[0xblinq]

I'm very worried with all this bullshit around TVs.

I've been running the same Samsung UE40C6530 since 2010. It's 16 f'ng years and the thing works flawlessly like the first day. No other electronic device in my life worked so well, during so long.

But I'm about to move to a new home, and it feels like it's about time to get something more modern, at least a 4k TV.

But I'm honestly totally lost at what to buy. I do not want a "Smart" tv that's slow to start, bloated with crap, installing updates every day, and maybe even spying on me.

I want a plain, old, normal TV. If possible without Android or any advanced operating system. Just a TV. I'll plug external content myself, either via a Chromecast device, or something similar. I don't want my TV to be a full fledged computer.

Is there such a thing? What would you buy nowadays? It seems you're forced to get yet another computer to maintain and be worried about whatever you buy.

[orly01]

I've heard you are not forced to connect to wifi, and on most of them you can connect make it default certain HDMI input. Latency to turn on/off might be less good than the 2010 one, but other than that this might be a very good way to do it.

[geor9e]

If you hook an Apple TV (or similar) up to any 4k TV, and turn CEC on (to let the Apple TV control it), and never set it up otherwise, it becomes a dumb monitor.

[dzhiurgis]

My parents got new telco IPTV boxes and they are excellent. Even voice search in our niche language works flawlessly.

Apple TV I got them few years ago just sits there unused.

[unethical_ban]

My Sony tv has never connected to my network and it works great. I use an external device as the source.

[Fantosism]

You buy a commercial panel used for advertising/signage that's 3x the price of the "Smart" consumer panels.

[kaelwd]

Are there even any OLED commercial panels with HDR and VRR?

[Fantosism]

Generally no, given that the expectation for commercial panels is to run 24/7.

[thewebguyd]

the smart consumer panels would also be more expensive if they weren't subsidized via the spyware.

[lwkl]

At least with Samsung TVs you can block them from accessing the internet after setting up the TV. Just use an Apple TV or Chromecast device after that.

[Rubberducky1324]

I have an LG G5. I don't remember if I needed internet access to set it up, but currently I keep it offline and just use an Nvidia Shield (which is better anyway). No ACR, tracking, ads, ... in the TV itself.

By doing this you basically get a subsidized TV without paying with your data :D

[BeetleB]

Same here. Same TV for the last 16 years. 1080p, but I'd rather keep it at that resolution than do the research and worry about smart TVs.

[jdmarble]

If you’re fine with “okay” picture quality, try a Sceptre. You can get them on Amazon. I’ve had good success with them. I heard you can still disable some smart features on Sony TVs.

[dataengineer56]

The new Chromecasts and Apple TVs are really pretty good. I connect my LG TV to the wifi every few months to run updates, then disconnect it after. I control my TV through the Chromecast remote, so I never see any LG dashboards/apps.