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What is the best dumb TV?

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Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#361

Post by jonnytran »

ajmurmann wrote: post #202
nitrogen wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see why people aren't rioting in the streets about this, apart from the fact that there are currently bigger issues already occupying rioters. It's seriously beyond the pale.

Because most people don't know and/or understand. Look how many (often smart) people are bringing Alexa devices to their homes

I know smart people who have Alexa devices. Some of these people are software engineers who know there's someone on the other end listening to everything. One could argue that they must not be smart to buy these things.

But I think that a more helpful way of thinking about it is that (1) people are great at rationalizing, especially when it makes their lives easier. And (2) the open source alternative isn't good enough or easy enough.

For a long time, pirating music was the easiest way to listen to music that you wanted. Then things like iTunes and the iPod came along.

Until there's an easy, open alternative, even smart people will continue paying money to put surveillance devices in their living rooms and bedrooms.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#362

Post by ansible »

kaetemi wrote: post #292
theshrike79 wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if you're not getting a dumb one, I think LG has the best "smart" TVs around. Just don't give them access to the internet and they'll do the job of displaying anything you give them via a HDMI port. Integrates nicely with home automation with an API too. Oh, and they don't have ads in the menus like Samsung does.

Yup. The LGs are easy to keep dumb enough. Just need to fiddle in some menus to disable overscan and whatever magic TV filters are trendy.

You can use video game mode to disable additional video processing, which also lag time (incoming data to display in screen).

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#363

Post by TeMPOraL »

garfieldnate wrote: post #330
kebman wrote: post #207

I don't have a TV, only a few monitors (it's very liberating, actually). So instead I'll talk about my microwave. Yes, unironically! :D It has two dials. OMG how do I survive with only two dials? How do I program it? Well, the answer is, unsurprisingly, that I don't program it. Instead I crank it to watever wattage I need (usually the top one), and the time I think it'll take until the food I becomes hot. Aaaand that…

We're going off topic now, but why do all microwaves have knobs now? I hate them. I want a number pad like the microwaves had when I was growing up. I want to close the door, press the numbers that indicate the amount of time I want and hit "start". When you turn a knob, either you have no indication of the exact time, or there's a display that moves in increments that the computer thinks are good (usually 10s). I do…

Same here. I want my button-blister microwaves back.

Knobs are low-accuracy, low-precision. Which may be fine for some cooking, but not all. On my current knob-equipped microwave, my precision is limited to +/- 30 seconds simply due to the mechanical design, which means a) it's hard to heat anything up "just a little", as sub-minute heating is hit-and-miss, and b) it's hard to do food sensitive to cooking time.

Button blisters with a digital clock telling time to the second. That's an interface I can trust because I can see the time counting down in the correct pace (I have trust issues with all kinds of analog knob timers, including Pomodoro timers). That's an interface I've learned to use without looking, one hand keying in the correct time and power setting, the other hand operating food, getting pressed as soon as the tray door close.

I still remember my most common sequence from childhood. . Could do that blind even today.

Knobs are good for things that you need to scroll around a lot (and knobs in professional devices excel at jumping precision levels to allow an excellent experience here). Setting time and power on a microwave is not like that. You have exact values in mind, and need a way to input them precisely.

Having an input level precise to 1 second is useful if you're using it day-in, day out. As a kid, I was mostly doing the same few meals in the microwave, so I had perfect timing nailed with experience. For instance, a DIY zapiekanka[0] made of bread, cheese and some flavoring, would come out perfect at Full power, 1:40 time. Add 20 seconds, and you'd burn the cheese. The cheese was the factor that determined microwave settings. If, for some reason, my mom bought a different type than usual, I'd have to correct the time (usually adjust up), but then with experience I quickly developed "cheese tables" in my head. I'd look at a slice, and think, "ok, this is the smelly one, needs +40 seconds to come out well". Etc. Then I'd key in the correct settings, and come back in 2 minutes to the perfectly made zapiekanka.

(I suppose this was my attempt at treating cooking as an industrial process and not black magic :).)

