i guess it's impossible to buy a non-smart tv today?

I hadn't thought of that aspect of it, but yeah that's another reason I don't want a SmartTV.


Dig on this, that console TV and the clock is the bomb, the lamp is cool too.

i like smart tvs (:

When I got an electric toothbrush it wanted to connect to my wi-fi and my phone. Just . . . no. You are a toothbrush.

The only device that I'm tempted to connect to the internet is my new(ish) washer/dryer, because it lets you download and program custom cycles.

I do the same thing, I end up using the Chromecast instead of the built-in Smart TV stuff. Which is usually fine but gets worse over time anyway.

Same idea with the Roku, Fire stick, whatever. Streamlines the experience across TVs, too.

So yeah, hard to avoid buying a smart TV, but not hard to basically ignore all of the "smart" features if you want.

So you have no streaming services?

Yes, I just said I use an AppleTV set.

It was a reasonable question; I keep up with this stuff pretty carefully and I don't have any idea what an "Apple TV set" is. Since Apple TV is a streaming service, that sounds like someone saying "I have a Netflix TV." Which I would guess means a TV integrated tightly with the related service, or something (specifically given Apple's coherent ecosystem stuff), but it's not obvious from the term itself.

I don’t have a smart tv. I bought my tv about 10 years ago though. I have an Apple TV connected to my tv so it functions as if it’s a smart tv.

So Apple TV is a device not an actual television?

i was confused with the word set. sounds like a device.

I believe it's a streaming "box." Similar to a Chromecast or a streaming stick but a little more elaborate, too big to just hang out in an HDMI or USB slot or whatever.

There's two terms that are similar but actually very different:

AppleTV set - it's a device that hooks up to the TV and lets you connect with streaming services, which have apps in the device. For example, my AppleTV currently has apps for things like Netflix, MUBI, Criterion Channel, YouTube, and a few others.

AppleTV+ is Apple's own streaming service, with their own movies and series.

You do not automatically get a subscription to AppleTV+ when you buy an AppleTV set; they are both separate transactions.

Right now I'm still using the AppleTV set but have paused the AppleTV+ service temporarily, because I have more stuff than I have time to watch right now. I'll pay for another month or two towards the end of the year, which is usually when some of the best stuff comes out.

much like the roku and firestick devices i have. i do love those devices.

Oh, I have a firestick and a Roku, also - I just rarely use them. The AppleTV set is much superior in almost every imaginable way.

It is a device: a small box that plugs into the tv set and plugs into power and has an operating system on it. It basically turns a regular tv into a smart tv. You can use it to download apps and stream movies and shows and play games.

https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-4k/

Oh yeah, I forgot you can also use it for gaming.

I'm not into gaming anymore, tho, so I wouldn't know if it's any good as a gaming system.

Also, you can't use it to surf the web (there is no internet browser, at least not without getting into some stuff that they don't want you to do).

I leave my Roku device unplugged unless I need it, which is almost never. Other than the Roku I never have my TV set connected to anything other than the Blu-Ray player.

I don't unplug my AppleTV set, but I have all the updates set to manual, I never let it update anything automatically.

Just bein' careful, you know!