Troubleshoot Is Roku box or Roku TV redundant if you connect TV to your PC by HDMI cable?

conceptualclarity

conceptualclarity

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I'm about to buy my first smart TV, and I'm considering a TCL Roku TV. I haven't done streaming. This is all virgin territory for me.

I know getting an HDMI cable to connect computer and PC is very cheap. Does that give me all I would get with a Roku box or a Roku TV?

I was comparing a TCL Roku TV to a Hisense TV. The Hisense had a web browser, but the Roku TCL didn't. Does that make a meaningful difference?
 
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I believe that the TV with Roku would give you the same functionality as a Roku box. In my opinion using Roku, or an alternative, is a far superior option to using HDMI. Using a PC will work, but having something designed for the purpose will give you a much better use experience. I wouldn't be worried about the lack of a browser. If you want to browse the web on your TV, then using a PC via HDMI is probably the best option.
 
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I'm always interacting w/my laptop even when watching a stream on TV. Without my Roku my laptop would be useless to me while it is connected to the TV.

In addition, there exist Roku channels for which there is no browser equivalent... many of these are quite specialized, so you may not have the need for them if you're watching mainstream channels like Hulu, Netflix, FX, etc.
 
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The best thing to know is that there is much more content through Roku, and the viewing experience is much better through Roku apps than anything you would watch in your browser. Also Roku apps blow away any Windows store apps for services like Netflix and Hulu.
 
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I have my TV connected to my computer through HDMI and started using Netflix a few months ago. Logging in with the browser never worked that well for me so I called support and they had e download their app. Never had any issues what so every using their app.
On a side note Netflix support has one of the best I have ever used. They answer the phone in a timely matter are knowledgeable about what they are doing.
 
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Just got my first roku box about a week ago. I turned my cable tv off and kept internet. I love my roku box it has everything I need and then some!!
 
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