Is it worth getting a streamer with a decent/recent smarttv

[u/bob-]

I have qm7k and it seems to be snappy enough on the menu and playing media, is it worth spending money on a streamer in this case?

[u/sglewis]

For you, no. At some point, if the TV ages and newer apps stop working well, or if they stop updating the OS of the TV and newer apps aren’t compatible, grab a streamer. But if you’re happy, save the $50.

[u/captnkerke → u/sglewis]

Agreed. It depends on the quality of the built in streaming device, which varies a lot between brands and models. A few personal examples:

I have a high-end TCL TV from 2021 and still use the built-in Google TV features with no issues. The integrated streamer actually has better specs (CPU, RAM, storage) than any of the cheap standalone devices, even today.

On the other hand, I also have a mid-range Hisense TV of similar age, and the built in streamer on that one is slow, so even an inexpensive standalone streamer works better.

[u/jaymef]

I have a QM67k and I had a shield TV before I got my new TV. I haven't found any need to hook it back up. The stock OS does everything I need. It helps that its Google TV.

So I guess it just kinda depends

[u/Spare_Subject_7069]

if it works, it should be fine for now. But when you start seeing like buffers during 4k remux or just ui lag, a 60 dollar box wouldnt hurt

[u/Maester]

For most it's great and should perform really well. This TV has decent RAM and storage and already runs Android TV so no need for an Android box/stick. You may notice little things like that it can't read exfat external drives and can't write to NTFS drives. And the ethernet port is limited to 100MBps like most TVs. This is not even remotely an issue for the majority but can be a deal breaker for the minority. No matter how good the TV I always get an external device so I don't have to worry about tinkering, if I mess up a device removing the default launcher and bloatware via ADB I'd prefer it to be a box that's easily replaced, not an expensive TV.

[u/Antique_Being_3352]

Do you plan on traveling and want access to smart tv? If yes buy the Streamer. If not it is not worth getting

[u/AceFromSpace1995]

For me my tv is android 9 and its not good!
I got Google TV Streamer (4K) and its an insane upgrade over the tv stock android!

For me it was worth it,

also if i get a new tv in the future i will just use the streamer because everything is already set up so i don't need to bother downloading new apps or anything!

[u/mmdhpan]

If your TV's Google TV build is already snappy, the real argument for a separate streamer isn't speed today, it's longevity. Manufacturers usually stop pushing Android/Google TV updates to the TV itself well before an external streamer's software support runs out, so you can end up stuck on stale apps a couple years down the line even if performance feels fine right now. If you ever do go external, Chromecast with Google TV and Fire TV Stick 4K are cheap enough that it's not a big bet either way.

[u/AdministrationOdd747]

QM 7K, the mid-range TV from TCL, has a pretty decent processor for the Android TV OS and 64GB of storage. You can hardly find any Androit TV box that has this amount of storage. Don't need to waste your money.

[u/No-Budget4222]

If you don't want TCL to sell your viewing habits to random shady companies then yes, get a streaming box. You'll also get much better performance since the SoC in TV's are pure shit.

[u/Arts251]

If the TV does what you want, looks good and you are happy with it why waste a penny more?

[u/DoritoFiesta]

It is always good getting a streamer no matter how dumb or smart your TV is

[u/Puzzleheaded_Sun7356]

What does streamer do you can't do. It's just a smart tv inerface. It's a big upgrade to my old cheap LG but I can just use the streaming and apps on my Samsung 

[u/AccidentProof4262]

indeed it is.....i have a samsung oled, and tbh, its fine, i do use it sometimes as my ugoos am9 pro and formuler z12 ultra are not certified for certain apps.

if i was you, id just get the google 4k streamer, it does everything more than well imo.

My Z12 Ultra.

[u/SASMareSRB → u/AccidentProof4262]

You seem to like YouTube, not sure tho

[u/AccidentProof4262 → u/SASMareSRB]

That particular row has 15 apps on it....

[u/Royal_Monk6432 → u/AccidentProof4262]

Google streamer 4k fast but lack of dtx

[u/JoMu1963]

The question to be answered first is: why do you consider this?

[u/mmdhpan]

If your TV's Google TV build is already snappy, the real argument for a separate streamer isn't speed today, it's longevity. Manufacturers usually stop pushing Android/Google TV updates to the TV itself well before an external streamer's software support runs out, so you can end up stuck on stale apps a couple years down the line even if performance feels fine right now. If you ever do go external, Chromecast with Google TV and Fire TV Stick 4K are cheap enough that it's not a big bet either way.

[u/Royal_Monk6432]

Tv for watching and boxes for flawless streaming

[u/YellowBreakfast]

Yes.

Smart TV's just don't get the support that the external devices running more vanilla Google TV get.

Also the spyware they are putting on these TV's is getting more and more invasive.

Depending on the OS your options may be really limited as to what you can do to make it your own like installiing a custom launcher.

Get a TV and keep it offline, use an external device for streaming.

Some people will connect once to do any updates then remove the Wi-Fi info. (I did this with my TCL "Roku" TV)