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In Defense of Dumb TVs

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Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#91

Post by nrp »

wmf wrote: post #22

Coincidentally, Google just announced a "basic TV" mode, although we don't know what TVs will ship with this feature. https://9to5google.com/2021/02/24/google-tv-basic-tv-mode/ Maybe Framework's next product should be a dumb TV, perhaps based on the latest LG OLED panels.

It was on the long list of product categories we explored from a distance for our roadmap. It's not a category we're going to enter any time soon, but we did at least get a blog post out of it!

In addition to not having the ecosystem network effects from modules and upgrades that notebooks (our first category) have, TVs are extremely difficult logistically. You need to be able to get really great financing terms and freight rates to be able to have huge thousand dollar objects sitting on boats, trains, and trucks for weeks at a time.

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#92

Post by sircastor »

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?

Yes, but it is still running an OS (rather than, for instance, an RTOS) there’s more that can go wrong, and bugs may require updates, which require network access.

That said, I’ve got many friends who do exactly as you have said and never connect it. IIRC, there is some talk about including 5G modems in near term models to further encourage connection. The data is valuable enough to merit the inclusion.

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#93

Post by smileybarry »

yftsui wrote: post #64

I upgraded my TV to a Sony X950 because I cannot find a decent dumb TV, got really annoyed with the super buggy Google Android TV thing. The cold start time is absurdly high, the basic feature of a TV - built in OTA TV player has a bug that the channel display stays on forever, the Airplay frequently play video with no sound. The only fix is find the 3 level deep restart menu item, because power on / off doesn’t matt…

They're not all bad, at least. I bought a Sony X900H (2020) and I don't have those issues. Heck, it's fast enough that I put my Shield TV away.

Also -- you can restart by holding the power button on the remote, then choosing "Restart".

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#94

Post by randallsquared »

lbotos wrote: post #27
the_only_law wrote: post #19

Last time this topic came up, I asked about the idea of a company producing dumb TV. I know a number of “normal” people who don’t particularly care for internet connectivity in anything so I was curious why no one was doing it, at least not with the sizes and resolutions you see on top of the line TVs. Apparently the margins on commodity hardware like TVs are too small. Someone did bring up and interesting idea of ru…

These displays exist now. "Digital Information Displays". Example search here: https://www.cdw.com/Search/computer-monitors-displays/large-... Looks like you can't check out without an account, but I'm sure you could find a shop that would sell you one. Here is a basic one: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1242029-REG/samsung_3... It looks like since I last checked the "smart" is creeping in, but these are desi…

If I understand correctly that these are all roughly comparable TVs as far as the viewing is concerned, the comparison at https://www.bestbuy.com/site/compare?skus=6406418,6325571,64... really highlights that the smart features subsidize the TV!

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#95

Post by reaperducer »

lbotos wrote: post #27
the_only_law wrote: post #19

Last time this topic came up, I asked about the idea of a company producing dumb TV. I know a number of “normal” people who don’t particularly care for internet connectivity in anything so I was curious why no one was doing it, at least not with the sizes and resolutions you see on top of the line TVs. Apparently the margins on commodity hardware like TVs are too small. Someone did bring up and interesting idea of ru…

These displays exist now. "Digital Information Displays". Example search here: https://www.cdw.com/Search/computer-monitors-displays/large-... Looks like you can't check out without an account, but I'm sure you could find a shop that would sell you one. Here is a basic one: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1242029-REG/samsung_3... It looks like since I last checked the "smart" is creeping in, but these are desi…

Thanks for the link. They're not nearly as expensive as I thought they'd be.

A Samsung at 55 inches for $600 is perfect for my needs.

So much for the lie about TVs need ads to keep the price reasonable.

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#97

Post by nerdponx »

temp8964 wrote: post #71

But does anybody here really use dumb TV? How is a dumb TV + a TV stick different from a smart TV?

Of course I do. I bought it for $150 on Black Friday in 2016, not realizing that I would never have a chance to buy one again. I refuse to upgrade. I don't use a stick or anything either, I just plug in my laptop with HDMI.

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#98

Post by alacombe »

sidpatil wrote: post #75
alacombe wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Soon they'll be coming with their own 5G chips that phone home over cell networks - no wifi access required This is something I never understood about the IOT bullcrap, even if something can connect to a mobile network, they'd still need the expense of a data subscription which render the whole thing pretty moot. It's not as if 5G providers were operating their network for free.

The device manufacturer will eat the cost of the 5G subscription, since it will likely be lower than the revenue generated from the harvested personal data.

How low can you get these ? Even at $5/month, that's $60... is a single user's data worth that much ?

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#99

Post by jefft255 »

temp8964 wrote: post #71

But does anybody here really use dumb TV? How is a dumb TV + a TV stick different from a smart TV?

Less buggy in my experience. My Sony’s software is pretty buggy, and the experience is overall poorer than my previous setup of dumb + chromecast. Plugging a chromecast is doable of course but it feels silly since I can cast directly to the TV. Google now sells a stick with a full blown android tv implementation and I’m sure it’s much better than what manufacturers are putting on their TVs.

Also, software ages much more poorly than screens. TV have a useable life of more than 10 years. So the smart features will be broken long before the TV. On a dumb tv you can upgrade the stick for 50$. Not so long ago I was using an ancient plasma TV just fine with a chromecast.

To me the real deal is still dumb tv + Linux media pc. If freedom and privacy is important to you then you have full control over that.

Re: In Defense of Dumb TVs

#100

Post by kinghtown »

Maybe we should be reading more books? TV is a classic waste of time anyways and now the experience is becoming more and more user hostile.

I’m honestly worried about this tech coming after computers next. Windows tried this before but I’m thinking it was a test run.

Like watch an un-skippable ad before sending an email levels of bullshit.

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