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It’s Still Stupidly, Difficult to Buy a ‘Dumb’ TV

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Re: It’s Still Stupidly, Difficult to Buy a ‘Dumb’ TV

#251

Post by maxwelldone »

ramraj07 wrote: post #79
zasdffaa wrote: post #65

A serious, non-trolling question to all. I've not had a TV for decades and for me that's a good thing. I've watched TVs in pubs (I'm in the uk) and round my mates' houses so it's not become some strange alien thing, and I'm still happy to be without it (that is, on balance; there are good things about broadcast TV and some bad, and the latter outweighs the former for me). In your opinion, is there actual overall valu…

A really big screen makes a huge difference. If you truly want to appreciate 4K content (be aware that most streaming 4K content is not good at all, surprisingly YouTube’s rentals have the best 4K fidelity of any streaming option I’ve seen) you need like a 70 inch screen at less than 10 feet away. I can assure you that with right content this can transport you into the movie in ways only a theater can match. A great…

Absolutely. I watch a ton of movies & tv shows; all from the comfort of my personal library and I love the experience. Though, mine is only 55", my next upgrade would be much bigger.

Re: It’s Still Stupidly, Difficult to Buy a ‘Dumb’ TV

#252

Post by kitsunesoba »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #166
sgjohnson wrote: post #154

I for one enjoy that my Smart TV is subsidized by all the morons who think that my data is worth anything. It's not connected to internet. It's connected to Apple TV box. Thanks for the discount.

> It's not connected to internet From the article: “As a dumb TV fan who has bought several sets in the last decade, I’m usually told something akin to: “well, just don’t connect the TV to the Internet!” But that route locks you out of firmware updates, and some TV makers remove functionality if you refuse to participate in their online ecosystem. Many smart TV GUIs also need to load before you’re even allowed to swi…

Sony TVs run near-stock Android TV and can have their firmware updated with a thumb drive. If you elect to use the smarts (I haven’t, I use an Apple TV), you can hook it up to ADB on a laptop and remove the singular bit of dodgy content tracking stuff.

They’re a bit more pricey than a Vizio or something like that, but the quality is great so I think the premium is worthwhile.

Re: It’s Still Stupidly, Difficult to Buy a ‘Dumb’ TV

#253

Post by seanw444 »

rosndo wrote: post #201
scns wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have been caught trying to connect to unsecured WiFi before.

I bet you aren’t going to be able to provide a source for this.

Even if not, it's only a matter of time before it does happen. Not an if.

Re: It’s Still Stupidly, Difficult to Buy a ‘Dumb’ TV

#254

Post by emerged »

robgibbons wrote: post #127
ramraj07 wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’re happy with a computer monitor as a tv good for you. I’m spoiled by super large screen 4K Qdot displays. If I really have to choose not to get a smart tv, the simple solution is actually to get a really good projector.

Even projectors these days are becoming "smart". Though they tend to still be the exception currently, I suspect they will soon be tough to avoid.

Eventually we’re going to have Smart Drywall, so maybe we should enjoy our current relative freedom from ads.

Re: It’s Still Stupidly, Difficult to Buy a ‘Dumb’ TV

#255

Post by dankboys »

agotterer wrote: post #237
sgjohnson wrote: post #154

I for one enjoy that my Smart TV is subsidized by all the morons who think that my data is worth anything. It's not connected to internet. It's connected to Apple TV box. Thanks for the discount.

I recently purchased a Samsung TV that I hooked up to the internet. When I turned on the TV I was prompted to agree to their TOS. When I tried to agree to the terms it just kept erroring. I went away for a bit assuming it was Samsung network issue. It took me another hour once I returned to realize that my network was blocking their tracking domains. I had to connect the TV to my phone to accept the terms and bypass…

Yeah LGs are great, no long loading times. Only issue I've found is that it doesn't like antenna signal being too strong (I've got an attenuator to make mine work)

Re: It’s Still Stupidly, Difficult to Buy a ‘Dumb’ TV

#256

Post by next_xibalba »

BiteCode_dev wrote: post #80
Gigachad wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds like you are out of touch with the average consumer. They absolutely love smart TVs and would consider a TV without apps and streaming to be broken. In fact, even the ideal HN approved setup is just a smart TV where the online bit is a removable stick on the back. The average consumer just doesn’t care about being able to swap it out.

