Ask HN: Dumb 4K TV | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Dumb 4K TV

5 pointstheomega5 comments

I’m searching for a non smart, non connected 4K TV which you can acquire in Europe/Germany. Reasons for this have been posted I think enough on HN (privacy, security, updatability).

I know two solutions, both not ideal - ironcast.tv seems to promise that initially, but on the one side it is unclear how much vaporware the thing is, on the other side, it will still be based on top of Android and needs to be on the WiFi. - Buying Commercial Digital Signage Panels. I found it impossible to find reviews on the internet. It is unclear for me which panels are actually good for watching movies.

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Option 1: If you size needs are modest, buy a monitor. For example, Dell's Ultrasharp monitors are mostly 4K and go up to 43" in size and are often examined by reviewers for color accuracy and performance since they are used in digital media production. They are, of course, not inexpensive but not unaffordable, and can be dual-purposed for work or hobby computer usage.

Option 2: Buy a projector. The home theater models are scrutinized closely by reviewers for video quality and, last time I checked, come without smart TV features. Prices range from merely expensive to blisteringly, eye-wateringly expensive but can be ameliorated slightly by purchasing used units.

Some manufacturers, like LG, have commercial models that are just dumb tv with no os or other software. Monitors are a good option, too.

Just buy a smart tv and don't connect it to your local wifi or ethernet. Why wouldn't this work?

For one thing, I think smart TV sets are slow to turn on. Also, I think someone else mentioned before that some models will use the Wi-Fi even if that function is disabled (but I don't know whether or not that is true). Also, there is the OSD, which you might not want.

About 2-4 seconds is all it takes my samsung 4k 60hz tv. It's the most basic of basic tvs, with probably tons of apps that want to spy on me for hulu, etc. If you don't tell your tv the wifi password it can't use wifi. If you have no-password wifi that's another problem, but you could even block the mac address.

Perhaps eventually tvs will have their own radios to spy on you against your will, but that's not what's been there up to now. The osd on my $300 tv can be turned off, and disappears in a few seconds.

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