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In Defense of Dumb TVs

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Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#81

Post by randallsquared »

gonehome wrote: post #79
pridkett wrote: post #15

I’m really pleased the author called out the Apple TV as a device that lets you avoid ads. We tried to go cheap on another of our TVs and get an Amazon Fire Stick and in addition to it being not as smooth (combo of UX and speed) at the Apple TV, it had a good amount of ads all over the place. There’s lots of griping about the cost of an Apple TV 4k, but I’ll pay that extra $100 to avoid ads and not be tracked so exte…

Yes - I wish Apple would just make a TV. Call it a living room screen or a living room monitor or something. Make it OLED, dumb TV, instant on, Apple TV box plugs in. Separate box with front facing ports that connects to screen with one cable. A remote designed by someone who thought about it for ten seconds (why do modern TVs have dozens of buttons no one ever uses?). This entire market is in desperate need of someo…

> A remote designed by someone who thought about it for ten seconds

I love that a sibling comment to yours calls out the remote as dealbreaker terrible, but I agree with the sentiment that I would love a remote that was really well-designed.

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#82

Post by kstrauser »

Spivak wrote: post #69
darksaints wrote: post #67

I don't really see any criticisms inherent to the idea of a smart TV, although some might like them to be simpler for simplicity's sake. But I would imagine most people would love their smart TVs if they were not just one more convoluted layer of ads to generate continuous revenue and spy on you to harvest data.

I just wish you could buy TVs with either Apple TV or Chromecast built in like we have for Android Auto or CarPlay. (some, usually lower end, TVs do have chromecasts but they’re not super common)

I’d never voluntarily buy one. Tech ages much more quickly than TV panels and I don’t want to have to replace my entire TV unit just to upgrade the computing part. Also, you just know that the quality of the computing bits would be tied to the quality of the screen: you wouldn’t be able to get a high-end Apple TV paired with a reasonably priced screen.

I think the current combination of dumb or defanged screen plus an easily replaceable settop box is just about perfect. I’d vastly rather mix and match components than be saddled with some awful chimera.

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#83

Post by Silhouette »

chrisrogers wrote: post #55
julianlam wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This may be tinfoil-hat adjacent, but I have heard that the allure of advertising data is so high that TV manufacturers will program their software to connect to any open WiFi network in order to deliver their collected data. By the way, your post is basically the article, except they mention Sceptre TVs, who specialize in making dumb tv panels.

At that point it's time to open the thing up and rip out the antenna.

At some point, it becomes time to pass draconian laws against consumer-hostile practices like phoning home other than to perform the intended function of a product or forcing updates that change behaviour in adverse or unwanted ways.

I am reasonably sure that point is already behind us, but politicians are not exactly known for their tech savvy and timely regulation of tech industry.

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#84

Post by rubyfan »

massysett wrote: post #80
rubyfan wrote: post #14

I recently bought a new TV and did a little searching for dumb TVs before buying. It’s really hard to find a dumb TV. I learned that you can in fact buy a commercial TV that is dumb which seems like a good option. I ended up going with a smart enabled Samsung TV and have not enabled the TV to access wifi. It wants me to agree to terms and conditions whenever I pull up the main menu. I’ve learned to ignore it but it h…

Could you just do a computer monitor? They have an HDMI port so they will show anything you want. Downsides: no tuner. Not a problem if you don’t need one. No remote control. Maybe not much of a downside if you’re just watching using a streaming box. No sound. Not a problem if using a sound bar. Seems a worthy idea if you’re concerned about tracking, but I don’t see this idea around so I must be missing a downside.

Yeah that would probably work for smaller needs but haven’t seen monitors at 65” and higher range

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#85

Post by kstrauser »

freedomben wrote: post #23
lrvick wrote: post #4

This is exactly why I never connect TVs to the internet. Then they are just dumb HDMI panels.

Soon they'll be coming with their own 5G chips that phone home over cell networks - no wifi access required. Or, like the Amazon Echoes, they'll form a mesh network with your neighbors TVs and other devices and then just use your neighbor's wifi to phone home. It's coming. I'm buying Spectres and I suggest others do the same.

I’ve got an FCC radio license that says I get to hack my hardware and tell other people how to do the same.

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#86

Post by mkoubaa »

pridkett wrote: post #15

I’m really pleased the author called out the Apple TV as a device that lets you avoid ads. We tried to go cheap on another of our TVs and get an Amazon Fire Stick and in addition to it being not as smooth (combo of UX and speed) at the Apple TV, it had a good amount of ads all over the place. There’s lots of griping about the cost of an Apple TV 4k, but I’ll pay that extra $100 to avoid ads and not be tracked so exte…

To be fair tvs are a very low margin product and without the ads it would be profitless for anyone but apple (or another manufacturer that sold as a premium to avoid ads). I don't know how big the market for that is, personally I'm happy with a dumb tv connected to a video game console that has all my streaming services.

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#87

Post by pxeboot »

rubyfan wrote: post #84
massysett wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you just do a computer monitor? They have an HDMI port so they will show anything you want. Downsides: no tuner. Not a problem if you don’t need one. No remote control. Maybe not much of a downside if you’re just watching using a streaming box. No sound. Not a problem if using a sound bar. Seems a worthy idea if you’re concerned about tracking, but I don’t see this idea around so I must be missing a downside.

Yeah that would probably work for smaller needs but haven’t seen monitors at 65” and higher range

Dell sells at least 75" monitors. They do cost 10x as much as a similar size smart TV from Walmart though.

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#88

Post by dwighttk »

gonehome wrote: post #79
pridkett wrote: post #15

I’m really pleased the author called out the Apple TV as a device that lets you avoid ads. We tried to go cheap on another of our TVs and get an Amazon Fire Stick and in addition to it being not as smooth (combo of UX and speed) at the Apple TV, it had a good amount of ads all over the place. There’s lots of griping about the cost of an Apple TV 4k, but I’ll pay that extra $100 to avoid ads and not be tracked so exte…

Yes - I wish Apple would just make a TV. Call it a living room screen or a living room monitor or something. Make it OLED, dumb TV, instant on, Apple TV box plugs in. Separate box with front facing ports that connects to screen with one cable. A remote designed by someone who thought about it for ten seconds (why do modern TVs have dozens of buttons no one ever uses?). This entire market is in desperate need of someo…

What do you think this device would cost? I’m guessing starting around $7999 for 45”

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#89

Post by ravenstine »

Question: Does a smart teevee need to be hooked up to the internet? I have a dumb teevee so I genuinely don't know. If not, can't one simply not ever give it access to a WiFi network, plug in a Chromecast/Firestick/Xbox, and call it good?

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#90

Post by snuxoll »

ravenstine wrote: post #89

Question: Does a smart teevee need to be hooked up to the internet? I have a dumb teevee so I genuinely don't know. If not, can't one simply not ever give it access to a WiFi network, plug in a Chromecast/Firestick/Xbox, and call it good?

There’s no way of knowing it won’t decide to connect to an unsecured network without asking, and some have done just that.
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