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Even the remote control can be confusing, hiding some functions behind colors or letters that aren't at all clear.Įven the apps themselves can be limited in features. Many smart TVs are plagued with generally poor interfaces that take a lot of button presses to get anywhere and hide important settings where you might miss them. Some of them also have mobile TV remote apps, which support typing out your searches on a smartphone or tablet.Īnd that's only one issue. On the other hand, most streaming boxes come with remotes that have superior voice assistants. While most smart TVs have microphone support, the stock solution is often spotty (and likely requires sharing voice data with your TV manufacturer). With a regular TV remote, typing is a hair-pulling affair that could take up to a dozen button presses per letter typed. One major example is when you want to search for a particular TV show or movie on a streaming service. While it's not overwhelming, it makes what should be a fun experience inconvenient at best. When you want to sit down and watch something on a smart TV, it's actually a lot more work than you'd expect. Let's examine some disadvantages of smart TVs. But we still think non-smart TVs, or alternative devices, have a worthy place in your home. Having your TV online is definitely useful, and their affordable pricing means that you don't have to shell out extra for these features (or buy a separate streaming box). Not all TVs are smart a "dumb" TV doesn't connect to the internet, so it's simply a display device for whatever you connect to it (much like a computer monitor).
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That's what a smart TV does that a regular TV doesn't. You can also use them to browse the web, access other resources on your home network, stream from other computers and phones in your house, and more depending on your model.
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Most smart TV platforms have apps for major streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, plus offerings for major TV networks and more niche services. This means that your TV itself gets online, instead of having to use a connected device like a Roku box or gaming console to access online services.īecause smart TVs are connected to the internet, they usually let you download apps like you would on your phone. Smart TVs are TVs that have the built-in capability to connect to the internet.
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