Smart TV Question...

MonacoMike

Well-Known Member
Sep 15, 2009
14,721
Indiana lakes and Lake Michigan
Boat Info
2000 Cruisers 3870
8.2 Mercs
Engines
85 Sea Ray Monaco 197
260hp Alpha 1
I bought a TCL 43 TV for our exercise room based on numerous articles raving about the product. I usually have purchased Samsung TV's in the past.

After I set it up i began looking for the internet browser, I assumed, because all my other TV's had a browser that was a standard part of a "smart" TV. Wrong! The TCL does all of its streaming through Roku and does not have a full featured browser. You can subscribe to one at $4.99 per month. Not happening.

In our office we us the browsers all the time to display various things, I also use the browser to access YouTube so I do not join Google. I'm not sure if I need a browser at this point but for future use I am thinking of returning to Costco and getting a Samsung for about $50 more. Am I being silly on this or thinking smart for future flexibility?

MM
 
Despite good reviews, I have not found Roku TV’s to be an enjoyable experience. Starting with power on, the one I have defaults to a menu of apps: cable, antenna, YouTube, etc. I don’t want a menu when I turn on a tv. I want a tv. I’ll press other buttons if I want to change the source or run an app. And I certainly wouldn’t buy a tv that required a subscription. I’ve had good luck with Samsung for picture quality. And I do like the Visio smart tv’s I have. I’m actually in the market for a 70” for home and I saw the TCL’s. Great picture reviews, but I discounted them the minute i learned they were Roku TV’s.
 
Personally I prefer external devices for browsing or streaming. Maybe a FireTV stick or better yet a NUC or tiny computer.

-Kevin
 
The problem with most so-called smart TVs is they are only as smart as whatever deals the manufacturer made with streaming providers. You're better off getting a generic TV and hooking up an AppleTV or an Android TV box. You can then install whatever streaming apps you want. (Netflix, Roku, Amazon Prime, etc.) As your needs change, in the future, you can add and remove apps at will.
 
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I’m happier with my Vizios than my Samsungs. Not as expensive and better usable features. I have 2 of each, one Samsung is a higher end from Best Buy’s Magnolia department and I will never go down than road again.
 
I just bought a second Samsung, primarily because the new one will have the same interface as the first one. Picture quality is good for small TV, butI think Visio has the ability to cast from ipads and androids, and that is a feature I wish I had. Samsung, you need its own app.
 
Purchased the TCL first for the size as I didn’t want it to stick out too far from the wall in the salon. For our purpose we wanted the apps as we are not using the TV input. So far I’m very happy with it and the fact that it comes with the Roku app. Have been trialing the PlayStation Vue app and am very happy with it as well. I like that one remote allows me to control the app and the TV. My 7 yo can pick up the remote and go straight to YouTube. Have Samsung TV at home and didn’t like that I couldn’t download the PS vue app. So I guess it all depends on how you intend to use.
 
Always had good luck with Vizio. The smartcast feature works satisfactorily for me. Affordable too.
 
The problem with most so-called smart TVs is they are only as smart as whatever deals the manufacturer made with streaming providers. You're better off getting a generic TV and hooking up an AppleTV or an Android TV box. You can then install whatever streaming apps you want. (Netflix, Roku, Amazon Prime, etc.) As your needs change, in the future, you can add and remove apps at will.
Software on Smart TVs is horrendous from a security standpoint. I don’t connect my tvs to the internet, use a dedicated device you can upgrade/swap out without needing to replace the tv. We need TVs to have great pictures, the device connected can be swapped out if new features are needed and find one you can trust the security on. AppleTV is my choice, but the Google/amazon choices are fine as well.
 
i have 3 Amazon Fire TV Sticks including 2 new 4K generation sticks...i use them even though all of the TV's are 'smart'....i like the flexibility of the sticks vs. what is loaded on the TV's from the manufacturer.....

cliff
 
I also recently bought a 43" TCL for the bedroom. I too was surprised it didn't have an internet browser, but since I rarely use that on a tv, it wasn't a deal breaker for me. I actually like the user interface on the Roku better than my other Samsungs.

Scooper: in the settings you can select what the tv defaults to on power up. I didn't like going to the menu screen either, so mine now goes right to the antenna and instantly displays the broadcast.
 
I added Apple TV and google chromecast to the TVs on the boat so we have 2 choices for streaming. My hotspot drops to 3g so we can’t stream video but we have a computer onboard with a hardrive with 300+ movies that I can cast to any tv or you can cast from your device. We rarely watch tv but I like to have it set up in case...
At home we have Samsung and Sony both great the only streaming is my wife on Netflix we don’t use devices at home.
 
I also recently bought a 43" TCL for the bedroom. I too was surprised it didn't have an internet browser, but since I rarely use that on a tv, it wasn't a deal breaker for me. I actually like the user interface on the Roku better than my other Samsungs.

Scooper: in the settings you can select what the tv defaults to on power up. I didn't like going to the menu screen either, so mine now goes right to the antenna and instantly displays the broadcast.
Thanks. To be honest, I haven’t looked tooo much into the settings. I thought it seemed strange not to have that. I shall look further!
 
I’m happier with my Vizios than my Samsungs. Not as expensive and better usable features. I have 2 of each, one Samsung is a higher end from Best Buy’s Magnolia department and I will never go down than road again.

Me too!
I’ve got an 80” 4K Vizio in the basement. Liked it so much that when I was shopping to update the TV’s on the boat I replaced those with Vizio’s too.
The Samsung’s are really good too, but I kind of like the Vizio’s just a little bit better.
 
I used to be a Vizio fan, but have swapped to Samsung. The speaker system on the Samsung is far ahead of the Vizio. I bought a 43” Samsung that mounts to the roof of my cockpit and we watch football either out in the water or from the dock and the sound is amazing!
D6D30753-FBB2-49E8-AD0B-75CF053B4BEC.jpeg
 
There’s no problem with the sound from the 80” Vizio in my basement because it is hooked up to a surround and sub woofer.
No problem with the sound on the 24” Vizio’s in the forward and aft cabins on the boat either because the spaces are small enough that they provide plenty of sound to fill them.
The 24” Vizio over the fridge in the salon can sometimes use a bit of a boost. Thinking of hooking it up to have the option to run the sound through the stereo, or maybe connecting a small sound bar up to it and stashing it on the shelf over the galley.
 
We have a 32” Vizio in the salon and runs Dish Network at the dock. DVR has Bluetooth and connects easily to the JBL Bluetooth device hooked to the aux on the Clarion CMD4. So much better than the TV speakers. The Samsung in the cockpit can be heard all over the dock during football season.

Bennett
 

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