5 ms·

I'm annoyed that smart TVs are a thing; it's like having a smart monitor, it just doesn't make sense. I'd rather have a beautiful dumb display that I can plug

by elyobo 8y ago

I'm annoyed that smart TVs are a thing; it's like having a smart monitor, it just doesn't make sense. I'd rather have a beautiful dumb display that I can plug in to the smart part, allowing the (relatively cheap) smart part to be upgraded without having to upgrade the (relatively expensive) display part.

mfoy_ 8y ago
Yeah, but it's pretty much impossible to find not-smart TVs. :(
- thejrk_ 8y ago
  At least you can still use TV's without a network connected. For now.
- kimburgess 8y ago
  It comes up nearly every time this topic is discussed here, but commercial series displays are what you are looking for. Prepare to pay more, but in exchange get a display that just functions as a display.
  - rocqua 8y ago
    Paying more for fewer features doesn't make sense though. I'm also guessing the commercial displays also are tuned more for endurance and less for quality.
    - 6nf 8y ago
      Ads are not a feature
    - eudora 8y ago
      My Android TV has more features, like the feature where I have to wait a full second for it to respond to pushing the volume up button. (or, there's benefits to having a non-"smart" tv)
    - porphyrogene 8y ago
      The pricing makes sense. Demand dictates price, not features. Products catering to a smaller market tend to cost more, especially if you are buying individual units from a supplier who usually sells in bulk. LG's IT line[1] is not unreasonable in terms of pricing, especially if the purchaser is also paying the electric bill, demands long-lasting color accuracy or otherwise wants a purpose-built solution. I have not used one and I don't know if budget display manufacturers like TCL and Vizio have comparable products. 1. https://www.lg.com/us/business/commercial-display/it-products https://www.lg.com/us/business/commercial-display/it-product...
      - ric2b 8y ago
        > The pricing makes sense. Demand dictates price, not features. Sure, but lower demand would usually mean lower price, unless the consumers are willing to pay extra for something that other products are missing. In this case, I'm not sure what the other products are missing in comparison, but I'm also not familiar with these TV's.
    - lostlogin 8y ago
      It does when you don’t get adverts built in.
- jperras 8y ago
  It's not for everyone, but projectors are mostly bereft of "smart" features. You plug in input sources, and that's it.
- ObsoleteNerd 8y ago
  All I want is a 65-75" 4K panel with 1 HDMI in and that's it. I'll handle the sources and switching and audio myself. We've had Sony, Samsung, and LG Smart TVs over the last few years and all were slow, annoying, and all round shitty experiences. I barely use my TV now because I hate waiting for it to "start up" (Sony with Android TV.. "Please Wait" for what seems like forever before you can do ANYTHING on it).
tlrobinson 8y ago
So just ignore the "smart" features and use it as a dumb display? The additional cost is likely negligible if you're buying a $500+ TV. That said, I would also boycott manufacturers/products that behave badly like Samsung mentioned in the above comment.
- ric2b 8y ago
  It's hard to ignore because the "smart" features tend to make the TV slow to start and the menus more sluggish and cluttered.
nambit 8y ago
You realize that unless you press a button, none of the smart stuff is visible? You can disable everything else.
- baloki 8y ago
  On higher end TVs this isn’t the case, on LG WebOS for example the input selection is stored in the Smart Menu which is jammed full of ads.
  - kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
    No internet connection, no ads.
    - gboss 8y ago
      I'm pretty sure my Samsung smart TV that I never gave my wifi password has gotten internet access via the attached Roku.
      - adetrest 8y ago
        How would that work?
        thatfunkymunki 8y ago
        Ethernet over HDMI is a standard, but I'm not aware of it being in use for something like that.
  - cptskippy 8y ago
    I have a C7P and I can't see where an ad might display in the input selection menu. Also the remote has an input select button and it also automatically switches between inputs if they support CEC, so you don't have to even pull up the menu. That being said, I have only ever connected it to the Internet twice via Ethernet to update firmware. Otherwise it remains offline.
Paraesthetic 8y ago
Problem is, you're not the general consumer. Most consumers would much rather have a smart tv that has all the simple stuff built in so they dont have to know how to configure anything complicaated
- dmix 8y ago
  Or Best Buy or Walmart want to differentiate commoditized products to consumers who can't tell the difference between two big black screens that look the same. It's more about feature checklist pissing contests than any real benefit to the average consumer.
  - dgzl 8y ago
    I disagree. A powerful smart TV is more practical for the average consumer than a more sophisticated system. A big problem for entertainment lovers is that there are too many things to control, thus creating the all-in-one market. On the other hand, power users will insist on highly functional subcomponents that each bring a specific and glorious benefit. And there you have it, all-in-one vs. subcomponents. Which does the average consumer belong?
- kalleboo 8y ago
  Right. The classic problem is having 4 different remotes and 4 different incantations to change inputs to the right "box". Having everything integrated into the same UI is a great step up. Of course, if that UI is crap and then doesn't get upgraded, it negates all the advantages... I wish HDMI-CEC worked better for everyone since it could theoretically solve the problem. It actually works well on our 7-year old TV. I don't even know where our AppleTV remote is (that one with the touch pad everyone keeps complaining about), we just use the TV's remote over HDMI-CEC.
notatoad 8y ago
i don't know, voice control for a TV sounds pretty cool. I generally hate voice control, but there's a few very specific tasks where I find it more useful than any other UI - namely setting an alarm or creating a calendar event. Changing the input on a TV could be one of those things, if only because every TV i've ever had has been so painful to change the inputs on.

