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

Post by sgerenser » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 10:29 AM UTC

speeder wrote: post #716

sgerenser wrote: post #566

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My LG C9 OLED from 2019 works great with my AppleTV. It starts up quickly, and I only ever see its interface if I accidentally bump the TVs remote (all normal interaction including power on and volume go through the AppleTV remote). Of course I never connected it to WiFi.

I have one of these and was happy with it until it decided to use the notification system to nag me. 1. Lots of ads of local TV stations on the system update notifications. 2. Often it nag me about other random things too, like asking me to change the brightness settings or telling me that using the TV for too long is unhealthy. 3. Often it decides to stop work properly unless I accept license agreements. Sometimes I…

Post by pprotas » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 10:42 AM UTC

htag wrote: post #722

SamWhited wrote: post #615

Wow, others have said it but they really missed the point. Most of it is just kind of annoying because they're missing the point, but this sentence really stuck out to me (snipped to only show the important parts, there's a bunch of stuff in the middle that's also annoying): "By connecting to the internet [you get] security and features updates". Did they seriously argue that you need to connect to internet, otherwis…

There are other attack vectors of a TV. For example, most TVs have a usb. Imagine an attack in which an attacker gains physical access to your TV and loads malware onto your TV via USB. Now the infected TV is communicating with a nearby WIFI hotspot to upload the audio recordings from the TV's microphone (that exists for voice commands). I think the TV is malware out-of-the-book if connected to a network connection.…

Post by xeonax » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 11:02 AM UTC

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!

Post by meindnoch » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 11:10 AM UTC

Koshkin wrote: post #252

kjsthree wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...)

Post by MiddleAgedNoob » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 11:18 AM UTC

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