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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?

#201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, this Disney lawsuit thing is news to me. What's up with that? You're right, in the consumer market, there's a much higher demand for 32-40" display. Our UHD controller can easily handle that and comes with 5x total input ports [ 3x HDMI(V1.4a), 1x HDMI(V2.0), 1x DisplayPort(V1.2) ] and can run 3840x2160 or 4096x2160 resolutions @ 120Hz.

Edit: Nevermind, apparently they already did claim it.

As has been stated in the thread, Disney has explicitly called out television sets on their trademark application for the term 'Dumbo'.

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

#202

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

Where is that overhead factory shot? I am in Detroit so it immediately made me think of a vehicle assembly line.

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

#203

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. Fwiw toggling the internet is an easy fix compared to the "dumb tv" way of updating firmware - putting a bin on a flash drive.

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

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

#204
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> make it smart via an Apple TV I repurpose the old laptops that I seem to accumulate for this. Just about anything made in the last 10 years can handle at least 1080p video, and will have an HDMI output. I add a small wireless keyboard and use my regular desktop environment. But you can add a remote and use one of the open source media centre suites. I do wish more TVs had a monitor-like sleep mode and accepted the…

We do the same and it works well. We prefer a handheld keyboard/mouse to control it. We've tried several and the Lenovo N5902 [1] is our favorite by far. It's also useful to have the Unified Remote server [2] running on the media computer so you can control it from your phone when you need to. [1] https://www.newegg.com/p/09N-00A7-00001 [2] https://www.unifiedremote.com/

For anyone in the market for a remote, I have one of these[1] and it's pretty awesome. I'll have to check out the Lenovo as well.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WJGSXT8

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

#205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, this Disney lawsuit thing is news to me. What's up with that? You're right, in the consumer market, there's a much higher demand for 32-40" display. Our UHD controller can easily handle that and comes with 5x total input ports [ 3x HDMI(V1.4a), 1x HDMI(V2.0), 1x DisplayPort(V1.2) ] and can run 3840x2160 or 4096x2160 resolutions @ 120Hz.

Edit: Nevermind, apparently they already did claim it.

Whoever the TV maker is, do they have better lawyers than Disney? No? Better not to try then.

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

#206

The approach I’ve taken is to just keep my TV off the internet (never join a WiFi network) and make it smart via an Apple TV, which I personally believe to have the strongest privacy protection of any smart TV device. Another bonus is my TV UI hasn’t changed despite changing and upgrading TV brands.

> Another bonus is my TV UI hasn’t changed despite changing and upgrading TV brands. One of the recent updates to my TV's software introduced bugs to a feature I use a lot. It is very infuriating, and it's one of the reasons I refuse to buy an expensive TV. Even if the hardware is good, I'm one software update away from a piece of garbage.

An "update" to my TV made it so if it's on an input channel with no detected input for 10 seconds it will automatically switch back to the "smart" TV channel. Now if for some reason an input source isn't working correctly and I'm trying to figure out why I have to keep switching back to the correct input channel. Which of course lags for like ten seconds whenever it switches.

I'm never buying another "smart" TV.

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

#207
This is a big concern for the elderly. They have major challenges dealing with "smart" TVs and smart phones – due to complicated interfaces that are difficult to operate, hard to read, hard to interact with , slow to respond do.

I see a huge business opportunity selling simplified consumer devices to the elderly. I'm surprised CES hasn't yet created a specific category or certification for elderly-friendly devices.

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

#208

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

Keep us updated. I'd likely pay 2x what I payed for my LG C2 for a "dumb" version. Even if just to support such a project.

Yeah I just don’t let my smart LG OLED tv connect to the web.

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

#209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My TCL TV bootloops if it goes more than 3 months without downloading fresh ads. If you contact support, they walk you through connecting to the network.

Can't connect to network. I don't have internet. Sorry. Returning TV back because it does not work.

"Sorry, out of warranty."

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

#210

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

Sounds great! What price point are you aiming for? Will this be much more expensive than inexpensive Samsungs/Vizios that are subsidized by data collection?

I haven't done much market research in that aspect yet but we currently sell our industrial 70" display @ around $9-12k/ea depending on the configuration (ie type of metal shell aluminum/stainless/carbon-steel, ethernet support, protective polycarbonate screen in the front to prevent damage from industrial machinery). However, I expect the consumer grade to be much more cost effective considering the sizes in demand would are much smaller (32-40"). Since I have more experience in sheet metal design/fabrication for the enclosures, I still plan on building these TVs inside a metal shell (specifically aluminum) instead of a plastic housing like your standard Samsungs/Vizios. I'm open to market consensus as to what is the most favorable price point for the size.
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