What is a smart TV and why do I want one? I understand cable boxes are not required. True?
A cable box isn’t required ONLY if you have another device within your entertainment system (including the TV) that has a cable card*. But if that’s the case, make sure your “display panel” says that it has a tuner, most don’t.
Having said that, a Smart TV generically means a TV that connects to the internet and has apps. But for all intents and purposes it means it can stream Netflix, and to a lesser extent Amazon/Hulu/YouTube. It’ll probably also have a bunch of other crappy apps that you’ll never use as well. I think mine has about 30, I don’t think I’ve ever used any of them other than Netflix, and the only time I’ve used the Netflix app is when my TiVo was acting up.
*If you don’t have a cable box, you’ll also need a Tuning Adapter to go with the Cable Card.
If connected to the internet, a Smart TV will let you watch Internet TV from Netflix, Hulu, YouTube etc or from a local network or hard drive.
If connected to an antenna you can watch local broadcasts.
If connected directly to a cable outlet in the wall, it might let you watch shopping and a few local channels. Increasingly though, all channels are scrambled and you need a cable card to unscramble them.
It used to be possible to buy a TV with a slot for a cable card but I have not seen one for years. There are a few set top boxes (with cable card slots) you can buy but usually you must rent one from the CableCo.