Ask Wirecutter: Can you recommend a not-smart TV for me? • Hacker News Board

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

#31

Post by lbotos » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 6:43 PM UTC

Search: digital information display

Samsung 4k https://www.samsung.com/us/business/displays/4k-uhd/qb-serie...

It's more expensive then the subsidized ones, but right in the description:

QB65B--N * Direct-Lit 4K Crystal UHD LED Display for Business Without Embedded Wi-Fi or Bluetooth

As others have suggested as well, possibly a monitor, but I'm not aware of many 65" 4k monitors (But they may exist)

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

#32

Post by AdmiralAsshat » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 6:43 PM UTC

slackfan wrote: post #6

Article does not give a single not-smart-tv option. The journalism quality is outstanding .

It is disappointing. Thorin used to work at Lifehacker--he did good work there. The fact that he's only quoted but didn't write it, though, makes it sound like someone just ambushed him in the break room with a question and then wrote an article about it.

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

#33

Post by lelandfe » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 6:43 PM UTC

was_a_dev wrote: post #4

ed25519FUUU wrote: post #2

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.

Hasn't some models (thinking Samsung) been shown to connect to any WiFi network they can? edit: Appears to be an urban legend, with not much substance to back it up!

I looked into this last year and couldn’t find much. I found a few forum posts of people claiming their TV connected to a public WiFi but none of them seemed particularly reputable.

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

#34

Post by lfkdev » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 6:43 PM UTC

ed25519FUUU wrote: post #2

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.

I think a Pi4 with Kodi etc. is still way better for privacy.

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

#35

Post by 23B1 » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 6:43 PM UTC

ab_testing wrote: post #5

The Spectre brand sold by Walmart has quite a few 4K dumb TV’s . I bought one a few years ago and connected my Apple TV and works fine.

Yes all of my TVs are Sceptre (https://www.sceptre.com) and they're dumb and cheap.

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

#36

Post by giobox » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 6:43 PM UTC

KerrAvon wrote: post #20

was_a_dev wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hasn't some models (thinking Samsung) been shown to connect to any WiFi network they can? edit: Appears to be an urban legend, with not much substance to back it up!

But that would require an accessible WiFi network. I'm sure someday it'll be impossible because they'll embed 5G chips and do it over cell without involving your consent, but that day isn't here yet.

I've seen rumblings that day may be very soon, too. Once devices in the home have embedded prepaid 5G out with your control, all sorts of home networking/firewall challenges are going to arise. We are entering a world in which it will cost very, very little to embed 5G into almost anything with say 1GB of prepaid eSim data for analytics collection, regardless of whether device resides on your LAN or not.

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

#37

Post by KerrAvon » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 6:45 PM UTC

fideloper wrote: post #13

From a (cynical?) content and affiliate point of view, I like the style of taking user questions (bonus points if H.B. is a real person) and answering it - rather than just a bland list of products by "expensive but good, less expensive but less good" that wirecutter is. This lets the authors also recommend extra tangential items ("get a projector!"). On another note, my trust in these types of things have gone down…

Web search is useless, yes. Use Wirecutter, Consumer Reports, rtings.com, reddit, not necessarily in that order. You can't trust any one of these sources to have the same priorities as you do, but you can trust that they're giving you useful, original, non-link-farm-SEO-garbage information.

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

#38

Post by warmwaffles » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 6:45 PM UTC

23B1 wrote: post #35

ab_testing wrote: post #5

The Spectre brand sold by Walmart has quite a few 4K dumb TV’s . I bought one a few years ago and connected my Apple TV and works fine.

Yes all of my TVs are Sceptre ( https://www.sceptre.com ) and they're dumb and cheap.

I love mine. Dead simple display.

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

#39

Post by jjensen » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 6:45 PM UTC

CameronBanga wrote: post #14

A couple years ago, I bought the domain "DumbTV.com" and considered looking to source my own television sets from China to sell at a premium with no added features besides HDMI ports. Should have followed through on that.

Please do this.

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

#40

Post by modriano » Fri, Apr 07, 2023, 6:45 PM UTC

ghayes wrote: post #27

KerrAvon wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that would require an accessible WiFi network. I'm sure someday it'll be impossible because they'll embed 5G chips and do it over cell without involving your consent, but that day isn't here yet.

Simple, just put it in a Faraday cage.

The mesh would have to be so fine that you wouldn't be able to see the screen (unless you were inside the "cage").