Certainly, owning a Smart TV is welcome and has many benefits. In addition, their prices have become more affordable for everyone than ever before, and anyone can buy one. However, no matter how many benefits it offers, I personally decided – I don’t know if you will agree with me – not to buy a Smart TV and to buy a regular TV instead, and I have my reasons for doing so. So, without further ado, let me list them for you to see if you will be convinced by them like me or not.
1- Privacy
The world is divided into two types of people: those who love privacy, prefer secrecy and security in all aspects of their lives, and do not allow or, more accurately, do not prefer any external entity trying to spy on their privacy or monitor their actions to target them with annoying ads. The other type is not afraid at all, always leading an open life and not caring much about privacy and security issues, and above all, not affected much by ads or even if advertising companies knew their personal preferences and interests.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued numerous warnings in 2019 about the risks of Smart TV devices.
All Smart TVs use Automatic Content Recognition (ACR). The manufacturing companies use this system to collect information about what the user is constantly watching, then present them with ads related to their preferences. In other words, buying a Smart TV means you fully agree to share what you watch with the TV manufacturer.
But that’s not all, Smart TVs do not receive security updates continuously, while apps and services receive individual updates, but the TV device itself does not receive the necessary security updates from the manufacturer to keep up with emerging security challenges. So when you look at it from a different perspective, you will find that the Smart TV is a weak point in your local internet network. Try to check the security of your internet network regularly to ensure its safety and protection.
It is known that most Smart TVs have a built-in camera and microphone. Some malicious entities and hackers can exploit this vulnerability to spy on you audibly and visually.
There have been many old statements from CNN that the privacy policy of some television screen companies, particularly Samsung, transfers your conversations to a third party in order to improve ad targeting. Regardless of the entity trying to eavesdrop on you, whether it is some intruders, hackers, or the manufacturer, the amount of data that companies collect about you is very extensive, even though you are just an ordinary person who only wants to enjoy watching some live shows or new movies.
2- Streaming Devices are far superior
If we completely exclude privacy from our discussion, you will find that the main feature you get from a Smart TV is the ability to access popular app services like Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, and many other famous streaming apps and services. However, you can achieve this feature and better multiple times if you decide to buy one of the external streaming devices.
Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire devices are the best platforms for accessing online streaming services. They have a simple and advanced display interface at the same time without any complications, making it easy to navigate between app menus. Choosing an app will be smoother and faster than the experience offered by Smart TVs, thanks to the more powerful digital processors in external streaming devices. In addition, streaming devices provide more convenience, comfort, and integration with other smart devices like your phone.
For example, Amazon Fire TV supports a remote control system called Alexa, which allows you to run your favorite programs without much navigation between menus. If your home is filled with Apple devices, then Apple TV might be a better option as it makes it very easy to share media between the iPhone and iPad. In fact, it will be easy to control many things compared to the complex experiences we resort to with Smart TVs.
In short, streaming devices do everything that a Smart TV does but in a smarter way. They are cost-effective, provide usage flexibility as they support connection to any TV, and ultimately, you will have a great and enjoyable experience compared to relying solely on a Smart TV – but make sure to choose one that is worth your money. Avoid cheap Chinese products, and decide to buy the original ones, and you will find that they are much better than anything else.
3- User Interface and Command Execution
Smart TVs try to provide you with the maximum comfort and convenience they can offer, but they fail miserably in that. For example, if you try to search for a show or program on streaming services, you will find yourself forced to type many characters using the TV remote control, which is truly a bad and exhausting experience. Although most smart TV devices support a microphone, they are not worthy of utilizing this feature.
If you decide to buy one of the modern streaming devices, you will find that they have an advanced remote control with an efficient voice assistant. Some streaming devices also support TV-specific remote control apps, meaning that you can type search operations on a smartphone or tablet. Moreover, some Smart TVs have poor interfaces that require more and more button presses to reach the desired content or place.
4- Performance Slowdown
One of the most important problems you will hate with Smart TVs is that they do not have sufficient processing power compared to external streaming devices. Poor performance and neglect by app developers is a common and unavoidable issue. If you currently have a Smart TV, you most likely faced issues with delays or input commands freezing when pressing buttons, many cases of freezing and malfunction if you try to execute a command that requires effort from the TV’s processor power. So, you either endure the slowdown and delay in executing commands, or you don’t, as it is an inevitable issue with most Smart TV screens.
There are certainly many other problems with Smart TVs, but what we have listed are the most common issues that any user faces today. Therefore, if you are looking for a truly “smart” experience, you will have to buy one of the third-party streaming media devices, and we have previously presented some of them to you, and what is the best one that is worth buying.
