8 ms·

I’ve had good luck with sceptre brand TVs. They are no frills and cheap. Plug in a $30 roku and hook it up to some decent speakers and you are good to go. I’

I’ve had good luck with sceptre brand TVs. They are no frills and cheap. Plug in a $30 roku and hook it up to some decent speakers and you are good to go. I’ve had two of them going on 8 years strong now. Loads of connectivity to. From vga to dvi to component/composite, 1/8” audio in/out, spdif, hdmi, etc, etc. On the other hand the power supply in my (former) LG plasma tv died after 1.5 years. I DIY replaced that with a ~$100 part. Then 6 months later it broke down with large green vertical lines interrupting the screen, at which point I gave up on it. So for me it will be no frills cheap TVs from now on. If it breaks in a few years I can replace it without feeling as much of a hit to the wallet. And the external streaming boxes will always be better, faster and more flexible for me than the inbuilt “smart” software that stops getting updates after a few years.

clairity 6y ago
thanks for responding based on the article rather than the title. the 2 recommendations from the article: * Sceptre 65" 4K UHD LED TV * Sceptre 50" 4K UHD Ultra Slim LED TV
- solarkraft 6y ago
  Currently $379.99 (usually $429.99) and $239.99 (usually $299.99 at Walmart. Impressive! Electronics are quite a bit cheaper in the USA than in Germany. If quality is similar the panel won't be that great (but not terrible), the UI that is there will be very unimpressive and three's no proof on the web the model actually exists. I hope it's better.
  - andrew_ 6y ago
    Please post the links to the product pages. Having trouble finding those same prices.
    - swimfar 6y ago
      I see $200 for the 50". https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-50-Class-4K-UHD-LED-TV-U515CV-U/44829924 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-50-Class-4K-UHD-LED-TV-U5...
      - acidbaseextract 6y ago
        The one recommended in the article via Amazon is the model U518CV-UM while that one at Walmart is the model U515CV-U. No idea what the difference is.
  - ant6n 6y ago
    I can't even find this Sceptre Model in Germany
TulliusCicero 6y ago
Sounds nice, what's the input lag though?
- deeblering4 6y ago
  I’m sure it varies by model, but for whatever its worth I haven't noticed issues playing ps4 on my old models.
JohnBooty 6y ago
It's worth noting that Roku devices apparently send a lot of information about your usage habits back to their servers, so if "privacy" is one of your reasons for choosing a dumb TV, perhaps Roku's not the best choice. Not sure if there are authoritative deep dives out there, but here's what the Pi-hole folks saw: https://pi-hole.net/2018/09/19/what-really-happens-on-your-network-part-eight/#page-content https://pi-hole.net/2018/09/19/what-really-happens-on-your-n... I was disappointed but not surprised to learn that. My experiences with Rokus have been really positive. Tracking issues aside, the user experience is pleasantly simple and responsive. A great example of "it just works" hardware+software. In fact, my 85 year-old dad and his tech-phobic wife even had positive things to say about the remote and interface.
- loughnane 6y ago
  Agree. I use pihole + Roku with my dumb tv and it feels like a good balance. The pihole also gets rid of the big ad on the channel screen
  - JohnBooty 6y ago
    Are there any issues with a Pi-hole'd Roku?
    - deeblering4 6y ago
      In terms of breakage, no none that I’ve found. I can say it successfully blocks the big ad on the home screen and probably a lot of other requests too.
    - loughnane 6y ago
      None that I’ve noticed. Been doing it for a few years
- kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
  Doesn't indicate if tracking was disabled in the Roku settings.
- 6y ago
mdonahoe 6y ago
I got a tv with built-in Roku, and its actually pretty nice. I can change volume, select hdmi inputs and power on/off the tv with the Roku remote (and app) now.
- _underfl0w_ 6y ago
  Same, though the giant ad on the home screen was almost a dealbreaker. Can't reclaim that screen real estate either - I blocked all the ad domains on my router and the ad disappeared, leaving a giant hole taking 40% of the screen.

clairity 6y ago

thanks for responding based on the article rather than the title. the 2 recommendations from the article: * Sceptre 65" 4K UHD LED TV * Sceptre 50" 4K UHD Ultra Slim LED TV

solarkraft 6y ago
Currently $379.99 (usually $429.99) and $239.99 (usually $299.99 at Walmart. Impressive! Electronics are quite a bit cheaper in the USA than in Germany. If quality is similar the panel won't be that great (but not terrible), the UI that is there will be very unimpressive and three's no proof on the web the model actually exists. I hope it's better.
- andrew_ 6y ago
  Please post the links to the product pages. Having trouble finding those same prices.
  - swimfar 6y ago
    I see $200 for the 50". https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-50-Class-4K-UHD-LED-TV-U515CV-U/44829924 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-50-Class-4K-UHD-LED-TV-U5...
    - acidbaseextract 6y ago
      The one recommended in the article via Amazon is the model U518CV-UM while that one at Walmart is the model U515CV-U. No idea what the difference is.
- ant6n 6y ago
  I can't even find this Sceptre Model in Germany

TulliusCicero 6y ago

Sounds nice, what's the input lag though?

deeblering4 6y ago
I’m sure it varies by model, but for whatever its worth I haven't noticed issues playing ps4 on my old models.

JohnBooty 6y ago

It's worth noting that Roku devices apparently send a lot of information about your usage habits back to their servers, so if "privacy" is one of your reasons for choosing a dumb TV, perhaps Roku's not the best choice. Not sure if there are authoritative deep dives out there, but here's what the Pi-hole folks saw: https://pi-hole.net/2018/09/19/what-really-happens-on-your-network-part-eight/#page-content https://pi-hole.net/2018/09/19/what-really-happens-on-your-n... I was disappointed but not surprised to learn that. My experiences with Rokus have been really positive. Tracking issues aside, the user experience is pleasantly simple and responsive. A great example of "it just works" hardware+software. In fact, my 85 year-old dad and his tech-phobic wife even had positive things to say about the remote and interface.

loughnane 6y ago
Agree. I use pihole + Roku with my dumb tv and it feels like a good balance. The pihole also gets rid of the big ad on the channel screen
- JohnBooty 6y ago
  Are there any issues with a Pi-hole'd Roku?
  - deeblering4 6y ago
    In terms of breakage, no none that I’ve found. I can say it successfully blocks the big ad on the home screen and probably a lot of other requests too.
  - loughnane 6y ago
    None that I’ve noticed. Been doing it for a few years
kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
Doesn't indicate if tracking was disabled in the Roku settings.
6y ago

mdonahoe 6y ago

I got a tv with built-in Roku, and its actually pretty nice. I can change volume, select hdmi inputs and power on/off the tv with the Roku remote (and app) now.

_underfl0w_ 6y ago
Same, though the giant ad on the home screen was almost a dealbreaker. Can't reclaim that screen real estate either - I blocked all the ad domains on my router and the ad disappeared, leaving a giant hole taking 40% of the screen.