4 ms·

I never connect my smart TVs to the network, I just plug in my Apple TV and move on. It's frustrating because it takes longer to turn these devices on than it s

I never connect my smart TVs to the network, I just plug in my Apple TV and move on. It's frustrating because it takes longer to turn these devices on than it should because of all the additional overhead I don't want or need. I wish someone would make a painless gadget to flash the software with dumber software that loads instantly.

joering2 7mo ago
Same here! none of my home Tvs, most LG and Samsung, have ever seen w Wifi password. Always putting firestick on it and call it a day. At least firestick I can unplug throw away, God only knows what updates TV does that I obviously cannot revert.
- autoexec 7mo ago
  > Always putting firestick on it and call it a day. Aren't you just letting amazon collect and monetize your viewing habits while allowing them to push ads at you? Avoiding ads and data collection are the reasons I'd want to leave my TV offline in the first place.
  - tverbeure 7mo ago
    Option A: use Amazon Prime Video to watch shows. Share your viewing habits with Walmart/Vizio and Amazon. Option B: use Amazon Prime Video to watch shows. Share your viewing habits with Amazon.
    - autoexec 7mo ago
      Using a firestick means amazon collects data on what you watch regardless of the platform you view it on. Also ads.
      - joering2 7mo ago
        I have more control over where Amazon shows me ads versus my own TV. Someone will always collect the data, I prefer USA's Amazon does it than Singaporean's Samsung. And I never seen Ads on Firestick, BUT that could be because I'm prime member, which actually works very well in my zip code (there is Amazon distribution Hub about 10 minutes away from my home)
tombert 7mo ago
Yeah, I don't connect my TV to WiFi at all; as long as TVs have HDMI ports I'll just use an Nvidia Shield TV (or something similar). If I do that I have access to more apps, a snappier interface, and it's easier to upgrade if I need to later. I've looked into flashing it to use a dumber firmware, but it got into technical documentation that I don't really understand really quickly. I haven't looked into it since I got a Claude Code membership though, so it might be worth revisiting with AI assistance.
rtkwe 7mo ago
They're also cheaper because they're subsidized. I did the same thing with a FireTV but understood the extra crap they want to boot and use is part of why they're so cheap, they're hoping for information to sell or puchases they can monetize.
- Loughla 7mo ago
  We just bought a vizio to replace one that broke. Once you skip the setup process, all you need to do is remove the solder from the 'home' button on the remote or whatever it is and you'll never see their pop up crap again. I get why people like this, though. It takes all of your accounts and puts them in one place. Honestly, if I could run Plex and my own media through it, it would be tempting to just block it from dialing out and get rid of my Nvidia shield.
  - beAbU 7mo ago
    I have a chromecast with google tv plugged into mine. Not sure what it's called these days. Chromecast Home? It comes with a super minimalist remote that does volume and a d-pad and on/off and a remappable netflix button. My tv's original remote is... Somewhere. It's been more than a year since I've needed it. Both the chromecast and my xbox uses hdmi-cec to instruct the tv to "switch your input to me". The chromecast remote controls the tv volume directly. I have an Emby media server on the network, and I use the emby app on the chromecast to play content. I'm also a sellout so we have the standard streaming apps on there as well. It's a truly god-tier setup and it works so well.
    - ryandvm 7mo ago
      Yeah, the current Chromecast on an HDMI port is far superior than anything the TV vendors offer. I think you pretty much get access to every service you might want except Apple TV (no surprise, Apple gonna Apple).
      - beAbU 7mo ago
        Apple tv is available on my chromecast?
bombcar 7mo ago
Some TVs have an “instant on” feature that uses some more watts but only ever turns the backlight/screen off.
Marsymars 7mo ago
I've got a Sony TV with Google TV (not connected to internet) that turns on pretty quickly. If it's going from a cold boot e.g. where it was unplugged or if it's doing a full reboot it takes a bit longer and shows a splash screen, but if it's turning on from a regular "off" state it takes about the same amount of time as the rest of my dumb screens and goes directly to the last used input.
1234letshaveatw 7mo ago
My google dongle got progressively worse and worse. Frequent disconnects, I found out you had to like orientate it a special way, youtube kept having issues. Dumped it and switched to my built in LG OS (WebOS based I think). Works fine, does basically the same thing as my Google dongle did without the slow degradation march
inquirerGeneral 7mo ago
[dead]
dickersnoodle 7mo ago
> I never connect my smart TVs to the network, I just plug in my Apple TV and move on. You're not alone.

