To your first question, yes and no. At least in the short term, yes. My previous Smart TV experience was a Sony from 2014. The "smart" experience was barely usable let alone ideal. I just plugged in other things - PS3 and then various Roku devices.
But a year ago I got a TCL Roku TV, and it's a pretty good experience. The one downside now is that it seems just a tiny bit slower than, say, a Roku 3. And of course no way to upgrade that. Down the line, that could be annoying. But it was also a 65" 4K TV with a pretty good picture all for $500. shrug In five years, I'll get a nicer screen and maybe a separate device, depending on the state of things. As a side note, I got a sound bar with wireless subwoofer and surround that uses HDMI ARC. So I never need a second remote, or a universal remote, or anything like that. It all... just works.
Anyway, built a small TV room for my spouse this fall, and we picked up a 40" TCL Roku TV. Just perfect for the situation. Easier to install, fewer wires, one remote. No complaints really. Perhaps if Roku goes the way of the dodo, and I want that TV screen to last longer, it could be annoying, assuming the "screen" part and the UI that lets me pick the inputs stopped working, I'd be out of luck, but that could be true of any TV. Of course, if updates were malicious and blocked those features, that would be nasty!
But a year ago I got a TCL Roku TV, and it's a pretty good experience. The one downside now is that it seems just a tiny bit slower than, say, a Roku 3. And of course no way to upgrade that. Down the line, that could be annoying. But it was also a 65" 4K TV with a pretty good picture all for $500. shrug In five years, I'll get a nicer screen and maybe a separate device, depending on the state of things. As a side note, I got a sound bar with wireless subwoofer and surround that uses HDMI ARC. So I never need a second remote, or a universal remote, or anything like that. It all... just works.
Anyway, built a small TV room for my spouse this fall, and we picked up a 40" TCL Roku TV. Just perfect for the situation. Easier to install, fewer wires, one remote. No complaints really. Perhaps if Roku goes the way of the dodo, and I want that TV screen to last longer, it could be annoying, assuming the "screen" part and the UI that lets me pick the inputs stopped working, I'd be out of luck, but that could be true of any TV. Of course, if updates were malicious and blocked those features, that would be nasty!