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What is the best dumb TV?

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Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#651

Post by stickfigure »

andi999 wrote: post #645
stickfigure wrote: post #598

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The microwave I grew up with (70s/80s) had a log-ish scale. The first quarter turn was 0-60s, the second quarter turn got you to 5 mins, etc. I don't remember the exact gradations but I remember it was very easy to get almost any time you wanted. I have hated every microwave since.

I am curious how they did this. Was it purely mechanical?

It was purely mechanical. Somehow I managed to find the model:

https://www.ebay.com/i/203083047312

A closeup picture of the dial:

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/aogAAOSwFmZfPquw/s-l1600.jpg

The log-factor wasn't as severe as I had remembered, but the 0-1m angle is about the same as the 20-25m angle. It was still pretty easy to get 15s, 30s, etc. I'm sure you could do a lot better with modern digital electronics.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#652

Post by webmobdev »

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…

Oh god, you are really lucky! I am shopping for a new microwave and here in India all the microwave makers only have the two-knobs (wattage and timer) one on small-size microwaves that can only fit a bowl. All the larger size one's come with lot of stupid buttons (defrost, cook, heat, start, stop etc.) and an LCD display. I just want the two-knobs one on a large microwave but it just isn't available. I now plan to get one from abroad. :(

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#653

Post by kebman »

codeulike wrote: post #419
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…

Microwaves have such terrible UIs. I always wanted to make an online Microwave UI simulator where it generates a random Microwave control panel and you have to work out which buttons to press to heat up some soup.

OMG I'd love to see that! :D Do one for VHS players too, please!

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#654

Post by strawberrypuree »

tuatoru wrote: post #649
strawberrypuree wrote: post #553

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple TV doesn't include ads, and doesn't sell your viewing habits to third parties who create profiles of you. [0] Your TV manufacturer does. [0] https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/

Yet. You forgot "yet". Apples shareholders will one day be keen to achieve the second trillion dollars on the company's valuation.

I'm not as pessimistic as all that, but I agree that vigilance is necessary. The good thing about going with the external box solution is that as if the company doesn't align with your values on this issue, you can unplug it and install something else. If that something else exists, of course.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#655

Post by JohnBooty »

memco wrote: post #182
JohnBooty wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth noting that Roku devices apparently send a lot of information about your usage habits back to their servers, so if "privacy" is one of your reasons for choosing a dumb TV, perhaps Roku's not the best choice. Not sure if there are authoritative deep dives out there, but here's what the Pi-hole folks saw: https://pi-hole.net/2018/09/19/what-really-happens-on-your-n... I was disappointed but not surprised to…

I have two Roku devices, never been particularly enthused with the response times using the remotes: they've both had issues recognizing signals and screens take a while to load. However, I do like that I can turn my TV on from my phone. I will probably look for a dumb TV at some point, but I'm also hoping to get a pi-hole setup to increase privacy in the meantime.

Were you using Roku models with the IR remotes, or the WiFi direct ones? (I would imagine their newer models use BT, but that's just a guess)

I found the remotes responsive, but I was using the WiFi direct ones.

I would imagine that the IR remotes feel muck pokier, which is of course pretty much always going to be the case with IR.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#656

Post by daodedickinson »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #23
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.

4K

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#657

Post by daodedickinson »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #148
tshaddox wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've read that some cheap hdmi splitters will strip HDCP as an undocumented side effect I haven't heard that before, but according to Wikipedia a master key was leaked or reverse engineered 10 years ago, so presumably manufacturers out of Intel's legal reach can produce devices that strip HDCP.

For 1080p yes; 4K generally uses HDCP 2.0 which as of now is unbreakable. OP unfortunately didn't specify. (An alternate option might be to rip the 4K BluRays, which is doable if you have the right drive, but also a bit of a pain.)

> (An alternate option might be to rip the 4K BluRays, which is doable if you have the right drive, but also a bit of a pain.)

This is what I have been doing with MakeMKV.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#658

Post by justinlloyd »

choward wrote: post #594
justinlloyd wrote: post #539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And many of the door latches are/were heat sensitive strips of metal. When the temperature of the water inside the machine reaches a certain point, and after a period of heating up the metal door latch, the metal deforms and the door pops open. Then after the wash, everything cools down, and the metal reforms. There is just enough tension on the metal latch to make it latch closed and just enough deflection after hea…

I've only used jet dry when I got free samples and never noticed a difference. I never have spotty dishes. Maybe it depends on the water.

I believe it does indeed depend on your water supply. And it doesn't help to use it if you do not use the drying cycle on your dishwasher. And here ends my limited knowledge about this nuanced, and I am sure to some, deeply interesting subject.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#660

Post by unwiredben »

JohnBooty wrote: post #655
memco wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have two Roku devices, never been particularly enthused with the response times using the remotes: they've both had issues recognizing signals and screens take a while to load. However, I do like that I can turn my TV on from my phone. I will probably look for a dumb TV at some point, but I'm also hoping to get a pi-hole setup to increase privacy in the meantime.

Were you using Roku models with the IR remotes, or the WiFi direct ones? (I would imagine their newer models use BT, but that's just a guess) I found the remotes responsive, but I was using the WiFi direct ones. I would imagine that the IR remotes feel muck pokier, which is of course pretty much always going to be the case with IR.

It's the other way around. A few of Roku's early RF remotes used Bluetooth, but now they all are based on WiFi Direct.
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