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

Post by pupdogg » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 1:32 AM UTC

rglullis wrote: post #368

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

Is there any chance whatsoever that you can use open source software/firmware for it? I am not in the market for a TV and I am only a hobbyist with a tendency to spend more than I should on anything that lets me open the hood and tinker with it. If there is any consumer electronics company that wants to be the anti-Apple, I'd support it in any possible way. Seriously, I even wonder if there could be some type of "Pat…

Post by deadbunny » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 1:33 AM UTC

anonymousiam wrote: post #468

Since none of the 451 comments (so far) have mentioned this, another alternative is to buy a LG smart TV and then root it with https://rootmy.tv In addition to giving you a homebrew channel with lots of useful tools, it also removes much of the tracking and advertising "features", making the TV behave more as should be expected.

Post by tomcam » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 1:34 AM UTC

samtho wrote: post #192

tomcam wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not that simple. The Faraday cage I got from Costco seems to phone home to a server in China. Obviously I returned it and used the money to buy a whole lot of tinfoil.

I’m… not sure if you are joking.

Post by kalleboo » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 1:40 AM UTC

rolenthedeep wrote: post #376

"just don't connect it to the internet" is such a typical HN response that completely misses the point. A smart TV with no internet connection is still a smart TV. It still has an entire operating system that needs to load wifi, ethernet, Bluetooth, usb driver stacks. It still has an awful, flashy interface that adds unnecessary steps between changing inputs. It still tries to load god knows what apps every time you…

Post by stryker7001 » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 1:43 AM UTC

kalleboo wrote: post #587

rolenthedeep wrote: post #376

"just don't connect it to the internet" is such a typical HN response that completely misses the point. A smart TV with no internet connection is still a smart TV. It still has an entire operating system that needs to load wifi, ethernet, Bluetooth, usb driver stacks. It still has an awful, flashy interface that adds unnecessary steps between changing inputs. It still tries to load god knows what apps every time you…

No, the typical HN responses are the "just pay three times as much for a digital signage display because we're all rich Bay Area types here right" and the "Just use a really cheap crappy panel since we're all old curmudgeons who can't tell the difference in image quality anyway, right" ones. "Just don't connect it" is the pragmatic option that normal people do.