joering2 7mo ago

Same here! none of my home Tvs, most LG and Samsung, have ever seen w Wifi password. Always putting firestick on it and call it a day. At least firestick I can unplug throw away, God only knows what updates TV does that I obviously cannot revert.

autoexec 7mo ago
> Always putting firestick on it and call it a day. Aren't you just letting amazon collect and monetize your viewing habits while allowing them to push ads at you? Avoiding ads and data collection are the reasons I'd want to leave my TV offline in the first place.
- tverbeure 7mo ago
  Option A: use Amazon Prime Video to watch shows. Share your viewing habits with Walmart/Vizio and Amazon. Option B: use Amazon Prime Video to watch shows. Share your viewing habits with Amazon.
  - autoexec 7mo ago
    Using a firestick means amazon collects data on what you watch regardless of the platform you view it on. Also ads.
    - joering2 7mo ago
      I have more control over where Amazon shows me ads versus my own TV. Someone will always collect the data, I prefer USA's Amazon does it than Singaporean's Samsung. And I never seen Ads on Firestick, BUT that could be because I'm prime member, which actually works very well in my zip code (there is Amazon distribution Hub about 10 minutes away from my home)

tombert 7mo ago

Yeah, I don't connect my TV to WiFi at all; as long as TVs have HDMI ports I'll just use an Nvidia Shield TV (or something similar). If I do that I have access to more apps, a snappier interface, and it's easier to upgrade if I need to later. I've looked into flashing it to use a dumber firmware, but it got into technical documentation that I don't really understand really quickly. I haven't looked into it since I got a Claude Code membership though, so it might be worth revisiting with AI assistance.

rtkwe 7mo ago

They're also cheaper because they're subsidized. I did the same thing with a FireTV but understood the extra crap they want to boot and use is part of why they're so cheap, they're hoping for information to sell or puchases they can monetize.

Loughla 7mo ago
We just bought a vizio to replace one that broke. Once you skip the setup process, all you need to do is remove the solder from the 'home' button on the remote or whatever it is and you'll never see their pop up crap again. I get why people like this, though. It takes all of your accounts and puts them in one place. Honestly, if I could run Plex and my own media through it, it would be tempting to just block it from dialing out and get rid of my Nvidia shield.
- beAbU 7mo ago
  I have a chromecast with google tv plugged into mine. Not sure what it's called these days. Chromecast Home? It comes with a super minimalist remote that does volume and a d-pad and on/off and a remappable netflix button. My tv's original remote is... Somewhere. It's been more than a year since I've needed it. Both the chromecast and my xbox uses hdmi-cec to instruct the tv to "switch your input to me". The chromecast remote controls the tv volume directly. I have an Emby media server on the network, and I use the emby app on the chromecast to play content. I'm also a sellout so we have the standard streaming apps on there as well. It's a truly god-tier setup and it works so well.
  - ryandvm 7mo ago
    Yeah, the current Chromecast on an HDMI port is far superior than anything the TV vendors offer. I think you pretty much get access to every service you might want except Apple TV (no surprise, Apple gonna Apple).
    - beAbU 7mo ago
      Apple tv is available on my chromecast?

bombcar 7mo ago

Some TVs have an “instant on” feature that uses some more watts but only ever turns the backlight/screen off.

Marsymars 7mo ago

I've got a Sony TV with Google TV (not connected to internet) that turns on pretty quickly. If it's going from a cold boot e.g. where it was unplugged or if it's doing a full reboot it takes a bit longer and shows a splash screen, but if it's turning on from a regular "off" state it takes about the same amount of time as the rest of my dumb screens and goes directly to the last used input.

1234letshaveatw 7mo ago

My google dongle got progressively worse and worse. Frequent disconnects, I found out you had to like orientate it a special way, youtube kept having issues. Dumped it and switched to my built in LG OS (WebOS based I think). Works fine, does basically the same thing as my Google dongle did without the slow degradation march

inquirerGeneral 7mo ago

[dead]

dickersnoodle 7mo ago

> I never connect my smart TVs to the network, I just plug in my Apple TV and move on. You're not alone.