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Ask HN: What's the best hackable smart TV?

292 points by xrd 1y ago

I want to get a second TV which will more or less be a second monitor for my System76 laptop which is plugged into a bunch of music equipment, like a korg midi keyboard, and a novation drum pad, all of which work great with linux. I want to buy this TV used. I'm seeing a bunch of Samsung, LG, RCA, Sony, etc on Facebook Marketplace. What a cesspool Facebook has become, right? Any suggestions on the best brand or even model for that kind of thing? I don't really want to battle with a bunch of shit that tries to coerce me to install another app from a streaming provider slash gambling entrypoint. I imagine mostly it will just need HDMI to work, and all the TVs will support that. But, I thought maybe there would be a fun brand that offers interesting other options.

jqpabc123 1y ago
I bought a Hisense model from Costco and set it to "store mode". For all practical purposes, it is just a dumb HDMI display attached to my computer.
- mongol 1y ago
  What does store mode do?
  - elmean 1y ago
    It lobotomizes the TV
  - hamdingers 1y ago
    It disables smart features and many of the settings making it more like a dumb HDMI screen. This may seem like a good thing, but it also usually enables a "vibrant" postprocessing picture mode, motion smoothing, and maximum brightness so the display looks good in a well lit big box store. Unless your viewing environment is similar (or you don't care so much) that's probably not what you want.
    - twostorytower 1y ago
      Motion smoothing is awful.
      - cheschire 1y ago
        I've always thought this feature might have more potential if more modern deep-learning tech was baked into the video and not just dumb frame interpolation. I can imagine that there would be a potential to generate interpolated frames that intelligently make fast-moving scenes more understandable while leaving slow-moving scenes more or less at their intended 24 FPS. Many action movies, especially with close hand-to-hand combat in tight spaces, are difficult to understand visually because 24 FPS just doesn't quite catch the movements.
        somat 1y ago
        It will happen, look at the results they are getting out of the framegen stuff on pc graphics cards. DLSS and friends. I sort of don't like it(Old man shakes fist at sky "I want my frames to be real") but they are getting amazing results.
      - gwbas1c 1y ago
        Depends on the TV. I prefer it off, but on my fancy OLED TV, there is too much "judder" without it on.
    - fragmede 1y ago
      It also, in my case, puts up a giant info banner on the screen across the content, about the screen's capabilities, so YMMV.
      - thrilleratplay 1y ago
        This occurs on my model as well.
  - jimt1234 1y ago
    This is interesting to me. I never heard of "store mode". Is that common for "smart TVs" these days? My interest here is for my elderly mother who tries to watch TV, but her current LG is constantly bombarding her with notifications for software updates, recommendations and ads. It's very frustrating for her; it's to the point where she's afraid to turn on the TV. I want a TV for her that will power-on directly to YouTube-TV, and that's it, nothing else, no notifications, nothing.
- otterley 1y ago
  Are you able to adjust its picture settings when it's in store mode?
  - jqpabc123 1y ago
    No. Brightness and contrast are maxed out but it's not bad with a cheaper model. My opinion --- in some cases, the difference between expensive and cheap boils down to the picture controls being intentionally limited for marketing effect. So the cheap model maxed out looks like the more expensive model at medium. People can recognize the difference in the store so they opt for the more expensive one. But the actual displays themselves are virtually identical. It may actually be cheaper to make one grade of display and differentiate using the controls.
Reabsorb6553 1y ago
[dead]
trenchpilgrim 1y ago
You probably want a computer monitor rather than a TV; monitors will prioritize latency which is important for music production.
- wintermutestwin 1y ago
  Huh? You are confusing video refresh rate with audio latency.
  - trenchpilgrim 1y ago
    Does the stuff on the screen not need to also be low latency when recording live instruments?
    - wintermutestwin 1y ago
      Irrelevant.
