Of all the things Apple releases, the Apple TV is one that always gets my attention. The built-in Smart TV software (even if it is powered by a real OS) is extremely sluggish on the two TVs I have used them on. The Apple TV’s performance makes the hassle of a separate device totally worth it.
(My Xbox comes close, but…turning on the Xbox for basically launching streaming apps always seemed like a bit of a overkill 
)
I have a Shield TV which is pretty nice
The performance is great. But this makes sense because it also runs games, which is not unlike the xbox in that sense… though I think it’s UI is better suited for TV than the xbox (which for the longest time I used as a streaming device before getting a TV with a Roku OS).
My biggest complaint is the stupid prism remote. I find it awkward and often hit the wrong button, either by accident or because I expected the button to be somewhere else.
I really like the roku tvs with the built in os. They are super cheap and look and perform great…at first.
However i find that the os slows down after a few short years. I’ve been to lazy to look in to it but I think I’ve at least reset factory settings once and confirmed updates.
Leaves me no choice but to assume they make is slower semi-on purpose, or more likely software updates give no shits about catering to 2 years ago model, bloating it up.
This has been the way for many years many rokus and roku tvs for me. Theres no added functionality on updates. Its just always super fast when i buy the new model, and slow ui in 2 years. All the same functions
Its pretty nice as far as being convenient, but it annoys me to no end that changing to an input behaves like an app. So, for instance, I can’t pause youtube, switch over to the xbox for something real quick, then come back to youtube and pick up where I left off. Instead I have to open youtube and start all over again.
And right now about 30% of the time it loses its connection to the wifi when turning it on. I have to manually “check connection” to get it to connect again. I have a feeling it might be time for a new tv, and I’m not convinced its going to be a roku. Though Roku v10 is supposedly rolling out now. Maybe that will fix some of these issues (though probably not, and it will probably add more)
I just have my computer hooked to my TV.
I do that too. What do you use as your “remote”? I started with this rii mini
But then upgraded to a larger version which has a better track pad (the tiny one was just a little too tiny)
This is practically full keyboard territory but it’s still small enough to not be inconvenient
Oh that’s a good idea. I just use a mouse. Rather, I would use a mouse except that my computer’s wireless card keeps dying. Is it still a remote if it’s wired?
What other non-Apple TV devices can we talk about in kirupa’s Apple TV thread? 
I used to have my computer connected to my TV as well, and I used an older version of the following Logitech Media keyboard:
It was convenient 
Did your version also have the mouse buttons on the left? That seems weird to me… though I guess it makes sense if you’re holding it like a controller.
I used to own the following item for controlling things on a TV. So, as far as I’m concerned, technology has taken a step backward in the past 20 years.
That’s amazing.
Wow! Did the gamecube have apps?
It looks like stewies head
Speaking of remotes and one that I’ve held two versions of at some point, Logitech’s Harmony line is going away:
I’m a stickler for proper colors and have an unnecessary amount of tribal knowledge from having played with various calibration techniques over the years, so this is welcome news: How to use tvOS 14.5 color balancing feature on Apple TV - 9to5Mac
They have similar techniques for sound where a receiver comes with a microphone that calibrates the audio automatically:
I wonder how long before that too is simplified greatly and becomes a part of what our phones can handle for us.
@kirupa Do you have a decent TV with consistent back lighting? Every tv I get seems to be sh*t at this and I hate it. I’ve given up on expecting consistent colors, but I can dream…