Yeah, they love also facebook, which monetize all their private life or sugary food, which alter your diet balance or cigarettes who can literally kill you. Not to mention all of them are addictive. The fact consumers love something doesn't make it a good thing.

> The fact consumers love something doesn't make it a good thing.

It does make it a good thing for them. Which begs the question: why is it that you get to decide what is or isn't a good thing? Or: why shouldn't people be able to decide for themselves? The answers against the latter are, at their root, paternalistic and elitist.

> they love also facebook

Ah, yes. The old "facebook is as bad as cigarettes" trope. It feels a lot like the claims around TV in the 70s and 80s. "It's rotting people's brains!" But society kept on chugging. It is one thing to object to Facebook's business model. It is another entirely to deem it "Bad For You". Billions of people like using the product and it hasn't hurt their lives. In fact, it has improved them.

Re: It’s Still Stupidly, Difficult to Buy a ‘Dumb’ TV

#257

Post by landmass »

MiddleEndian wrote: post #229
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's not connected to internet From the article: “As a dumb TV fan who has bought several sets in the last decade, I’m usually told something akin to: “well, just don’t connect the TV to the Internet!” But that route locks you out of firmware updates, and some TV makers remove functionality if you refuse to participate in their online ecosystem. Many smart TV GUIs also need to load before you’re even allowed to swi…

Why would I need a firmware update for my TV that I use as a big monitor? It has no network access, I switched it to "PC mode", it displays pixels, it makes sounds, I very occasionally switch inputs.

My new 65" Sony has never been connected to the internet. We can't get 4K resolution, presumably because it's never been updated. Sony tells me they don't have a USB update available "yet." Had I known this would happen I wouldn't have bought it - my old plasma is still working. I didn't wish to connect just for the update and then disconnect over concerns that they would use that connection to download ads onto the firmware at the same time.

Re: It’s Still Stupidly, Difficult to Buy a ‘Dumb’ TV

#258

Post by aceazzameen »

guidedlight wrote: post #73

I'm 90% sure that all Sony TV's give you the option of a "Basic TV" when you go through the initial set up. Edit: Yep. Any Google TV based television will do this. https://9to5google.com/2021/02/24/google-tv-basic-tv-mode/

Looks like newer TVs only. My Sony X900F doesn't have this option. It's about 3-4 years old now? But I also never updated Android on it (still on Oreo) and I declined all agreements (like Samba).

I liked it, but hated how slow it was compared to my older dumb TV. Pressing a button and waiting for something to happen on the home screen was ridiculous.

After 2 years, I went nuclear and disabled as many apps and background services as I could. Lo and behold, I suddenly had a snappy TV with only the 3 streaming services I need on it.

This is what I continue to want. A TV that can do streaming without additional hardware, and without the insane level of tracking and ads that are so prevalent.

Re: It’s Still Stupidly, Difficult to Buy a ‘Dumb’ TV

#260

Post by doldols »

superkuh wrote: post #246
rosndo wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, good luck with getting dolby vision and the likes to work. You’ll also have to deal with substantially degraded experience from streaming services unless you’re willing to deal with the inconvenience of pirating everything.

These days it's the other way around. If you pirate everything it's all very easy, it's the guessing game and multiplying streaming services where you have to deal with inconvenience. It's all just a little bit of history repeating...

I know all about this, my Plex server is rapidly approaching 200TB of content.

Is it really convenient? Sure! As long as you ignore all the work that goes into setup and maintenance. I’d be deluding myself if I tried to pretend that this is anything but yet another part of a really expensive and time consuming home theater hobby.

Even at it’s best DIY piracy is still miles away from just being able to open up Netflix and start watching.

Of course you can pay for someone else to maintain the Plex server for you, which isn’t a horrible option.

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