Any good debloated TVs?

Mr. Forager@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 220 points –

Hi there!

So I am looking to buy a new TV, but the latest smart-TVs all seem to be very bloated with ads and other ridiculous and unnecessary features. I know very little about TVs, and therefore wondering if anyone has any tips on some good TVs that include as little bloat as possible.

Thanks for any recommendations or tips!

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You can make any smart TV dumb. Just disable the network on it and use your own streaming device (Roku, Chromecast, Fire TV, etc.).

Yup. My family bought me a new TV to replace the one I've been using for 15 years, and they keep telling me how great it is that I can get movies and TV shows for free, and I can sign in to all the streaming services right from my TV!

I don't have the heart to tell them that I'll die before this TV connects to anything other than an HDMI cord

Do research on smart devices before you decide to use one. Fire TV is filled with ads. Roku that’s built into TVs have ads; not sure about standalone boxes.

Also, some smart TVs have ads downloaded locally so they can be played if they don't have an online connection (they usually rotate them when you update the TV). Make sure they don't have those before buying one!

My Roku stick doesn't seem to have ads. But I recently switched to a Google Chromecast TV and like it the most. Better interface and more features than Roku (e.g. Bluetooth). The one thing that's worse is the remote.

Meh, I eventually switched from Roku (which has ads on the home screen) to Fire TV because SmartTubeNext isn't available on Roku, plus the 4k version of the Fire TV was on sale dirt cheap. The Fire TV also has ads on the home screen, but I'm only ever on the home screen for however long it takes (1 or 2 seconds) to open one of my streaming apps, none of which have ads.

Don't bother using the TV, get a separate box. Even Google TV shoves recommendations down your throat.

Hate to say it, but the Apple TV is probably the most debloated system out there. It is more or less the easiest way to get just a grid of apps.

I have to agree. Every time I’m at someone’s house I’m reminded of how bad the ads are on every other service/platform and it makes me glad to have that Apple TV. We’ve had it for a long time and it still chugs along just as well as it did on day one!

Pricey but worth it!

The Apple TV’s only real competition is the nVidia Shield which is actually more expensive.

Unfortunately the majority of these devices are subsidized by ads and data gathering and most people care more about price than experience.

Shield has ads now, too. Even though I blocked the domains, it just keeps showing the same ads from when I first installed it. I am so sick of them. 

Considering how much it costs, that sucks. You might be able to replace the launcher, I did that with the built in Google TV interface on my Sony TV for a while. The only problem is that it wasn't reliable and somehow ran slower, even though it had no ads.

The Apple TV has ads in the TV app, but I never use it since so many services don't integrate with it. I also just don't find the concept that useful. I don't need all my services available in one app. I'm fine with just having a grid of apps I jump between.

Are there any decent TV Boxes out there? Nvidia shield is what I use now, but I had to switch to a 3rd party launcher to avoid recommendations. I have a feeling I may end up with a PC hooked up to my TV at some point in the future.

Well, you have one of my recommendations of a Shield with a 3rd party launcher lol. My other would be an Apple TV.

You can get an On box at Walmart for like $25 and it doesn't have ads. It has recommendations for services you have (ie watch this next on Netflix) but you can turn them off.

Maybe it is because I have a pihole but I never notice the recommendations. I remapped the Netflix button to plex and barley spend any time on the launcher

Get a commercial display instead of a "smart" tv and then hook your smart device of choice in

Totally agree. Though typically commercial displays aren't really built for home use so they may take some tweaking to get them to look good at home. The good news is if you get something like a NEC commercial display they usually have easy to access and very detailed calibration menus. Also they'll have tons of ports and even legacy ports like VGA so they'll be super flexible. But above 50" the prices go up a lot.

I was in the same boat as you. It doesn’t sit right with me having all the smart stuff enabled even if I’m not using it. There’s plenty of concerns there. I ended up getting a smart tv, using an Apple TV plugged into it, and turning off the WiFi on the tv itself. When I want to update it, I can. Otherwise, you can look for TVs marketed towards businesses. Like the ones that get hung up to display menus and stuff. That was the only avenue I found where the smart stuff wasn’t baked in. They’re expensive though.

I went on that journey a couple years ago. What I ended up buying is technically considered "digital signage" rather than a TV. Basically zero bloat. You may have to pay a little extra but I don't recall it being that much. Pretty sure I got it here.

