
So, I said farewell to the Apple TV, and the Chromecast I also owned for some reason, and looked forward to a streamlined, ultra-high-definition TV-watching future. Smart TVs were at this point well and truly tried, tested, and in vogue, and my new TV could do everything my old set-top box could do.

A decade later, I finally upgraded that plasma TV to something far more contemporary – 4K, HDR, high refresh rates, the lot – and of course, it was smart. It was a third-generation Apple TV that enabled my 1080p plasma screen (which always ran way too hot) to access Netflix and other video streaming services.


In the early 2010s, like many people, I owned a set-top box.
