Experience of box vs TV built in

by burnblue

I know there are a few submissions on here asking whether one should get a Sony Android TV or an Nvidia Shield etc. The replies are always "get a dumb tv, buy for picture quality". I'd like to get some varied responses.

I want to know how the Android TV experience benefits degrade when you choose one vs the other. I'm talking about stuff like included Chromecast functionality, launching content search via voice (do you need to press a remote button first for both?), can devices like Google Home wake up either one for you or do you have to turn on your TV and switch to the Shield input. What's it like having the OS contained only to an input vs controlling your TV? Are there key applications exclusive to each (any Kodi difference?)

I'm not talking about future-proofing. Let's assume for the purpose of this that TVs will get Android updates too. I'm not talking about picture quality because real world tests have shown me I couldn't see the difference or care much when I compare TVs side by side.

I'll get a 4K TV so it's going to be smart. The question is more do I want WebOS as the soul of my TV for day to day operations since Android is available separately? Or should I just go right to Android?

Thanks in advance

pudds

The truth of it is that it's very hard to find a decent TV these days that isn't also a smart TV. Your best bet is to find the best TV you can in your price range, whether it's smart or not. Don't pay extra for the smart features, and don't worry too much about the OS it runs. Buy for the hardware, not the software.

I hate smart TVs, but I own two of them. One has Chromecast built in, so I do use that, but the other is WebOS, and I don't even have it connected to my network.

TheSubversive

Listen, DO NOT BUY A TV BASED ON THE OS. Buy a TV based on the picture, the features, and whatever other hardware elements are important to you.

You wouldn't buy a car because of it's stereo would you? Same thing.

The Sony Android TV's work well enough but they're extra, they're an afterthought. They're basically the minimum requirements to run the OS too - severely underpowered. If you're going to depend on running apps and whatnot to watch tv then you're going to want to buy a standalone box in addition to your tv.

Fantastins

I'm not fully aware of TV OS with Android. Are the TV setups like phones with vendor OS, or is it the actual Android TV OS as Google intended and they all work the same?

jamesey10

I'd avoid the Sony Android TV's. They are sluggish, buggy, and not worth the premium compared to a box, like the Shield or apple tv, or even chrome cast

osiris355

It all comes down to processing and somewhat remote input.

Sony uses a very cheap and slow processor in their TVs which a streamer like the Shield uses a fast one. The Sony remotes suck as well

Honestly, this doesn't sound like much but trust me when I say there is a HUGE difference.

Also shield's are more stable due to more consistent updates.

npaladin2000

Honestly I'd completely ignore the TV's OS. I got a Vizio SmartCast TV, which is nice and unobtrusive, it's just a Chromecast. Day-to-day I use a SHIELD, though I've noticed some things work better on the Chromecast as opposed to casting to the SHIELD (DirecTV Sunday NFL Ticket comes to mind).

Generally an OS built into the TV is very very convenient, but you'll get more power from a seperate device, which would also be easier to swap out. Of course, you can get a different OS from what's in your TV, to fill in gaps in app coverage.

Future_Plan

A box can rival built in (or better) if you consider the following:

  • TV has good HDMI-CEC, so your TV can switch to that input automatically, and use the same remote. Like if you turn on the box, it will turn on the TV automatically.
  • Your input supports all the standards you want, like HDR.

What an external box can do is go through a receiver for better bitstreamed audio support, like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. A built in app would probably be limited to HDMI ARC /SPDIF (AC3/DTS).

emd2013

I have both a shield tv 2017 and Chromecast ultra and found the experience on the ultra is better. shield is also miss core functionality in cast such guest mode.