Seems like this would be a good use case for a "TV Honeypot" that would intercept phone-homes, recognize the model, imitate whatever jank rpc is needed to keep the unit happy, and dump all telemetry to /dev/null.
Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
31–40 of 518 posts
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#324K monitors. You need a soundbar though or some kind of audio setup + remote. Also no built-in tuner or such but I assume you get a set top box from your service provider or use a streaming device (Apple TV, Fire stick etc.)
4K OLED https://pcpartpicker.com/products/monitor/#r=384002160&P=7
4K IPS https://pcpartpicker.com/products/monitor/#r=384002160&P=2
4K VA https://pcpartpicker.com/products/monitor/#r=384002160&P=4
4K 55" or bigger monitors (there aren't many choices) https://pcpartpicker.com/products/monitor/#P=2,7,4&r=3840021...
The 4K 55" OLED Alienware has speaker but I doubt that it is any good https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/new-alienware-55-oled-gaming... (actually comes with remote too)
Linus made a video of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3oqktdx2a8
Last but not least you can go even higher resolution than 4K but these are all IPS only and they are not bigger than 34" https://pcpartpicker.com/products/monitor/#r=768004320,57600...
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#33I seem to remember that one drawback of trying for a monitor plus soundbar setup (which has tempted me from time to time) was splitting modern HDMI inputs. Can anyone speak to these issues as they stand today (to the extent that I’ve not misremembered)?
Most TVs have an ARC (audio return channel) labeled HDMI input which sends the sound back. I connected my smart TV to my receiver via the ARC HDMI port, and it sends sound back to the receiver; and I can select inputs from the receiver from my TV's remote.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#34I recently opted for Sony Google TV because at least I can trace where my stuff is going with Google. Also it’s hard to find a capable 4K120Hz devices so you’re pretty much stuck with in-device apps to get the best quality.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#354K dumb projectors are easy to find. They're not for every room but can give you a great home cinema result while still working for normal TV and games.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#36One thing people haven't mentioned is that there are some non-smart televisions available that are marketed as extra large gaming monitors. For example, there's the Alienware 55" OLED Gaming Monitor and the ASUS ROG Swift PG65UQ that's 65".
Thanks for the tip! This is a great search keyword to keep in mind.
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
You know that some devices essentially "require" network connectivity for initial setup? E.g. https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/tv/smart-tv-set-up-witho...
So give it a network connection for initial setup then take it away?
So you'll still have all the adverts, they just don't update?
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#38My Sony Bravia is just a couple years old and I just turned off the wifi and watch broadcast and drive it with a mac mini.
I suppose newer systems would use the LAN to update drivers and take over smart functions. If in the US, go by Best Buy and ask them for the remote for the display tv you like and see that it lets you kill internet function. Also that there aren't any always-on apps (or if there are, the menus let you disable them).
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#39I don't buy TVs anymore, I buy monitors.
There's no reason to own a television with a shitty computer built-in, when I can just buy a screen and plug it into my actually good computer.
Right now I have a 27" ThinkVision display and a pair of studio monitors, with both laptop and Switch connected to it. Media comes over the computer (who even buys cable in 2021 anyway?), audio patches into the display over USB-C/HDMI and out to the speakers.
I'm moving soon and I'll probably spring for a 30+" 4K for the living room at some point, and look into a receiver and theatre speakers but honestly I don't see the point.
You do pay a bit more for the display-per-inch, but the reason those "4K smart TVs" are so cheap is all the adware money, so they're only "cheap" in the way that Facebook is "free".
Re: Ask HN: Are there any 4K “dumb” televisions?
#40In last week's "Ask HN: What’s the best TV to buy?" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29343338 one recommendation was to look for commercial televisions which usually lack the smart features and are build for reliability.
Commercial TV's are coming more and more with smart capabilities. I know LG commercial displays can be equipped with WebOS and Samsung displays come with Tizen, though I don't know how wide spread they are through their commercial product line ups.
> I know LG commercial displays can be equipped with WebOS
It's a real shame to have a TV that runs Linux and can't be used as an X Terminal...