6 ms·

My approach is to compartmentalise functionality. I have a dumb screen with a Chromecast plugged into it. The screen is the much more expensive part of this set

My approach is to compartmentalise functionality. I have a dumb screen with a Chromecast plugged into it. The screen is the much more expensive part of this setup, but should last for a long time. It supports inputs which will almost certainly be usable, perhaps with dongles towards the end of its service, for at least a decade, if past tech is anything to go by. The Chromecast could be discontinued tomorrow, but it only cost £30, so I'll just replace it with whatever. Relying on your expensive TV's probably terrible and badly supported software is madness, but it's what most people seem happy to do. It's getting harder and harder to buy TVs that are not smart, and I find it maddening. I take the same approach with Speakers.

eumenides1 9y ago
I bought a Visio specifically because it could be dumb relatively recently (1-2 years). I think a dumb screen option will always be available because it's always going to be a value player in a world of Sony and Samsungs. The question is will the screen be a nice enough panel.
- cnr 9y ago
  Do you mean - "Vizio"?
- emodendroket 9y ago
  Even the budget Vizios now have smart features.
- dwyerm 9y ago
  My experience has been that you have to pay extra for a dumb TV right now, likely because of issues of scale. My last TV was an NEC E-series Commercial Display. Aside from not being encumbered by any smart-features, it has a serial port on it, to make automation even easier. But I could have saved a lot of money by going with a conventional Smart TV, and it would have been easier to shop for it. Commercial displays aren't hanging on the wall at your local Best Buy, although they might be hanging on the wall at your local bar, restaurant, bank, etc.
nepotism2018 9y ago
Ditto. My chromecast just stopped working with my perfectly working 5 year old TV. Same chromecast works on newer monitors or TVs...google are just ignoring
cletus 9y ago
I'll add to this: absolutely no good can come from plugging your TV specifically into the Internet. None. Zero. Nada. Zilch. As soon as you do you'll get nagged for software updates, you'll get told the privacy policy or the terms of service have changed (which you have to acknowledge) and apps for things like Youtube and Netflix tend to be inferior to those in boxes (eg Roku, AppleTV). I buy my TV to be a dumb screen. Then I plug a Roku into it. If at some point I decide the Roku isn't working I throw it away and get something else. Worst case I'm out $120.
- dreamcompiler 9y ago
  Exactly. My TV and DVD player would very much like to know my router's wifi password so they can connect to the internet. Ain't gonna happen.
- scrooched_moose 9y ago
  Is that even possible anymore? About 2-3 years ago it seems like "smart" TVs completely took over.
  - cletus 9y ago
    I bought a Samsung 65" 1080p "Smart" TV 2.5 years ago where that seems possible.
    - scrooched_moose 9y ago
      Oh, gotcha, I misread your original post. I thought you were talking about truly "dumb" TVs. Non-smart TVs basically don't exist anymore (Sceptre is the only brand I can find). You can usually get a smart TV and keep it off the internet, but I've seen horror stories of some TVs not working at all until being "updated" after unboxing.
      - sitkack 9y ago
        We need a law that requires things work out of the box and can work while not connected to the net. Bonus points for requiring off switches for the "smart" features. A similar pet peeve of mine is that the huge infotainment screens on modern cars cannot be turned off the majority of the time. Only in the VW Golf I rented did it actually have a way to shut the whole thing down.
emodendroket 9y ago
Non-smart TVs are mostly inferior panels now, as I understand it.
- mcguire 9y ago
  Do you have to configure it? If it's never connected to the network....
  - emodendroket 9y ago
    I don't think so
- smichel17 9y ago
  This is vague; inferior panels vs what? Smart TVs? Monitors? Projectors?
  - emodendroket 9y ago
    I thought the meaning was clear. The good panels are put in smart TVs and not non-smart ones, so even if you have no interest in using smart features the smart TV may be a better choice.
    - dpark 9y ago
      Exactly. If you want an OLED TV, you get a smart TV whether you want that or not. I’d rather buy a dumb TV, but that’s becoming less of an option for higher end TVs.
- isolli 9y ago
  Can't you turn a smart TV into a dumb TV?
- logfromblammo 9y ago
  It may be about time to buy only dumb monitors, and buy the television tuner portion as a separate box, if you even still need one. Of all the television sets I have owned since 1985, the native tuner included inside the device has been used maybe 2% of the time. The only advantage I have ever seen from buying a display screen as a television set is that it comes with speakers loud enough to hear from across a large room, and has as many as six different input ports. None of the screens I now own currently decode their own NTSC/ATSC/QAM signals. My first "smart" TV was also my last, because LG made it obsolete within months of me buying it. Now it also functions only as a dumb screen, and is not allowed on my home network. Never again. You don't need a smart television now. You don't even need a television. You need a monitor with HDMI inputs and speakers.
gog 9y ago
I agree, but this is not always possible. I was in the market for a new TV set couple of months ago and all the models with a great image technology come with the "smart tv" built in. It is not possible to buy a high-end panel without it anymore.
- PuffinBlue 9y ago
  Sure, but it's totally possible to just sit on the sofa and watch it rather than type in your wifi password and connect it to the internet. AS long as you just use it as a dumb screen, physically disconnected from the network, it'll keep doing it's job for year and years. My TV is a Smart TV. I've never use that part of it. In fact, it came with a second remote control for managing the Smart features and I've never even put batteries in it let alone given the panel network access. It's been happily humming along in dumb mode for about 4 years I think. Just plug a cheap accessory of your choice in (Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, self built HTPC etc) and enjoy!

