7 ms·

Best Dumb TVs

62 points by code-faster 4y ago

goldenchrome 4y ago
I haven’t bought a TV in about 7 years. What’s the state of the union with TV quality these days? If I compare TVs with the same display technology, what do I get from a brand name? Is the screen somehow better? Or is it just the enclosure that’s more attractive? Or is it just better warranty/durability?
- type0 4y ago
  Maybe, sometimes better sometimes not. Btw, I watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4o3E1Yjvp8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4o3E1Yjvp8 it's an Android TV Someone in the comments on youtube says: "They actually do more than pay the bills with those buttons on the remote. I've heard that at least Netflix and Disney+ will outright not allow their apps to be pre-installed onto a TV if there is not a dedicated button for the app on the remote. So if Sony wants to include Netflix, Disney+, or other major streaming services on their internal OS, they usually have to include that button on their remote." This screams like an anti-competitive practice.
  - bombcar 4y ago
    They're usually smart about it, where they say "IF you include Disney+ AND any other streaming service whatsoever has a button, Disney+ must have a button, too"
- CharlesW 4y ago
  > If I compare TVs with the same display technology, what do I get from a brand name? For my last major TV purchase, rtings.com was the most useful resource I could find for understanding the differences between options at the size I was looking for. They also have good roundups of the best overall TV brands¹, as well as regular roundups of the best options in several categories (size, primary use, etc.). ¹ https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/brands https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/brands
  - victorclf 4y ago
    Rtings is also great for monitors. There's so much difference in quality and performance between visually similar display models and these are usually impossible to determine from official specs. I couldn't imagine having to buy a display without these detailed tests.
egberts1 4y ago
Best dumb Large TV are the SmartTV that have its WiFi antenna disconnected and not plugged into the Internet. Sceptre Model U65 is a 4K UHD, 65” 3840x2860 that supports Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) upscaling, HDMI 2.0, HDCP v2.2. Best part? No Ethernet plug nor WiFi. It’s nearly $649 USD (or still almost $10/screen-inch).
- nightshift1 4y ago
  Is there a difference between a dumb tv and a smart tv that you leave on hdmi1 input ?
  - egberts1 4y ago
    Smart TV has at least a WebKit framework in which to do all kinds of apps (Netflix, Hulu), ads, and probing of your viewing habits. Smart TV have a absolute requirement of having an Ethernet port/WiFi in which to “optionally” do Internet with.
    - nightshift1 4y ago
      what I meant is that if you leave the tv on a different input than the one that has the built-in media player, does the tv can still show you ads and track you ? Is it impossible now to completely avoid the built-in OS ?
      - egberts1 4y ago
        If you plug the Smart TV to the Internet, the TV will dastardly display ads, sometimes over HDMI, sometimes over composite video, and mostly through the TV apps. Keeping the Internet away from the TV and you should be entirely just fine and ad-free.
        nightshift1 4y ago
        wow, even over hdmi...that's messed up. Thanks
cricalix 4y ago
What I really want is a dumb panel with no TV receiver; this makes it a monitor, and not subject to Ireland’s TV licensing law. There are commercial panels, but the power draw on the ones I’ve seen is higher than a regular 40 inch TV. Plus, finding one that’s available in Ireland.. well, it’s a smallish island with a population of 5 million, and it’s not a common purchase. I probably need to re-evaluate the pricing on 40 inch computer monitors, if I can find a non-4K one.
- microbass 4y ago
  I've been using a 40 inch 4k Iiyama monitor for 6 or 7 years, and it's been great as a TV. I've told the TV license people that I don't have a TV, and they leave me alone. Well worth the cost upfront, as I haven't had to pay a stupid licence fee for years.
- robomartin 4y ago
  > Ireland’s TV licensing law Can you expand on this? What is this law? What's the impact on a TV vs. a monitor?
  - unsafecast 4y ago
    I don't live in Ireland, but from what I've read: you need to pay annually for a license if you have anything capable of receiving TV, even if you don't use it.
  - cricalix 4y ago
    The law basically says a panel with the capacity to receive a TV signal via integrated receiver is a TV. That means you owe a fee for the privilege of owning such a device. Simply removing the receiver circuit is not valid, since it can be repaired. https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer/phone_internet_tv_and_postal_services/tv_licences.html https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer/phone_interne... Has a summary.
    - cricalix 4y ago
      I suppose technically a panel with HDMI input counts anyway these days, because external receivers put out HDMI, but I don’t know if the prosecution of the law has caught up to that.
cf100clunk 4y ago
Rooting/Jailbreaking an LG TV might be a suitable Dumb TV solution in some ways: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33016217 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33016217
pachico 4y ago
Interesting concept! My experience is that it doesn't matter how smart a TV is when you buy it, it eventually become dumber than most, mostly because hardware upgrades in TVs is not a concept and lack of software upgrade. For this reason you will most likely buy tiny Android TV boxes, which will be cheap and replaceble.
- waste_monk 4y ago
  I would not recommend grabbing a random cheap android box off of eBay or wherever, as they sometimes have spyware pre-installed or run outdated versions of Android and are vulnerable to compromise. I have a Vero 4K+ which I don't get much use out of (don't seem to find much time these days for movies/tv) but is a reasonably nice ARM64 device running a derivative of Debian Linux with OSMC on top... you can get in under the hood using SSH and mess around if you like, although it may break the warranty. My only complaint is I haven't had much luck using it for Amazon Prime video playback (needs a 3rd party community add-on, and something along the chain is causing weird stuttering issues... suspect a DRM issue), but I haven't spent too much effort on that. For SMB file playback and so on it works quite nicely.
super256 4y ago
Not a total "dumb TV", any TV that has Google TV can be set into "basic TV" mode. https://support.google.com/googletv/answer/10408998?hl=en https://support.google.com/googletv/answer/10408998?hl=en
- deamanto 4y ago
  Last time I looked into this trying to get PiHole working on my TV, I found an article that said some TVs give you the option to override the DNS but on the code side it just completely ignored the manual DNS change.
  - cricalix 4y ago
    Depending how much control you have over your network, you can defeat this. I have my OpenWrt router configured to block all port 53 traffic unless it comes from the PiHole or router itself. You could also do redirects with masqing I suppose. Fails if they’re using DoH, but older gear isn’t going to have that functionality built in yet.
yellowapple 4y ago
Unsurprisingly, every 4K TV on this list is Sceptre.
- kdtsh 4y ago
  I have never seen a Sceptre for sale anywhere, they are always out of stock. Are they actually produced anymore or do they just go out of stock as soon as a new batch comes through?
  - yellowapple 4y ago
    I've only ever seen 'em on Amazon, and there are some 50" and 55" in stock right now.
- idontwantthis 4y ago
  Is it a good brand? I've never heard of it before.
  - yellowapple 4y ago
    They're acceptable. You get what you pay for. I have two of their 4K monitors on my desk (though only one is currently hooked up to my desktop; the other just runs my PS4 at the moment), and aside from some flickering sometimes when they first power on / wake up they work well enough. A prior job of mine involved setting up a bunch of Sceptre 4K TVs for dashboards / metrics displays / leaderboards on a warehouse floor (as well as for the warehouse's conference room) and they were adequate. I had one at home that burned out from being on 24/7 for a couple years in my living room; it's in storage until I get around to troubleshooting it, but they're cheap enough that I might very well buy a second one. Long story short: they ain't LGs, but they're surprisingly acceptable for the price.
jbirer 4y ago
My 4K monitor with a SDR device is much cheaper than all of these.

