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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

#241

Post by Fire-Dragon-DoL »

MegaDeKay wrote: post #108
MarsIronPI wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because HDMI 2.1 uses a proprietary protocol that's not implemented in any free OS[0]. If you want to use HDMI 2.1 features right now, your only option is to use a non-free OS like Windows or MacOS. [0]: This came up recently with Valve: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46220488

Not really. That same link talks about how Intel and nvidia drivers can provide HDMI 2.1 on Linux but it is via their non-free firmware blob. AMD doesn't (can't? won't?) do the same but there is a workaround: a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter using a particular chip running hacked firmware. That'll get you 4K 120 Hz with working FreeSync VRR. https://forum.level1techs.com/t/it-is-possible-to-4k-120-hdr...

I don't remember where,but somebody explained that the adapters also have some kind of limitation. I can't remember what but they went into deep details and the whole thing is revolting. Governments should protect open source.

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

#242

Post by t0bia_s »

tormeh wrote: post #80

What I'd really like is a TV with DisplayPort. How is this not a thing? IIRC you cannot buy a display with DP that's larger than 45 inches, give or take - they just don't exist. I think this is really weird. Like, I'd pay an extra $100 for that port, but I'm just not allowed to have it.

You can buy projector and have 120 inches screen in 160 inches wide room. And it is also unbreakable screen, useful especially if you have kids.

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

#243

Post by timc3 »

drnick1 wrote: post #162
_dan wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I have a couple of recent Samsung OLEDs and they're fine without an internet connection despite reports that they wouldn't be. If I press one of the annoying streaming service buttons on the remote it'll give me a setup popup which needs to be dismissed, otherwise they work fine, albeit without any built in streaming support. I'd read reports that Q-Symphony (audio from the TV speakers and soundbar simultaneousl…

This OSMC box looks interesting, but does it allow to run arbitrary programs like a plain Linux box? What I have in mind here are things such as VacuumTube (YoutubeTV front end), a Web browser to stream from various online sources, etc. I found KODI (as running on Linux) far too restrictive when it comes to streaming from the Internet, and the add ons to be terrible. (In particular the YouTube add-on requires an API…

No, it doesn’t in the way you are intending. I run various utilities on them, but nothing that ever shows up in the interface/TV

I just think of them as the best solution to run Kodi for media that is on my network.

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

#244

Post by Grazester »

00N8 wrote: post #100
amelius wrote: post #34

Unfortunately cars are becoming like smart TVs in this respect.

I'll never buy a car manufactured after about 2014 for this reason. I'm planning to just keep getting repairs & upgrades done on my model year 2006 for at least the next 10-20 years. By then perhaps I will want to switch to electric, but I'll do it by electrifying something older. Cars from around 1998-2014 usually have side curtain airbags & adequate rollover durability. The only improvements since then that I'd eve…

I have a car from 2017 that is perfectly dumb. It had been a rehash of a car being produced since 2010 though. All other models of the same year by the manufacturer had telemetry, mobile app start etc. All those models are now dumb though since for those earlier years they used 3G wireless which is now a dead spectrum.

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

#245

Post by timc3 »

asdff wrote: post #199
zeroonetwothree wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ESC is pretty good for safety. I would not want a car without that. Cars from 2014 do have it of course but not those much older. FWIW I have two 2018 models with zero “smart” features.

No thank you. I will take predictable handling and a steering wheel that responds to my inputs. Loss of traction situations are exactly where I don’t want any systems helping. I need to countersteer and feel the car. Speaking as someone who was raised in winter driving and encouraged to find the limits of handling in snow and ice covered parking lots. Of course if you are one of those drivers who removes their hands…

It really depends on the situation and the car. I’ve had it really help and not take over too much (very modern Porsche in the mountains), and systems where it was actively making the situation much worse by alternately locking the brakes on individual wheels. That was down a long hill which turned icy a third of the way down in a borrowed 2013 BMW F30, and I still consider it luck that I kept it on the road and nothing was coming the other way.

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

#246

Post by MrBuddyCasino »

tormeh wrote: post #80

What I'd really like is a TV with DisplayPort. How is this not a thing? IIRC you cannot buy a display with DP that's larger than 45 inches, give or take - they just don't exist. I think this is really weird. Like, I'd pay an extra $100 for that port, but I'm just not allowed to have it.

Different tariff rates for TVs and computer monitors.

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

#247

Post by paholg »

MegaDeKay wrote: post #108
MarsIronPI wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because HDMI 2.1 uses a proprietary protocol that's not implemented in any free OS[0]. If you want to use HDMI 2.1 features right now, your only option is to use a non-free OS like Windows or MacOS. [0]: This came up recently with Valve: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46220488

Not really. That same link talks about how Intel and nvidia drivers can provide HDMI 2.1 on Linux but it is via their non-free firmware blob. AMD doesn't (can't? won't?) do the same but there is a workaround: a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter using a particular chip running hacked firmware. That'll get you 4K 120 Hz with working FreeSync VRR. https://forum.level1techs.com/t/it-is-possible-to-4k-120-hdr...

Some of us would like our expensive hardware to work without hacked third party dongles.

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

#248

Post by kazinator »

> Westinghouse’s dumb TVs max out at 32 inches and 720p resolution

Then why mention the pitiful shit? That describes a LCD TV I had in 2004, one of the first.

> but some of them also have a built-in DVD player.

Well, that changes everything; I want one now, LOL ...

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

#249

Post by stravant »

jader201 wrote: post #236
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'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.

Why wouldn't you want it to be a computer? Then it can be connected to your devices AND also do the job itself in a situation where it's awkward to connect to a device.

If already needs a computer in it to drive menus / modern display protocols. Having that computer be powerful enough to also decode content is barely an extra cost.

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

#250

Post by drnick1 »

jwrallie wrote: post #228
drnick1 wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This OSMC box looks interesting, but does it allow to run arbitrary programs like a plain Linux box? What I have in mind here are things such as VacuumTube (YoutubeTV front end), a Web browser to stream from various online sources, etc. I found KODI (as running on Linux) far too restrictive when it comes to streaming from the Internet, and the add ons to be terrible. (In particular the YouTube add-on requires an API…

Thanks for mentioning VacuumTube, it sounds useful. I’m using a Minix Z100 running Gnome and Kodi. I use a simple Bluetooth keyboard, the interface is clunky but it does the job. I use Samba to also share files to VNC running on iOS and Android on the same network. I tried using fancier solutions but anything that browses content without involving directories always break for some specific content in unpredictable wa…

That has been my experience as well. So far nothing has come close to the flexibility of Gnome (upscaled) with an airmouse. I am keeping an eye on the Plasma Bigscreen project however (10-foot UI for Plasma).

An alternative could be some x86 Android TV build like Lineage, but I have not seen very convincing demonstrations that this is truly viable.

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