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What is the best dumb TV?

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Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#21

Post by Spivak »

FreakyT wrote: post #8
Spivak wrote: post #3

I agree with the sentiment but you’re only hurting yourself by choosing a worse TV at a given price point compared to just never connecting your TV to the internet. If you want a competitive display market where the best options are still dumb then look at getting a projector. The price and quality are comparable and I really like being able to “put away” the TV by just rolling up the screen.

I believe the Roku TVs can operate in a fully functional "dumb" mode if you don't connect them to Wifi. I'm guessing that applies to some other brands as well.

My (older) Samsung TV works the same way. I haven't seen a TV that refuses to operate without an internet connection yet.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#22

Post by hunter2_ »

daodedickinson wrote: post #17

I got a dumb external monitor for my laptop and then learned it doesn't have the right DRM for me to watch Blu-rays on it. Literally, I can view the Blu-rays on my laptop screen, but if I drag the window to the other screen, it won't display the video.

Sounds like HDCP. I've read that some cheap hdmi splitters will strip HDCP as an undocumented side effect. By strip I mean communicate to the player/source that the display/destination is compliant regardless of whether that's true.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#23

Post by Wowfunhappy »

daodedickinson wrote: post #17

I got a dumb external monitor for my laptop and then learned it doesn't have the right DRM for me to watch Blu-rays on it. Literally, I can view the Blu-rays on my laptop screen, but if I drag the window to the other screen, it won't display the video.

Is it 4K? If it is, you're out of luck, but for 1080p you can buy HDCP strippers since the encryption is breakable.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#24

Post by userbinator »

The best dumb TV is a monitor with an HTPC attached to it.

Also, you can find "LVDS converter boards" which are sold for repurposing LCD panels out of laptops and such, but they can also be used to dumb down TVs. You can buy a large smart TV just for the panel (which is the majority of its price anyway) and replace its motherboard with a dumb converter board.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#25

Post by Nextgrid »

tenebrisalietum wrote: post #10
tinus_hn wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of these TVs automatically connect to any open wireless network in the area, so that isn’t always an option

I haven't seen an open wireless network for years around my residence. Is open Wifi still a thing?

It can very well connect to those semi-public WiFi's that require payment or require to be a customer of that ISP (and every router from that ISP automatically broadcasts such a network in addition to the private one).

This isn't something I've seen in the wild yet (beyond anecdotal evidence which I suspect is due to a misconfiguration), however it is a very valid concern especially considering most ISPs are in bed with the media/advertising industry and would directly benefit from allowing these TVs to connect to these networks and making a deal with the manufacturer to make them do so.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#26

Post by deadmutex »

sunstone wrote: post #2

You're probably better off the buy the screen you like and pair it with a low cost NUC to sidestep the privacy invasion of the "smart" part of that TV.

"better off" implies that this is a better recommendation than the article. However, it seems exactly the same.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#27

Post by encom »

It's been a few years now, but when I bought my current TV (Samsung), one of the first things that popped up when I turned it on was several EULAs. I skimmed over them, and went "lol no", and pressed decline. This effectively lobotomized the TV. None of its "smart" features are enabled.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#28

Post by wwb099 »

FreakyT wrote: post #8
Spivak wrote: post #3

I agree with the sentiment but you’re only hurting yourself by choosing a worse TV at a given price point compared to just never connecting your TV to the internet. If you want a competitive display market where the best options are still dumb then look at getting a projector. The price and quality are comparable and I really like being able to “put away” the TV by just rolling up the screen.

I believe the Roku TVs can operate in a fully functional "dumb" mode if you don't connect them to Wifi. I'm guessing that applies to some other brands as well.

Nah -- Rokus are really bad here, they want to run roku first then be a TV. The more traditional brands -- LGs and Samsungs of the world -- do better at this and don't bitch as much.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#30

Post by deadmutex »

userbinator wrote: post #24

The best dumb TV is a monitor with an HTPC attached to it. Also, you can find "LVDS converter boards" which are sold for repurposing LCD panels out of laptops and such, but they can also be used to dumb down TVs. You can buy a large smart TV just for the panel (which is the majority of its price anyway) and replace its motherboard with a dumb converter board.

> You can buy a large smart TV just for the panel (which is the majority of its price anyway) and replace its motherboard with a dumb converter board.

This seems way harder than the alternative: just not connecting it to the internet.

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