Yes, I think I absolutely do need a smart TV. The ability to just switch on netflix or even a DLNA client directly on my TV without having to switch on another device is worth the little bit of bullshit that comes with it. I've had the same "smart" Bravia TV for 7 years now, and it still works absolutely fine, the Netflix client runs just the same, the DLNA streaming works the same.....the biggest disappointment was when PlaystationNow support was discontinued, I could no longer play games using just the TV and a bluetooth controller.
Hmm. We use an Amazon Fire Stick connected to a projector.
The projector is dumb. It has its own remote, but we don't need to use it; the recent Fire Stick remotes understand how to control the volume and how to turn it off, and that's all you need.
HDMI-CEC means the Fire Stick turns on the projector when you click on it, so you don't need to turn on multiple devices.
