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

nytimes.com

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

#351

> “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…

> It's not "denying the premise" of wanting a dumb TV to point out these limitations, as well as offer what is the most practical alternative for most people - just don't connect it to WiFi.

They denied the premise of the question. The question was "Can You Recommend a Not-Smart TV for Me?" and the answer wasn't just "no, there are none I can or will recommend", which would be one thing. Instead the answer was "I'm not going to answer that question, because you don't actually want the thing you said you want". Since some people want dumb TVs, and they do exist, it would have been possible for the author to recommend the best example of that product, whatever they felt about it personally, or whatever assumptions they had about what the questioner actually wanted.

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

#352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...)

The Apple TV’s hardware is wildly more powerful than that bundled in any smart TV. The current ATV 4K is running on the last gen flagship Apple SoC with a big passive heatsink attached while smart TVs use hardware comparable to that of a low-to-midrange Android phone from 2012-2014. Even the first gen ATV 4K from 2017 is several times more powerful than current smart TVs. That difference in power is felt quite a lot…

I am not sure if "powerful" matters in this context though. (That is, I expect the chipsets built into TVs to be plenty powerful for their intended purpose.)

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

#353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huge companies often dabble in a lot of stuff that people don't immediately associate them with, and hold trademarks for those products/services: https://assets.catawiki.com/image/cw_normal/plain/assets/cat...

Just for fun and as a similar example https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/315/502/f76...

There's apparently a ton of them:

https://i.redd.it/aiahnmp5cd151.jpg

https://media.karousell.com/media/photos/products/2021/7/14/...

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/sN0AAOSwMRZilO98/s-l500.jpg

https://s3.amazonaws.com/hopshop-image-store-production/1707...

https://946e583539399c301dc7-100ffa5b52865b8ec92e09e9de9f4d0...

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

#354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

PRIMITV

That's really nice. Though there's a _slight_ chance that Amazon's lawyers might come knocking due to the similarity of Prime (TV?).

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

#355

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!

Unhooked.Tech is one suggestion. That way if you want to expand into other devices / spaces, it is already covered.

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

#356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that would require an accessible WiFi network. I'm sure someday it'll be impossible because they'll embed 5G chips and do it over cell without involving your consent, but that day isn't here yet.

This already happens with Nespresso coffee machines (they have an SIM that connects to the Internet, whether you want it or not). That day is already yesterday.

For heaven's sake just cut the leads that freed the antenna with a razor blade or box cutter.

All over, done permanently. Never another internet connection.

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

#357

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

- PrivateTV (only you know what you are watching, or talking in front of tv) - yourTV (you own TV. It doesn't own you. You are not the product--it is.) - dumbTV (smart choice)

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

#358

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

So I have had to suffer being given the gift of my neighbor, an AV-file, setting up a home theater style setup. Personally I’m not super happy with what he did. I have a full size rack meant to be filled with electronics I don’t want, and hundreds of feet of wire to locate said rack to a closet so there is no entertainment unit under the TV. All of this is overkill in my opinion. However… I think this is a core marke…

You're right, extenders can be expensive, but they can save you a lot of trouble if you choose the right one. My go-to choice is Atlona, especially this one: https://atlona.com/product/at-ome-ex-wp-kit-lt/. The best part is that the destination end is powered by PoE, so you get active conversion all the time. We've used these very reliably (I would say they are industrial-grade) for the past 10 years.

We do have a few LCD controller boards that support IP TV, but the downside is that they use 264/MPEG-4 AVC compression for transport.

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

#359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I'll talk this over with our firmware designer. I believe most of the things you're asking for come standard as part of the HDMI2.1 spec and the latest spec seems to be HDMI2.1a. As of right now, we are only compliant up to HDMI2.0 due to the nature of our commercial market. They prefer reliability over cutting edge. However, I don't see updating to the new spec as a major issue. High-end FPGAs have really come down…

For gaming consumers you really need 2.1 I believe.

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

#360

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

Another “YES PLEASE!” here. In something in the 50” size range. Gotta for it on existing furniture in a small-ish family room.
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