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[DragoonKain]

I've been using the apps installed directly to my Smart TV, but honestly, they don't work super great, nor have I ever really expected them to, but they've always done the job, since I don't stream a ton.

I know some people just use their game consoles, but I've never wanted to junk them up with other apps, even though they're small.

Thought about investing in a Roku or Amazon Fire. But not sure if it's worth buying when I don't stream all that often. Also I've seen some reviews say the Amazon Fire stick doesn't look great in 4K, but those could just be anomalies.

What platform do you use to stream your content?

 

[Yamisan]

I use the apps on my TCL Roku smart tv. I never have issues with them.

 

[Warnen]

Apple TV

used the roku in the past but prefer the better interface of Apple‘s set top box.

 

[TheMan]

My current TVs are either old enough or cheap enough that I still need to use my consoles to stream. Which is fine by me.

 

[BadBurger]

The Apple 4K TV is great. It's extremely fast, obviously supports 4K and HDR and surround sound and all that, and Apple is aware of all of the streaming services I am subscribed to I get pretty much everything at a glance. Also Apple Arcade for $5 a month is a steal IMO.

They do try to sell you a lot of stuff but hey, they're a business, it's the reason they even made the device.

 

[01011001]

I use the apps on my Samsung... Tizen is a terrible OS but it works for using Netflix, Amazon or Youtube... so meh

 

[Fbh]

With my old TV I mostly used the built in apps.
They were slightly choppy in menus but not enough to really bother me.

I'm currently on an older non Smart TV and I just use my ps4

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Apple TV. So much faster & responsive than the built in apps on my tv.

 

[Noncanon Ship]

Plex.

(with chromecast)

 

[DragoonKain]

Apple TV. So much faster & responsive than the built in apps on my tv.

Is it subscription based or can you get it on a flat rate?

 

[Tschumi]

I just connect my laptop to my tv with a long-ass hdmi cable, eheh *single bead of sweat*

I guess if i did this I'd first try buying some kind of dongle. I'm sure someone's made some badass raspberry pi box to do wild things with it all

 

[ArtemisClydeFrog]

Just the apps that you can download on the LG CX. When I use one of my ghetto TVs for a 3rd or 4th screen I'll hook a laptop to it. I've tried using some apps on the XSX and PS5 but they're fucking awful.

 

[BadBurger]

Is it subscription based or can you get it on a flat rate?

You need an Apple device. For their content you need Apple TV+, which is subscription based.

They give away Apple TV+ pretty routinely when you buy an Apple device, including the Apple TV, for usually three to six months. If one already has Apple TV+ when they buy the device they typically give out a few months of Apple Arcade. One basically buys new device, logs in, and in a few days a notification pops up on your iPhone / iPad telling you that you can claim it.

 

[Nester99]

It really depends on the TV and the age of the Apps.

My old Samsung apps are very slow so i use a roku. My 2 newer TV's have a much better Version and UI so i use them.

 

[Mistake]

My tv is android, so I just download apps on it. Works fine. But usually I use my computer with an hdmi to play stuff instead

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Is it subscription based or can you get it on a flat rate?

1-time cost of the device. Has all the same apps.

 

[ManaByte]

Apple TV 4K. And the latest model supports 4K 60 (really only YouTube videos so far though).

 

[AJUMP23]

Roku on 2 TVs prime stick on one, and built in apps on lg cx.

 

[kunonabi]

I have a 4K Blu-ray player I use for Netflix and Prime Video.

I was using my Wii U for everything else but the apps are basically all unusable now, youtube in particular is a complete mess, so I use my PS5 for Crunchyroll, Hulu, Twitch, and Youtube. I also have HBOMax on it since it's free with my phone service but I barely use it.

 

[poppabk]

Mainly Fire TV sticks, but I don't have any 4k TVs, so don't know how it is for 4K. Also have a Roku stick. And a 1st gen Apple TV whose godawful interface soured me on Apple TV perhaps forever.

 

[lachesis]

Living Room (Main) - LG OLED native app. Quick and don't have to turn on other devices.
Kitchen - Dell Monitor with Speaker + Roku Express - I use it most often while eating alone.
Basement - Fire Stick... I rarely use it.

 

[BigBooper]

Pc in the living room.