- nomel 1y ago
  Related, many modern TVs have "game mode" which prioritizes video latency, with the loss of some of the algs being available. RTINGS actually tracks this, with most being comparable to monitors at the same refresh rate, while in game mode (around 10x faster than non-game mode). [1] 4k@120Hz with VRR is even available in < $1k TVs these days! And, for audio latency, unless you're using the built in speakers, it's fairly trivial to make the video and audio paths independent. [1] https://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/inputs/input-lag https://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/inputs/input-lag
RajT88 1y ago
Craigslist an older 1080p TV. People are getting rid of old "dumb" TV's, and sometimes you can get them free. I see seemingly undamaged LCD TV's out by garbage bins all the time. I sourced one such a TV for my wife for $100 a few years ago to use as a monitor - works great. No apps or anything - dumb as they come.
- gruez 1y ago
  You're missing out on resolution (4K) and picture quality (HDR, contrast ratios, color gamut) improvements by doing this.
  - PenguinCoder 1y ago
    Good. Some of us don't need or want those things.
  - MyOutfitIsVague 1y ago
    My experience with HDR has been pretty abysmal on a $500 4K TV. Badly tuned HDR is way worse than no HDR at all. I have 20/20 vision, and I really can't tell the difference between 1080p and 4K for video games and movies. I will never do below 4k again on a desktop, but 1080p is more than fine for a TV. Higher framerate makes a far bigger difference than higher resolution for video games too.
    - addandsubtract 1y ago
      You can see the difference in 4K when the bitrate is there, but most streaming platforms compress their videos too much for it to be worth it. It's definitely not the jump that 720p to 1080p is, though. I agree with everything else you said.
    - yesb 1y ago
      Whether 4k is worth it depends a lot on the size of the TV vs how far away you sit. For a 65" TV, I don't see much difference between 4k/1080p above ~8ft away. HDR is indeed effectively a marketing gimmick on many cheap TVs. They are getting better though
gdulli 1y ago
What does hackable mean in this context, and what's the downside of any old smart TV not connected to the internet and the input left on your laptop, where you'd never see anything having to with the manufacturer's app OS?
- MisterTea 1y ago
  Most TV's today are actually giant Android computers. I opened a friends TV a few years back to try and examine a back light issue and to my surprise there were just 3 small PCB's in the TV: Power supply, LCD driver/interface, and the video input board that contains an Arm SoC. The PSU had a small harness that ran to the other two boards and the SoC board had a ribbon cable to the LCD panel. The Arm SoC is the real interesting part here as it also has WiFi and Blue Tooth interface, Ethernet, and USB port(s). They're like a giant black box Raspberry Pi. If we could get our hands on the SoC datasheet then its possible we could flash that SoC to run whatever OS we want and actually have a Smart TV instead of a spyware and malware vector. Though I am sure no TV maker would ever let the plebs disable their money making spying and data exfiltration schemes.
  - gruez 1y ago
    >If we could get our hands on the SoC datasheet then its possible we could flash that SoC to run whatever OS we want and actually have a Smart TV instead of a spyware and malware vector Surely it's more straightforward to buy a SBC yourself and plug that into your TV? Even if you could flash it, dealing with random SoC/hardware seems not worth the hassle compared to shelling out $50-200 for a SBC that you picked and can be carried between TVs? Flashing third party ROMs like lineageos makes sense because there's no real alternative for smartphone hardware, but the same isn't true for smart TVs.
    - MisterTea 1y ago
      > Surely it's more straightforward to buy a SBC yourself and plug that into your TV? Of course it is. Though my point is we already have the hardware in the TV and it would be awesome to actually use it the way we want to use it. Also, I have two dumb TV's, each with a small PC hooked to it and they haven't moved in years.
IlikeKitties 1y ago
What you are looking for is a digital signage display and some android tv box
- hmokiguess 1y ago
  this should be more upvoted, could even bundle them in a grid-like view and have multiple streams
gosub100 1y ago
I think Tizen lets you write your own apps. I know I installed Emby on one of the very cheap smart tvs recently and had to install it via developer mode and pull in the package by typing the IP of my laptop into the TV (maybe vice versa). I didn't write the code but it seemed like you can get a development account from Tizen and write your own apps. To be clear, Tizen is not a brand of TV, it's the name of the OS. It's fairly common on various no-name hardware brand, check it out.
colangelod 1y ago
If you just want it for the HDMI input to use as an aux screen for what ever computer your running than anything with an HDMI input in the size range you want should work. I run all the TV's in my house like this; connected to mac mini's instead of futzing with the onboard software mostly because I despise typing one letter at a time with a tv remote. Honestly all the onboard TV OS stuff I have interacted with in the last decade has been more or less terrible and I wouldn't even consider it when buying a TV especially one that is just going to be a screen. All of the recent installs Ive dealt with (family and friend support) has revealed a ton of pay-to-play features (Samsung frame tv's cough cough). I applaud you for wanting something neat but I cant say Ive come across anything Ive ever actually wanted to use beyond "select input -> HDMI1"...
