Hacker News Reader

Comment by cmckn | Hacker News Reader

Look, I think it’s a legitimate question, and I’m not thrilled about most “smart” TV operating systems. But why pigeonhole your search like this? You will almost certainly end up with a worse actual display, which is what you’re spending the money on in the first place. Just buy a nice panel and disable as much of the smarts as you can—-it’ll be fine. Android TV is the best option out there, in my opinion; and it’s what Sony’s run (the best panels out there).

If you buy something marketed as a monitor, it will have no (or terrible) audio, and you will struggle to find something in the >=65” class. I think it’s a fine option for a spare TV, but it doesn’t cut it for the living room.

I get why HN hates smart TV’s, but unfortunately the ship has sailed. I’d rather have a nice TV than be an activist, gotta choose your battles.

View on HN

If you would spend $20 more on a dumb device, spend that on a wifi router just for the TV - plug an ethernet cable into the TV's port, feed the credentials of a new network to the TV, whatever -- and don't connect that to the Internet. Put a label on it.

Now you have a smart TV which can whine all it wants, but can't phone home.

Is it a battle? Or is it 45 minutes of google searching and reading an HN thread.

Vote with your dollars every time you can.

If you’d buy any TV after searching for only 45 minutes, we’re just different types of consumers. Which is fine! But I really like A/V, and I care primarily about the audio and visuals, not so much the politics of the thing.

For some people, a TV that doesn't actively view its owner as an adversary is a "nicer TV" than one that does.

My Bravia runs Android TV, which I legitimately have not seen even one frame of in over 2 years. There is a spectrum of the kind of thing you’re describing. I wouldn’t buy a Samsung for that reason. But it’s not like all smart TV’s are dystopian.

I put a premium on my time to find and disable all the features I don't want, (especially with reports of things like the Samsung TVs connecting to any open wifi without being configured to do so), so I don't mind spending extra to avoid this.

If I don't vote with my wallet how can I hope to be able to buy what I want in the future?

It's not even an issue of "picking your battles" or "voting with your wallet".

Whatever your position, OP is justified in not wanting (and looking for an alternative to) a potential surveillance device in their home.

As I said, I think it’s a fair question. But having shopped for a TV in the last 18 months, you get a worse TV if “dumb” is your goal. I mean the giant colorful thing showing your content is worse, in the products without smarts. It is what it is.

Smart TVs also take a lot longer to start up than dumb ones.

I’ve seen what you’re describing, but it’s far from universal. Most TV’s (like monitors) primarily exist in a standby mode and light up within a second or two, especially at the upper end of the market.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com