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I’ve kept my Samsung offline since I purchased it in 2019. I’ve kept my LG offline since I purchased it in 2016. As long as you have an AppleTV or similar conne

• Shank 4y ago
  > As long as you have an AppleTV or similar connected to service your need for “smarts” it won’t be hard to leave the TV offline. Do these TVs start up and boot directly into the selected input for something like an Apple TV, or do you have to go to extra hoops when it starts up to switch to your desired input? I'd actually be perfectly happy with a smart TV that's disconnected if it never throws its UI in my face when I'm trying to just use an input for something.
  • solardev 4y ago
    My "smart" Vizio TV and LG projectors just go directly to the last active input (in my case a Google TV). I never even remember they have their own built-in smart OSes because I never see them. However, these days, most of the streaming sticks have their own shitty recommendations and ads anyway, so unless you're doing a self-hosted Plex box or something, expect ads. And then of course there are the actual streaming service ads.
    • radley 4y ago
      The Apple TV menu only shows preview cards for apps in the top row. Most apps show what you're currently watching, but other apps (Prime Video, ATV+, Twitch) will show promos instead. Best to move these apps to the right end of the top row, or down into the 2nd or 3rd row.
    • deleted 4y ago
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  • Fezzik 4y ago
    On TCL panels (recommended in a separate comment) you can toggle/select what input the TV boots to and then you’re never bothered again.
  • atkailash 4y ago
  • sharkweek 4y ago
    I have a relatively new smart TV that I’ve never connected to anything and when I turn on my Apple TV with the remote it goes straight to Apple’s interface
  • monkpit 4y ago
    Look up HDMI-CEC and buy things that support that. It’s what enables switching to the input automatically when the device is turned on.
  • mrweasel 4y ago
    We never use the remote from our Philips TV. The AppleTV can turn the TV on and off, auto select the right HDMI, and control the volume. I only had the TV online once to update the firmware, not sure that was needed. The TV also have one other nice feature: you can remove the logo, there’s just one screw holding it in place.
  • richdougherty 4y ago
    My Chromecast automatically turns my TV on and to the Chromecast input whenever I cast to it. This is when it's plugged into the HDMI ARC port on a Samsung TV, which I think is a CEC port as well. https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/7199917 https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/7199917 > What is CEC? > CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) allows for HDMI devices to be controlled with one remote control. > If you try to cast to a CEC supported TV while on a different source input (local TV channel, Cable, USB), source input will automatically switch to the HDMI port where the Chromecast is connected. Certain TVs will also power on (when powered off) when trying to cast to the Chromecast.
• brohoolio 4y ago
  Same setup here. Sony TV that’s never been connected plus an Apple TV.
  • kitsunesoba 4y ago
    Another Sony+Apple TV user here. Have had a couple of different Sony TVs, and if you keep them offline and never specifically request the smart TV UI (button on remote), they act almost indistinguishably from dumb TVs. They also run near-stock Android TV so even if I decided to use the built in smarts, the experience probably wouldn't be too bad. They do come with a content ID daemon preinstalled, but that's easy enough to remove with a laptop connected via USB with ADB. Additionally, Sony has been great about supporting firmware updates via USB flash drive, so you're not missing out on fixes and improvements by opting to keep it offline.
• metadat 4y ago
  +1, this is great advice. I've been doing the same; get an AppleTV or GoogleTV dongle and never, ever attach the LG or Samshung TV to the network. Benefits of this strategy: * So simple, even non-savvy folks can follow the rule * Protects your privacy * Eliminates an unnecessary, highly invasive, and parasitic advertising vector (ads directly from LG or Samsung) * Protects your TV performance and functionality from surprise degradation due to "updates" I don't see any significant downsides compared to the upsides :) It's unfortunate the manufacturers are in a position where such perverse anti-customer incentives exist. All we really need and want is a great product crafted with love. What we got was a creepy spy box that eventually gets so slow it becomes unusable and worthless e-waste.
  • dmitriid 4y ago
    > Protects your TV performance and functionality from surprise degradation due to "updates" Instead, it will have its own upgrades which will degrade performance and/or UI. A recent Android TV update on my Xiaomi Android TV brought ads covering a 1/4 of the screen from services I'm not subscribed to. Had to revert the upgrade and stop it from updating.
    • molszanski 4y ago
      No ads on AppleTv. Or I don’t see them. Also used PS4 as a TV. But it wasn’t super convenient without a remote. But overall the TV dongle is the way forward IMO
    • metadat 4y ago
      A new dongle is a lot cheaper and less e-waste than a new TV.
      • dmitriid 4y ago
        And a new single will help me with getting rid of the ads how exactly?
        • 4y ago
• GekkePrutser 4y ago
  > (I recommend LG over Samsung - Samsung TV has native undismissable ads from 2019 still) Wow you get ads even when you never connected it to the internet? That's really user hostile design. If I get a tv it'll be LG anyway because they do real OLED, not that Qled stuff that Samsung does.
  • ajaimk 4y ago
    Sadly, Samsung is leapfrogging LG with QD OLED :-( Which is going to be better technology (brighter colors with OLED blacks) Owner of 2 LG OLEDs
    • hereme888 4y ago
      I think many people would be satisfied with not having the latest and greatest in exchange for a respectful device.
      • rat9988 4y ago
        Many others would be frustrated if they have to compromise.