by elyobo 8y ago

mfoy_ 8y ago

Yeah, but it's pretty much impossible to find not-smart TVs. :(

thejrk_ 8y ago
At least you can still use TV's without a network connected. For now.
kimburgess 8y ago
It comes up nearly every time this topic is discussed here, but commercial series displays are what you are looking for. Prepare to pay more, but in exchange get a display that just functions as a display.
- rocqua 8y ago
  Paying more for fewer features doesn't make sense though. I'm also guessing the commercial displays also are tuned more for endurance and less for quality.
  - 6nf 8y ago
    Ads are not a feature
  - eudora 8y ago
    My Android TV has more features, like the feature where I have to wait a full second for it to respond to pushing the volume up button. (or, there's benefits to having a non-"smart" tv)
  - porphyrogene 8y ago
    The pricing makes sense. Demand dictates price, not features. Products catering to a smaller market tend to cost more, especially if you are buying individual units from a supplier who usually sells in bulk. LG's IT line[1] is not unreasonable in terms of pricing, especially if the purchaser is also paying the electric bill, demands long-lasting color accuracy or otherwise wants a purpose-built solution. I have not used one and I don't know if budget display manufacturers like TCL and Vizio have comparable products. 1. https://www.lg.com/us/business/commercial-display/it-products https://www.lg.com/us/business/commercial-display/it-product...
    - ric2b 8y ago
      > The pricing makes sense. Demand dictates price, not features. Sure, but lower demand would usually mean lower price, unless the consumers are willing to pay extra for something that other products are missing. In this case, I'm not sure what the other products are missing in comparison, but I'm also not familiar with these TV's.
  - lostlogin 8y ago
    It does when you don’t get adverts built in.
jperras 8y ago
It's not for everyone, but projectors are mostly bereft of "smart" features. You plug in input sources, and that's it.
ObsoleteNerd 8y ago
All I want is a 65-75" 4K panel with 1 HDMI in and that's it. I'll handle the sources and switching and audio myself. We've had Sony, Samsung, and LG Smart TVs over the last few years and all were slow, annoying, and all round shitty experiences. I barely use my TV now because I hate waiting for it to "start up" (Sony with Android TV.. "Please Wait" for what seems like forever before you can do ANYTHING on it).

tlrobinson 8y ago

So just ignore the "smart" features and use it as a dumb display? The additional cost is likely negligible if you're buying a $500+ TV. That said, I would also boycott manufacturers/products that behave badly like Samsung mentioned in the above comment.

ric2b 8y ago
It's hard to ignore because the "smart" features tend to make the TV slow to start and the menus more sluggish and cluttered.

nambit 8y ago

You realize that unless you press a button, none of the smart stuff is visible? You can disable everything else.

baloki 8y ago
On higher end TVs this isn’t the case, on LG WebOS for example the input selection is stored in the Smart Menu which is jammed full of ads.
- kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
  No internet connection, no ads.
  - gboss 8y ago
    I'm pretty sure my Samsung smart TV that I never gave my wifi password has gotten internet access via the attached Roku.
    - adetrest 8y ago
      How would that work?
      - thatfunkymunki 8y ago
        Ethernet over HDMI is a standard, but I'm not aware of it being in use for something like that.
- cptskippy 8y ago
  I have a C7P and I can't see where an ad might display in the input selection menu. Also the remote has an input select button and it also automatically switches between inputs if they support CEC, so you don't have to even pull up the menu. That being said, I have only ever connected it to the Internet twice via Ethernet to update firmware. Otherwise it remains offline.

Paraesthetic 8y ago

Problem is, you're not the general consumer. Most consumers would much rather have a smart tv that has all the simple stuff built in so they dont have to know how to configure anything complicaated

dmix 8y ago
Or Best Buy or Walmart want to differentiate commoditized products to consumers who can't tell the difference between two big black screens that look the same. It's more about feature checklist pissing contests than any real benefit to the average consumer.
- dgzl 8y ago
  I disagree. A powerful smart TV is more practical for the average consumer than a more sophisticated system. A big problem for entertainment lovers is that there are too many things to control, thus creating the all-in-one market. On the other hand, power users will insist on highly functional subcomponents that each bring a specific and glorious benefit. And there you have it, all-in-one vs. subcomponents. Which does the average consumer belong?
kalleboo 8y ago
Right. The classic problem is having 4 different remotes and 4 different incantations to change inputs to the right "box". Having everything integrated into the same UI is a great step up. Of course, if that UI is crap and then doesn't get upgraded, it negates all the advantages... I wish HDMI-CEC worked better for everyone since it could theoretically solve the problem. It actually works well on our 7-year old TV. I don't even know where our AppleTV remote is (that one with the touch pad everyone keeps complaining about), we just use the TV's remote over HDMI-CEC.

notatoad 8y ago

i don't know, voice control for a TV sounds pretty cool. I generally hate voice control, but there's a few very specific tasks where I find it more useful than any other UI - namely setting an alarm or creating a calendar event. Changing the input on a TV could be one of those things, if only because every TV i've ever had has been so painful to change the inputs on.