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Comment by drdaeman | Hacker News Reader

The problem with "smart" TVs is that infrequently there is no choice but to get those and try to minimize the damage. Despite all their advantages "dumb" TVs are getting less and less popular.

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No, there's still plenty of them on the market; they're just marketed under the name "monitor" instead of "television".

Are monitors the size of large televisions comparable in price?

Yes they are comparable in price. And in fact they are often a bit cheaper than the price of the "smart" TVs.

I have seen a 55" TV with none of that "smart" shit for ~$320

whereas its "smart" counterpart is $100-300 more depending on whether it's refurbished or new.

Or a commerical display, for triple the price.

The TV still works if it's not connected to the internet. Just buy a smart TV, never connect it to the internet, and get third party streaming sticks instead.

I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point, the first time you turn on your new TV, you’re prompted with an unskippable “Create your Vizio account” screen or some such nastiness.

And that is the point when my entire foot will go through the screen.

I don't shop for TVs anymore. I buy really large monitors.

Just like rooting/reinstalling your phone, it's important to set it up properly right after you buy it - no excuses of trying out their gimmicky crapware, figuring it out later, etc. This way, you're well within the return window and won't be stuck with defective merchandise.

Like Android.

Can you not do this on Android now? IIRC it offers you the option to skip.

Vanilla Android does not require any accounts, and Google Play Services allow to skip account setup. However, it could be that some vendors have mandatory account setup in their crapware.

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