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Few reasons why I prefer dumb TVs, just a flat LED panel: 1. You have control over bullshit like this 2. You can make them smart by attaching the external box
by rohan1024 7y ago
Few reasons why I prefer dumb TVs, just a flat LED panel:
1. You have control over bullshit like this
2. You can make them smart by attaching the external box
3. You don't have to throw the TV because your Software is now old, just change the box.
4. There's new format which requires hardware support (av1 is coming), change the box.
5. Want to add new hardware? Upgrade the box.
- JadeNB 7y agoExactly the same list of reasons why manufacturers now only want to sell you smart TVs, and dumb panels are so hard to find.
- pjmlp 7y agoI just need to go to the local Media Markt store to find a couple of dumb ones.
- hondadriver 7y agoPhilips Momentum monitors...
- e40 7y agoReviews are saying burnin is really bad with the 43" model.
- twostorytower 7y agoWhat's to prevent you from doing the same with a SmartTV in the future? Just disconnect it from the network and keep a box plugged into HDMI1.
- freeflight 7y ago> Just disconnect it from the network and keep a box plugged into HDMI1. One would assume it'd be as simple as that, but apparently it ain't because many SmartTV's will jump trough quite a few loops to get online, like using nearby open Wifi. At least there's been a bunch of stories like this in past HN discussions around SmartTV's.
- wil421 7y agoThere’s been plenty of discussions on HN about the possibilities of SmartTVs doing nefarious stuff but not a lot stuff in the wild. Last time this came up someone was telling me the TV could get Ethernet from an HDMI cable via an AppleTV or Xbox etc. Stackexchange said the tech was dead and no one really adopted it. You can’t find a TV or even a cable that supports it. Any source about the auto connect to open WiFi?
- freeflight 7y agoWhere do the discussions on HN, and Reddit [0], come from if it's not a thing in the wild? Granted: It's hard to search for because Google will bury any relevant results between a ton of support requests about people not being able to get their Samsung TV online. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/bpr6xs/if_you_choose_to_not_connect_your_samsung_smart/ https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/bpr6xs/if_you_choo...
- wil421 7y agoYour link is just as much hearsay as HN posts. TVs are connecting to WiFi yet no one provides any evidence.
- Lio 7y ago
- wcfields 7y agoWait until 5G rolls out into mass adoption where an IoT modem is built into every TV for “diagnostics”
- xenospn 7y agoI've literally never had a TV break or stop working. Ever. Especially with the new mass produced panels, what sort of Diagnostics or remote analysis could they POSSIBLY be doing?
- Nextgrid 7y agoThat's sarcasm and/or corporate-speak, just like every software nowadays has telemetry and diagnostics and yet the quality of it is much lower than a decade ago before any of this BS. Just that if they called it by stalking and/or marketing tracking there would be an outcry, so "diagnostics" it is.
- mosselman 7y agoExactly
- Scoundreller 7y agoHad one fail: a flex cable went loose. Just reinserted them all back in and voila. The LEDs or drivers sometimes die, but replacements are usually available from ebay or aliexpress. Funny how one of the repairers found that his 120V only LCD TV had a 120/240 power supply board nonetheless.
- toast0 7y agoOne of my TVs would regularly lock up when trying to decode a particular iffy signal over the air. In theory, a core dump could have helped fix that. In reality, that tv got zero updates. Another tv had some bad joints on the panel, but remote diagnostics weren't going to help with big giant vertical lines.
- ksangeelee 7y agoWith more than a hint of irony, the only TV I had 'break' was when Sony's telemetry server went down, and my Bravia TV failed to turn on. It wasn't until I happened to unplug the Ethernet cable that it suddenly started working again. This was a little under ten years ago.
- shpx 7y agoWhich dumb 4K TV(s) should I buy?
- rmolin88 7y agoBuy any 4K that fits your budget. Just don't connect it to your WiFi.
- zingermc 7y agoThis assumes a certain (low) level of malicious intent. A fully malicious TV will connect to open WiFi nearby or use even more exotic methods to exfiltrate data.
- gruez 7y ago>A fully malicious TV will connect to open WiFi nearby Connect to your own wifi and block any traffic?
- zingermc 7y agoYou're still assuming it won't detect this and periodically phone home from an open network.
- finneganscat 7y agoWhere do you live that has open WiFi connections available from your home? Asking for a fiend.
