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aaronhead14

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 9, 2009
1,224
5,285
I've been shopping for a new TV over the last few weeks, for Christmas, and I can't even express what a chore it is. The problem with all these "Smart TVs" is that they have their own built-in TV OS, with apps and everything, but the software rarely has all the features that one would want: Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and access to a wide variety of apps. Most OS's will have one or two of those things, but not all.

The other problem is that 99% of TVs are utter trash. It's bonkers! How is this a thing?? There are there so many great computer monitors out there, but is it so crazy hard to find a decent TV panel that's run by decent software? A TV is just a monitor with software! But almost universally, the built-in software does annoying crap to the screen that makes all the images look worse than they need to: artificial sharpening, noise reduction, dynamic dimming, etc. It's ridiculous.

Anyway, one thing that's interesting though, is that developers of other streaming boxes (Roku, Fire TV, Android TV) have worked with TV manufacturers to include their software as the OS of the TV. Generally, these TVs are much less of a headache than the TVs that have their own built-in software.

So it got me thinking... what if Apple just partnered with LG or Sony, and included tvOS on a very small number of high-end television sets? Apple would ensure that the TV model meets their standards of excellence first, of course. None of those annoying, picture-ruining "features."

Just a regular TV without nonsense features, and with an OS that actually gives me the stuff I want. That would be freaking amazing. It's a massive market that's totally overlooked by almost every type of TV (aside from maybe the OLEDs, which are generally pretty ok).

I know it's just wishful thinking. But seriously, that would be the dream, and I would buy that TV in a heartbeat.
 

T'hain Esh Kelch

macrumors 603
Aug 5, 2001
6,311
7,152
Denmark
I don't think Apple would want to have yet another layer of complexity, because issues could be due to tvOS and thus Apple, or the TV hardware, and thus the manufacturer. And the Motorola Razr still haunts their memories. :p

In a perfect world, you could buy a high end dummy TV, with absolutely no smart TV software that can **** up or not get updated. Just buy whatever TV has the visual quality you want, and connectors you need, and then pop an Apple TV on it. That's always what I recommend, and that's what I have done. You get Apples 5ish years of updates, and can always update the box for a much cheaper price.

I bought an LG C9 55" this Black Friday at a pretty good price (33% under regular price, 50% under the best price a month ago), and I am very happy with it. I get the best in class image quality (2019 OLED display), all the ports I could need (Okay, I could use component to finish up my Wii games, but I'll get an HDMI converter), best in class HDMI support (v2.1), best in class HDR support (HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG, Advanced HDR), so I couldn't be happier! And the remote can even control the Apple TV, which I was surprised about.
 

aaronhead14

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 9, 2009
1,224
5,285
See, that would be great too! But the problem is that pretty much every TV on the market has its own redundant "Smart TV" nonsense, layered on top of my Apple TV. It sucks. I wish there was a way to just dumb down the TV to its basic features and let my HDMI devices drive the experience.

And I've actually been looking at the LG C9 today! It's at $1,500 right now though, which is higher than Black Friday, so that makes me sad. :( I had originally gone for a cheaper "deal" on an inferior LED from an inferior brand, and I've regretted it ever since, and will be returning the TV next week. Wish I could get the C9 at that Black Friday price. :(
 

QuietGamer

macrumors regular
Nov 23, 2014
210
216
US
I was just looking at the LG C9 TV and about to head out the door to pick one up @ $1500. What was the BF price?
 

HDFan

Contributor
Jun 30, 2007
6,452
2,751
t is it so crazy hard to find a decent TV panel that's run by decent software?
is that developers of other streaming boxes (Roku, Fire TV, Android TV) have worked with TV manufacturers to include their software as the OS of the TV.

There are several threads discussing Apple TV vs built in TV apps. TV manufacturers expertise and interest is in display technology. Software is a secondary concern. Using an external device (such as a Roku or Apple TV) you can relatively inexpensively update the hardware without having to replace the entire TV. Reviews of the Apple apps on the Samsungs are poor. I'm quite annoyed that LG isn't going to bother to add the Apple app to my 1 year old TV. TV software updates stop not that long after a new model is released. A TV display can last a decade. In that time there will be multiple generations of Rokus and Apple TVs with increased performance and features.
 

