4 ms·

I wish a reputable manufacturer would just make "dumb TVs" (aka monitors). I don't even need a TV tuner, just a display panel with the latest HDMI, ARC and CEC

I wish a reputable manufacturer would just make "dumb TVs" (aka monitors). I don't even need a TV tuner, just a display panel with the latest HDMI, ARC and CEC support such that I can control all features from my media player's remote (including turning on/off the TV, sound, etc.) There are things like AW5520QF, but they tend to cost 3x - 4x as much as a TV with the same exact panel because of all the "gamery" features.

massysett 4y ago
> There are things like AW5520QF, but they tend to cost 3x - 4x as much as a TV with the same exact panel because of all the "gamery" features. You just made the article's point. What you say you want does exist, but you're not willing to pay for it.
- zuminator 4y ago
  The article says that regular "smart" TVs are being sold at or near cost. That means conceivably sone manufacturer could sell a dumb TV at just 50% markup and still make a nice profit. I think that's what the grandparent post is wishing for. It's true there are those expensive reference monitors and so forth, but those are overpriced because they're geared for the corporate market. There's nothing comparable geared for the ordinary consumer. Honestly despite the frequent calls for their production, there probably isn't enough demand to sustain a dumb TV consumer market. It's like how small-screened smartphones never sell as much as you'd expect given the Internet's seeming love for them. Anyway, I know nothing about the project but there is a WebOS root/jailbreak that works on some LG models. GP might want to look into it. https://github.com/RootMyTV/RootMyTV.github.io https://github.com/RootMyTV/RootMyTV.github.io
- rasz 4y ago
  Because I am being charged 3x more for less hardware.
akeck 4y ago
Maybe look at "commercial monitors"? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1557462-REG/sharp_4t_b60cj1u_60_4k_ultra_hd_commercial.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1557462-REG/sharp_4t_...
libraryatnight 4y ago
I wonder if this is going to be a market. I would also like "dumb" options, to more than just TVs, and I'm hearing the sentiment elsewhere. Probably expensive and considered niche or high end?
- brewdad 4y ago
  Agreed. If this ever becomes a market, I think it will be very niche and stupid expensive like high end audio systems.
lotsofpulp 4y ago
Is it possible that all the software that makes a TV "smart" is near zero marginal cost, but it can be used to market and sell a lower quality panel. Whereas the higher quality panel will sell itself due to being higher quality. I have also never been bothered by the "smart features" of Sony TVs. I just do not connect it to a network.
- xur17 4y ago
  Pretty much this. The "smart" features of a TV really don't cost much at all, and make a TV a LOT more marketable. Given that perspective, why would a TV manufacturer choose to remove the smart features from the TV? This wouldn't enable them to sell the TV for a lower price.
- WindyCityBrew 4y ago
  The "smarts" of a smart tv is just spyware(adware) by a different name that actively subsidizes and reduces the cost of low-end TVs.
- BoorishBears 4y ago
  I've found the opposite to be true, gaming monitors have a ton of specs that their buyers will sacrifice panel quality for, and manufacturers take full advantage of it. You won't find normal users willingly playing the panel lottery for example (for those not familiar, that's buying $1,000+ monitors knowing there's a good chance you'll need to return them because of panel defects, and just returning them until you find one that's acceptable)
BoorishBears 4y ago
Why not just buy a dumb TV and not connect it to WiFi? There's been a bunch of gnashing of teeth about how they'll connect to open WiFi networks, but I can't remember the last time I came across a public WiFi network without a captive portal that would block their attempt to phone home. That seems to have died off in the last few years. And if you're prone to tinkering you can just as easily connect one through an SBC and block all traffic
- babypuncher 4y ago
  > I can't remember the last time I came across a public WiFi network without a captive portal that would block their attempt to phone home. Better yet, how many open WiFi networks are there around your house? For me, the answer is currently 0. People don't leave their WiFi open today like they did 15-20 years ago. Even the wireless hotspot feature on your phone makes you use WPA.
  - slacka 4y ago
    > People don't leave their WiFi open Yes they do. From my 1st WRT54G to my latest AX mesh, I have never had a WiFi password. My friends and family that were visiting over the Holidays apricated it. Everyone used it, no one asked me for the password. Are people still Wardriving? Even if they are, the odds of a malicious hacker coming to my neighbored is up there with getting stuck by lightning. Not losing sleep over it. Why should I?
    - trifurcate 4y ago
      1) Besides access control, having an unencrypted WiFi network is not great because your entire internet/local traffic is open to be sniffed. High-gain antennae, etc. You are essentially screaming the contents of (what would be) your ethernet cable into the void. 2) Access control is exactly the point. I suppose you could ban the TV's MAC address from your open network (and I suppose a sufficiently malicious TV firmware could randomize its MAC address), but your stated purpose (allowing open network access) is not exactly compatible with what you presumably wish to do (disallow network access to a smart TV).
Enginerrrd 4y ago
I believe this exists, you just want to search for "commercial display".
- CharlesW 4y ago
  Subcategories of this include things like "digital signage monitors" and "hospitality monitors". For example, here's a B&H search for those subtypes which support 4K and are 65" or larger. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/Flat-Panel-Displays/ci/16073/N/4205668456?filters=fct_display-size_4953%3A65in%7C70in%7C75in%7C85in%7C86in%7C98in%7C100in%7C110in%2Cfct_monitor-type_4951%3Adigital-signage-monitors%7Chospitality-monitors%2Cfct_native-resolution_631%3A4k https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/Flat-Panel-Displays/...
- AlotOfReading 4y ago
  Commercial displays often omit consumer oriented features like "gaming" / low latency modes and modern display technologies like microled carry even larger premiums than the consumer alternatives.
- babypuncher 4y ago
  Just be prepared to spend a lot more money on a worse display.
daveevad 4y ago
> I don't even need a TV tuner ATSC is a pretty awesome standard. There's parts of the newer ATSC standard that even supports 4k over the air. Other parts are more concerning from the data tracking perspective but it seems like there's an opportunity for a SmartTV that actually acts in the user's interest that is actually desirable and has a tuner.

