Sky tv and smart tvs- help....

[swlmum]

I'm all confused! I'm going to upgrade our sky subscription as I realise we're paying top whack without getting anything like on demand, HD etc, which we would get if I was a new customer. (I am determined to get the upgrade for free- will threaten to move to BT vision if not...). We also need a new TV and I was looking at smart TVs. Am I right in thinking that I probably wouldn't use any of the 'smart' features though as I can access all the on demand etc stuff via Sky?

I think your instinct is right. I think all the "smart" stuff is just a gimmick. I have been looking at new TVs and read lots of user reviews. The smart TV stuff is not that great (slow and hard to use even on the best ones).

Even the "smart" stuff on Virgin Cable is too fiddly to bother using. The only one that really matters to us is BBC iPlayer and that is only just acceptable.

Better to focus on the picture quality and energy efficiency of the TV along with if it has the right inputs (HDMI etc).

If you get a TV and decide you missed out on smart stuff then add one of these later:

store.apple.com/uk/ipod/ipod-accessories/apple-tv?afid=p219|GOUK&cid=AOS-UK-KWG-GO_UK_TV

www.roku.com/uk/what-is-roku?gclid=CKnrpK2twLkCFXLLtAodq2oALg#2

www.google.co.uk/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromecast/#netflix

I've just bought a smart tv and I think it is great so my experience differs from muswellhilldad

I did loads of research and got a Samsung as the user interface for the smart stuff is supposed to be the best. It's got all the on demand TV inbuilt which Apple TV doesn't have, we also subscribe to Netflix and that's all inbuilt and controllable with the TV remote. The rest of the apps included do seem a bit crap but then I haven't really investigated them and probably won't use them. But for us it's been worth it just to have the on demand stuff there.

Thanks for your replies!