BODYBUILDERPAUL

Suspended
Feb 9, 2009
1,773
1,438
Barcelona
I've been through this, evaluated everything and came to the conclusion a few years ago that there is ONE really decent TV on the market that is a perfect partner with the Apple TV 4K.

That ONE TV is simply the LG OLED - all are superb in reliability, performance - the B9, C9, E9 and last years C8. It has everything that gets the most out of Apple TV 4K - Dolby Vision & Atmos along with a shining OLED screen. Plus the B9 is currently £1100 - it's doable price wise.

We bought a B7 and it's a monitor for the Apple TV 4K. It's beautiful for watching film.

Don't forget CES in January, so we'll be seeing the new B10, C10 with HDMI 2.1 for the second year, again maybe more improvements there.

For me, there's no way i'd ever go the Android route and no way that I'd want a SONY due to their repulsive lack of customer service and the fact that they are very much a brand of th 20th century - they don't really hire in anything in this decade. Samsung - not in my house, Panasonic - boring design. It doesn't leave much.

I agree that there's a lot of crap out there in the TV market, but that's the same in other fields - crappy Windows laptops, cheap plastic BluRay/UHD disc players that have no design change since the 1980s and horrible Android phones - so it's no different. This is where Apple has always been different and my gosh, I applaud them for their passion & soul in this. They manage the whole process without ever producing something that is either vulgar or pretentious or dated.

I also don't believe that outside of the USA, that the TV market is massive. It's not. It's bought on price. Today's generations do not aspire to buying that 'TV'. They don't talk about TVs - ever. They aspire to owning a MacBook Pro, a MacBook Air, an iPhone and some, an iPad Pro together with their Apple Watch for their sport minded, healthy lifestyle. I travel the world for 9 months of the year and it's a pattern that I see in every corner of the globe whether i'm in Barcelona, Paris, Norway or India, Dubai or Pakistan. The TV is an after thought now. I loose count the amount of friends who watch Netflix on their MacBook Pro's. I do the same with iTunes film etc. The TV gets switched on for 20 minutes late at night whilst having a late evening dinner to watch a few minutes of a film or YouTube vlog.

No way would Apple allow their impeccable software to be in any other brand of product other than their own, And I don't blame them. I respect their integrity.

With the LG OLED you simply buy it and forget about it once you've connected an Apple TV 4K to it. And maybe, just maybe, one day Apple will release the most incredible Dolby Atmos sound bar that beats everything out there!
 
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BODYBUILDERPAUL

Suspended
Feb 9, 2009
1,773
1,438
Barcelona
See, that would be great too! But the problem is that pretty much every TV on the market has its own redundant "Smart TV" nonsense, layered on top of my Apple TV. It sucks. I wish there was a way to just dumb down the TV to its basic features and let my HDMI devices drive the experience.

And I've actually been looking at the LG C9 today! It's at $1,500 right now though, which is higher than Black Friday, so that makes me sad. :( I had originally gone for a cheaper "deal" on an inferior LED from an inferior brand, and I've regretted it ever since, and will be returning the TV next week. Wish I could get the C9 at that Black Friday price. :(

Why not the B9? It's still a fantastic TV with that beautiful OLED Screen and decent audio!
 

aviddk

macrumors regular
Oct 18, 2007
177
31
SW Oregon
Wow, if I had any post-decision dissonance this thread certainly would have been the perfect antidote. Purchased a LG C9 65" at the Black Friday price and had it delivered two days ago. Hooked up the Apple TV 4k and almost would have been satisfied to watch the ATV screen savers alone. :D

In retrospect I would have paid the Geek Squad to put it together. As Caleb at Digital Trends said, the 65" is a beast. It is a little nervy handling a $2k device not knowing what the maximum torque the thing can stand.
 