62 points by code-faster 4y ago

I haven’t bought a TV in about 7 years. What’s the state of the union with TV quality these days? If I compare TVs with the same display technology, what do I get from a brand name? Is the screen somehow better? Or is it just the enclosure that’s more attractive? Or is it just better warranty/durability?

type0 4y ago
Maybe, sometimes better sometimes not. Btw, I watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4o3E1Yjvp8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4o3E1Yjvp8 it's an Android TV Someone in the comments on youtube says: "They actually do more than pay the bills with those buttons on the remote. I've heard that at least Netflix and Disney+ will outright not allow their apps to be pre-installed onto a TV if there is not a dedicated button for the app on the remote. So if Sony wants to include Netflix, Disney+, or other major streaming services on their internal OS, they usually have to include that button on their remote." This screams like an anti-competitive practice.
- bombcar 4y ago
  They're usually smart about it, where they say "IF you include Disney+ AND any other streaming service whatsoever has a button, Disney+ must have a button, too"
CharlesW 4y ago
> If I compare TVs with the same display technology, what do I get from a brand name? For my last major TV purchase, rtings.com was the most useful resource I could find for understanding the differences between options at the size I was looking for. They also have good roundups of the best overall TV brands¹, as well as regular roundups of the best options in several categories (size, primary use, etc.). ¹ https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/brands https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/brands
- victorclf 4y ago
  Rtings is also great for monitors. There's so much difference in quality and performance between visually similar display models and these are usually impossible to determine from official specs. I couldn't imagine having to buy a display without these detailed tests.

egberts1 4y ago

Best dumb Large TV are the SmartTV that have its WiFi antenna disconnected and not plugged into the Internet. Sceptre Model U65 is a 4K UHD, 65” 3840x2860 that supports Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) upscaling, HDMI 2.0, HDCP v2.2. Best part? No Ethernet plug nor WiFi. It’s nearly $649 USD (or still almost $10/screen-inch).

