IMO it's best to focus on the TV for its picture quality and physical caracteristics (ie: the number of inputs, display size, mount options, etc) and leave the smart part of it as secondary.

If the better display has a shitty embedded OS, it's not a deal-breaker, you can still attach an Android TV Box or a Chromecast w/ Google TV to make it work the way you want. You still need to consider the added price of buying an extra device on top of the price of the TV.

You won't find a good TV without smart features anyway. The advice to go with a "dumb" TV is extremely outdated.

Built in OS has its pros. It is more convenient, often picture can be better. Upscaling for example, the TV is more likely to do a better job than a separate box, unless it is nvidia shield. For Netflix and Youtube, built in is going to be just fine. And you can always add a box anyway.

Since almost any TV nowadays is a smart TV, why not buy the smart TV of your choice then try it for yourself and see how you like it? If you are satisfied using the smart TV features and the TV has all of the apps you want then you can stick with it. But if you are unsatisfied with the smart features then get a dedicated streaming box. And you may decide to use the smart features for the time being then change your mind at some future point and get a dedicated streaming box or streaming stick. It's all up to you.

I would recommend an Android TV box (especially the Nvidia Shield) with an official supported Google Android TV version installed. They have better software support and are easy to replace when the software is outdated in stead of buying a whole new TV.

yes... i can stream 4k flawlessly now... before, i play 4k files via the tv usb ports and it stutters...

Yes

I got the Nvidea shiled and I like it as it gets updates which may not be true for the TV. I been thinking about getting a 4K TV myself, though it is sad that almost everything is a "smart tv"

Yes. Get a 'dumb' TV and a smart box, for all the reasons mentioned and more. Plenty of 'dumb' TV's on amazon Spain and Germany if you're in Europe.

TV should last years, not just until updates stop. swapping box is a lot cheaper, as is dumb TV. But a big brand TV without smarts, costs more. If going that route I prefer Panasonic.

I had shield, I use Mecool KM2 now.

The only problem I see in "buy an Android box INSTEAD of a Smart Tv" is that, at least where I live (Brazil), "dumb" TV's are now rare and with poor quality compared with smart tv.

It used to be that smart TVs had disadvantages, such as taking longer to turn on and wake up. That's not really the case anymore. So you can just get a TV with AndroidTV built in, then in a few years if you're unhappy with the updates provided by the manufacturer, get an external box then.

Good luck finding a dumb TV nowadays...nevermind one with decent picture quality. You will most likely en up getting a smart TV, because that's what available. Might as well use those smart features built in. If in the future your TV slows down, get a box.

You're likely going to want to upgrade your Android components sooner than you will want a new TV. Of course if the price is right you can buy the Xiaomi for example and use that of until you need to upgrade the a new Android box. But don't pay more just to get the smart functions instead of having an external box.

Also I don't thin the OS on smart TVs is any good. Xiaomi might actually be alright but I think a lot of manufacturers just slap some ad-ridden shit on it and then never update it.

I’ve got a Android TV Sony Bravia that plays streams flawlessly. I used to have a streamer and wanted to consolidate so I tried this out and it works great. Only little lag I ever see is occasionally navigating menus but never on streams.

Well, in my case, yes. It was cheaper to get a streaming box as apposed to a new smart tv. My tv is a samsung smart tv that has limited space (750mb only) for apps etc. So I opted to get a walmart onn 4k uhd device. it only has around 4gb usable of 8gb. but I can expand that with adoptable storage. I also ordered a tivo stream 4k to check it out. a bit easier to expand the internal storage on that one as opposed to the onn, which requires some adb commands to get it to work properly.

Absolutely. You are far likely to upgrade a box before you want a new TV. Buy a TV for the features of the TV ie picture quality, upscaling audio. ,. Not for its amount of processor Ram and operating system,. Which can be upgraded at any time for a fraction of the cost

I'm a fan of TV+box solution, but I want to add some nuance to that advice.

1. Buy the TV with the screen size/quality that best fits your needs and budget, regardless of whether it is smart or not. In the current market, you might end up with a smart TV anyway because "dumb" TVs are harder and harder to find.

2. Once you find the screen you want, then look if it you can or want to use it for streaming directly, or you need an Android box. This depends on whether the TV has the services you want to use, and if you're happy with the software interface, the you could very well not need an Android box for now (you can always get one later). Also, some smart TVs that are great TVs have terrible software with baked-in ads or other privacy issues.

3. If you do decide you want to get a separate box for streaming, another option is to start with a cheap Chromecast. You can probably buy an old-school Chromecast for like $10 or less locally or on Craigslist or eBay. From your described need that may be enough. Again, you can always upgrade later.

In short, it's never a good idea to buy a TV for it's smart features, but it's good to wait to see if the TV you choose for it's other features comes with good-enough smart features anyway.

YES.

I just got me a TCL 55A8 4K HDR10 Smart TV with Android TV 9.0 for $365. It works fine as is out of the box. I don't see a 55 inch 4K dumb TV in the market.

If I ever decide that I need Android 11, I can simply buy a Mi Box or NVIDIA Shield.

Yes it (my opinion), i'm still using my Nvidia Shield that i bought in 2015 and it's a lot better than the build in ATV in the TV's i tested from friends (Philips, Sony). I prefer Samsung TV's but i don't like the Tizen smart part. It's to limited if you want more than the standard apps.

I'm running RetroArch / Arc Browser on my Shield, Kodi for my offline collection (80s cartoons, movies & music), Smart Tube next, Tivimate and some streaming apps.

Last year i bought a new tv and just hooked on my shield again.

Buy a amazon fire stick. You can check youtube for free iptv apps. There are tons. Download them onto the stick

I would say yes, just buy a dumb TV for the reason mentioned (you'll want to update). It doesn't have to be a box, it can be a dongle. I have both a Tivo Stream 4k (Android TV) and a Amazon Firestick. I would like to try the Google dongle. One advantage of the Tivo/Google option is you can use a free smartphone app as a separate remote. So anyone with a smartphone can have a remote.

Android tv its a Illusion buy a Firestick for screenmirror and OTT Apps. TheesBala