Yep, a commercial display is what OP is looking for. You won't get fancy stuff like high framerates or digital audio processing, and they cost a bit more as many of them are meant to be on 24/7/365, but there are no apps installed. They'll have network connectivity, but only so you can manage them.

Be careful when buying commercial displays for digital signage, some do not have speakers built in, though they should still have a 3.5mm and/or optical out and you can always strip the audio from an hdmi cable.

Quite right. I did get one with speakers, but they were even worse than I expected. I bought a sound bar to go with it. There are also a few quirks that remind me it's a commercial display. Like there's no power button on the unit. I have to use the remote. I suppose one wouldn't want their signage turned off by randos.

They have robust command documentation as well, so controlling them over a network is pretty easy. Lots of possibilities there.

Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using an URL instead of its name, which doesn't work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: !buy@www.bhphotovideo.com

Bad bot. That URL just has a /c/ in it. Although connect also seems to be screwing up.

Jerboa appears to be treating it as an internal link as well, rather than redirecting to the browser, which is causing it to not load.

Not really. TVs are subsidized by ads and data collection, so they all have this crap. The more reputable brands do have better UX and may let you opt out of some of it, but not all.

My recommendation is to buy the TV with the best hardware features that you want. Once you get it, connect it once via Ethernet and update it to get all the most up to date features and fixes. Then disconnect it from Ethernet and connect a smart TV box like Apple TV or the nVidia Shield and use that.

Your experience will be better, the UI will be simpler, and you don't have to worry about all the ads and spyware.

all the most up to date features and fixes

Genuinely, what features and fixes could a TV possibly get from the internet besides applications that require an internet connection? If you're using an external device to watch your stuff, why would you need to update your TV?

Just speculating, but firmware updates might be useful. Some display resolutions, refresh rates, VRR, etc might not have been programmed correctly and later fixed. They could add new features like offsetting pixels slightly differently over time to reduce colour burn in or something that might reduce warranty claims (I don't really expect them to add more value to the TV through new features unless it would help them financially).

That said, I've never connected my current TV to the internet and it's been fine. I'd suggest trying an update if your TV does something annoying or isn't working as well as you'd like. You can also read about your model online to see if there are any updates available and what they do to determine if you want them.

For my Sony TV, updates have improved performance if I bothered to use the built in Android TV interface and it enabled 4K variable refresh rate support for things like the PS5.

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There is a "apps mode" on Google Chromecast with Google tv - that takes out all the recommendations and stuff and just shows you the apps, fwiw.

Get one with a good panel and ignore the "Smart" part. Better use something like a Fire TV Stick.

Firesticks are also full of ads and tracking. It'd be more ideal to use something like a Raspberry Pi or building an Android TV box instead as a media client.

I can recommend the Apple TV. Even the android TV ones have ads now (looking at you shield tv!).

I more meant along the lines of building an HTPC then putting Android on it, so that wouldn't have ads. But yeah an Apple TV is definitely an easier plug-and-play solution. I am more of a DIY type of person.

My newish Sony has a basic mode where it just functions as a tv. No smart bs. Picked that at setup and never looked back.

Walmart sells a brand called Sceptre that I've been using for years now. Cheap dumb TV and use a Chromecast for all my streaming needs, works like a charm. And, I can always plug a real computer into it if I need it to be "smart"

Yup, bought an 80in one and it's pretty decent. Little cheaper than smart TVs of the same size and I run everything off a PC hooked up to it.

Cool thanks, Ill keep an eye out for that brand here in Europe!

Bear in mind that the audio in those TVs is garbage. Pair it with a nice sound bar.

To be fair, the audio in 99% of TVs is garbage.

Agreed, always need an external speaker, the sound bars are fine, but I prefer the amp speaker Way. I have an old school 90's Harmon Kardon amp with two Cerwin Vega tower speakers and a sub just for kicks that sounds just so nice.🤌

Sony Bravia running Android TV (Google TV, whatever they're calling it these days). I refuse to buy any other kind of TV based on how clean, ad free, and easy to use I've found my Bravia to be. They have a variety of LED options and sizes

Are they still trash in terms of performance (I know that all smart tvs have weak hardware but my experience with Sony was even worse than average)?

