Why I didn't buy a Roku TV

Recently, I purchased a new TV. As I'm a Roku fan -- it's my streaming platform of choice -- I bought a Roku TV, right?

Nope.

I bought a Sony TV that runs Google TV. So, have I switched to Google TV as my primary streaming platform?

Nope.

I still use Roku. Well, primarily Roku. I use it most of the time, as I did with my old TV. No more, no less.

So why is that?

Simple. I don't feel I need to limit my TV purchases to platforms I like. I want a TV that has the features, the picture, the reliability that I want. The streaming platform doesn't matter. Well, not that much.

If it came down to two or three sets, and they all were equal apart from the streaming platform, then I would let the streaming platform be the deciding factor. Since it's so easy to add a streaming device to any TV, and since I already had a good quality streaming device, it was easy for me to not care what platform the TV had, or even if it had one.

So, when I bought my new Sony TV, it was a highly rated device -- I used Consumer Reports to help with that -- that I found at a good price, and with free shipping. The image looks great, and it's a really good TV. The only thing I would rather it have is a Roku platform. But, as I said, it's easy to add a Roku device to my TV.

If I was a huge fan of Fire TV, I could just as easily have added a Fire TV device. Or Apple TV device. And, in fact, I have added those. So I have the best of all worlds. I have a TV that I really like, and I have all the major streaming platforms available for it.

Should you shop the same way? Sure. It's a valid way to shop. However, if you really want a built-in platform, you can get Google/Android TV, Roku, or Fire TV built in, and get the best TV you want for that platform, that's an option too.

You should get whatever TV you like, and if it doesn't have the platform you want, you can add a device that gets you what you want. And, if you don't know what platform you want, you can rest easy knowing that whichever of the major platforms integrated into TVs you get -- Roku, Fire TV, Google/Android TV -- you'll have a good platform on which to base your Streaming Life.