What is the best dumb TV? • Hacker News Board

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#291

Post by lopmotr » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 6:27 AM UTC

tornato7 wrote: post #271

shitgoose wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would reduce it to one dial. Two dials is too much.

I have a microwave with one dial. Best microwave around. Nobody can get confused about how to use it. There's not even a turntable so it holds more food and it's easy to clean. That's the Sharp R21LCF for ya.

Haha. I love how despite being so simple, it still has instructions below the one knob explaining how to use it:

With the door closed, turn the timer to the desired time. Oven will begin operating immediately. To shut oven off manually, return timer to 0.

It's almost as if they have to help people unlearn the crap they're used to with button microwaves wondering "Where's the start button?" and "Where's the cancel button?"

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#292

Post by kaetemi » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 6:28 AM UTC

theshrike79 wrote: post #262

nfoz wrote: post #52

LG sells them as some of their "Business" tvs, intended e.g. for hotels. In Canada some of them are branded as "Commercial Lite". Here's an LG 65" 4k HDR dumb TV: https://www.lg.com/ca_en/business/commercial-tv/lg-65UV340H I have a similar model from a few years ago (purchased from Canada Computers fwiw), and I love it. Because I don't notice it exists. It just does its job, like a TV should.

Even if you're not getting a dumb one, I think LG has the best "smart" TVs around. Just don't give them access to the internet and they'll do the job of displaying anything you give them via a HDMI port. Integrates nicely with home automation with an API too. Oh, and they don't have ads in the menus like Samsung does.

Yup. The LGs are easy to keep dumb enough.

Just need to fiddle in some menus to disable overscan and whatever magic TV filters are trendy.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#293

Post by lostlogin » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 6:28 AM UTC

tornato7 wrote: post #275

jjoonathan wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My TCL starts to bootloop if it goes more than a month without connecting to the internet so it can download screensaver ads. The warranty people force me into the support gauntlet. The support gauntlet's first demand: connect it to the internet.

You should try running it through a pihole. Even better, maybe you can manage to MITM it and replace the ads with something funny.

Some devices bypass the Pihole, and while you can catch them at the firewall, it’s a tedious game.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#294

Post by kaetemi » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 6:29 AM UTC

antman wrote: post #171

jjoonathan wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My TCL starts to bootloop if it goes more than a month without connecting to the internet so it can download screensaver ads. The warranty people force me into the support gauntlet. The support gauntlet's first demand: connect it to the internet.

Edit: Didn't know TCL is a brand, not available in my part of the world... - What brand is your TV?

I see that around in supermarkets here. Cheap garbage from you-know-where.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#295

Post by dirtnugget » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 6:30 AM UTC

TOGoS wrote: post #224

> in today’s standards, 30-40 inches is not enough screen real estate. TF does that mean? What 'standard' indicates the amount of screen real estate that qualifies as 'enough'?

I think what the author is trying to say is that the average TV which a consumer wants to buy these days is above that.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#296

Post by lostlogin » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 6:30 AM UTC

powersnail wrote: post #116

choward wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they have wifi you have no idea if they're connecting to open networks.

Buy a cheap router, don’t connect the router to the internet, and connect all smart appliances to the router.

Or buy a cheap good one ( eg Edgerouter Lite or X) and block them there, or put them on their own subnet.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#297

Post by em-bee » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 6:30 AM UTC

theshrike79 wrote: post #262

nfoz wrote: post #52

LG sells them as some of their "Business" tvs, intended e.g. for hotels. In Canada some of them are branded as "Commercial Lite". Here's an LG 65" 4k HDR dumb TV: https://www.lg.com/ca_en/business/commercial-tv/lg-65UV340H I have a similar model from a few years ago (purchased from Canada Computers fwiw), and I love it. Because I don't notice it exists. It just does its job, like a TV should.

Even if you're not getting a dumb one, I think LG has the best "smart" TVs around. Just don't give them access to the internet and they'll do the job of displaying anything you give them via a HDMI port. Integrates nicely with home automation with an API too. Oh, and they don't have ads in the menus like Samsung does.

no power on ad either? i use our tv the same way, as a huge computer monitor via hdmi. then i run kodi on a laptop as a media center

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#298

Post by kaetemi » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 6:32 AM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #102

Some people are suggesting just don't connect your smart TV to the internet, others are suggesting it might still connect to open (unsecured) Wi-Fi networks. Is there any major brand of smart TV's that will attempt to connect to open networks, in order to download updates, ads, send back data, without your consent? I've never in my life had a Wi-Fi-enabled device that would connect to a network I didn't tell it to, a…

On LGs you can just disagree with the online service agreements, and it will simply not do any weird stuff online.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#299

Post by foepys » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 6:32 AM UTC

petepete wrote: post #266

null_object wrote: post #257

At a reasonable price Loewe make the best TVs that have the ‘good’ parts of smart, and none of the intrusive and privacy-invading parts. The interface is minimal, the sound and picture are amazing, and the units themselves look beautiful[1] Bang&Olufsen do all the above, at an unreasonable price[2] [1] https://www.loewe.tv/int [2] https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/televisions

B&O use LG panels. That's a big premium for privacy and a nice finish.

As far as I know only LG, Samsung, and a third I don't remember make panels. Everybody else just buys them and puts them into their TVs. Some manufacturers add additional image processing software but the panel is still "standard".

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#300

Post by noodlesUK » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 6:33 AM UTC

My strong advice for my fellow HN readers is to buy a nice projector. Optoma makes several 4K models, and you can buy a screen of whatever size you want (silver ticket on amazon for instance). They’re fairly inexpensive if you just want a 1080p or even one of the lower end 4K models, and none of them have any ‘smart’ tech. No malware, no anything. The immersiveness of a 100+ inch screen beats any TV, and if you want, you can hide the screen when you’re not using it. I would never buy a TV again. You also get to use real speakers, and because the system is much more modular, you can upgrade components much more at your convenience. Your friends will be jealous of your movie and gaming experience, but in the end you’ll probably have spent the same as you would have on a TV anyway.