        • cyanydeez 4y ago
          Most people see very little beyond 1080p
          • ddingus 4y ago
            Frankly, as I get older I can appreciate that statement. I can see it still, but I don't care. And thinking about it, I quit caring at 1080i. (Growing up with CRT video, interlace isn't something that bothers me) I super appreciated 1080p :) And that's all I really need. What I've noticed is that my appreciation of the material doesn't improve with the resolution beyond 1080p. And I really like glowing phosphors in tubes, first the CRT, then a pretty great plasma that I plan on camping on, until whatever OLED thing makes sense at some point in the future. That set will probably run well beyond 1080p. I won't care, might even run it at 1080p anyway. Extreme detail seems to take me out of the production sometimes, or I see artifacts that I would not see at a lower resolution. Think people call it the "soap opera" effect.
• maerF0x0 4y ago
  +1 one day I got tired of my Vizio tv's "smarts" being the school dunce. Some of it was on the app developers (Eg Amazon app ran terribly on my TV), so I bought a chromecast google tv thing and it's completely revitalized my tv .
• giancarlostoro 4y ago
  I did this with my LG TV as well. What ads do you refer to on Samsung though? I dont recall any ads on my Samsung. I have my Samsung hooked up to the internet until I buy a second Apple TV device.
  • 0xcde4c3db 4y ago
    It's hard to find definitive information on this, but from what I can recall I don't think Samsung actually rolled out the current ad platform until mid-2019, and only in certain regions. So you might have been spared if you never updated your firmware or were in a region with no Samsung ad sales channel.
    • giancarlostoro 4y ago
      I have a Samsung Device from 2021 and an LG one from like 2016 or so the LG I never hooked up to the internet, but the Samsung I keep online due to not having a streaming device for it, and maybe I'm just not noticing any but I have no ads. I also keep it plenty up to date.
• wyldfire 4y ago
  Maybe I'm being a bit cynical but given that there are data channels provided by some HDMI cables/endpoints - do we know that for example the Apple TV cannot support an Ethernet-over-HDMI connection or that if it could support it, it's configured by default not to route traffic to/from this port? I think this feature was a commercial failure so hopefully it's universally unsupported.
  • deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
• somehnacct3757 4y ago
  If you go this route, you will want to stick to older technology for audio and content peripherals. Otherwise you will have to connect it to the internet for bugfixes. For example, imagine you want to keep a smart TV offline but you also want the latest greatest eARC features over HDMI 2.1; or you want that new Dolby tech to work with your PlayStation 5. That's stuff that came out in the last couple years. Assume it will take the TVs five years to work seemlessly. In the meantime you're gonna need firmware updates. It won't work out of the box. Or maybe it will, but with a noticeable lag. Whatever smart TV model you're considering, read the patch notes and visit the fan reddits so you know what you're getting into. An alternative is to get a gaming monitor; however these rarely reach TV screen sizes so if you're looking for 45"+ you're stuck with smart TVs
  • lyrrad 4y ago
    My LG CX tv can be updated without internet by downloading the firmware file and loading it onto a USB drive. A quick search shows that at least some Samsung models have this capability as well.
    • philistine 4y ago
      Any TV with a USB port and Roku TV as its firmware should be updatable without going online.
  • gnicholas 4y ago
    If I faced this dilemma, I’d just turn on my phone’s hotspot, give the credentials to the TV, then turn off the hotspot after it’s updated.
    • somehnacct3757 4y ago
      It's not so much the connection that's the problem. You might have to agree to a ToS when you first connect to internet. Who knows what privacy you give away signing that. The update might be a trojan horse containing both the bugfix you need and a new mandatory streaming service tile on the home screen.
• sumy23 4y ago
  This will work for now, but device manufacturers are working towards building out mesh networks. You may not have connected your TV to the internet, but your neighbor did, and your TV can piggy back on your neighbors connection.
  • downrightmike 4y ago
    Then we burn the wireless card
    • mulmen 4y ago
      Which violates the warranty. And if the TV can’t phone home it can just refuse to boot. So you need to root and modify firmware too. The answer is not giving these companies money.
      • gorjusborg 4y ago
        Yeah, I agree, best is to vote with my wallet. Second best, though, is getting out the soldering iron.
      • prepend 4y ago
        Tv warranties are only a year so that’s not much to worry about. I bought a top of the line Samsung many years ago. The warranty lasted only a year and some capacitors burned out it took lots of phone calls to get them to repair as it’s a design defect. I’ve had to do it myself once as well. I don’t care about voiding my warranty.
  • richdougherty 4y ago
    Crazy! This reinforces the idea of not agreeing to the Terms of Service when prompted. I've found you can easily avoid doing that on a Samsung.
  • noizejoy 4y ago
    Wonder if anyone here has ever used EMF / EMR paint? If that works as advertised, it maybe could put a stop to undesired mesh networking?
• richdougherty 4y ago
  Also, don't agree to the Terms of Service when prompted. This should in theory give extra protection against ads, etc. There's no nagging on a Samsung when you do this and use a Chromecast.
• radicality 4y ago
  I’m thinking of buying a TV, haven’t had one for a very long time (was using projectors). When researching, what blew my mind is that the HDMI spec now includes Ethernet-over-HDMI (called HEC - HDMI Ethernet Channel). The end devices just need to support it. That got me thinking that perhaps we might see popular set top boxes like AppleTV transparently start giving internet to the connected smart TVs, perhaps against our wishes and with no way to turn it off.
• propogandist 4y ago
  make sure you don't use a Roku to make your TV "smart", because it is phoning home constantly 24/7, especially when you're interacting with the remote or anything in the OS. If it can't phone home for a while and it's aggressively blocked, the OS will interfere with other apps, preventing them from running until the Roku stick can phone home. Amazon FireTV also phones home quite a bit , but since it runs android you can sideload a firewall like Netguard to try and contain some of the telemetry and usage data being siphoned off the device