Walmart sells 4K RCA dumb TVs. The UI is slow and clunky but I rarely have reason to use the UI for anything. It has no apps and doesn't connect to anything other than video and audio sources. The picture quality looks fine to me but I'm not all that particular about such things. The audio is passable but you'll probably want a receiver or a sound bar. There is a USB port but it doesn't appear to do anything. You can't play videos or anything from USB. It's about as dumb as you can get these days.
Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
331–340 of 518 posts
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#332Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sure, but my intuition says they might get a few hundred dollars that way, tops. Is my intuition off by an entire order of magnitude?
Vizio, as a public company, now has to share their ad revenue data: https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2021/11/10/22773073/vi...
Most of the ad money comes from WatchFree Plus app on the tv.
"Vizio execs said 77 percent of that money comes directly from advertising, like the kind that runs on its WatchFree Plus package of streaming channels, a group that recently expanded with content targeting. The next biggest contributor is the money it makes selling Inscape data about what people are watching."
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#333Earlier quoted context omitted.
> grant the fucker an internet connection over BT, it starts to rat on you Or it does that by itself, with a mesh network that your neighbours have setup by accident with their Alexa or Ring - Amazon Sidewalk is an amazing end-run around your own firewall rules.
Thanks for giving me another invention to be angry about, haha. Makes you wonder about the opportunities for poisoning of Sidewalk networks, just to get some petty revenge.
that's not petty, that's downright patriotic. we have an inalienable right to privacy, security, and liberty, and absolutely no obligation to let companies (or governments) invade or curtail those rights.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#334The best Smart TV alternative I've seen so far is probably this 55" gaming monitor from Philips [1]. The previous model (558M1RY) could be also an option if you don't care about HDMI 2.1. At least on paper it ticks a lot of boxes, but there are not many reviews online and it might not be easy to get your hands on one.
[1] https://www.usa.philips.com/c-p/559M1RYV_27/momentum-4k-hdr-...
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#335All TV's are dumb tv's if you only use them as an external display/monitor and don't connect them to the net. I have a dedicated computer for a media center and just use HDMI1 input on the TV. Never enter menus. Never update the OS. Never agree to anything. Never let the TV "phone home." Never set up wifi. Never connect a CAT5 to it. Set the input using the remote and forget it. Treat it as a dumb monitor. Computer i…
> Never update the OS.
Unless there are new features or fixes you want. My TV needed updates to support Dolby Vision and to fix ARC/CEC bugs. More recent TVs have required updates to support HDMI 2.1 features.
At least you can download the firmware separately and update through USB instead of a network update.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#336Sceptre is fantastic for this. e.g. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-55-Class-4K-UHD-LED-TV-HD... Zero smart features, and all modern capabilities. It's also a TV, as opposed to a computer monitor, so it has the expected TV speakers and ports.
I recently purchased one of the Sceptre TVs and overall am happy with it. The only drawback I found was the sound is not great: it is tinny and muddled (possibly because it's wall-mounted). I'm planning to buy some external speakers.
Yes, I have a 4K Sceptre purchased for a song, and the sound isn't great (and HDMI-CEC doesn't work as reliably as I'd like to bring up the soundbar on HDMI-ARC, etc.)...
...but it doesn't have any of the smart TV BS. Still takes too long to power on, IMO.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#337Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you need security updates for if you don’t connect it to the Internet?
Updates include more than just security fixes.
Yes but to nitpick he already mentioned bugfixes and file format support alongside security fixes (which he wouldn't/shouldn't need). :)
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#338Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ugh this is way worse and actually seems far more likely and easy to accomplish than the public wifi thing...
It's going to be time to crack the sucker open and burn out the traces to/from the modem, isn't it. E: And in the ongoing arms war, then manufacturer's ship remotes that no longer use tried and true IR but instead go over the same bluetooth or 2.4ghz chip. Some probably already do, I would expect.
My new Panasonic TV has dual-mode remote control - IR+Bluetooth. Bluetooth means that you don't need to point the remote as accurately. Plus you can use a phone as remote control.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#339All TV's are dumb tv's if you only use them as an external display/monitor and don't connect them to the net. I have a dedicated computer for a media center and just use HDMI1 input on the TV. Never enter menus. Never update the OS. Never agree to anything. Never let the TV "phone home." Never set up wifi. Never connect a CAT5 to it. Set the input using the remote and forget it. Treat it as a dumb monitor. Computer i…
That's sadly not really true. I have an LG that I (thought) I was using this way until one day in the middle of watching some TV I get a prompt about a OnePlus phone trying to control my TV, do I want to accept? Needless to say and didn't, but I was baffled by what happened. Turns out that the stupid TV is controllable via an app over bluetooth, and there is no way to turn bluetooth off. I'm just stuck with my TV con…
Also, HDMI cables support ethernet connections.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#340Earlier quoted context omitted.
> grant the fucker an internet connection over BT, it starts to rat on you Or it does that by itself, with a mesh network that your neighbours have setup by accident with their Alexa or Ring - Amazon Sidewalk is an amazing end-run around your own firewall rules.
I wonder when home security setups will start including a Faraday cage, at least for certain rooms or areas.
If you build it into all of the exterior facing walls, you can use a cell range extender to tunnel a data connection inside your house, and also similarly with a Wi-Fi AP connected via Ethernet, in the event that you want Wi-Fi signal outside your home as well.
Actually, when I build my next house in 5-10 years I think I might do exactly this