nightshift1 4y ago
Is there a difference between a dumb tv and a smart tv that you leave on hdmi1 input ?
- egberts1 4y ago
  Smart TV has at least a WebKit framework in which to do all kinds of apps (Netflix, Hulu), ads, and probing of your viewing habits. Smart TV have a absolute requirement of having an Ethernet port/WiFi in which to “optionally” do Internet with.
  - nightshift1 4y ago
    what I meant is that if you leave the tv on a different input than the one that has the built-in media player, does the tv can still show you ads and track you ? Is it impossible now to completely avoid the built-in OS ?
    - egberts1 4y ago
      If you plug the Smart TV to the Internet, the TV will dastardly display ads, sometimes over HDMI, sometimes over composite video, and mostly through the TV apps. Keeping the Internet away from the TV and you should be entirely just fine and ad-free.
      - nightshift1 4y ago
        wow, even over hdmi...that's messed up. Thanks

cricalix 4y ago

What I really want is a dumb panel with no TV receiver; this makes it a monitor, and not subject to Ireland’s TV licensing law. There are commercial panels, but the power draw on the ones I’ve seen is higher than a regular 40 inch TV. Plus, finding one that’s available in Ireland.. well, it’s a smallish island with a population of 5 million, and it’s not a common purchase. I probably need to re-evaluate the pricing on 40 inch computer monitors, if I can find a non-4K one.

microbass 4y ago
I've been using a 40 inch 4k Iiyama monitor for 6 or 7 years, and it's been great as a TV. I've told the TV license people that I don't have a TV, and they leave me alone. Well worth the cost upfront, as I haven't had to pay a stupid licence fee for years.
robomartin 4y ago
> Ireland’s TV licensing law Can you expand on this? What is this law? What's the impact on a TV vs. a monitor?
- unsafecast 4y ago
  I don't live in Ireland, but from what I've read: you need to pay annually for a license if you have anything capable of receiving TV, even if you don't use it.
- cricalix 4y ago
  The law basically says a panel with the capacity to receive a TV signal via integrated receiver is a TV. That means you owe a fee for the privilege of owning such a device. Simply removing the receiver circuit is not valid, since it can be repaired. https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer/phone_internet_tv_and_postal_services/tv_licences.html https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer/phone_interne... Has a summary.
  - cricalix 4y ago
    I suppose technically a panel with HDMI input counts anyway these days, because external receivers put out HDMI, but I don’t know if the prosecution of the law has caught up to that.

cf100clunk 4y ago

Rooting/Jailbreaking an LG TV might be a suitable Dumb TV solution in some ways: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33016217 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33016217

pachico 4y ago

Interesting concept! My experience is that it doesn't matter how smart a TV is when you buy it, it eventually become dumber than most, mostly because hardware upgrades in TVs is not a concept and lack of software upgrade. For this reason you will most likely buy tiny Android TV boxes, which will be cheap and replaceble.

waste_monk 4y ago
I would not recommend grabbing a random cheap android box off of eBay or wherever, as they sometimes have spyware pre-installed or run outdated versions of Android and are vulnerable to compromise. I have a Vero 4K+ which I don't get much use out of (don't seem to find much time these days for movies/tv) but is a reasonably nice ARM64 device running a derivative of Debian Linux with OSMC on top... you can get in under the hood using SSH and mess around if you like, although it may break the warranty. My only complaint is I haven't had much luck using it for Amazon Prime video playback (needs a 3rd party community add-on, and something along the chain is causing weird stuttering issues... suspect a DRM issue), but I haven't spent too much effort on that. For SMB file playback and so on it works quite nicely.

super256 4y ago

Not a total "dumb TV", any TV that has Google TV can be set into "basic TV" mode. https://support.google.com/googletv/answer/10408998?hl=en https://support.google.com/googletv/answer/10408998?hl=en

deamanto 4y ago
Last time I looked into this trying to get PiHole working on my TV, I found an article that said some TVs give you the option to override the DNS but on the code side it just completely ignored the manual DNS change.
- cricalix 4y ago
  Depending how much control you have over your network, you can defeat this. I have my OpenWrt router configured to block all port 53 traffic unless it comes from the PiHole or router itself. You could also do redirects with masqing I suppose. Fails if they’re using DoH, but older gear isn’t going to have that functionality built in yet.

yellowapple 4y ago

Unsurprisingly, every 4K TV on this list is Sceptre.

kdtsh 4y ago
I have never seen a Sceptre for sale anywhere, they are always out of stock. Are they actually produced anymore or do they just go out of stock as soon as a new batch comes through?
- yellowapple 4y ago
  I've only ever seen 'em on Amazon, and there are some 50" and 55" in stock right now.
idontwantthis 4y ago
Is it a good brand? I've never heard of it before.
- yellowapple 4y ago
  They're acceptable. You get what you pay for. I have two of their 4K monitors on my desk (though only one is currently hooked up to my desktop; the other just runs my PS4 at the moment), and aside from some flickering sometimes when they first power on / wake up they work well enough. A prior job of mine involved setting up a bunch of Sceptre 4K TVs for dashboards / metrics displays / leaderboards on a warehouse floor (as well as for the warehouse's conference room) and they were adequate. I had one at home that burned out from being on 24/7 for a couple years in my living room; it's in storage until I get around to troubleshooting it, but they're cheap enough that I might very well buy a second one. Long story short: they ain't LGs, but they're surprisingly acceptable for the price.

jbirer 4y ago

My 4K monitor with a SDR device is much cheaper than all of these.