--

[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapiekanka

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#364

Post by jacobush »

devnonymous wrote: post #340
kebman wrote: post #207

I don't have a TV, only a few monitors (it's very liberating, actually). So instead I'll talk about my microwave. Yes, unironically! :D It has two dials. OMG how do I survive with only two dials? How do I program it? Well, the answer is, unsurprisingly, that I don't program it. Instead I crank it to watever wattage I need (usually the top one), and the time I think it'll take until the food I becomes hot. Aaaand that…

Here in Ireland and based on my time living and travelling in Germany I'd say in most of Europe, its hard to get a microwave that isn't just wattage and timer. Here except for a few things like phones and tvs, smart electronics aren't as easily available as my home country, India. I speculate this is perhaps related to the age of the population.

Rather, richer markets are pickier.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#365

Post by reacharavindh »

I have a LG “Smart TV” but never connected it to Wifi or Ethernet. I have an old Mac Mini that is hooked up to the TV via HDMI, and a cheap wireless keyboard and mouse makes it the perfect TV for me. Netflix on Safari :-) Whatever else I can access on the browser is now on big TV.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#366

Post by cm2187 »

garfieldnate wrote: post #330
kebman wrote: post #207

I don't have a TV, only a few monitors (it's very liberating, actually). So instead I'll talk about my microwave. Yes, unironically! :D It has two dials. OMG how do I survive with only two dials? How do I program it? Well, the answer is, unsurprisingly, that I don't program it. Instead I crank it to watever wattage I need (usually the top one), and the time I think it'll take until the food I becomes hot. Aaaand that…

We're going off topic now, but why do all microwaves have knobs now? I hate them. I want a number pad like the microwaves had when I was growing up. I want to close the door, press the numbers that indicate the amount of time I want and hit "start". When you turn a knob, either you have no indication of the exact time, or there's a display that moves in increments that the computer thinks are good (usually 10s). I do…

Easier to clean than a number pad. I think knobs are great, you can rotate fast with very little effort. I think it should be a standard feature of computer keyboards.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#367

Post by mrmonkeyman »

devnonymous wrote: post #340
kebman wrote: post #207

I don't have a TV, only a few monitors (it's very liberating, actually). So instead I'll talk about my microwave. Yes, unironically! :D It has two dials. OMG how do I survive with only two dials? How do I program it? Well, the answer is, unsurprisingly, that I don't program it. Instead I crank it to watever wattage I need (usually the top one), and the time I think it'll take until the food I becomes hot. Aaaand that…

Here in Ireland and based on my time living and travelling in Germany I'd say in most of Europe, its hard to get a microwave that isn't just wattage and timer. Here except for a few things like phones and tvs, smart electronics aren't as easily available as my home country, India. I speculate this is perhaps related to the age of the population.

Uh, no.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#368

Post by maybe_ »

Nextgrid wrote: post #29

I've heard of Ironcast.TV whose entire selling point is the lack of "smart" features, though I haven't ordered one and I'm not sure if they even shipped any, but on paper it looks nice and reasonably priced: https://displayy.studio/ironcast.tv/

It looks interesting, but I'm confused at how "removing complexity" involves controlling the TV via an app instead of a remote.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#369

Post by lloeki »

bananamerica wrote: post #331
mtalantikite wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“I don't have a TV, only a few monitors.” I also highly recommend this. It’s been 18 years since I’ve lived in a house with a tv. It’s still weird to me that people design their living rooms around sitting facing a screen rather than other humans.

What’s the difference between a TV and a monitor anyway? My TV is only used for Netflix and videogames. Just like I’d do with a monitor.

In France the difference is that you pay a broadcast tax every year for owning a TV. Even if the tuner is unplugged. Even if the TV is covered with dust in a basement. Even if you rip the tuner apart and use it as a screen only (this specific case has been lawyered to death right up to the last court of Cassation).

Because computers and smartphones, the law has since been extended to also include the case where you own no TV but either a PCI or USB tuner, or any internet access that includes TV streaming (e.g those that come with a set-top box, or those extra options on mobile plans).

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#370

Post by kzrdude »

syndacks wrote: post #108
kzrdude wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's a good media player system for raspberry pi in that case? Any chance that it can drive netflix?

Kodi, and yes, I believe there is a Netflix add-on that you can authenticate to if you need to ;)

Interesting, thanks for the pointer
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