massysett 4y ago

> There are things like AW5520QF, but they tend to cost 3x - 4x as much as a TV with the same exact panel because of all the "gamery" features. You just made the article's point. What you say you want does exist, but you're not willing to pay for it.

zuminator 4y ago
The article says that regular "smart" TVs are being sold at or near cost. That means conceivably sone manufacturer could sell a dumb TV at just 50% markup and still make a nice profit. I think that's what the grandparent post is wishing for. It's true there are those expensive reference monitors and so forth, but those are overpriced because they're geared for the corporate market. There's nothing comparable geared for the ordinary consumer. Honestly despite the frequent calls for their production, there probably isn't enough demand to sustain a dumb TV consumer market. It's like how small-screened smartphones never sell as much as you'd expect given the Internet's seeming love for them. Anyway, I know nothing about the project but there is a WebOS root/jailbreak that works on some LG models. GP might want to look into it. https://github.com/RootMyTV/RootMyTV.github.io https://github.com/RootMyTV/RootMyTV.github.io
rasz 4y ago
Because I am being charged 3x more for less hardware.

akeck 4y ago

Maybe look at "commercial monitors"? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1557462-REG/sharp_4t_b60cj1u_60_4k_ultra_hd_commercial.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1557462-REG/sharp_4t_...

libraryatnight 4y ago

I wonder if this is going to be a market. I would also like "dumb" options, to more than just TVs, and I'm hearing the sentiment elsewhere. Probably expensive and considered niche or high end?

brewdad 4y ago
Agreed. If this ever becomes a market, I think it will be very niche and stupid expensive like high end audio systems.