- patrickk 1y ago
  This, this, this. Just never, ever connect the TV to the internet. Connect up an Nvidia shield, or a mini-PC/raspberry pi configured with whatever apps you desire, hidden behind a pi-hole. Connect a steam deck if gaming/linux desktop usage is your thing. I only touch the TV remote to switch on the TV, and even that could be automatable with home assistant+CEC if that's of interest.
  - dn3500 1y ago
    I had a TV once, can't remember the brand, that refused to stream from my dlna server unless it could contact its own corporate servers over the internet first.
  - FloatArtifact 1y ago
    In theory, this seems great, but you won't be able to use the majority of streaming applications nor get the same quality out of those applications. Like Netflix, they purposely downgrade the streaming quality on desktop.
    - patrickk 1y ago
      The NVIDIA shield doesn’t suffer from those issues in my experience. It’s far superior when browsing menus for example versus on a smart tv as the hardware is still decent even for a relatively old product. I just hope NVIDIA continues to support it for a while more.
deleted 1y ago
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Xelbair 1y ago
Any that you can put in store mode, and run all smart features off separate device. Otherwise it will run out of updates fast, services will stop working and only way to fix that is to buy.. a separate device. This also let's you make search easier as you can just look at the panel itself when comparing.
deleted 1y ago
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bestouff 1y ago
Any smart TV where some hacker could install its own build of the OS ? Kinda like LineageOS for smart TV ?
- yjftsjthsd-h 1y ago
  Not per se a TV, but it is worth pointing out that LineageOS literally has builds for some set top boxes; if I go to https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/ https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/ and filter to device type > set top box, then it lists 7 options.
th0rine 1y ago
Older LG sets (tested on C9 OLED) had security vulnerabilities you could use to root your TV and then do "??????" you wanted with them. WebOS as a platform causes a lot of unproductive discussion surrounding it's ecosystem and such but if you want to "hack" or actually have a shell on your TV it's great for that to do anything else you want. Personal favorites include changing the default screensaver behavior to the bouncing DVD logo, running Chocolate Doom, and a port of Space Cadet pinball natively. More info here - https://rootmy.tv/ https://rootmy.tv/
tamimio 1y ago
I ditched the whole smart TV years ago. I was never a fan of the slow, ad-ridden software, and later found that enormous packets were being sent when I monitored the DNS at the network level despite the TV being 'turned off'. Instead, I got a non-smart TV (you can find old Sony TVs) and attached a TV box or direct hdmi to an old laptop instead, far smoother and better at all levels.
hamdingers 1y ago
For "fun and interesting" consider an LG WebOS TV. Many can be rooted[1] which allows installing a homebrew channel[2] of unauthorized apps or writing your own. I initially did it for Jellyfin before they made it into the official app store, but the Moonlight game streaming app has unlocked many hours of entertainment. 1. https://cani.rootmy.tv https://cani.rootmy.tv 2. https://www.webosbrew.org/ https://www.webosbrew.org/
- postexitus 1y ago
  Only older models that have not been upgraded to latest webos.
- A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 1y ago
  Can confirm and will add that depending on what model you get, webos UI is a breath of fresh air compared to other heavyweights ( like samsung ).
- stavros 1y ago
  Moonlight is really fantastic. It's worked better than Geforce Now for me. Amazon's thing worked best, but they don't have as many games as my Steam does.
  - diggan 1y ago
    Are you using it over Ethernet or WiFi? I remember I tried Moonlight to a local computer two or three years ago over Ethernet and the latency was still too bad, any ideas if that's better today?
    - stavros 1y ago
      It goes gaming desktop PC -> ethernet -> fiber -> 5g -> wifi -> Amazon Fire stick at a flat 100km away from the PC, and I still finished Expedition 33 on it with no problems. I'd say definitely give it another go.
