Just don't connect the SmartTV to the network. I use mine as a monitor on my HTPC and it works fine. The firmware is about 9 years old and counting. ;)
This is easy to say until the providers start playing DRM fuck-fuck games and you can't get an HD/UHD feed. I gave up using my HTPC and just started using the TV apps because the HDCP troubleshooting was just getting too painful.
HDCP and walled-garden shenanigans are already an issue. Amazon Prime won't do 4k on PCs. I've run an HTPC for years, and still got forced into their ecosystem because the only way I could get UHD was through their damn smart TV app.
Tech communities can get a bit overzealous with this, but this is definitely one of the situations where I'd just pirate. They are giving me an inferior service due to discrimination of devices that are 4k-capable, and on top if that they increased prices and added ads late last year. They aren't even trying to earn my subscription.
Yeah, thats why I don't use streaming services much. My partner likes Netflix and that's cool, but until they stop treating the customer like a burden after they paid a fee for a service, I'll continue to sail the high seas.
Side topic on Faraday cages. I have an elevator in the middle of my building, inside is all steal panels, again in the middle of a big building, and I still get cell service. Can talk on my phone up/down the entire time.?
I thought it would be a Faraday cage and cut that out?
A true Faraday cage would kill the signals. I suspect that wasn't designed as a Faraday cage. It's an elevator.
There could also be a cellular extender inside the building.
I happen to work in a building with LOTS of materials that block signals from the outside. The windows are bulletproof, the walls contain metal plates, etc.
We have to use a cellular extender to get cell signal inside, however, the building wasn't designed as a Faraday cage. It just happens to hamper signals in a similar way.