[ReidZB]

I have a couple modern LG 'smart' TVs that I don't connect to the internet, and they work just fine. As you say, they just display whatever is on the HDMI input.

I've updated their firmware a couple times. I connect them with wired cat6 on their own isolated VLAN to update, and then disconnect them afterwards. Maybe I am a little unnecessarily paranoid about it, but I don't really trust TV manufacturers, not with some of the (maybe apocryphal) stories I've read.

[Freak_NL]

Why even bother with firmware updates for a disconnected device? Did they bring any benefits?

[ReidZB]

Yep! I've had two nasty bugs (intermittent audio dropping and HDMI CEC power off being broken) that were fixed by firmware updates.

I don't keep the firmware preemptively updated, though. I just did it as a debugging step in trying to fix some problems, and shockingly it did both times.

[Freak_NL]

Ah, it makes sense in that case.

I have a decade old Sony Bravia that we got because it supported DVB-T (terrestrial digital television; now no longer in use because of a switch to DVB-T2) without the need for a set-top box. It has an Ethernet jack, but other than some experimentation after we got it I never connected it. I can't imagine ever trying to update its firmware at this point; no reward and plenty of risk. After DVB-T went we just stopped watching broadcast television, and this early 'smart' TV only gets turned on sitting on the HDMI input it gets from a receiver hooked up to loudspeakers and an HTPC with Netflix in a browser and other media. Of all its features the on/off button on the side is the only thing interacted with now. I've stopped repairing the remote years ago.

I fully expect it to just die one of these days, and it will probably be the last smart TV we'll ever own.

[Scoundreller]

Probably because they ship beta devices as production quality.

[ryanlol]

It is literally impossible to ship “production quality” devices that actually support a decent amount of formats.

Of course there will be bugs when you’re consuming content at the very bleeding edge. I’d rather still fight with getting some Dolby stuff to work than not have it at all.

[darkteflon]

This is how I roll, too. But every firmware update is a gamble. The latest update I did - last month - set the TV to regularly nag me on start-up about enabling “AI Recommendation” services, along with a couple of other new UX niggles.

I have loved this TV (C9), but I can see what LG is doing and I do not like it at all. I was planning on getting a CX 48” for my desktop monitor but decided against it after this experience.

[snvzz]

No, you're not being paranoid.

This is the only way. And beware, they might still be connecting to some public wifi hotspot behind your back.