fire cube on all my Samsung smart TV.

Get the one with the best pic you like

[Goneracin]

Thank you everyone for all the great info. I will start looking for the Roku equipped versions.