    - doublerabbit 1y ago
MisterTea 1y ago
I mentioned in another post here that I opened a friends TV and found just 3 PCB's: Power, LCD interface, and Video SoC. The video SoC is an Arm SoC for TVs that runs Android complete with video input switching matrix and processing. The SoC board had Wifi, bluetooth, Ethernet and USB. It's all there. My dream is to hack that SoC to boot whatever OS. Though good luck getting the datasheets...
bombcar 1y ago
A Vizio without accepting the agreement is a fine hdmi TV.
alprado50 1y ago
Im using a 43 inch samsung tv as a monitor. It works fine as long as you never conect it to internet.
Rucadi 1y ago
I compiled/ported the mario64 port to the LG TV quite easily, so I would say that LGTV is the best for that.
bitwize 1y ago
A dumb TV with an x86 HTPC attached to the back via VESA bracket. Sceptre dumb TVs from the Wal-Mart web site are your cheat code.
- AstroJetson 1y ago
  Winner!! I have a pair of these that have multiple HDMI ports. So my "hacking" is hanging a raspberry pi or a x86 computer.
black_dog_irish 1y ago
https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2022/tv-thats-not-necs-pi-powered-55-display https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2022/tv-thats-not-necs-pi-...
newsclues 1y ago
I wish there were more modular tvs like this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-epPf7D8oMk https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-epPf7D8oMk
matt_heimer 1y ago
I have Sony Bravia TV that has Android TV so I went looking for the docs to confirm you can enable developer mode, access adb, and sideload apps. While looking at the docs I discovered I can load HTML5 apps from USB! I never knew that but I'm going to do some experimentation in the near future. https://pro-bravia.sony.net/develop/app/getting-started/index.html https://pro-bravia.sony.net/develop/app/getting-started/inde...
- imp0cat 1y ago
  There is also a Sony Bravia integration for Home Assistant (using the REST API that's in almost all Bravia TVs). https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/braviatv/ https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/braviatv/
  - slipperybeluga 1y ago
    YMMV. it's never worked well for me. works great for the first week, then it stops connecting or i suddenly have several zombie bravia devices, all of which aren't connected.
- slipperybeluga 1y ago
  best thing i ever did with my bravia was install a custom launcher via adb to finally rid myself of the endless ads, upsetting news, and terrible suggestions constantly shoved in my face without my consent. nice to be able to uninstall the misc bloat that you can't get to with the gui and just have a simple interface. all i want is to access jellyfin and maybe one or two other apps. much better all around experience now. here's a nice reference for a lot of the stuff installed on bravia that you can elect to remove via adb: https://github.com/therealhoodboy/skinny-bravia https://github.com/therealhoodboy/skinny-bravia
  - agile-gift0262 1y ago
    OMG! thank you! I was unaware this was possible. I can't stand the fact that my expensive TV came with ads built-in. I use it in "only apps mode" so at least the only ad id showed is the top third of the screen one, but not the "recommended" content tiles. I'll do this instead once I go back home
paulgerhardt 1y ago
Do recommend the LG C series (C5 or C4 are new or the C1 series if you want a deal on classifieds - same hardware as the higher end models but needs a firmware bit flip). The OS is very rootable and it makes a great TV that doubles as a monitor. Supports free sync / g-sync. OLED is nice at this scale. Text is very readable, refresh rate is good. It uses the same panels as the fancier G series in the larger sizes. One can root the firmware to make it go brighter. (Though this is screen works well in medium or dimly lit rooms. It does not shine in very bright rooms). Plenty of YouTube videos singing the C series praises as a TV / Monitor.[1] LG webOS is also trivial/friendly to root in developer mode and network control of the tv is a nice to have. Would avoid Samsung. I love the matte on the Frame and the design of the Serif but the OS is frustrating / impractical to root. [1] https://youtu.be/Qtve0u3GJ9Y https://youtu.be/Qtve0u3GJ9Y
- xer0x 1y ago
  Thanks that's great to know! I've got one to tinker with.
- zeusk 1y ago
  > same hardware as the higher end models but needs a firmware bit flip Is this firmware bit flip known? couldn't find anything off google.
