I'm watching TV right now while having lunch. I'm watching it on a tablet, with VLC, started by TVH Client, which is a client for TVHeadend, running on a Raspberry with a TV hat. I'm also using that tablet to type this message because VLC has a popup player. I can use the tablet to run every app I could run on a smart TV. I also own a 32" LG TV which I almost never use because carrying the tablet with me around my house is much more convenient thn sitting in front of the TV. I block ads with Blockada and I don't have ads in YouTube because I use NewPipe.