Hi guys (and girls),
our current main TV we bought way back in 2008. Its a 42" Philips Plasma TV with Ambi-Light, etc.
Its a great TV and it basically has a sound-bar built-in which has served us well over the past 13 years.
I tried to upgrade to a 55" Samsung UHD curved Smart TV. Still have it and although it is great in many respects, its not a Plasma and the sound really sucks compared to the old Philips. I have added external speakers, but the wife vastly prefers the old Philips's sound and do not want to bother with secondary sound devices and they simply do not sound as natural as what the Philips already has built in.
I've given up the fight of 'getting a new SMART TV' and now I'm just looking for a decent 'SMART BOX' to bring the features up to date on the Philips.
There is a plethora of (cheap) SMART Boxes out there but I don't know which are the good eggs? I don't mind paying a bit more in order to get the right one.
What I need is:
* a no-nonsense smart box that is super reliable and stable as well as intuitive and easy to operate - the wife needs to be happy, so not too techy and complicated.
* Decent hardware to keep up with new developments, etc. with enough RAM and stuff.
* Needs to be silent
* Must have native support for YouTube and NetFlix
* Must have an Ethernet port
* Not sure if I missed anything but the above is based on our current needs?
Any advice from your personal experience will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
our current main TV we bought way back in 2008. Its a 42" Philips Plasma TV with Ambi-Light, etc.
Its a great TV and it basically has a sound-bar built-in which has served us well over the past 13 years.
I tried to upgrade to a 55" Samsung UHD curved Smart TV. Still have it and although it is great in many respects, its not a Plasma and the sound really sucks compared to the old Philips. I have added external speakers, but the wife vastly prefers the old Philips's sound and do not want to bother with secondary sound devices and they simply do not sound as natural as what the Philips already has built in.
I've given up the fight of 'getting a new SMART TV' and now I'm just looking for a decent 'SMART BOX' to bring the features up to date on the Philips.
There is a plethora of (cheap) SMART Boxes out there but I don't know which are the good eggs? I don't mind paying a bit more in order to get the right one.
What I need is:
* a no-nonsense smart box that is super reliable and stable as well as intuitive and easy to operate - the wife needs to be happy, so not too techy and complicated.
* Decent hardware to keep up with new developments, etc. with enough RAM and stuff.
* Needs to be silent
* Must have native support for YouTube and NetFlix
* Must have an Ethernet port
* Not sure if I missed anything but the above is based on our current needs?
Any advice from your personal experience will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
