Why would anyone buy this??

[Fonejackerjon]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00UH2O6T2/ref=topnav_storetab_kin_ftv

Excuse my ignorance but if you already have 4K TV, arent all there features already built on?

What are the use of these micro consoles with 4K capability when 4K TVs can already do them and have an on-board CPU and GPU?

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Spoiler

All seriousness, no idea. I didn't think people still watched TV. I thought it was just Hulu and Netflix off tablets and computers.

 

[DefunctTheory]

This may surprise you, but a lot of manufacturers have truly shitty interfaces for their Smart TVs. My 55 inch, 3D Smart LG (About 3 years old now) has a magnificently bad OS, and while I can use Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu on it, none of those have gotten a meaningful update since I got it. None support automatic next episode functions, and the look is atrocious. To top it off, theirs almost zero App support.

Fire TV offers an up to date interface, a unified experience with other Fire products, massive app support, and the assurance of updates.

Honestly, I'd get Fire TV, if I thought my parents wouldn't hang me, since they just figured this piece of crap out.

 

[Queen Michael]

I'll let Don Draper explain it.



It's about offering something that sounds cool. It's not about whether what you're offering is actually worth a damn.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

The interfaces on those "smert" TVs is usually horrible. That alone can make someone addicted to Amazon's (or Apple's or whoever) products and services happily hand over more money. A lot of people also probably forget or never even realize what their TV can do.

The model in the link can also do more than what a TV can, like games (for what Amazon's game library is worth). Many models of smart TVs also have the bare minimum amount of streaming services to choose from (Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, Amazon Prime, maybe one more). (My family's stupid smart TV only has Hulu Plus. Thanks Samsung for only including the version that costs money, but still has adds.) This can add to that. And as AccursedTheory says above, those applications might not be updated often, if at all.

For me though, I'd just plug a full PC (desktop, laptop, dedicated home theater PC) into an open HDMI port and enjoy the many options and customization available from that. A few bucks/quid/(insert slang for your local currency here) for an HDMI cable long enough for your room (or a short one and a $25 wirless keyboard w/ touch pad) is better than another stupid box with proprietary services installed on it.

 

[CrystalShadow]

I guess you can use one of these with a computer monitor instead of A TV... Amongst other things.

 

[Leg End]

Because Smart TVs are pretty stupid in more ways than one. If you use most of the equivalent "apps" built into the things, they suck several breeds of dick. The Fire TV whatever it is now tends to be updated pretty frequently and I think has Android crap with it.

If most companies just sold solid, giant ass "dumb" versions of their TVs I'd buy them in a heartbeat. I'd rather just hook up all of my crap to the TV which gives the same things, and more.