I’ve got a Samsung frame… and you need the net to get the picture screen going … ! Which I quite like as a feature. Even though I put all our digital tv through an Apple TV.

youtube, netflix, etc...?

...Can all be streaming via a plugged in device. Your television should be a monitor, nothing more.

Agreed, all networked things on my TV goes through Apple TV (puck, not the service).

I have an LG TV, and the ability to have Apps on the TV, without a plugged in decide - Netflix, BBC iplayer, ITV Hub, AppleTV, Twitch, Youtube etc. makes for a very pleasant, seamless experience.

One time cost of plugging in a device vs never having ads again

I too have an LG TV that I quite like. It’s fun seeing WebOS in use and I actually like the built-in apps. Then again, it doesn’t show ads. The day it does, it’ll never see the internet again and get fed from an external device.