 

[GymWolf]

I have my pc connected to my oled via hdmi.

 

[INC]

Ps4 is basically just a media centre for me now, all my streaming needs and blu rays

 

[GoldenEye Samurai]

I have a Roku and an Amazon Firestick, but I don’t use the latter anymore. In fact, ever since I got my M1 12.9” iPad Pro I haven’t even been bothering to turn my TV on at all. I just prefer using the iPad Pro.

 

[Nico_D]

Plex. I have a ton of stuff on my PC from movies and tv shows to music and photos and home videos. I can stream it all through my TV.

Excellent interface too.

 

[MayauMiao]

I'm use those cheap Android box because I like to be able to read the comments.

Pretty good for playing games with Retroarch too.

 

[j0hnnix]

Mainly now the Shield have a few FireTV.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Roku has enough

 

[eddie4]

I use my firestick 4k for streaming from Netflix and Kodi for everything else.

 

[Dural]

I like Roku for it's speed and look, but their restriction of apps made me get a 4K FireTV Stick on my TV that has Roku built in. I also use AndroidTV that's built into my Sony X900F but that will likely go soon too as the wifi is just garbage on it. Of the three (Roku, FireTV, and AndroidTV), I prefer the layout of AndroidTV but can't stand the stupid ads.

 

[V1LÆM]

used to use my PS4 for everything then got a chromecast and now just use built in apps on my LG CX. if they start having issues or stop getting updates my options would be (in order of preference):

1. PS5 or Xbox Series X
2. Apple TV
3. Firestick

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Chromecast with google tv. I honestly think it's the best streaming device out there. Only 50 bucks too

 

[fran.fernandez]

I use google tv chromecast but the builtin LG app is still best for 4K, HDR and Dolby vision, at least it show me the proper icons for the content.

 

[V1LÆM]

Chromecast with google tv. I honestly think it's the best streaming device out there. Only 50 bucks too

maybe if you like google harvesting all your data and spying on you.

i was deep in the google ecosystem with a pixel phone, chromecast, using chrome browser, gmail, google search, home mini, etc. but ain't no way i'm going back to that. i got rid of all that. got an iphone, new TV, moved to firefox, outlook email, used DuckDuckGo, and deleted my google account. also have to go out of your way to block google tracking you around the internet. google is a cancer of the internet.

but hey it's "only 50 bucks"...

 

[OmegaSupreme]

maybe if you like google harvesting all your data and spying on you.

i was deep in the google ecosystem with a pixel phone, chromecast, using chrome browser, gmail, google search, home mini, etc. but ain't no way i'm going back to that. i got rid of all that. got an iphone, new TV, moved to firefox, outlook email, used DuckDuckGo, and deleted my google account. also have to go out of your way to block google tracking you around the internet. google is a cancer of the internet.

but hey it's "only 50 bucks"...

Sorry. I dont have your paranoia. I'm fine with google "harvesting" my data to sell me shit.

 

[V1LÆM]

Sorry. I dont have your paranoia. I'm fine with google "harvesting" my data to sell me shit.

yeah so was i...

 

[Brian Fellows]

I use an old PS3 for my services and my Apple TV for shows I've purchased on iTunes.

 

[BigBooper]

yeah so was i...

...but then you took an ad-roll to the knee?

 

[DragoonKain]

So I’ve been thinking about getting Apple TV for a while and decided to plunge because the other day my smart tv app kept buffering and I just lost my shit and couldn’t take it anymore.

I was watching The Tomorrow War on it and the picture looks different(not as bright?) than when I was watching through my smart tv with my apps. I’m not sure if this is good or bad, I’m not a picture snob. It’s different. For example in one scene when Chris Pratt was outside the sky in the background looked sunny and on Apple TV it looked muted. But also the color schemes are different. Maybe it’s because I’m on Dolby Vision on Apple TV and it’s different but better?

Anyway, I recorded the same scene twice with my phone. One with the smart tv app directly and the other with Apple TV. I won’t say which is which to prevent bias. People here who know a lot about this stuff, tell me which one you think looks better. If you can tell from a phone recording. Maybe you can’t and if not, that’s cool.

1)

2)

 

[Reptars Revenge]

Smart TV on a good TV. Bad TVs with apps are the worst. Apple TV sometimes because HBO hates everyone except Samsung.