eumenides1 9y ago

I bought a Visio specifically because it could be dumb relatively recently (1-2 years). I think a dumb screen option will always be available because it's always going to be a value player in a world of Sony and Samsungs. The question is will the screen be a nice enough panel.

cnr 9y ago
Do you mean - "Vizio"?
emodendroket 9y ago
Even the budget Vizios now have smart features.
dwyerm 9y ago
My experience has been that you have to pay extra for a dumb TV right now, likely because of issues of scale. My last TV was an NEC E-series Commercial Display. Aside from not being encumbered by any smart-features, it has a serial port on it, to make automation even easier. But I could have saved a lot of money by going with a conventional Smart TV, and it would have been easier to shop for it. Commercial displays aren't hanging on the wall at your local Best Buy, although they might be hanging on the wall at your local bar, restaurant, bank, etc.

nepotism2018 9y ago

Ditto. My chromecast just stopped working with my perfectly working 5 year old TV. Same chromecast works on newer monitors or TVs...google are just ignoring

cletus 9y ago

I'll add to this: absolutely no good can come from plugging your TV specifically into the Internet. None. Zero. Nada. Zilch. As soon as you do you'll get nagged for software updates, you'll get told the privacy policy or the terms of service have changed (which you have to acknowledge) and apps for things like Youtube and Netflix tend to be inferior to those in boxes (eg Roku, AppleTV). I buy my TV to be a dumb screen. Then I plug a Roku into it. If at some point I decide the Roku isn't working I throw it away and get something else. Worst case I'm out $120.

dreamcompiler 9y ago
Exactly. My TV and DVD player would very much like to know my router's wifi password so they can connect to the internet. Ain't gonna happen.
scrooched_moose 9y ago
Is that even possible anymore? About 2-3 years ago it seems like "smart" TVs completely took over.
- cletus 9y ago
  I bought a Samsung 65" 1080p "Smart" TV 2.5 years ago where that seems possible.
  - scrooched_moose 9y ago
    Oh, gotcha, I misread your original post. I thought you were talking about truly "dumb" TVs. Non-smart TVs basically don't exist anymore (Sceptre is the only brand I can find). You can usually get a smart TV and keep it off the internet, but I've seen horror stories of some TVs not working at all until being "updated" after unboxing.
    - sitkack 9y ago
      We need a law that requires things work out of the box and can work while not connected to the net. Bonus points for requiring off switches for the "smart" features. A similar pet peeve of mine is that the huge infotainment screens on modern cars cannot be turned off the majority of the time. Only in the VW Golf I rented did it actually have a way to shut the whole thing down.

emodendroket 9y ago

Non-smart TVs are mostly inferior panels now, as I understand it.

mcguire 9y ago
Do you have to configure it? If it's never connected to the network....
- emodendroket 9y ago
  I don't think so
smichel17 9y ago
This is vague; inferior panels vs what? Smart TVs? Monitors? Projectors?
- emodendroket 9y ago
  I thought the meaning was clear. The good panels are put in smart TVs and not non-smart ones, so even if you have no interest in using smart features the smart TV may be a better choice.
  - dpark 9y ago
    Exactly. If you want an OLED TV, you get a smart TV whether you want that or not. I’d rather buy a dumb TV, but that’s becoming less of an option for higher end TVs.
isolli 9y ago
Can't you turn a smart TV into a dumb TV?
logfromblammo 9y ago
It may be about time to buy only dumb monitors, and buy the television tuner portion as a separate box, if you even still need one. Of all the television sets I have owned since 1985, the native tuner included inside the device has been used maybe 2% of the time. The only advantage I have ever seen from buying a display screen as a television set is that it comes with speakers loud enough to hear from across a large room, and has as many as six different input ports. None of the screens I now own currently decode their own NTSC/ATSC/QAM signals. My first "smart" TV was also my last, because LG made it obsolete within months of me buying it. Now it also functions only as a dumb screen, and is not allowed on my home network. Never again. You don't need a smart television now. You don't even need a television. You need a monitor with HDMI inputs and speakers.

gog 9y ago

I agree, but this is not always possible. I was in the market for a new TV set couple of months ago and all the models with a great image technology come with the "smart tv" built in. It is not possible to buy a high-end panel without it anymore.

PuffinBlue 9y ago
Sure, but it's totally possible to just sit on the sofa and watch it rather than type in your wifi password and connect it to the internet. AS long as you just use it as a dumb screen, physically disconnected from the network, it'll keep doing it's job for year and years. My TV is a Smart TV. I've never use that part of it. In fact, it came with a second remote control for managing the Smart features and I've never even put batteries in it let alone given the panel network access. It's been happily humming along in dumb mode for about 4 years I think. Just plug a cheap accessory of your choice in (Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, self built HTPC etc) and enjoy!