I connected my Samsung smart TV to the internet, thinking I could use it to send media directly to the screen, like a Chromecast. It started showing intrusive ad overlays on whatever I was watching (regular HDMI input, I wasn't doing anything 'smart' with it).

The fucking thing is now disconnected and blacklisted, and I'll be sure never to buy a smart TV and/or a samsung TV if I can help it...

I bought a TV in November after backlights on my previous one started to fail. I couldn't find a high-end non-smart TV anywhere.

I haven't used any of the 'smart' features yet, it's simply plugged into my AV system and I use that to switch between Kodi, Chromecast and Sky.

Unfortunately, even ARC is a waste of time. I thought I had everything working but every time I changed input it 'forgot' my sound settings, so it'd default back to stereo despite it allowing me to choose DD/DTS passthrough in the settings. Totally frustrating.

I have a 47 inch 1080p 120hz TCL with no smart capabilities that I've been extremely happy with over the last two years. Looking at models now they do seem to have a lot of smart tvs, but if you can find a non smart model I would recommend it.

Those are hard to find. However none of the smart TVs actually require you to connect it to the internet.

I'd recommend a projector if you want a 'non-smart' display

Wirecutter's recommendation for overall best TV is pretty dumb as far as TVs go:

http://m.thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-tv

No apps, no tuner, excellent picture quality, great range, etc.

I recommend the rtings.com reviews, those are the best

http://www.rtings.com/tv