Unsmart a smart TV

BoscoBear@lemmy.sdf.org to Technology@lemmy.world – 405 points –

How standardized a lcd panels? Could I replace the controller in a smart TV with one of these HDMI to LCD controllers?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/375318342725__

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I've always wondered this, figure this is the thread to ask it.

I've been using the same dumb TV since 2013 it's great, but eventually it's gonna die an I'm scared of what pieces of shit smart TV's are.

Could I not just use a computer and run it through the smart TV and bypass all the smart bullshit by using it as a monitor?

I have a Hisense and a LG and I never connected them to WiFi. I have not had any issues

Some smart TVs require you to connect them to the Internet before you can even use them with HDMI. It's a changing world. This post has a lot of interesting comments.

Provide the citation please because the last one you mentioned to me was about a return that you heard about while standing in line at Wal-Mart about a rok/tcl tv, which btw which you don't need to do any of that to use it.

https://support.tcl.com/ca-gtv-setup-configuration/how-to-bypass-tcl-account-creation

oh and

https://support.tcl.com/rokutv-setup-configuration/02-turning-off-the-roku-features-of-your-tcl-smart-tv

This makes me want to look at TCL TVs more closely. Thanks.

I wouldn't recommend any TCL older than 5 years. No idea about new ones but I used to sell and install them and they all just sucked. The video quality was mid and they had a weird input delay that made them annoying to use. These were tvs that were new out of the box.

I own a 2017 TCL and can confirm, horrible picture, rolling bars, bad lighting, the worst HDR ever, makes horrible cap noises when it is on

I would immediately return that crap to the store.

Where I first caught wind of this was in the return line at Walmart where a guy was returning a smart TV because he wanted to hook up to his Dish receiver and couldn't without creating an account.

Every one I have encountered only requires that for use of the smart TV features. And if you have one that requires Internet just to use HDMI to connect to a device, your TV is 100% spying on you and you should return it.

I don't buy TVs but I quized the guy pretty heavily thinking that was an option. He seemed to know what he was talking about about. This was an Onn Roku TV.

My experience with LG/WebOS has been fine if I don't try to get online. It doesn't pester me to do so.

I have a WebOS TV and I absolutely hate how slow it is. Turning on takes a long time. Selecting apps takes a long time. Flipping channels takes a long time. Did we forget how fast TVs from the 90s were??

To be fair, TVs from the 90s didn't have apps, and I don't actually use the apps on my LG, so it seems fine.

For older LG webos TVs, the delay between button push and action in the settings app can get as bad as 4 seconds.

The reason I bought it:

  1. Samsung pushed ads agressively on their TVs
  2. I had an HP tablet with webOS before and wondered what LG did with it after taking over the development. I was horrified.

The hardware is not much better. There's constantly something wrong. But the LCD panel is pretty decent, so I just patch it up every time, rather than throwing it out.

In Spanish "WebOS" sounds exactly as if you were saying "huebos" which is slang for testicles.

Just a tidbit for your day to go just that much faster.

BestBuy brand Insignia offers non-smart TVs.

I’ve got a crappy Samsung knockoff with its own shit version of android that constantly switches inputs on its own and tries to load the home screen all the time. When the Xbox or PS5 is plugged in it will do that, when it’s HDMI into the laptop it doesn’t so YMMV but you should be ok.

Apropos of your first sentence, I have an odd question for anyone. The tv updated itself and now will try to turn off every hour or so due to some android power save, while I’m playing a game. I have to use the actual tv remote instead of the receiver which runs the inputs and volume. Can’t figure out how to turn that off, help!

Also, fuckin fantastic name Mr President. You and my cousin should hang out

I'm assuming you've checked but I'll still ask, there's no setting to turn off the battery saver mode.

The 2 hour screen saver is the longest option, there is no never. That is the extent of the power options on this Skyworth

Damn wtf, that's truly unfortunate bud. Thanks for letting us know though, it'll help us steer clear of that brand. I'm also looking for a new dumb TV to use as a monitor for streaming in my living room. I'm just gonna hook up a mini pc to it and call it a day. Wireless mouse and mini keyboard is all I'll need.

Just don't connect it to your wifi. Any TV that has cell service antenna, like most cars now, just don't buy those.

I've been using a Visio smart tv and a Fire smart tv, well smart for it's time at least, and I've never had any issues with it since it's never been connected to a network.

No.

Smart TV's run automatic content detection on all their inputs. You will also be nagged to put the device online relentlessly, and some models will not let you skip internet connectivity.

Which manufacturers specifically will do this? Other comments seem to think LG is ok. Genuinely curious if anyone has experience.