> There is literally no difference, in this regard, between a dumb TV with a dongle/box plugged in, and a smart TV which has exactly the same thing built-in.
I mean, the TV is usually much more expensive than the dongles that get attached to it. I don't love replacing a $30 dongle every few years, but it doesn't hurt my wallet too bad. replacing a whole $500-1500 TV every few years is a big deal.
ultimately I've made my peace with the whole smart TV thing. my current one does a much better job streaming high bitrate local media than a chromecast. whenever it stops getting updates, I will probably just buy a NUC to use as a source, and use it as an unnecessarily complicated dumb TV.
I mean, the TV is usually much more expensive than the dongles that get attached to it. I don't love replacing a $30 dongle every few years, but it doesn't hurt my wallet too bad. replacing a whole $500-1500 TV every few years is a big deal.
ultimately I've made my peace with the whole smart TV thing. my current one does a much better job streaming high bitrate local media than a chromecast. whenever it stops getting updates, I will probably just buy a NUC to use as a source, and use it as an unnecessarily complicated dumb TV.