lotsofpulp 4y ago

Is it possible that all the software that makes a TV "smart" is near zero marginal cost, but it can be used to market and sell a lower quality panel. Whereas the higher quality panel will sell itself due to being higher quality. I have also never been bothered by the "smart features" of Sony TVs. I just do not connect it to a network.

xur17 4y ago
Pretty much this. The "smart" features of a TV really don't cost much at all, and make a TV a LOT more marketable. Given that perspective, why would a TV manufacturer choose to remove the smart features from the TV? This wouldn't enable them to sell the TV for a lower price.
WindyCityBrew 4y ago
The "smarts" of a smart tv is just spyware(adware) by a different name that actively subsidizes and reduces the cost of low-end TVs.
BoorishBears 4y ago
I've found the opposite to be true, gaming monitors have a ton of specs that their buyers will sacrifice panel quality for, and manufacturers take full advantage of it. You won't find normal users willingly playing the panel lottery for example (for those not familiar, that's buying $1,000+ monitors knowing there's a good chance you'll need to return them because of panel defects, and just returning them until you find one that's acceptable)

BoorishBears 4y ago

Why not just buy a dumb TV and not connect it to WiFi? There's been a bunch of gnashing of teeth about how they'll connect to open WiFi networks, but I can't remember the last time I came across a public WiFi network without a captive portal that would block their attempt to phone home. That seems to have died off in the last few years. And if you're prone to tinkering you can just as easily connect one through an SBC and block all traffic

babypuncher 4y ago
> I can't remember the last time I came across a public WiFi network without a captive portal that would block their attempt to phone home. Better yet, how many open WiFi networks are there around your house? For me, the answer is currently 0. People don't leave their WiFi open today like they did 15-20 years ago. Even the wireless hotspot feature on your phone makes you use WPA.
- slacka 4y ago
  > People don't leave their WiFi open Yes they do. From my 1st WRT54G to my latest AX mesh, I have never had a WiFi password. My friends and family that were visiting over the Holidays apricated it. Everyone used it, no one asked me for the password. Are people still Wardriving? Even if they are, the odds of a malicious hacker coming to my neighbored is up there with getting stuck by lightning. Not losing sleep over it. Why should I?
  - trifurcate 4y ago
    1) Besides access control, having an unencrypted WiFi network is not great because your entire internet/local traffic is open to be sniffed. High-gain antennae, etc. You are essentially screaming the contents of (what would be) your ethernet cable into the void. 2) Access control is exactly the point. I suppose you could ban the TV's MAC address from your open network (and I suppose a sufficiently malicious TV firmware could randomize its MAC address), but your stated purpose (allowing open network access) is not exactly compatible with what you presumably wish to do (disallow network access to a smart TV).

Enginerrrd 4y ago

I believe this exists, you just want to search for "commercial display".

CharlesW 4y ago
Subcategories of this include things like "digital signage monitors" and "hospitality monitors". For example, here's a B&H search for those subtypes which support 4K and are 65" or larger. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/Flat-Panel-Displays/ci/16073/N/4205668456?filters=fct_display-size_4953%3A65in%7C70in%7C75in%7C85in%7C86in%7C98in%7C100in%7C110in%2Cfct_monitor-type_4951%3Adigital-signage-monitors%7Chospitality-monitors%2Cfct_native-resolution_631%3A4k https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/Flat-Panel-Displays/...
AlotOfReading 4y ago
Commercial displays often omit consumer oriented features like "gaming" / low latency modes and modern display technologies like microled carry even larger premiums than the consumer alternatives.
babypuncher 4y ago
Just be prepared to spend a lot more money on a worse display.

daveevad 4y ago

> I don't even need a TV tuner ATSC is a pretty awesome standard. There's parts of the newer ATSC standard that even supports 4k over the air. Other parts are more concerning from the data tracking perspective but it seems like there's an opportunity for a SmartTV that actually acts in the user's interest that is actually desirable and has a tuner.