which smart tv is most compatible with apple products?

An Apple TV is more or less a substitute for a smart (Internet connected) TV. I have several Vizio smart TV's, all of which offer built-in apps for a few things like Netflix, Hulu+, & a selection of Yahoo! provided apps, but my Apple TV 3 offers all of them & many others. What's more, the video & particularly the sound quality of some of the ATV apps is noticeably better than when using the builtin apps.

My Vizio TVs all have excellent displays, support advanced features like CEC, the largest one has a remote that even supports ATV functions so I can use that to control both TV features like sound that the Apple remote does not support & the ATV's functions, & they are all priced lower than comparable models from Samsung, Sony, etc. I would not hesitate to recommend them to friends. However, now that I have an ATV 3, I don't use any of the built-in apps & would be just as happy with a "dumb" Vizio that did not have them.

Beyond that, note that a few smart TV's from other brands directly support iPhone/iPad apps to control the TV, or have built-in browsers or other functions & features you may want.

Welcome to the Apple Community.

As mentioned most modern TV's should be fine with the Apple TV. Occasionally I do see reports of HDMI issues with some TV's which usually turn out to be firmware problems that should be capable of being fixed, by far the worst provider for this seems to be Samsung, but saying that this shouldn't be viewed out of context, it really is a very small number of TV's that have such problems.

If you have an Apple TV 1 or 2 or might want to ensure that the TV 'specifically' supports 720p, otherwise you will be restricted to viewing in standard definition.

Apple TV does not work with the smartness of your smarttv it needs a hdmi port version min 1.3 and the tv needs to be 720p or up

apart from that then the tv can be dumb or smart when the Apple TV is being used the tv's features are not

You will need a fast, reliable connection to the network to use most of the apps, particularly those that stream HD video. If you can't resolve your WiFi problems (whatever they are) you can use an Apple TV with an ethernet cable connecting it to your network router/access point.

As a practical matter, almost any current model TV marketed as "HD" or "high definition" will support 720p; most now support 1080p as well.

R C-R wrote:

.........As a practical matter, almost any current model TV marketed as "HD" or "high definition" will support 720p; most now support 1080p as well.

I don't recall making sure my 1080 TV's supported 720p when I got them, although they all do, however there have been quite a few posts in this forum where users with 1080p TV's and the Apple TV 2 have been left watching in SD because they don't specifically support 720p in addition to 1080p. It's not a common issue, but common enough I feel to mention when one is looking for a TV to go with the Apple TV 1 or 2.

I am surprised that there are any TV's that support 1080p that don't support 720p as well. 720p is a common HD broadcast format, so I would think that any HD TV that didn't support it would be unmarketable.

Perhaps it is that the TV's were not set up correctly, or something like that?

R C-R wrote:

I am surprised that there are any TV's that support 1080p that don't support 720p as well. 720p is a common HD broadcast format,

Me too, in fact I have never seen one.

Obviously it would be difficult to rule out user error in such cases, but it was reported often enough to merit an entry in my boilerplate list.

Welcome to the Apple Community.

1. Check that the HDMI cable is correctly seated at both ends.
2. Try disconnecting the cable and connecting it again.
3. Try another HDMI cable.
4. Make sure your TV supports 720p (Apple TV 2 Only)
5. Try the Apple TV with another TV

There is a secondary issue (or maybe I suppose, the only issue) that some TV's don't properly broadcast (all) the resolutions they support and when this occurs the Apple TV doesn't offer them in it's 'TV Resolution' settings, however there were users who could set their Apple TV up to use ED or SD, so I'd assume they were otherwise capable of setting it up to use 720p if it was possible.

Csound1 wrote:

R C-R wrote:

I am surprised that there are any TV's that support 1080p that don't support 720p as well. 720p is a common HD broadcast format,

Me too, in fact I have never seen one.

Neither have I, but as I said before there have been reports (more than just one or two) from people with HD TV's that don't offer 720p, so obviously there are.

It's good that they rare.

The Standard to be met to market a TV as an HDTV (EU/US/Japan) requires these 3 resolutions.

High-definition television (HDTV):

• 720p (1280 × 720 progressive scan)
• 1080i (1920 × 1080 split into two interlaced fields of 540 lines)
• 1080p (1920 × 1080 progressive scan)

So they must be non standard TV's

It's good that they're rare. Because they are non standard.

The Standard to be met in order to market a TV as an HDTV requires these 3 resolutions.

High-definition television (HDTV):

• 720p (1280 × 720 progressive scan)
• 1080i (1920 × 1080 split into two interlaced fields of 540 lines)
• 1080p (1920 × 1080 progressive scan)

Here's the full set of broadcast standards.

• Standard-definition television (SDTV):
  • 480i (NTSC-compatible digital standard employing two interlaced fields of 243 lines each)
  • 576i (PAL-compatible digital standard employing two interlaced fields of 288 lines each)
• Enhanced-definition television (EDTV):
  • 480p (720 × 480 progressive scan)
  • 576p (720 × 576 progressive scan)
• High-definition television (HDTV):
  • 720p (1280 × 720 progressive scan)
  • 1080i (1920 × 1080 split into two interlaced fields of 540 lines)
  • 1080p (1920 × 1080 progressive scan)
• Ultra-high-definition television (UHDTV)
  • 2160p (3840 × 2160 progressive scan)
  • 4320p (7680 × 4320 progressive scan)
  • 8640p (15360 × 8640 progressive scan)

FYI, Progressive scan systems stem from John Logie Bairds 1936 research, some Frenchman came up with the interlaced system

Standard or not isn't the point, they are clearly a problem. (not being rude, but what exactly is your point)

However I am unable to verify your statement, could you provide any further information, I'm struggling to find what standards there are for TV manufacture of HD sets.

Alternate image source.

what do you want to do with your smart tv?

If you want to have your videos, your photo and your music available on it, the best choice is a Samsung TV with the Plex or XBMC plugin. LG have a native support to Plex, but the embedded client is not the same in different models and the upgrade are very scarce, I have Plex server with 3 TV: two LG and one Samsung so I can't prove it.

The only lists of standards that I could find that listed the resolutions encompassed by the standard (my interpretation but I am unsure of any other use for standards) listed those 3, and as I have never actually seen an HD TV that did not include them I drew the conclusion that they must indeed be rare. And non-adherent to the standards.

Maybe they are just suggestions instead?

But this suggests that they are indeed standards.

Three HDTV standards are currently defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R BT.709). They include 1080i (1,080 actively interlaced lines), 1080p (1,080 progressively scanned lines), and 720p (720 progressively scanned lines). All standards use a 16:9 aspect ratio, leading many consumers to the incorrect conclusion of equating widescreen television with HDTV. All current HDTV broadcasting standards are encompassed within the DVB specification.

And this (rather high density reading) supports it.

HDTV Standards and Practices for Digital Broadcasting

Maybe the posters erred?