Well,
(I'm the O.P.), and have certainly stirred the hornets nest!
I expected, and received a bit of flak near the top of page 1, and
that's OK. I'm new to the topic.
And yes, I can see now, the probable benefits of alternatively using the likes of a '
Roku' device.
Most complaints seem to stem around the longevity of
support/upgrades for 'smart' TV's.
Many people here have reported GOOD longevity & support. Although what's the difference with
any other electronic devices these days, like desktop computers & laptops etc. After 2 years, they
are almost out of date, and you can buy something nearly twice as good now, and for half the price!
When I first run/set-up this 'smart' TV, the 1st thing it explained was total disclosure about such
things as "Collecting Data", before proceeding. All they know is my Country & State, and I don't see
the difference than with 'Youtube' on my PC/Laptop showing you more of the things you like in the list!!
Anyway, I don't know if the likes of 'Roku' does this? but the 'smart' TV lets me record/save everything,
and uses features like 'Catch-Up' to link to the free-to-air channels to view anything we have missed etc.
Finally, my main original discussion/question was about 'Linux', that it appears to run on, and as I've
since learn't the
term.... "How to '
Side-Load' apps, as Linux doesn't seem to have a 'repository/store'
as such(?), like Android does with their '.apk' files. However, thanks to all for your tech responses.