Does everybody have a smart TV?

I have a smart TV. I've had a smart TV for years. It's not always been the same smart TV, but several years ago, I got a smart TV and when I replaced it, I got another smart TV to replace it.

Here's the thing: I don't use my smart TV.

Oh, to be sure, I use my TV. I just don't use the "smarts" in my smart TV.

It's a good TV. It's a Sony, with a really good picture, and a Google TV interface. But I don't use the Google TV interface that comes with my Sony smart TV.

Why is that, you ask?

No really, go ahead and ask.

Well, since you asked, here's why I don't use the smarts in the smart TV.

First among the reasons is that I already had a Roku device. And an Apple TV device. And a Fire TV device. And a Chromecast (Google TV) device. And an Nvidia Shield (Google TV) device.

I have the best streaming platforms there are. My personal preference is Roku, but I find the others to be good devices as well.

Another reason I don't use the Google TV interface is I don't like the remote on the Sony TV. It's not bad. Well, it is, but it's better than some I've seen and used. But I like the remotes with the Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast with Google TV, and Nvidia Shield better. All of them are superior remotes to the Sony remote.

Another reason is that I want the same interface on all my TVs. Sure, I could put Chromecast or Nvidia Shield on my secondary TV, and I do have a Chromecast on it, in fact. Actually, I have a Chromecast, Fire TV, and Roku device on my secondary TV. But the remote figures into this again. I want the same experience on all my TVs. Unless I replace my TV in the bedroom with a Sony TV, I will still have a difference experience, even if I use a Google TV interface. And I'm not going to replace the TV in the bedroom. Not any time soon, anyway.

So, the only way to get the same experience is to use the same platform and same remote. And that means a separate streaming device.

Since I had these streaming devices on my old TV, it was a simple matter to put them on my new Sony TV and keep using them.

Right now, my platform of choice is Roku. So, I use Roku on both my main living room TV, and on my bedroom TV. If I want to change to Fire TV, I can do that easily enough, as I have that platform on both TVs as well. And I have Chromecast with Google TV on both TVs. I don't have two Nvidia Shield devices, and while I have a second Apple TV, I'm out of HDMI ports on the bedroom TV. Apple TV got the boot while I try out Fire TV on it.

According to a recent report, 80% of homes in the USA have smart TVs. Ryan Downey from The Streaming Advisor nailed it, though. People are buying smart TVs because that's what the stores carry:

While this is being lauded as some kind of milestone it is simply a reflection that consumers really have no choice but to buy a smart TV when they get a new set. There is no doubt that people are enjoying the features and apps. But the fact that they are buying them does not mean that they prefer them. They are the only choice. There will soon be a day when over 90 percent of TV sets in the us are smart TVs. People will buy new ones to replace non-smart TVs as they go bad or need to get replaced for one reason or another.

I didn't buy a new smart TV because I wanted a new smart TV. I wanted a new TV. What they had was a smart TV. So, I got a smart TV. Then I put a Roku on it. I didn't want a smart TV, and I bought the TV based on how the picture looked, and my previous experience with a Sony TV. So it's a TV with a Roku attached. Nothing more.

My Streaming Life includes a smart TV, but only as far as it is a TV. The smarts are from my platform of choice, Roku, and not the platform that came with my TV of choice, Sony.