I have two TCL Roku TVs, which I really like. The Roku interface is clean, easy to navigate, intuitive - and it’s pretty ubiquitous when at a hotel or AirBnB.
TCL has now mostly switched their smartOS to Google TV, which I’ve never interacted with. I’m not currently in the market for a TV, but I do often comment in TV advice threads, family members ask for advice when shopping, etc.
Does anyone have a Google TV-equipped TV (note : I’m not asking about YouTube TV, or Chromecast devices)? I’m especially curious to hear from people with experience in both Roku and Google systems.
Roku fan here, but no Google TV experience, sorry.
Have you considered just buying an external Roku device, then buying whatever TV you want? Many folks recommend the external vs. internal streamers, because they usually are updated more regularly, and if it craps out, you can more easily fix/replace it.
Google TV has a pretty clean interface, lots of free channels. I think you have to connect it to a Google account though, at least I couldn’t find a way around it. My external Roku device didn’t require that at all, from what I remember. That was annoying, because I have it set up in a place that I mostly rent out, so I had to create a standalone Google account for it.
FWIW, modern Chromecast (with Google TV!) devices have the same interface as Google TV (from what I can tell), so no reason to avoid opinions from those with the external devices.
I have a Philips television with the Google TV interface.
It’s fine. It’s not world shatteringly great but I have no complaints really (other than the mandatory sign-in, which doesn’t bother me that much because I’m in the EU and took the time to un-tick all their data collection approvals).
The major advantage of a TV OS based on Android is that there are some powerful customization options buried deep in the settings. For example, by default apps are installed from Google Play, but you can authorize side-loading of unofficial apps offered outside that ecosystem (e.g. a YouTube alternative with more robust controls over ad insertion).
I used to have a Roku, then when it died switched to Chromecast, then got a Samsung TV with built in interface, and have now moved back to Chromecast. The Google interface works the best for us, particularly in being able to pick up where we left off a series from the main screen, as well as searching across all the apps from one location. Also, the speak to remote works great.
Samsung was the worst interface…I would call it horrible.
I’ve had several Rokus and have no big complaints about them. The UI is great, performance is great, however I do see the gradual intrusion of ads into the home screen.
I have a 50" TCL Google TV, the UI is ok, remote has more buttons but doesn’t do anything more than Roku, performance is often laggy, and in certain apps like Hulu the audio lags.
One good thing about Google TV is you can “sideload” any apps you want including many Android apps. Roku does not do that, you can only choose apps they offer and nothing more.
Not quite true; you can put a Roku in “developer mode” which allows you to sideload apps that are not from the Channel Store, but you can only sideload one app at a time.