Ask Wirecutter: Can you recommend a not-smart TV for me?

Post by dontlaugh » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 9:28 PM UTC

pupdogg wrote: post #229

babypuncher wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* OLED * eARC * Dolby Vision and HDR10+ * VRR, preferably with G-Sync and Freesync Premium certification These are my requirements for a new display, anything that meets them in the pipeline? My biggest problem with existing "dumb TVs" is that they lack features like these, yet cost more than "smart TVs" that do.

Yes, we support OLEDs and QLEDs as is. However, "Dolby Vision and HDR10+ * VRR, preferably with G-Sync and Freesync" are some new buzz words for me. Are they just marketing buzz words or do they actually translate to physical or software specs for the controller board/firmware?

Post by KeplerBoy » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 9:29 PM UTC

jjoonathan wrote: post #62

ed25519FUUU wrote: post #2

The approach I’ve taken is to just keep my TV off the internet (never join a WiFi network) and make it smart via an Apple TV, which I personally believe to have the strongest privacy protection of any smart TV device. Another bonus is my TV UI hasn’t changed despite changing and upgrading TV brands.

My TCL TV bootloops if it goes more than 3 months without downloading fresh ads. If you contact support, they walk you through connecting to the network.

Post by tonymet » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 9:29 PM UTC

jacobsenscott wrote: post #232

tonymet wrote: post #207

This is a big concern for the elderly. They have major challenges dealing with "smart" TVs and smart phones – due to complicated interfaces that are difficult to operate, hard to read, hard to interact with , slow to respond do. I see a huge business opportunity selling simplified consumer devices to the elderly. I'm surprised CES hasn't yet created a specific category or certification for elderly-friendly devices.

These products exist to some extent, but they don't seem very successful. The "elderly" today could be people who may have been using smartphones for 20 years, and wrote the foundational parts of all the software we use today. Soon enough you will be more likely to find someone who can debug a C program in a retirement community than an MIT classroom.

Post by topspin » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 9:30 PM UTC

bscphil wrote: post #134

karaterobot wrote: post #59

> “Any TV worth buying is very likely going to ask to connect to your Wi-Fi, and that’s been the case for many years now,” he says. “If you can find one manufactured recently that isn’t smart, I don’t know that I would trust it to be worth what you’re paying for it, because it’ll likely be missing several other salient features that you may actually want, like Bluetooth compatibility, HDR functionality, built-in chan…

> it’ll likely be missing several other salient features that you may actually want I disagree with you; the answer they give is pretty reasonable. Sceptre TVs are recommended everywhere you look if you search for dumb TVs, they're not hard to find. But people looking for a brand new TV often want common modern TV features, like HDR. Heck, I'm holding on to an old plasma set until I can get a decent OLED at a reasona…

Post by httpz » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 9:31 PM UTC