Apple TV vs just smart tv

[DianeVan]

Had an 18 year old tv and cable. Ditched both and just using my iPad for streaming from Crave, Netflix, etc. And enjoying it a lot. Researching getting a new tv to stream same. The apple store guys say get apple tv, the tv guys say Smart tv is enough. Can’t get unbiased info. Suggestions? Good links for research? The posts here are several years old on this topic. Thanks for anything you can suggest. Have MacBook pro, iPhone,iPad and airport express just don’t know how to proceed. Thanks.


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[dtravis7]

On the Smart TV question with the ones I have tried it depends on the set. The family in the front room have an expensive 4k Smart TV but downloads of apps for all the services out there are limited. They have Netflix but not even Hulu. My Smart TV has an Amazon Fire interface so anything from the Amazon store will work and they have all TV services I have ever wanted to try.

I know little about the Apple TV so will let someone else comment on that.

 

[Slydude]

I think Dennis is right. You're almost going to have to look on a manufacturer by manufacturer basis. The models by TCL, for example, seem to be heavily dependent on the Roku ecosystem.

There is one thing I can tell you that may be worth investigating. Several manufacturers have added Airplay 2 support to some of their sets. This makes it easy to stream from IOS devices as you're doing now. Samsung has this on some of their models (mostly 2019 I think). LG is adding the Airplay 2 capabilities as a software update for their 219 models. I've seen a suggestion that they are also planning to include it in 2018 models in a future release.

Partial list of supported sets This list will probably be updated as the year progresses.

Based upon a few comments I read on their site the LG support staff does not seem very knowledgeable about AirPlay 2 in general. I have access to an LG that doesn't have access to AirPlay 2 yet. I'll try streaming something from an iPad with the current setup and see if that works.

 

[DianeVan]

Thanks both. I guess it won’t be simple. I guess that’s why people stick with cable. I’ll keep researching.


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[Slydude]

I was pricing new sets recently and helping someone with this decision recently and here's another thing to consider doing depending upon your budget.

www.amazon.com was running about $800 on Amazon. (Doesn't have AirPlay 2 but probably gets it if they add AirPlay 2 to 2018 models).

Apple TV 4K about $200 US from Best Buy. That's still less than the cost of some 2019 models.

 

[dtravis7]

The set I have is a 4k HDR Insignia (Best Buy brand). Got a great deal on it. Not sure if it does Airplay. Will check into that but I love the Fire TV interface. I am used to that interface from the Amazon Fire TV so it's easy for me.

 

[DianeVan]

More to think about. I’m going to have to make an excel sheet! Thanks for further ideas.


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[Slydude]

Are you in a hurry to purchase a set or can you hold off for a bit? I ask for the following reasons:

1. Major electronics such as TVs tend to go on sale at certain times of the year. I'm not sure when that is in your area but in the US it tends to be the Black Friday (Friday after Thanksgiving in the US).

2. Apple is rolling out some additional features/services (probably sometime the Fall) including an increased focus on games among other things. I'll have to do some digging to see if that will be supported via AirPlay 2 and which Apple TV models will support it.

 

[DianeVan]

No, not in a hurry at all. Was ready to live without tv at all but now enjoying streaming services so much on my iPad starting to think about a tv again. It didn’t use to be so complicated to buy a tv.

I’ll check out the sales. We have black days too and I’ll follow what’s new on Apple sites. Thanks


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[Slydude]

I was able to find an app that allows streaming from an iPhone to the LG TV I linked to above without using AirPlay 2. I was able to use this app to stream the video. There is some video that it will not stream including Netflix and Hulu among others (see the description). That may not be as much of an issue as one would think because the TV has apps available for streaming Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, (buttons on the remote take you directly to these services) and a few others.

I had to try once or twice to get the software working but it's not too difficult. You do have to have to do the following:

1. You must download an app from the iPhone Store and a partner app from the LG content store (both free but have a premium mode for additional features).

2. The iPhone and TV must be on the same wireless network.

3. You must enter your phone's IP address into the LG app but the phone part of the app helps with this by displaying the phone's IP address during setup. There s also a setup video which I didn't watch.

I have not tested this with movie-length videos yet but the developer says it works.

 

[DianeVan]

Oh thanks. I’ll check it out. Thanks for the info and help


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[Slydude]

You're welcome.

I'm going to keep an eye on this myself to see which manufacturers add Airplay 2.

 

[pm-r]

Test!! I can't get my post to post again!!!

Really annoying.

I'll try again later with the info I had for Diane.


- Patrick
======

 

[pm-r]

@DianeVan

The apple store guys say get apple tv, the tv guys say Smart tv is enough. Can’t get unbiased info. Suggestions?

Diane, I'm assuming you're from Vancouver BC and not Vancouver, Washington State and I'm just about to make it all a little bit more confusing for you.

We recently went through such an update, only because my wife arrived home (after a quick phone call to check) with a 65in Samsung 4K SMART TV from our local Costco store as it was on SUPER SALE that was just about to expire.

For such a TV I would suggest going to their Canadian site to learn more, which will probably make things much easier for you as far as doing investigative work.

One critical thing I discovered is that the models they bring into Canada often a very and are different from those that are brought into the US.