  - DavideNL 1y ago
    https://cani.rootmy.tv/ https://cani.rootmy.tv/
    - conradev 1y ago
      This is incredible. I had no idea that there is a Homebrew channel!
- mmastrac 1y ago
  I am curious if the Cx series has the same issue as my B2 where Dolby Vision (Atmos?) seems to kill the video processing circuitry and requires me to power-cycle it. Apparently the only fix is to disable it in your source, but it works like 75% of the time and I'd hate to lose the excellent picture quality of Netflix and YouTube via Google TV.
WorldPeas 1y ago
I use a NEC OPS module tv I got on facebook marketplace as a digital signage monitor. Best purchase I've made yet, though I will admit the feet for it being 200 dollars was quite a shock (they're made out of steel and about 2 feet long each so it makes sense) completely dumb tv, takes all inputs from HDMI to component and has features like auto-sleep without any real smarts inside. I love it.
Gualdrapo 1y ago
I long for a Framework-like TV.
- cheeze 1y ago
  Can you expand here? What are you looking for in specific? I think I have a framework-like TV. It's a high end TV set to store mode which has no smartOS annoyances. From there, I have expansion modules (they connect via HDMI) like a HDFury Vertex with CFW, Nvidia Shield, PS5, etc. Decoupling the TV from the OS has helped a ton with longetivity What more are you looking for?
chatmasta 1y ago
Why does it need to be a TV? Why not a monitor? I don’t know why we even differentiate between the two of them these days… basically the only difference is that a TV might have an IR receiver for a remote. I’d go with a basic monitor and factor out the “smart TV” into whatever device you prefer – Apple TV, Chromecast, Firestick, any SBC with Kodi loaded onto it… an Xbox… why couple the smart features to the display?
- dreamcompiler 1y ago
  TVs are much cheaper than monitors. They are produced in larger numbers and their lower price is enabled by spying and advertising.
  - atmanactive 1y ago
    Agree, but also, much worse image quality. Put a, for example 32" TV and a monitor one next to each other, set native resolution, put up a screen with a lot of text, and you'll see - the difference is night and day.
    - andsoitis 1y ago
      TV panels optimize for viewing video (including subtitles) NOT for text-intensive work. So you find that TV panels are much larger at lower price points than computer monitors because they serve different purposes.
    - Kon5ole 1y ago
      >Agree, but also, much worse image quality. I managed to grab a 55" 8K LG before 8K went out of fashion. I run it at 4k120 for games and 8k60 with doubling for productivity. I've never had a better monitor and if one should exist it's not available in any store I know about. Monitors costing 2-3x as much as this TV did back then are worse. When it dies I will have to downgrade. :-/
      - atmanactive 1y ago
yetanother-1 1y ago
Side question: what TV is best for integration into home assistant from experienced HA users...
- joshstrange 1y ago
  I think Samsung TVs can be interacted with through HA's SmartThings integration but I don't use that at all. Instead I have my Harmony Hubs (yes, a dying breed, literally) connected and that's the only way I interact with my TVs via HA. "Alexa, turn on Living Room TV" -> HA -> Harmony -> IR Blaster I think through the Apple TV integration I can control them even further but I greatly prefer just using the Harmony remote. I'm not looking forward to the day when those stop working completely and I have to evaluate other options. Every year or so I look around but nothing beats my old Harmony remote (with a coin battery that lasts so long I've lost track, easily over a year) and the Harmony Hub (which actually sends out the signals).
- pzmarzly 1y ago
  LG TVs have well known WebSocket and serial-port APIs. I haven't tried it with HA, but I'm using alga CLI (https://github.com/Tenzer/alga https://github.com/Tenzer/alga) to automate my TV (which I'm using as a dumb monitor).
j45 1y ago
I've generally heard LG is the place to start looking, only because they are the inheritors of the hidden jewel that was/is webOS.
finnlab 1y ago
I can recommend The LG B2, great panel, great price. The software sucks however but you won't find OLED much cheaper.
warmwaffles 1y ago
A dumb TV like a Sceptre with a smart hackable device.
