Yet another 'Which TV?' thread

[Dan_Austin 62]

I'm finishing up a guest house, and want to install a TV with built-in Emby support.  For my living space separate streaming devices is ideal, but for this space I do not want multiple devices.  I'd also like to purchase locally, and living in the middle of nowhere means choices are limited.

My local brand choices are Vizio, LG, Phillips, Samsung and Hisense.  It seems The Vizio and LG lack a native app, the Samsung has an app, the Phillips is Android, and the Hisense is a Roku.  I would prefer an Android OS, so the Phillips takes the lead, unless it has a rep as junk.  The Hisense would be my second choice, if the issue of the Roku app leaving Live TV sessions abandoned has truly been fixed, it might be a tie with the Phillips.  The Samsung is almost 50% more expensive, but if the app is solid and their app store doesn't excessively delay updates, it might also be a contender.

Oddly picture quality is not one of the primary requirements.  The set will be used almost 100% with Emby and by people who find even the simplest remotes challenging.  App performance and stability matter more than any other feature. So any feedback from owners of these set would be appreciated.

 

[Luke 36991]

Hi, I think TCLs with Roku are great choices. Once you get used to the user interface of the Roku OS, it can be painful going back to anything else.

[speechles 1917]

-> App performance and stability matter more than any other feature.

That statement only qualifies the Roku. With Android you can get lost in the OS. With Roku OS it is impossible to get lost. Press HOME twice on your remote to immediately find your way back to apps. The Home screen on Roku is apps. It is so easy to use. Not just for use with Emby but for everything across the board. Plus Roku is giving many free items away and carries all the major brands and stations as apps.

... and Emby on Roku is going to get so much better. Potential is there. You are not making a bad choice if you choose the Roku.

Edited May 2, 2021 by speechles

[Dan_Austin 62]

I used a Roku Ultra as my primary for a year, but demoted it to the bedroom TV after is left a LiveTV session orphaned one too many times.  I knew to exit cleanly and not just mash the home button, but guests?  Not so much.

I've followed the threads about that issue, and a run a few tests, both of which the issue is resolved, or at least very rare.  Maybe I can take the Roku off probation.

I'm not too worried about people getting lost,  I plan to remove every app except emby and MAYBE Netflix.  I'd super love it if any platform allowed me to specific a default app to launch on power on, because then the guests would be offered a choice or emby, emby or emby.

 

[BAlGaInTl 279]

My experience is that Roku built-in to a TV is better than Android TV built-in.

Personally, I say to buy a TV based on its size and features, and then spend a little more to add the smart features you want.

I use Android TV, but I frequently recommend my family to get Roku TV and devices.

 

[Carlo 4329]

I personally prefer Android TV over Roku as it can do more things. Just a simple example is being able to playback Youtube trailers for movies and shows which can be a big plus.

I'd not worry about "smart TV" as you can get faster and more powerful adding a 4K Firestick or MiBox-S attached.  Both of these have a "menu" button to make it super easy to get back to the device home page.  I like for example being nested in Emby menus to a spot I want to be in. Hit the circle button, fire up Youtube to check out a video on how to cook something then switch back to Emby exactly where I was.

Android ATV can be flexible as you can change your launcher so you could essentially have only Emby available or maybe Youtube and Emby for the guest house.

[Dan_Austin 62]

The Android launcher option is good to know about and something I will look into.  The feedback is appreciated, but I may have not been clear about the info I was seeking.

I am familiar with both Android and Roku, but from a add-on perspective.  What I need to discover is how well each of the listed manufacturers executed the integration.  Did Phillips customize (screw-up) the Android TV UI?  Are the Hisense under-powered, making the Roku software sluggish, or unable to play HVEC/H265?  

If this was for a family room I would but the highest quality display device and then buy/replace the streaming device when-ever it irked me, but for this setup, and for the people I expect to use it, that is too complicated.  That is not about the technology, but how not tech-savy the people using it will be.

The Hisense is 65% the cost of the Phillips, so it may be given a trial run.  If it is not up to the task, I can at least return it with minimal hassle (part of the purchase local limitation)

[Carlo 4329]

Just my personal opinion but I'd always go with an external device over integrated as it will be more feature rich, typically a lot faster and give you more control if needed.  By this I mean if you decided to add a speaker system or sound bar you can put that between the device and TV.  A typical device like mentioned will run $50 so one valid approach could be to look at TVs you like for this guest house use and if the model you like best isn't more than $75ish more than a base model then simple all in one might be a good choice.

If you find a dumb model or even a smart TV that has an app that maybe isn't your favorite but is otherwise a TV you like then for roughly $50 on top of that you can have a nice smart TV adding an external device.

For guest house use, how important is the speed compared to easy of use?  Are you looking for a 4K TV?

[Dan_Austin 62]

All of the TVs the local store carries are 4K, and 'smart' sets.  The most expensive is well within budget, so price is not an important factor.  

As an extreme example of what I am expecting, my mother cannot use a Roku without getting confused.  No matter how I set the guest house up, she will never be able to use it.  Down the road if I want to add an external box there is nothing to prevent that, but I want to start with the simplest possible configuration.

As to performance, TV is provided by an HD Homerun and a Ceton eth6, so 1080.  My movie library in 95% 1080 with a small number of 4K.  My media server is overbuilt and has working hardware transcoding.  I am currently the only user, and my primary device can play any of my media without transcoding.  The guest house is hardwired to the main house and has dedicated WiFi.  If the guest house TV can handle the latest containers/codecs and 4K, that would be great, but that is not a requirement.

 

 

[all4dom 73]

I have a roku ultra in my livingroom that is a few years old & still going strong. The user interface is clean. You can have just the emby & netflix app & nothing else on the screen. Runs very smooth. I have a tcl roku tv on my daughter's room, 2 years old & still running good & hooked up via wifi. The emby app on dire tv/stick is a little more.fearure rich but amazon puts way too much crap on the screen & they add apps that you can not delete. Amazon has come out with a new update for the user interface but I have not gotten it yet to judge it. @cayarsis the shield interface similar to fire tv or roku. I know sony makes a good tv & they use android also.

[Carlo 4329]

I actually just got the Fire 4K Stick this past weekend. I assume you're referring to the system launcher/menu.  The FireTV is "quite busy" compared to the Shield TV.
For EMBY/LOCAL media, I much prefer the Shield TV launch screen over the FireTV out of the box as it's much cleaner and APP focused.  I was expecting this based on other comments in the forum. The FireTV might be better for those using many different sources like Hulu, Amazon, Netflix.

I've not done anything with the stick yet other than install just a couple of apps including Emby of course.

Of course once you're in Emby on either device they look/work more or less the same.

[Carlo 4329]

TVLaunchX can be installed on the FireTV to replace the launch screen and home button so you only get apps showing, greatly simplifying the UI and getting rid of the bloat.  It's a multistep setup but works just fine. This would basically give you a view very similar to the Apps menu on the Shield TV.

[BAlGaInTl 279]

13 hours ago, Dan_Austin said:

As an extreme example of what I am expecting, my mother cannot use a Roku without getting confused.  No matter how I set the guest house up, she will never be able to use it.  Down the road if I want to add an external box there is nothing to prevent that, but I want to start with the simplest possible configuration.

Roku is a pretty simple interface.

I think if it's going to be an issue with Roku, it's going to be an issue with any system.