BODYBUILDERPAUL

Suspended
Feb 9, 2009
1,773
1,438
Barcelona
Wow, if I had any post-decision dissonance this thread certainly would have been the perfect antidote. Purchased a LG C9 65" at the Black Friday price and had it delivered two days ago. Hooked up the Apple TV 4k and almost would have been satisfied to watch the ATV screen savers alone. :D

In retrospect I would have paid the Geek Squad to put it together. As Caleb at Digital Trends said, the 65" is a beast. It is a little nervy handling a $2k device not knowing what the maximum torque the thing can stand.
Absolutely! You've bought what is regarded as the very best TV on the market there along with Apple TV 4k. Perfection.
Now you can thoroughly relax & enjoy it - and stay away from any AV Forums as those guys are never happy with anything!
 

ipponrg

macrumors 68020
Oct 15, 2008
2,309
2,087
I've been shopping for a new TV over the last few weeks, for Christmas, and I can't even express what a chore it is. The problem with all these "Smart TVs" is that they have their own built-in TV OS, with apps and everything, but the software rarely has all the features that one would want: Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and access to a wide variety of apps. Most OS's will have one or two of those things, but not all.

The other problem is that 99% of TVs are utter trash. It's bonkers! How is this a thing?? There are there so many great computer monitors out there, but is it so crazy hard to find a decent TV panel that's run by decent software? A TV is just a monitor with software! But almost universally, the built-in software does annoying crap to the screen that makes all the images look worse than they need to: artificial sharpening, noise reduction, dynamic dimming, etc. It's ridiculous.

Anyway, one thing that's interesting though, is that developers of other streaming boxes (Roku, Fire TV, Android TV) have worked with TV manufacturers to include their software as the OS of the TV. Generally, these TVs are much less of a headache than the TVs that have their own built-in software.

So it got me thinking... what if Apple just partnered with LG or Sony, and included tvOS on a very small number of high-end television sets? Apple would ensure that the TV model meets their standards of excellence first, of course. None of those annoying, picture-ruining "features."

Just a regular TV without nonsense features, and with an OS that actually gives me the stuff I want. That would be freaking amazing. It's a massive market that's totally overlooked by almost every type of TV (aside from maybe the OLEDs, which are generally pretty ok).

I know it's just wishful thinking. But seriously, that would be the dream, and I would buy that TV in a heartbeat.

Realistically I wouldn’t even hold my breath for this. Essentially what you’re asking for is tvOS to run on LGs. LG would have to pay a commission to Apple which would hurt their profit margin. Apple would have to modify tvOS greatly to support Tv apis and make it more performant for slower devices. When customers call in with problems, it now has to goto Apple to handle. In addition, LG has invested a lot into WebOS, so it’s very unlikely for that to happen. tvOS would also have to go thru legal audits in every country LG is in. The list goes on and on.

It just wouldn’t make any sense from a business perspective.
 

HDFan

Contributor
Jun 30, 2007
6,452
2,751
For me, there's no way i'd ever go the Android route and no way that I'd want a SONY due to their repulsive lack of customer service and the fact that they are very much a brand of th 20th century

Sony OLEDs aren't 20th century. In a number of reviews they edge out the LG's even though they use LGs' panels. Very expensive though.
 
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BODYBUILDERPAUL

Suspended
Feb 9, 2009
1,773
1,438
Barcelona
Sony OLEDs aren't 20th century. In a number of reviews they edge out the LG's even though they use LGs' panels. Very expensive though.

That's if you are happy with Android as its OS. I'm not!
Plus SONY have always been known for non-existent customer service and their TVs are placed by issues.
It's a brand that I am not happy to recommend in any way.
 

HDFan

Contributor
Jun 30, 2007
6,452
2,751
That's if you are happy with Android as its OS. I'm not!
Plus SONY have always been known for non-existent customer service and their TVs are placed by issues.
It's a brand that I am not happy to recommend in any way.

Interesting. I was just referring to video quality, which may be just a tad better than the lg.
 
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