puskavi 1y ago
You could score some insane screens from recycling centers, but at least in Finland, its fucking illegal to repurpose (steal) "electronic waste" However, depending where you're located, all that stuff might go to somewhere else than smasher and smelter, so please check such places around you! Good example is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbqOvBHVpbw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbqOvBHVpbw ,he found old tobacco ad display (ips!) for cheap!
boydYVR 1y ago
I have a 10yr old Insignia 1080p TV. One of the 3 HDMI inputs is a Roku stick and I have Home Assistant watch for it and load the Jellyfin app whenever the TV gets turned on. Works most of the time and it's nice to avoid the Roku ads.
palata 1y ago
I always wonder if there is a kind of AOSP-based alternative to Android for TV?
palata 1y ago
I actually would like to have a hackable AOSP device with some kind of open source chromecast (because chromecast comes with the Google Services, I guess?). Then I can plug that into any dumb TV/beamer I find.
KaiserPro 1y ago
Dpeends what your after, but a second hand NEC multisync, which has an ST slot https://www.sharpnecdisplays.eu/p/download/cp/Products/Options/Options/SupportedOptions/LargeFormatDisplays/Slot-In+PC+Core+i7+4x2.1+GHz/Downloads/Datasheet.pdf?fn=Datasheet-english.pdf https://www.sharpnecdisplays.eu/p/download/cp/Products/Optio... but that might be a bit too basic. because its basically a monitor with 100% duty cycle and a PC.
- amiga-workbench 1y ago
  I did this. Got a new old stock unit for 300GBP, its got a SDM slot for gen8 Intel systems and Pi compute boards.
psyclobe 1y ago
Stay away from lg, anything with android is a good choice; custom launchers to remove the gif damn Home Screen. I stick to Sonys my one of tv is so terrible will never buy one again.
serf 1y ago
I kind of hate smart TVs -- my family got a Samsung one that got feature obsoleted in months , but I needed a cctv kiosk -- I bought a fire stick and the cheapest +speakers monitor on amazon with an HDMI port and USB power, was pleasantly surprised; 4k, tiny, performant, adb access isn't fucked up, and you can change the home screen. By the end of the day it's just an android device with an HDMI out, and that's exactly what I wanted.
snthd 1y ago
Chroma 4:4:4 support is supposed to be important for viewing text. https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/by-usage/pc-monitor https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/by-usage/pc-monitor
phantomathkg 1y ago
As ex-Smart TV app developer, I would stay with Sony's Android TV. Reason being - Samsung Tizen is sluggish. - LG webOS is fiddly and don't feel it gets enough attention and care from LG. - Other brand is just slow. - On hackability, Android is far easier to handle than any other brand. Mind you Sony has a few line and some run Android, some run something else.
drnick1 1y ago
Best hackable smart TV should be a Linux box connected to a monitor or to a "smart" TV via HDMI without Internet access. The best thing about this setup is that you can stream Youtube ad-free though clients like VacuumTube. You can also open a browser and head straight to the high seas. Plus countless other things that are arbitrarily restricted or made difficult in locked down environments, all without your viewing habits being sent to the mothership, data brokers, and possibly the government. The main downside is that there is currently no great "ten foot" UI for this use case on Linux. But the KDE Bigscreen project is being revived and could offer a definitive solution for free TVs.
- throwawayk7h 1y ago
  one should use a mini pc or similar for this; raspberry pi won't handle video so well imo.
  - drnick1 1y ago
    Agreed, I don't have first-hand experience with Pi's, but I have seen reports that they struggle with 4K playback, even at 30fps. An advantage of the Pi however is that it supports HDMI-CEC.
firefax 1y ago
Is there a reason folks don't just use a TV tuner attached to a rather large desktop monitor? (On the desktop? Linux.)
somesigmaperson 1y ago
Roku,Sony and Samsung would be my top options

reaperducer 1y ago

You're missing out on resolution (4K) and picture quality (HDR, contrast ratios, color gamut) improvements by doing this. Not everyone suffers from FOMO. I've only seen one movie that was worth the bother and expense of seeing it in 4K (Rear Window). The rest of the things you mention are mostly for a very small slice of theoretical people with perfect vision in perfectly lit rooms at the perfect height and viewing angle. Beyond icons on a sticker checklist, they mean nothing to the 99% of people who just want to watch sportsball or eat popcorn while watching Disney films with their kids. You can put lipstick on a pig, but most people are still watching pigs.

