Originally Posted By: Bear
So can one buy a smart TV but use and ungrade using the various "sticks"?
Absolutely. Compared with the built-in apps on smart televisions, I MUCH prefer the consistent interface of Roku or Apple TV (whichever one you're into). We have three Rokus; one in the basement, one in the living room, and then another one in our bedroom. No matter where we go, we have the same apps, same look and feel, and same content available to us. We can even travel with them, and bring our apps with us. We have Samsung and Sony smart televisions, but I find their interfaces clunky and non-intuitive. We also have a Sony Blu Ray player, and it's not all that easy to use (though I do find it the best of the non-Rokus).
If whatever TV you're buying has an HDMI port (and they all do now), you can plug in the streaming device of your choice.
We used to get local programming over the air when we lived in North Carolina. Here in Virginia, we're west of the Blue Ridge and cannot get anything. So we buy the basic cable/internet package from Comcast and continue to steam most stuff across the Roku.
