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Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?

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Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?

#401

Post by DaiPlusPlus »

clairity wrote: post #392
DaiPlusPlus wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we have an inalienable right to privacy, security, and liberty I assume you’re referring to the US constitution. The rights you’re referring to constrain the government, not companies. You do not have a legal right to privacy w.r.t. your TV spying on you.

no, not just the constitution, it's inalienable because it's intrinsic to being civilized people, not because some piece of paper says so. on the contrary, companies have no right to spy on us.

Yet they seem to be able to keep on doing it just fine.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?

#402

Post by Volundr »

goatcode wrote: post #262
Volundr wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

If this is an argument that all TVs are smart TVs, then all TVs with an IR control input device are smart TVs (because universal remotes).

I mean sure, it's (probably) not an internet connection, but Bluetooth and an IR remote aren't really comparable. Bluetooth exchanges information in both directions, IR does not. Bluetooth works from hundreds of feet away (or more) with no line of site, an IR remote does not. Bluetooth allows for broadcasting arbitrary content to my TV, an IR remote can only change the channel. Given the relative complexities I'm also far more concerned about a security vulnerability existing in the never updated random Bluetooth module/drivers in the TV than an IR receiver that emulates button presses.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?

#404

Post by acchow »

danudey wrote: post #106
halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's amazing how much more expensive those are than traditional TVs, non-starter even.

Economies of scale, and subsidies. TVs that ship with Netflix buttons on the remote, Prime Video app, and built-in crappy ads all over the place are being subsidized by those companies. Meanwhile, no one is buying non-smart TVs, so lower quantities are more expensive. (Or they know that non-smart TVs are a niche product that they can charge more for.)

Netflix is paying to have the button on the remote? I actually thought it would be the other way around.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?

#405

Post by ungamedplayer »

bentcorner wrote: post #310
femto113 wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another approach is to look not for things advertised as "monitors" but instead look for "digital signage"[1]. Nowadays most of these contain some networking features but they'll be oriented at local control (i.e. by you via something on your LAN), not some third-party control center accessed via the internet. Anecdotally this is the approach I took ~20 years ago when buying a (then slightly exotic) plasma flatscreen…

Digital signage is good but from my understanding (and I could be wrong) probably over-engineered for home usage. They're intended to be powered on 24x7, and last a long time. Probably more resistant to burn-in too. All of which is good, but if your use case isn't so intensive you could get by with something lower-end. (Especially if you want to eventually replace the device and are looking for an excuse ;) )

The model that I have js definitely over engineered. I have a 2k sign display which uses display port and its 8 years old.

It's It's bit ugly, but as long as you are okay with that.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?

#406

Post by GistNoesis »

cronix wrote: post #173

All 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…

I guess if the TV really want to exfiltrate data, it can speak via HDMI-CEC to all peripherals connected to it. For example if you have an TV-Box or a game-station, it probably can send it remote control commands to the TV-Box, so it can have the same user interface than you have on your TV-Box (which quite often even when it's connected in Ethernet, can display on the screen the wifi password, or surf the web).

There are also quite often free public wifi in the neighborhoods. Bluetooth may also be an option. Or they can just add a cellular network to get your data. Or maybe they can create a wifi mesh network between nearby TVs and share the internet if one has access to it.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?

#407

Post by sq_ »

MightyOwl13 wrote: post #25

Depends a lot on country. I think the US has more options than EU (but I might be wrong...). Framework had a blog post ( https://frame.work/blog/in-defense-of-dumb-tvs ) about this exact thing and NEC digital signage displays are an option or Iiyama ( https://iiyama.com/ ) makes 55,60 inch 4K displays that are non smart. I was looking for something similar and it's frustrating to see you can pick up a 65inch Samsung…

Hadn't seen that Framework post; maybe if they manage to be successful in the laptop world long term they can grace us with a TV with the same ideas as the laptops. One can hope, at least...

Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?

#408

Post by clairity »

DaiPlusPlus wrote: post #401
clairity wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

no, not just the constitution, it's inalienable because it's intrinsic to being civilized people, not because some piece of paper says so. on the contrary, companies have no right to spy on us.

Yet they seem to be able to keep on doing it just fine.

so people still kicking dogs makes it ok?

note that a right isn't a passive trait, but an active assertion. every time we give in to what's easy, we lose a little bit of our rights. you maintain rights by speaking out and living by them. we wouldn't need a second amendment were that not the case (n.b., i don't personally own nor desire a gun).

Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?

#409

Post by [deleted] »

antiframe wrote: post #387
1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bluetooth on a phone can be disabled. I only turn on bluetooth when it is needed. Wired headsets and wired keyboards will work with some of today's phones.

That doesn't sound like a great user experience. "I have this TV that I want to use as a monitor, but I have to turn of a feature on my unrelated device which I want to use with a headset, keyboard, etc". I would rather buy a dumb TV that didn't require me to lose phone features.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?

#410

Post by ArchOversight »

jonnycoder wrote: post #329
KETpXDDzR wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Vizio TV's settings can only be changed with a phone app. It comes with a regular remote, but there's no button for entering the settings menu. For the app to work, it requires to be in the same WiFi. I dodged the bullet by setting up a restricted WiFi (no internet), but that shows how TV manufacturers try to force you in connecting your TV to the Internet.

How old is your Vizio? All modern Vizio tvs in the past 6 years have a remote with a Menu button. And they ask for accepting Privacy Policy before you can connect to wifi. You can very easily avoid connecting a Vizio to a network and just use it as a dumb tv.

I just got a new Vizio, I only connected it long enough for it download the latest firmware, and then neutered it by removing the Ethernet cable.

You can bypass the acceptance of the privacy policy entirely and it just disables all the smart features (can't use any of the apps or cast to it with Airplay or Google Cast), but will still download firmware updates and install them.

From the network capture I did on it, if you don't accept the policies it only reaches out to the update servers for the firmware, and that's it. Nothing else.

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