addandsubtract 1y ago
Rear Window? A movie from 1954? Can you explain how that was better in 4K when the footage isn't even 4K?
- diggan 1y ago
  If it was shot on film, isn't it possible to get 4K from it? Thought that was old news already.
- hank808 1y ago
  It was on film, probably 35mm. That film contains more information than 4k video. Resolution is between 4K and 6K.
  - MBCook 1y ago
    Plus it’s a black & white movie, and b&w film has a higher “resolution” than color too right? Because you’re dealing with silver particles instead of physically larger color grains. Or something like that. Someone more in the know please check my math.
    - reaperducer 1y ago
      It's not in black and white.
    - stevedh 1y ago
      It was shot in colour. But the rest of the comments in the tree apply.
      - MBCook 1y ago
        It seems my memory fails me.
- meatmanek 1y ago
  Obligatory Technology Connections video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVpABCxiDaU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVpABCxiDaU
- dghlsakjg 1y ago
  The footage is analog (on film). It was shot with 0 pixels, so 4k pixels on an edge doesn't matter. Side note, footage itself is a term derived from film (how many feet of film). You can scan film into whatever digital resolution you want. You could do an 8k scan if you felt like it. You might run into issues where the resolving power of the film is less than the scan, but 4k is not an unreasonable resolution to pull out of well lit studio shot movie stock.
Larrikin 1y ago
Pretty sure I read this same comment when the transition from DVD to 1080p/Blu-ray occurred and people were updating their TVs.
- Blackthorn 1y ago
  The difference is the 4k content isn't available like the 1080p content was then. Streaming "4k" is a bad joke with its bitrates.
carlosjobim 1y ago
The OP is not asking for a TV to watch TV on, he's asking for a TV to use as a second monitor for his laptop. When it comes to computer interfaces, the difference between 4K and HD is enormous. Especially for text.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
queenkjuul 1y ago
I never want to go back to 1080p text editing on a monitor, personally.

kelthuzad 1y ago

I bought the Samsung Frame TV and I love it, but you're correct about Samsung's OS (it's sluggish, filled with ADs and by far the worst TV OS that I've used so far)

batrat 1y ago
Ads? I thought HN crowd already know how to use a pihole or at least adguard dns. I got Samsung TV's in every room because they are easy to use with a Galaxy phone, using it as a remote and a keyboard. Also wireless DEX is soooo underrated. Want a specific app on tv? no problem. I'm basically using them as displays for my phone.
- jdndjdjdbdn 1y ago
  My smart TV is used as a dumb TV and not connected to the internet because I cannot trust it to work in my interests...
- kelthuzad 1y ago
  I've set up a Proton VPN wireguard connection for my TV with Tracker+Ad block on my router. I'm still somehow getting served ads, despite the VPN working properly. Maybe there's a bug in my router config. I will review it later. (In Proton's Wireguard Configuration Wizard, I've selected "Block malware, ads, & trackers" - see: https://protonvpn.com/support/netshield https://protonvpn.com/support/netshield)
- heavyset_go 1y ago
  It's not 2015 anymore, advertisers aren't relying on DNS requests that a Pihole or AdGuard can block.
  - nickthegreek 1y ago
    yes, most are.
    - heavyset_go 1y ago
      Either Google, and other advertisers, put me in the "uses adblockers, be aggressive with ads" pool, or they've moved on to using DoH/DoT/etc in general. I've been able to confirm this by observing Google and other Android apps making TLS connections to known DoH/DoT/etc IPs, and blocking them worked. At that point, you need more complex routing than what a simple DNS blocklist can provide via Pihole, and if you want good throughput, you're going to want real networking hardware and not a RPi.
BozeWolf 1y ago
Contrary experience from me: i hate my samsung frame, especially because of the ads. And more especially because of that samsung tv channel which autostarts. And I hate it even more because these ads change the menu in such a way that you cannot navigate it blindly because it inserts itself as a button mid way in the menu bar. You cannot disable or disable those things easily. Built in airplay is unstable. Bought and connected an apple tv, always switch on the tv with that. Most problems solved.