- Nextgrid 7y agoIf you've got logic to connect to nearby open Wi-Fi, why wouldn't you also use it as a fallback if the primary Wi-Fi is down? Even if they don't do this yet it's only a matter of time before the manufacturers catch on and start doing so.
- 7y ago
- globular-toast 7y agoI might be in the market for a large screen soon. Any recommendations for good dumb panels? I assumed they'd be difficult to find.
- o-__-o 7y agoWalmart Online is selling a Spectre dumb panel (with good specs!) for $219 for 55” and $279 for 65”. Otherwise I love my LG OLED, which acts as a dumb panel until you accept the overbearing privacy policy (you can still play local DLNA/USB sources without accepting, but can’t run any apps including web browsers so no captive portals)
- TrumpSucks 7y agothese displays are garbage, trust me. horrible light bleed, uneven backlights. with displays, you truly get what you pay for.
- gl00pp 7y agoThey have a 75" for frikin $599 and its NOT smart. I think you win the thread. Cheap, dumb and large. (reminds me of my ex's)
- o-__-o 7y agoI went for the 55 and mine just arrived. technically speaking it's better than the TCL and HiSense I was looking at. can't complain for the price, it's bright and fast response. its not future proof, so don't expect 120hz and there's absolutely no features to write about (I don't think even HDMI-CEC volume control works :\) but hey $219 got me a big ass panel that won't report my porn habits to the mothership
- nabergh 7y agoThe brand name is actually Sceptre, for those who are searching for it.
- 7y ago
- m-p-3 7y agoThen they add some kind of display connectivity DRM like HDCP and suddenly all older dumb monitors are unable to connect to a newer device until someone figure out a way to break it. DRM were never about protecting the content, it's all about control.
- BurningFrog 7y agoMy TV software gets updated. Have gotten noticeable improvements.
- GordonS 7y agoI've had a 55" Samsung smart TV for 6 years now - zero software updates after year 3. Quite annoying, as I had hoped that codec support would improve over time.
- zukzuk 7y agohttps://ironcast.tv https://ironcast.tv maybe? I want to buy a new TV in the next few weeks and I'm really tempted, but worried about this being a Kickstarter project and the display quality not being up to par.
- Cougher 7y agoI guess their clean design philosophy bleeds into their website by making it devoid of useful information.
- vinayan3 7y agoI'm looking for a new TV and I started with looking for a dumb TV but I came to the conclusion that 4k HDR isn't supported by Nvidia Shield for Youtube and Netflix. Only option to get that is to use the built in smart features of the TV. So even using external boxes you don't get all the latest hardware support for video codecs.
- breul99 7y agoYes it is?
- matheusmoreira 7y agoAnd where can we find these dumb TVs?
- ksec 7y agoWhy Apple hasn't made a TV set is beyond me. As much as we want a Dump TV on HN, in terms of general market I would doubt even 5% of people are willing trade cheaper pricing, integrated Software experience for privacy.
- EpicEng 7y agoDidn't you just answer your own question? The market for $5k+ televisions is pretty small, especially when they're unlikely to be better on paper than what you'd get for half the price from another brand.
- ksec 7y agoBecause Apple can command a premium. Something that very few brand ( if any ) does as well as Apple. At the same quality and price of high end high margin TV, you could bet Apple will sell more than Samsung or Sony.
- clement_b 7y agoI can't agree more, but the choice in dumb TVs is limited. In the end the best option seems to be a video projector, but I really dislike the image quality v.s. a panel. Any recommendations?
- femto113 7y agoDon't try to buy a "TV", buy a "monitor". The ones sold for digital signage may be your best bet depending on the size you're looking for.
- bentcorner 7y agoYou can try looking into commercial TVs (aka digital signage). These are displays with usually few smarts in them, and also designed to be on 24/7. You'll likely pay more than a regular consumer TV.
- troydavis 7y agoI tried this. At least for larger sizes, the price premium is often 2x and finding HDR - and sometimes even 4K - is hard: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21664952 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21664952
- clement_b 7y agoOK. I switched TV two months ago. I considered purchasing the biggest PC monitor and work it from there but the size threw me off. Ended up buying an LG TV because it seemed that WebOS was the best choice when it comes to performance. I use to have an expensive Sony Bravia TV powered by Android TV and that was the slowest experience I have had on a device since the 'bad Windows PC era' of ~2000 - ~2010. If anyone in the TV industry is reading this, there is a market for dumb TV panels. Happy to pay a premium for that the same way I was happy to pay a premium to have 4k early on!
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]