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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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??
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:
Samsung pushed ads agressively on their TVs
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.
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.
I wish I knew, but the ad industry LOVES this tech: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=smart+tv+ACR&t=ffab&ia=web Every other result is “How ACR is going to be awesome for advertisers/marketers”. the ones in between are “How to shut off ACR” :-/
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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 have a Hisense and a LG and I never connected them to WiFi. I have not had any issues
Just don’t connect it to your wifi. Any TV that has cell service antenna, like most cars now, just don’t buy those.
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.
I wish I knew, but the ad industry LOVES this tech: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=smart+tv+ACR&t=ffab&ia=web Every other result is “How ACR is going to be awesome for advertisers/marketers”. the ones in between are “How to shut off ACR” :-/