- dgfitz 1y ago
  Agree. I have two recent Samsung smart tvs. The screen quality I like (OLED) but everything else about them I hate. I use a PS5 as an entry point for the tv, after the atrocious “tv boot up to functional time” which is a phrase I never considered having to say 20 years ago.
- EvanAnderson 1y ago
  I got my Frame with the house we bought. I never put it on my network. It's irritating that it powers-on many times to the wall art display function versus just being a TV. I definitely wouldn't have bought it standalone.
  - kelthuzad 1y ago
    >It's irritating that it powers-on many times to the wall art display function versus just being a TV. I personally love the Art Mode, but while browsing the service menu I've noticed that you can permanently disable it. You can make the secret menu appear by pressing some special combination or by pressing 2 buttons on the service remote[0]. [0] https://www.amazon.com/AA81-00243A-Replaced-Service-Control-Samsung/dp/B07BFCC6S6 https://www.amazon.com/AA81-00243A-Replaced-Service-Control-...
    - EvanAnderson 1y ago
      I'll check that out. Thank you. I actually like the idea of art mode, but I'd only want to use something like that if it were a passive technology like e-ink. Otherwise I think the electricity use and wear and tear on the display would eat at me. The device is well built and the presentation is lovely, but I just can't stomach the idea of it burning electricity all the time. (I don't know what its standby draw is, sadly. I do have a lot of stuff on power strips because I worry about standby draw. You're making me realize that this TV, being built-in to the wall, has escaped that scrutiny.)

rcarmo 1y ago

I second this simply because LG is the least evil of all smart TV manufacturers _and_ has the best panels and (usually) connectivity.

bsimpson 1y ago
I think LG made the 5K iMac panels.
- rcarmo 1y ago
  They did, and I think they still do. I have two pretty amazing LG monitors and a couple of TVs.
IshKebab 1y ago
Less evil than Sony? I have an LG TV. I can't recommend it purely because they have the audacity to omit a play/pause button from the remote control. Pausing requires pressing the "centre" button one, two or three times depending on which app you are in. Pure insanity. WebOS is trash too. Probably going to buy a Sony next time.
- lawgimenez 1y ago
  Same, bought an LG TV and remote is straight up disaster. I have huge hands, huge thumb etc, pressing on the center button means I get to press the other up, down, left, right buttons. And don't even get me started with creating an LG account just to get anything working on the TV like downloading a system update.
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 1y ago
  What's more devastating is that the CX and C1 actually had pause buttons, then they took them away around 2021/2022. It kills me that they have a dedicated button for Alexa and another for Sling (whatever that is) but none for pause. You can disable most of the WebOS trashiness by Googling and digging through the settings. Once you get all the ads fully disabled, the OS is extremely clean and snappy. And FYI Sony's OLED panels are made by LG. The Sonys are a bit better because of the software, but they're almost always more expensive, but if you can score a good deal they're definitely the way to go.
  - hellotheretoday 1y ago
    At least on the cx (I don’t see a point in upgrading for years) if you root webos you can redefine buttons on the remote. It’s great because I was getting infuriated by accidentally starting streaming apps that I never use and the cell phone apps as a remote alternative are utter trash from a usability standpoint. I just can’t understand why there is a need for a remote app to do anything besides start to a tv remote. Well, I can, the poison apple of advertising as an additional revenue stream, but it’s still infuriating. I have an older Roku TV and that app has progressively gotten worse. it used to just be ideal, start, auto connect to the last connected tv, and immediately go to the remote. Now it’s a bunch of promotional content by default and you have to tab over to the remote. LGs is far more obnoxious and difficult to navigate. Absolutely inexcusable for displays that can cost $2500+
- godzillabrennus 1y ago
  I've owned Sony, Samsung, LG, TCL, Pioneer, Toshiba, Sharp, Amazon, and a variety of other flat panels over the years. I actually love the simplicity of the LG remote with the center button for play/pause. I don't need it to glow in the dark. I don't need to turn on my phone to find the button. I know exactly what button to press. Happy C1 owner over here since 2022. Still can't believe the quality of the image.
- rcarmo 1y ago
  I wouldn't confuse evil with incompetence...