If your tv works for you, that's fine. Keep using it. However, when it gets old and slows down or doesn't get app updates anymore you can just plug in a new Android box for $20 to $150 bucks instead of buying a new tv for way more. Its that simple.

No, not really. Only when you feel the built in OS is lacking in speed then think about moving on to something else. People don't understand not everyone needs a Shield and most are fine with the built in OS.

For those streaming services you don't need an extra TV box or stick but if you want to watch YouTube without any ads? What about if you decide not to pay anymore for streaming services and get all movies and TV shows under a single app (Kodi)? In that case you need an Android.

Support for the TV will end at some point, probably before the TV is non-working. Then your apps will stop being updated and possibly just stop working at all. This is especially true of OS that are not mainstream (ie: custom OS like Tizen or webOS). You also have the issue of TV chips being underpowered and memory usually being on the low side so performance may suffer over time.

If you are happy with y our set up at present then there is probably not a lot of reason to look at getting an external box. Make sure you know that at some point you may want to get one if your TV works well otherwise but is slow or stops supporting your apps. Much cheaper to add/upgrade a separate box for your needs than buy a new TV.

I have a Samsung 4K smart TV and an "old" Nvidia shield. I still prefer the shield. Faster, more apps, full android experience (VPN, Firefox etc.)

I bought my nvidia shield BECAUSE of Tizen. Ads where app icons should be that you cannot disable, for instance.

It's never when the TV is brand new, it starts with an update a year or two after the model is released so most purchasers cannot just take it back to the store for Samsungs asshatery.

If you have a higher end smart TV the general recommendation is to just use internal OS until it no longer meets your needs and then but an external box.

That could mean too slow, apps not supported anymore, specific codec support, TV no longer updates that limits something, use cade change (like wanting a media server or game emulation).

Your TV OS and HW are somewhat stuck in time, but new streaming devices are coming out all the time. Waiting will allow you to get the most powerful one when you need it, rather than just potentially side-grading now.

Need? No. If you're happy with Tizen, you don't need Android TV.

Android TV is a more full featured operating system with a larger selection of applications. Plus you can make and load your own. But if you're finding everything you want in the Tizen store, no need to change!

I had a Samsung TV with a really nice fast OS, so when I needed another TV I bought one from the same series just a different size, the OS was updated and slow down and terrible for some reason. So I added a Google TV and use that OS instead. Depending on your needs and preferences it could be a good decision

It might be different now but I remember buying a Google TV because the apps on my TV were all outdated. Some apps couldn't do 4K because they weren't supported. Some features were missing. I found the dongle apps were updated long before the apps on my TV. I never looked back.

Yes you do and you must, because Samsung panels are amazing but Tizen is a complete lackluster, absolutely dull, search your feelings you know it to be true

It’s common for Tizen OS to decay in performance. Over time, it’ll start to lag. Additionally, on Android TV (NVIDIA Shield or Chromecast with GTV) there’s more you can do such as AI upscalung, Android apps, etc.

The smart feature on your tv will become obsolete far before your tv does. So, there will be less frustration down the road if you invest in a powerful and well-supported stb like the Shield. A couple examples: Samsung recently announced they'd stop supporting Hulu on 2015 & older sets. And Plex doesn't provide full support for those older smart tv's anymore either.

Also, if you have a lot of ripped movies, chances are a lot of them are DTS audio. It's my understanding that Sammy stopped support for DTS (a Sony technology) in newer tv's.

I'm new to Android boxes/sticks.

I have a smart tv in my living and i don't see tbe point in having a stick/box in there.

I bought an Android proyector for my room, since I had an old 720p 32" standard TV.

Same exact issue here actually, bought a Samsung 4K TV from a few years back for its browser capabilities and Emby/Plex use, but the ads on the browser are so annoying and everything seems a bit slow, with some shows not working (codec issues?) on Plex. Leaning on buying a $20 Onn TV box but I really don’t need it, just the speed annoys me a bit. Would love input, don’t really watch TV often at all, maybe 1-2x a week

This is the same question as "if I already have Windows, do I need a Mac?"

