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

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

#251

Post by silisili »

mustacheemperor wrote: post #180
parker_mountain wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your LG C2 is a dumb tv - if you dont connect it to the internet. You can even buy a $10 IR remote control on amazon and use that to switch inputs. Or, in my experience, all of my external devices support HDMI CEC and auto switch when i use them.

I have an LGCX and if I hadn't connected it to the internet I would have missed out on some important software updates that significantly improved the display performance. I guess you can toggle the internet on and off when updates are published, but it's not the most convenient solution. Edit: But you can use a USB! Woohoo, thank you repliers!

Most, if not all, routers have a one click blacklist device option. Pretty easy to just unblock it once a month and check for updates?

Alternatively, for something more automated, you could just use parental control 'bedtime'. I use it currently to keep the kid from watching TV at certain hours. Could probably do the inverse and block it except for an hour on a particular day, I'd imagine.

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

#252

Post by Koshkin »

kjsthree wrote: post #228
parker_mountain wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your LG C2 is a dumb tv - if you dont connect it to the internet. You can even buy a $10 IR remote control on amazon and use that to switch inputs. Or, in my experience, all of my external devices support HDMI CEC and auto switch when i use them.

This is essentially what I've done. The TV has never been connected to the Internet and my Apple TV drives everything. I would still have payed 2x to support a good dumb TV project and would love to do so in the future.

But isn't a dumb TV + Apple TV pretty much the same as a smart TV? (I know, you avoid dealing with two "smarts," but still...)

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

#253

Post by _cenw »

My TV is a projector (Benq TK700STi) and all its smart features are contained within a Google TV plugged into the back that ships with the device. You rip it out, you just get an extra HDMI port. The only problem I have is having to dim the lights / close the blinds to watch anything, but that makes using the TV a much more deliberate act and I found that to actually be a positive.

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

#254

Post by babypuncher »

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?

VRR is short for variable refresh rate, a feature added with HDMI 2.1.It's useful for video games, as it means they do not have to deliver frames perfectly in sync with the display's fixed refresh rate in order to present a smooth experience. I mention G-Sync/Freesync certification, because it is all too common for VRR-capable displays to only do the bare-minimum to meet the HDMI 2.1 spec otherwise.

Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are newer premium HDR formats.

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

#255

Post by TylerE »

pupdogg wrote: post #220
schappim wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're going to want to change that name... Disney... They have the class 9 Trade Mark for Dumbo, and call out: "television sets;"[1][2]. [1] https://search.ipaustralia.gov.au/trademarks/search/view/115... [2] https://files.littlebird.com.au/Shared-Image-2023-04-08-06-5...

Yes, going to take care of that. Thanks for the heads up. I really looked that one over...didn't think too much of it as the domain was available. It's hard to do anything the easy way nowadays!

What about something a bit more...positive? PureTV?

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

#256

Post by lagrange77 »

pupdogg wrote: post #220
schappim wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're going to want to change that name... Disney... They have the class 9 Trade Mark for Dumbo, and call out: "television sets;"[1][2]. [1] https://search.ipaustralia.gov.au/trademarks/search/view/115... [2] https://files.littlebird.com.au/Shared-Image-2023-04-08-06-5...

Yes, going to take care of that. Thanks for the heads up. I really looked that one over...didn't think too much of it as the domain was available. It's hard to do anything the easy way nowadays!

How about IDIOT? Edit: Damn, there is 'IOT' in it.

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

#257

Post by pupdogg »

dogma1138 wrote: post #240
pupdogg wrote: post #133

I've designed and built many such TVs for the commercial/industrial vertical. I am currently working on developing such a TV for the consumer market and launching it under the name DUMBO.TV Let me know your thoughts. Reference pix of 70" industrial display using Samsung LCD panel and in-house LCD controller with physical OSD menu buttons along with IR/RS232 control capability: https://imgur.com/a/k6zrH3s

How will you be dealing with movie content? 24fps content is quite hard to display without proper processing especially on large screens when the telesync judder will be noticeable. Also HDR support and DRM will be quite problematic.

I'm not too sure about this. I use AppleTV with our industrial display playing back HDR content without any issues. Here's a 4K video playing via AppleTV on a 16ft x 9ft indoor display at our facility: https://imgur.com/a/3O58O8T

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

#258

Post by bee_rider »

jrockway wrote: post #242
bee_rider wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d tend to assume that any data collected would be uploaded opportunistically whenever an internet connection was available.

I think you'd have to write a DNS server where you choose what to return NXDOMAIN for. So updates.samsung.com, sure, let it connect, but spying.samsung.com, block. (Obviously, do not allow connections to any IP addresses you haven't yet approved, which you approve by manually retrieving the DNS entries.) This can be defeated with DoH, or by different business units inside the company cooperating to use the same domai…

I have an unfortunately smart TV, which of I’ve never connected to the network. In general

* it is effectively dumb to me, so I don’t care about feature updates

* it isn’t connected to the network, so I don’t care about security updates

It hadn't occurred to me that there could be TVs out there that are so “smart” that they can’t even take an input without a network connection. Such a device would be returned as defective by me, but of course I can see somebody deciding that packing it all up into the car is too much of a pain.

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

#260

Post by neandrake »

pupdogg wrote: post #220
schappim wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're going to want to change that name... Disney... They have the class 9 Trade Mark for Dumbo, and call out: "television sets;"[1][2]. [1] https://search.ipaustralia.gov.au/trademarks/search/view/115... [2] https://files.littlebird.com.au/Shared-Image-2023-04-08-06-5...

Yes, going to take care of that. Thanks for the heads up. I really looked that one over...didn't think too much of it as the domain was available. It's hard to do anything the easy way nowadays!

Haven’t checked availability but OnlyTV would be fitting.
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