Part #1

- Patrick
======

- - - Updated - - -

@DianeVan

Part #2

We still have cable and a basic Shaw package, as well as the Apple TV we already had, along with the 5.1 surround system, CD/DVD player, and Shaw PVR.

The 6000 series Samsung only had TWO HDMI ports (some others have THREE) to connect all our media devices but a $20 adapter took care of the shortage of ports.

For more details check their Canadian site:
Samsung TV - Stream from your iPhone to your TV with AirPlay | Samsung Support CA

My wife is the main watcher and everything seems to work well for her, otherwise I would certainly hear about it.

As far as I could tell after doing post-purchase research nearly all mid to high-end TV sets all had SMART already built in and very few could be purchased without.

A main concern for you would be to check whether they have AirPlay or not possibly. The 2018 Samsung 65" 6000?? model we got certainly does and it also has a fairly decent rating. The major selling point was the price was right and my wife had been wanting a newer TV. SWMBO just happened to get it right and I was sure not about to argue.

So in reality, I don't think there's very much to research. But do stick with the Canadian sites if and when you do. Most of the TV manufacturers and the retailers seem to have already figured out what sets we should be purchasing.

PS: We ended up with the 65" set as it was the recommended size for our normal viewing distance in our family room. My wife was originally going to purchase the 55-inch model.

I hops this info helps a bit.

End part #2



- Patrick
======

 

[pm-r]

OT: Hmmm... I don't know what has happened or changed with posting here at Mac forums but anyway finally got my post up by spreading over two posts to get it it yet it shows up as one post.

I have no idea why it would not post with all the text as a single post yesterday or today, nor from the auto restore or a copy I had.

This problem seems to be happening more frequently with a larger posts and I have no idea if it's just me having trouble or not.

Anyway, determination and stubbornness wins sometimes.


- Patrick
======

 

[pm-r]

Just testing again. Please just ignore.

I seem to be having some problems getting some posts to work, even some short ones don't always get sent.

Is someone working on the servers or making some changes???

EDIT: Hey nice, this last one was instant and actually worked properly.



- Patrick
======

 

[DianeVan]

@DianeVan


Diane, I'm assuming you're from Vancouver BC and not Vancouver, Washington State and I'm just about to make it all a little bit more confusing for you.

We recently went through such an update, only because my wife arrived home (after a quick phone call to check) with a 65in Samsung 4K SMART TV from our local Costco store as it was on SUPER SALE that was just about to expire.

For such a TV I would suggest going to their Canadian site to learn more, which will probably make things much easier for you as far as doing investigative work.

One critical thing I discovered is that the models they bring into Canada often a very and are different from those that are brought into the US.

Part #1

- Patrick
======

- - - Updated - - -

@DianeVan

Part #2

We still have cable and a basic Shaw package, as well as the Apple TV we already had, along with the 5.1 surround system, CD/DVD player, and Shaw PVR.

The 6000 series Samsung only had TWO HDMI ports (some others have THREE) to connect all our media devices but a $20 adapter took care of the shortage of ports.

For more details check their Canadian site:
Samsung TV - Stream from your iPhone to your TV with AirPlay | Samsung Support CA

My wife is the main watcher and everything seems to work well for her, otherwise I would certainly hear about it.

As far as I could tell after doing post-purchase research nearly all mid to high-end TV sets all had SMART already built in and very few could be purchased without.

A main concern for you would be to check whether they have AirPlay or not possibly. The 2018 Samsung 65" 6000?? model we got certainly does and it also has a fairly decent rating. The major selling point was the price was right and my wife had been wanting a newer TV. SWMBO just happened to get it right and I was sure not about to argue.

So in reality, I don't think there's very much to research. But do stick with the Canadian sites if and when you do. Most of the TV manufacturers and the retailers seem to have already figured out what sets we should be purchasing.

PS: We ended up with the 65" set as it was the recommended size for our normal viewing distance in our family room. My wife was originally going to purchase the 55-inch model.

I hops this info helps a bit.

End part #2



- Patrick
======

Thanks Patrick. Yes I am in Vancouver, BC. I was just at Costco today actually. Only buying food not looking at TVs. I guess I should go back and look at TVs too.

I hope to find the very smallest TV possible. I just don’t like those great big things in my living room. Sounds like I’m a grumpy old lady. Yes I am. But thanks to you and slydude at least now I have some good questions to ask and things to find out when I do talk to the TV sales men. I’m making a list. Thanks for all your help.

Diane



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[pm-r]

I hope to find the very smallest TV possible.

In that case, why not just carry on using your iPad??? You can't get much smaller than that, at least for enjoyable viewing for a set of old eyes.

If you want a TV with decent resolution and any SMART built-in, which nearly all of them will have these days, probably the smallest you will find will be about 30 in. Unless of course, you get into some of the exotic special small screen TVs which will cost you a fortune or close to it at least in comparison to most normal sets.

PS: What was wrong with your old set???


- Patrick
======

 

[DianeVan]

I may just do with the iPad. But I miss the tv and it’s nice if I have guests or want to watch while working in the kitchen. My old tv was about 15 years old and getting dim, no HDMI.


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[dtravis7]

For me with my Eyes getting old and seriously watching movies, I want a larger screen than any iPad can provide and also like was said so other people can watch also. Smallest I can deal with is 32" but for really good 4k the screen needs to be even larger to really enjoy the difference.