OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Purchased at Costco in January of this year.
Unit replaced a 65" Samsung 3D SmartTV we bought many years ago which stopped receiving updates a while back and recently wouldn't load the TV apps such as Amazon Video or Netflix. This TV was moved up into my eldest son's room, since it worked fine otherwise.
This is actually our 2nd google-based television. The first we purchased was a Samsung 4K 55", also from Costco, for our bedroom. It's a more "limited" experience, in terms of the google stuff, which I'll come back to. Worthwhile to mention that Samsung's transition from their own OS on the TV's to Android appears to have been done in a manner that made the operation seem familiar and they weren't out to reinvent the wheel.
Pros:
- Image quality is fantastic
- Detection and configuration of attached devices, such as my Denon AVR X4200-W was for the most part automatic, same with my son's PS5.
- Included remote is well laid-out and has quick access buttons for the most popular apps such as Amazon, Netflix, Youtube...etc.
- Integrated player is better than on the 4K Samsung, able to play a wider range of content
- Automatic screensaver feature works well, as does being able to cast Youtube or do airplay from a phone or computer.
- Unit is FAST. Apps open extremely quickly
Cons:
- It's very much full-featured Android, so it does weird things sometimes. Apps will randomly crash or not load properly, requiring you to hold down the power button on the remote and select "Reboot" to resolve. Coming back to the Samsung, which has fewer features and a more simplified user experience, this does not happen, despite it also being an Android-based device. So, this appears to be a byproduct of the newer Google TV/Android ecosystem and not an underlying issue with Android itself, as a TV OS.
- HDMI smart features are a bit buggy. For example, it turns off my stereo, like it is supposed to, when you shut off the TV. 30 seconds later, it turns the stereo back on. Then, a minute or so later, it turns the stereo back off, at which point it stays off. This didn't happen with the Samsung.
Hopefully the cons get resolved with an OS/firmware update at some point.
All-in-all, reasonably happy with the purchase, though do suspect we might have been a touch happier with another Samsung.