If Tizen meets your use cases and is still supported, then probably not. When the inevitable time comes and your TV software turns into abandonware, but the screen is still fine, then an Android TV box will extend your TV's life.

For now, if you need a specific app that doesn't exist on Tizen, then, obviously, you need an Android TV box/dongle/stick. Otherwise, not so much.

Personally I use an external box and not the TV's options to give me more control over the experience. Mainly to deal with the potential for ads and other user regressive things TV manufactures are so into.

An external Android TV box allows me to replace the launcher and anything else I want without having to worry as much about the competing wishes of the manufacturer.

So basically the major reason to use Android over alternatives in general, flexibility and options.

I suggest a TV Box as your TV doesn't have the enough storage or RAM for it to stream properly. Plus Sammy is not Android

Not really, the apps on Samsung are perfectly functional.

No. Cuz it’s literally the same thing as you already have. People that still buy actual “boxes” makes me laugh. A stick or dongle I get if you don’t have a smart tv.

If you already do, you are only paying an extra $100+ for something you literally already have.

Now I get if, say, you really want an android OS Smart TV image... if that’s the case many smart TVs you can actually install custom OS’s now and many smart TVs you can root/unlock boot loader/etc. (you can’t buy a chrome cast for the google OS as the chrome cast essentially just uses your personal device/phone as the OS.... an Amazon fire stick or cube is diff though. It’s like roku in that it has a full onboard OS on the streaming device itself... and most fire sticks can be hacked to install android OS... also the native android OS is actually based off of android. So you can actually still install any android apps you may want... you just have to sideload them is all)

So in my opinion... no you are wasting money. If you really really want an android OS... install a custom firmware.

Or if you really need a device.. get a cheaper option than an android tvbox... a fire stick.

OR..... if you have a spare raspberry pit laying around somewhere.... or an old computer (can be a desktop or laptop or whatever... as long as it minimally has 2-4 cores on the cpu and has hdmi access. If no hdmi access, you can use a usb hub with a built in hdmi port. Once you have your device selected, just google something like “diy android tv box from computer” Heck, while you are at it you can even just make it into a full fledged media server/station/NAS....There are dozens of tutorials and is honestly decently easy and WAY cheaper than buying a box. Plus, chances are, your diy setup will also perform WAY better than the retail box as the retail box uses a MUCH weaker kind of processor (arm variant specifically or a SoC) and has HUGE limitations when it comes to memory and ram and disk space and such.....

A basic Intel Celeron or low to mid range older I-3 or I-5 processor would be WAY faster.... heck you can grab a used Intel 6 core 2.8 processor on Amazon right now for like $25-$35. Then grab a stick or two of cheap dd3 ram (8 gb is plenty... but it’s cheap so I usually go higher. Like you can get 16GB for like $10-$15 bucks)

Then just get a itx motherboard. You can rummage the used market and find some for like $10-$35 sometimes.

If you need a power supply, get that still. And a case if you want (my first one I built I just used an acrylic glass shield deal i fab’d myself). The small NZXT itx cases (if they still sell Em) used to be like $35-$50 a pop.

And that right there is like $85-$100 total. For like 6-8 times the performance.

Then you also have the ability to expand to it. You can add hard drives and additional network interfaces via pcie slots on the motherboard to turn it into a nas/media server/virtual machine server.

You can also even add a gpu (note if your processor doesn’t have graphics integration on it, you will 100% need a gpu as well for your build) and add gaming/high def streaming/improved graphics performance to your build. Much much better than stupid android gaming on smart tvs.

You don’t even need a high end gpu. If you don’t really care about high performance gaming above 1080p... then all you truly need is something along the lines of say a RX 580... which I picked up three years ago for $135 from bestbuy. And it can STILL do 4K on some aaa games but very very very few. But 4K media/streaming? Heck ya.... if you also are running VM’s on this thing, a gpu will help substantially.

Or last ditch effort before you crack from a retail box? But a rpi4. You only really need a rpi3... but the price diff isn’t much at all and the rpi4 is a huge step up in performance. Essentially all your android tv box is, honestly, is either a raspberry pi 3 variant or an very early rpi4 variant. It’s just been modded.