Recently LinusTechTips posted a video vouching for Roku TVs. It seems they have a really snappy UI with no ads.

Roku TV owner here: Yes, mostly.

The main screen does show one "banner ad" (which you can briefly see in the LTT video), usually for some show that is streaming on some platform.

But that's the only one, and I appreciate that it's microphone is built into the remote and only activated when pressing a button on said remote.

Otherwise it stays out of your way, and the app selection is quite good, if you need them - otherwise just a really solid, budget friendly TV.

My 5 year old Roku which I used to block it from internet a access as it is so chatting talking to Roku all the time, even when itin use suddenly would not work at all unless I gave it access to the internet. So be wary of Roku tvs if you plan to not let them use the internet. In fact is is the second most block domain on my network.

If I could figure out how to post an image I could show the almost 11k requests it blocked over the last 7 days. And I don’t use any of its smart features as I have an Apple TV connected to it that I use.

Roku does have ads but they are pretty minimal and not invasive. I've had roku since almost the start and have had a roku tv for several years and love it

I don't know if it's in your budget, but my wife and I went with an ultra short throw projector and ALR screen. No smart features at all, and a better and larger picture in our living room. We'll never go back to TVs again.

I'm inherently skeptical that any kind of projector can match a modern OLED. What are your thoughts?

Depends on the projector. Good ones can get close, but of course not exactly as good as OLED. Haven't got much experience with UST-s; a Xiaomi one I have tested was OK, except for HDR content which had some problems. But the conventional JVC D-ILA ones are jaw-droppingly good, not too far off from OLED.

The ALR screen (which was admittedly a bit of a shock at $600 for the 134" we bought) makes a WORLD of difference, even with our cheap wall mount laser projector. Yes, OLED technically is better, but we can control lighting in our living room with blackout curtains, so we can't really tell. When we upgraded to the UST4K, we both said never again to TV's. Other bonus was if we need to move them around, much less risk of accidental damage as compared to a heavy TV panel.

I couldn't avoid a smart TV without overpaying or compromising on features. I bought an LG but I blocked it from communicating over the WAN when it was clear there was no way to disable occasional 'notifications' advertising features or content I had no interest in.

Now I just turn it on/off with wake on LAN and get all my content through external hardware hooked up to an AVR.

I have a Samsung smart tv and I block most of the bullshit ads using a pi-hole. It’s not that hard to setup really and it also provides ad blocking for anything else on the network.

The one tiny issue is if I want to update an app on the tv I have to disable the pi-hole for a few minutes and restart the tv so it can hit the servers for app updates. And let me tell ya, that tv sucks without the ad blocking

Bought a cheap smart tv that works good. Then I put a Pi-Hole on my home lan. Wow that was a nescessary step! 10/10 better than using a dumb tv / appletv or firestick combo since it blocks the telemetry of all the machines on my network. Can recommend.

Maybe you can consider using a computer monitor as a tv if you can find one large enough.

Pretty hard to come by, imo just disconnect the TV from internet entirely and don't use its garbage smart TV functions.

I got an LG TV but it will never be connected to the internet. I use an Apple TV for content because Apple is the most privacy focused platform available for this, and even then, I still use NextDNS to disable any possible tracking/telemetry that has.

Did it work right out if the box or did you have to connect to update it first? I haven't bought a tv for some years but I just use a laptop connected to my tv to stream anything, so all the smart features are pretty useless to me. I was wondering if it was possible to keep it a "dumb" tv by simply never connecting it to the internet or updating it.

I did update it just to get any bug fixes, but then disconnected it from wifi and blocked the network from allowing it back on as a precaution.

Ahh ok. So after disconnecting you don't get any ads or suggestions or anything right? Just functions as a dumb tv?

I have an older smart TV but I am just using an old Steam Link to stream a desktop with adblockers.

A few years ago I got a Sceptre UTV 55" U558CV-UMC on Amazon. It was about $250 and has been pretty good! Probably out of stock now but there may be a similar one available.

I think lg was quite good. It's full of ads but if you don't sign in you don't get them. Lose some functionality but it's not terrible. Not sure about anything else

I got a Vizio a few years ago because they don’t require you to connect it to the internet at all. I just use a separate set-top box with it.

