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Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options

arstechnica.com

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Re: Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options

#391

Post by Gabrys1 »

gary_0 wrote: post #322
xg15 wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fear this won't even required SIM cards. I'm worried that Apple's Find My and Amazon's Sidewalk networks are the precursors of this: They're effectively company controlled p2p networks that lets the company use their customers' internet access points like a commodity. If one customer refuses to give a device access to the internet, they could use that network to route it through the access point of another customer…

If it had Ethernet ports I'd be tempted to just use my own wifi router and put the ISP's Trojan horse in a Faraday cage. All ISP-controlled hardware should be treated as just another untrusted WAN hop.

These devices usually have detachable antennas, so just unscrew them

Re: Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options

#392

Post by deltaburnt »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #385

Want to know the best option? GO USED. You can find a 50-60 inch dumb TV for a hundred dollars. No, it won't be UHD 4K, but it might be 3D, and it won't pester you to connect to Wi-Fi every time you use it.

Basically locks you out of HDR, high frame rates, VRR, or (more importantly) new panel technology like OLED.

Re: Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options

#393

Post by mikepurvis »

taxmeifyoucan wrote: post #101

For a hacker news article, it misses the crucial option - hacking a smart TV! I have LG OLED jailbroken using rootmy.tv, it was pretty trivial. It's basically a linux computer with a huge screen, you can customize it, SSH into it, map any commands to the remote, etc. Before I only used monitor, simple DP/HDMI input is all I wanted. But being able to take full control of the tv and connect it with other devices in the…

I’ve been pretty happy with the smart apps on my LG OLED; it’s got the streaming things I want including jellyfin. Really the only one missing is steam link.

Re: Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options

#394

Post by sander1095 »

mikepurvis wrote: post #393
taxmeifyoucan wrote: post #101

For a hacker news article, it misses the crucial option - hacking a smart TV! I have LG OLED jailbroken using rootmy.tv, it was pretty trivial. It's basically a linux computer with a huge screen, you can customize it, SSH into it, map any commands to the remote, etc. Before I only used monitor, simple DP/HDMI input is all I wanted. But being able to take full control of the tv and connect it with other devices in the…

I’ve been pretty happy with the smart apps on my LG OLED; it’s got the streaming things I want including jellyfin. Really the only one missing is steam link.

Have you tried moonlight? An alternative to steam link. You can use install it on the lg tv by sideloading the app.

Alternatively, you can plug in a Raspberry Pi that runs steam link :)

Re: Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options

#395

Post by jader201 »

ranguna wrote: post #289
jader201 wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's basically a linux computer with a huge screen Why would I want a Linux computer with a huge screen? I just want a huge screen. I’ll provide my own connected devices, independent of the screen.

Well, you can make it a PC and then turn it off, I guess. Then let the rest of us have all the fun.

It sounds like you still want a smart TV, just with control. Which is fine.

But for many people, we just want a monitor, maybe with speakers (I personally am fine also separating this).

I prefer separation of concerns — if I want to attach a computer to my TV, I’ll do that as a search device.

Why have a dependency on the TV hardware, when I can attach upgradable parts?

Re: Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options

#396

Post by wltr »

PaulHoule wrote: post #366
wltr wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you mind elaborating on plasmas? I have entirely missed this technology, and wonder what’s about it.

Deep blacks, smooth motion, wide viewing angle. Most people would say OLEDs are better, but some still say the motion is smoother on plasmas.

What about their energy consumption? Aren’t they much hungrier?

Re: Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options

#397

Post by Teknomadix »

taxmeifyoucan wrote: post #101

For a hacker news article, it misses the crucial option - hacking a smart TV! I have LG OLED jailbroken using rootmy.tv, it was pretty trivial. It's basically a linux computer with a huge screen, you can customize it, SSH into it, map any commands to the remote, etc. Before I only used monitor, simple DP/HDMI input is all I wanted. But being able to take full control of the tv and connect it with other devices in the…

It took a bit of extra effort but `faultmanager-autoroot` script worked on my LG WebOS Smart Monitor

Re: Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options

#398

Post by b-star »

scosman wrote: post #351
djoldman wrote: post #337

For the tech-savvy, I'm not too worried about smart TVs. I just do this: > If you want premium image quality or sound, you’re better off using a smart TV offline. In the future, if they add e-sims, we'll just remove them or de-solder or whatever. The real risk is cars: if they start not working without cell network connections.

Offline smart TVs are great. As long as they support wake over CEC, they are close enough to a dumb display connected to an Apple TV. I let my latest LG TV on the network, but block internet access at the router. HomeKit integration (Siri turn off tv), Chromecast, Airplay, and other local services all work, without the ability for it to phone home.

I do this too, works great. Sometimes I cry remembering all the money I wasted on TV’s “smart” features but I’ll take the small win.

Re: Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options

#399

Post by SoftTalker »

nullhole wrote: post #257
SoftTalker wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i have a vizio which I opened up and removed the WiFi module. it never complains about the internet now.

"In the land of telescreens, the man with the soldering iron is king"

Did't even require that. It was a standard mini pci-e wifi card, just unclipped it and removed it from its slot.

Re: Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options

#400

Post by 1970-01-01 »

deltaburnt wrote: post #392
1970-01-01 wrote: post #385

Want to know the best option? GO USED. You can find a 50-60 inch dumb TV for a hundred dollars. No, it won't be UHD 4K, but it might be 3D, and it won't pester you to connect to Wi-Fi every time you use it.

Basically locks you out of HDR, high frame rates, VRR, or (more importantly) new panel technology like OLED.

Nope. https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/sony/x850d
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