 

[IDKFA]

Fire Stick 4K does the job for me

 

[Patrick S.]

Fire Stick 4k mostly. Just upgraded from a regular Gen. 2 stick a few weeks ago during Amazon Prime days, and man, I love the 4k stick. Much much faster than the older stick that was driving me nuts with its sluggishness. I have Samsung Smart TVs from 2016, but for some reason, namely Samsung's "buy a new TV every two years, you sucker!" modus operandi, Disney+ isn't available for them. But it's not really a biggie for my, because I much prefer the Fire Stick's interface than the shitty Samsung one anyway.

 

[Cravis]

Plex. I've got 35 TB of my movies/tv shows ripped to my PC. Plex is an awesome user interface for sorting, organizing, and streaming them.

 

[Haint]

So I’ve been thinking about getting Apple TV for a while and decided to plunge because the other day my smart tv app kept buffering and I just lost my shit and couldn’t take it anymore.

I was watching The Tomorrow War on it and the picture looks different(not as bright?) than when I was watching through my smart tv with my apps. I’m not sure if this is good or bad, I’m not a picture snob. It’s different. For example in one scene when Chris Pratt was outside the sky in the background looked sunny and on Apple TV it looked muted. But also the color schemes are different. Maybe it’s because I’m on Dolby Vision on Apple TV and it’s different but better?

Anyway, I recorded the same scene twice with my phone. One with the smart tv app directly and the other with Apple TV. I won’t say which is which to prevent bias. People here who know a lot about this stuff, tell me which one you think looks better. If you can tell from a phone recording. Maybe you can’t and if not, that’s cool.

1)

2)

Most TV's treat smart apps like a separate input, meaning they have their own memory slot for picture mode, settings, etc... You will need to ensure the Apple TV input and built-in app input are running identical settings to have a valid comparison. Your videos appear to be completely different picture modes or wildly different settings.

 

[DragoonKain]

Most TV's treat smart apps like a separate input, meaning they have their own memory slot for picture mode, settings, etc... You will need to ensure the Apple TV input and built-in app input are running identical settings to have a valid comparison. Your videos appear to be completely different picture modes or wildly different settings.

The 2nd one was Apple TV on Dolby Vision. First was Prime App I believe on HDR10, but I'm not sure. I'm not sure how to tell what the built-in app has enabled when I play. I'm used to the little Dolby Vision logo appearing whenever it's enabled, but I'm not sure if that always occurs. It happens when I use my Apple TV, but not the built-in app so I assumed the app is using HDR10.

So it could be the difference between HDR10 and Dolby Vision, but I'm not sure. And even then I'm not sure if that would make such a drastic difference in the colors.

 

[AmuroChan]

I use my phone and cast it to the TV.

 

[KiNeMz]

I have 2 X Vodafone tv devices. Little Roku size box that has android tv running on it. Best thing I ever bought. My LG in the family area has its own apps but the Vodafone tv is much better. It's also a Google assistant device so you can control it via Google home. My main streaming is YouTube until odysee gets an app. Plex and Netflix. You can plug your cable into these devices as they have a tv tuner card in built. $49Aud.

 

[Shai-Tan]

On my newer televisions the built in apps are good. On older televisions I use a Chromecast with Google TV. Unless you need something specific like passthrough of higher quality audio codecs to a receiver (from plex or whatever) it's the best low cost solution.

edit: chromecast has apple tv+ if you cared, so no need to get an apple tv imo. if I got a higher cost one I would get one of the nvidia shield

 

[Shai-Tan]

Most TV's treat smart apps like a separate input, meaning they have their own memory slot for picture mode, settings, etc... You will need to ensure the Apple TV input and built-in app input are running identical settings to have a valid comparison. Your videos appear to be completely different picture modes or wildly different settings.

there's also a recent setting to color correct in the apple tv itself that you set up with phone camera which may slightly improve things but as Vincent Teo has shown is not really accurate

edit: and does Amazon even support Dolby Vision? I thought their content was HDR10+. I haven't looked into it in a while but definitely doesn't turn it on for the shows I watched a few months ago

edit: seems like they're conceding, so some new stuff has DV, but a lot of older stuff doesn't