Plug a computer into it. There are little machines that you can hide behind the TV, if that's what you want. Not only will you not get ads, but you also won't get ads with stuff like YouTube if you use an ad blocker.

There are third party launchers you can download for many non-roku smart TVs. I have an android tv that has a god awful interface by default, but I installed FLauncher and haven't seen a single ad since.

Just buy a tv that has the features which within your budget. Don’t connect it to the internet if you don’t need that. Get an Apple TV or other desired streaming stick if you do but some or most will some form of ads or tacking.
You could look at setting up pihole or adguard home server to help minimise internet based ads & tracking but it may not stop all.

I've had a TCL Roku tv for a while and I love it. There's really only one ad and it's off to the side of the list of apps, so really non-intrusive.

Same, but I have that one ad blocked with PiHole so it just an empty rectangular box.

The only thing I don’t like is the crappy remote and the fact that “they” switch my theme.

You can actually block adds on roku through a secret menu in the settings

Can you elaborate on this secret method?

The Roku secret menu can be found on Roku devices only, and you can adjust what ads you see through it by clicking the home button 5 times, pressing up,right,down,left, and toggling different advertisement settings once the menu opens.Jun 22, 2023

We're looking to get our first TV in years, the current one is about 10-12 years old. We don't watch normal 'tv', everything is streamed through another device.

What kind of adverts can I expect in a modern current-gen TV?

Mine just pushed streaming services and shows I'm not interested in, and makes it waaaaay easier to accidentally get advertised at than to find the input select menu to get out of that.

The UI also lags hard while trying to stream video because the embedded computer is terrible

The less you pay for the TV, the more adverts and worse experience you'll get.
Ignore the smart features completely. Focus on the display quality and get the best you can afford.

Then get a streaming device. I recommend Chromecast with Google TV, only adverts I get are for shows (same recommendations the apps give me). Fire TV is also good, but more general adverts for Apps that aren't installed. I've heard good things about Apple TV, but I don't have any experience with it.
Get the latest streaming device and power using a socket, not the TV usb, and you can't really go wrong.

Oh OK, so when we're talking about adverts, are we talking about only when using the native smart apps like Netflix or Prime?

Sorry I know this seems like such a dumb question now I'm writing it out, I just feel so out of the loop now.

I generally run everything through my PC onto the TV, it's basically a glorified media centre, so I've never had any need for a smart TV. Problem is its got all sorts of screen burn now though, so I badly need to upgrade. I was planning to spend about 1.5k on a good new one with decent visual quality, low response time for gaming, etc.

Not at all, no dumb questions.
Many Smart TVs do have modified software to show even more adverts than normal. Some of the built-in TV smart apps also have a lot of adverts. That's why many people are recommending getting a proper streaming box/adapter instead of using the built in smart TV features.

Even on the official streaming devices there are "adverts", but they are usually only for installed apps and they are more focused on their content and recommendations.
Though this does vary it seems.

It sounds like you have the right kind of plan. Main thing to know is that the Smart features on TVs are very much a "nice extra" and shouldn't factor in to your buying decision as a £50 stream stick/box is usually way better.

Excellent, thanks for clearing that up, it makes a lot more sense to me now :]

Buy a projector instead. Most don't have any of the "smart" spyware that TVs do yet. Plus you get like a 4x bigger screen for for half the price

Projector quality is garbage compared to TVs. Even in movie theaters, my OLED TV looks so much better than any theater.

No one forces you to use that stuff. I don't think I've ever used my TV menus. I have a chromestick and I just cast everything from my phone. I could have the smartest TV in the world for all I know, I don't care.

The most recent Samsung TV we got has built in adds on the home screen, i do not want to see ads when ive used hundreds of euros to buy the TV already. Not much I can do to avoid that.

You can setup PiHole to block Samsung's ad servers. Some routers give you the option to block specific websites, that works, too.

The site you have to block:

  • samsungads dot com
  • samsungtvads dot com

While this is a fantastic suggestion, and pi-hole is amazing, we shouldn't be in the position where this is required just to use a darn TV.

Don’t connect it to the internet?

It's the old adage.

"This TV kicks you in the balls when you turn it on. Unless you don't connect it to the internet."

Fuck that. I'd rather buy a dumb TV, but there are few of them these days.