When we were looking for an upgrade to our TV, I specifically wanted a “dumb display.”
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@monkeyninja I found that rejecting my LG OLED’s privacy policy turns it into a dumb TV, if that helps anyone else
@fay59
Do you have to do this each this each time you power up? Any nags weeks later?
@monkeyninja -
When we were looking for an upgrade to our TV, I specifically wanted a “dumb display.” No internet connection, no built in streaming services, just a display that would connect to a computer and show me the stuff my browser was playing from my Jellyfin server. If you want that kind of device, it seems that “Digital Signage” or “Commercial Display” is the category under which you are wanting to look.
They do often have network ports as they’re designed to be centrally managed (think hotel TV) but there’s zero requirement to give it a connection and it works beautifully without one.
Anyway there you go, hope that helps someone.
@monkeyninja Really, so-called smart TVs even with very big screens are dirt cheap because the manufacturers figure most people will let them do the data collection, especially automatic content recognition. But by law (in the U.S.) you have to be able to turn all of that off, and if you really want to play it safe just don't connect it to the Internet. Cheap TV, no network. Easy. And if you want to stream something at some point, just attach a dongle to one of the HDMI ports.
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When we were looking for an upgrade to our TV, I specifically wanted a “dumb display.” No internet connection, no built in streaming services, just a display that would connect to a computer and show me the stuff my browser was playing from my Jellyfin server. If you want that kind of device, it seems that “Digital Signage” or “Commercial Display” is the category under which you are wanting to look.
They do often have network ports as they’re designed to be centrally managed (think hotel TV) but there’s zero requirement to give it a connection and it works beautifully without one.
Anyway there you go, hope that helps someone.
@monkeyninja Yep, recently bought a Samsung Commercial TV and a Samsung Soundbar system to hook my degoogled Onn 4K TV box to, and it's been a fucking blast.
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@fay59
Do you have to do this each this each time you power up? Any nags weeks later?
@monkeyninja@JamesMDonohoe @monkeyninja I never had to do it again after the first time, IIRC
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When we were looking for an upgrade to our TV, I specifically wanted a “dumb display.” No internet connection, no built in streaming services, just a display that would connect to a computer and show me the stuff my browser was playing from my Jellyfin server. If you want that kind of device, it seems that “Digital Signage” or “Commercial Display” is the category under which you are wanting to look.
They do often have network ports as they’re designed to be centrally managed (think hotel TV) but there’s zero requirement to give it a connection and it works beautifully without one.
Anyway there you go, hope that helps someone.
@monkeyninja Sceptre is still making dumb TVs in recent years without the commercial pricing. They were sold through Walmart.com, but they seem to be no longer available. Not sure where you can buy them anymore. https://www.sceptre.com/
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@monkeyninja Really, so-called smart TVs even with very big screens are dirt cheap because the manufacturers figure most people will let them do the data collection, especially automatic content recognition. But by law (in the U.S.) you have to be able to turn all of that off, and if you really want to play it safe just don't connect it to the Internet. Cheap TV, no network. Easy. And if you want to stream something at some point, just attach a dongle to one of the HDMI ports.
@lauren @monkeyninja About 12 years ago I wired up multiple network ports into the media nook as I could see that smart everything and network connected streamers were coming down the pike and I wanted to future-proof the place while I had the chance.
Fast forward to the present day and only one port is used (ATV) even tho the nook is replete with network capable devices. Same for the kitchen and lounge. Lots of unused network ports next to the taped-over NICs of our residential Trojan Horses.
Talk about dashed hopes and dreams for a network connected world.
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When we were looking for an upgrade to our TV, I specifically wanted a “dumb display.” No internet connection, no built in streaming services, just a display that would connect to a computer and show me the stuff my browser was playing from my Jellyfin server. If you want that kind of device, it seems that “Digital Signage” or “Commercial Display” is the category under which you are wanting to look.
They do often have network ports as they’re designed to be centrally managed (think hotel TV) but there’s zero requirement to give it a connection and it works beautifully without one.
Anyway there you go, hope that helps someone.
@monkeyninja Our TV is 16 years old. It’s possible that internet connected TVs were a thing in 2010, but ours is not one of them. We barely use it anymore, maybe that means it will last 16 more years.
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@monkeyninja And as they are designed to be signage, they tend to last longer than the ordinary retail TV.
@sasutina13 @monkeyninja Is that why they're so expensive? I don't regret my purchase of a Samsung Commercial TV, but that would make sense if they're built to last.
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When we were looking for an upgrade to our TV, I specifically wanted a “dumb display.” No internet connection, no built in streaming services, just a display that would connect to a computer and show me the stuff my browser was playing from my Jellyfin server. If you want that kind of device, it seems that “Digital Signage” or “Commercial Display” is the category under which you are wanting to look.
They do often have network ports as they’re designed to be centrally managed (think hotel TV) but there’s zero requirement to give it a connection and it works beautifully without one.
Anyway there you go, hope that helps someone.
@monkeyninja Yeah, that’s pretty much all you got nowadays for dumb TVs, but they ain’t cheap (no one subsidizes them)
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When we were looking for an upgrade to our TV, I specifically wanted a “dumb display.” No internet connection, no built in streaming services, just a display that would connect to a computer and show me the stuff my browser was playing from my Jellyfin server. If you want that kind of device, it seems that “Digital Signage” or “Commercial Display” is the category under which you are wanting to look.
They do often have network ports as they’re designed to be centrally managed (think hotel TV) but there’s zero requirement to give it a connection and it works beautifully without one.
Anyway there you go, hope that helps someone.
@monkeyninja they usually also come with an excellent warranty (if you buy them new), and are very repairable. We had backlight issues with some of the digital signage TVs at work, and it literally takes 2 minutes to replace the backlight. They even send a technician out to do the replacement onsite.
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When we were looking for an upgrade to our TV, I specifically wanted a “dumb display.” No internet connection, no built in streaming services, just a display that would connect to a computer and show me the stuff my browser was playing from my Jellyfin server. If you want that kind of device, it seems that “Digital Signage” or “Commercial Display” is the category under which you are wanting to look.
They do often have network ports as they’re designed to be centrally managed (think hotel TV) but there’s zero requirement to give it a connection and it works beautifully without one.
Anyway there you go, hope that helps someone.
@monkeyninja Thank you, great to know!
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J jwcph@helvede.net shared this topic
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When we were looking for an upgrade to our TV, I specifically wanted a “dumb display.” No internet connection, no built in streaming services, just a display that would connect to a computer and show me the stuff my browser was playing from my Jellyfin server. If you want that kind of device, it seems that “Digital Signage” or “Commercial Display” is the category under which you are wanting to look.
They do often have network ports as they’re designed to be centrally managed (think hotel TV) but there’s zero requirement to give it a connection and it works beautifully without one.
Anyway there you go, hope that helps someone.
Displays are heavier than smart tvs, owing to their intended commercial use. A 43 inch smart tv, for example, might weight 20 lbs or less. A commercial display might weight 50.
Check that it has internal speakers and NTSC hardware, required to play broadcast or cable tv in the US. Check the features you want or want to avoid. The same manufacturer's model might have different options, which would explain wide variations in price and availability.
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When we were looking for an upgrade to our TV, I specifically wanted a “dumb display.” No internet connection, no built in streaming services, just a display that would connect to a computer and show me the stuff my browser was playing from my Jellyfin server. If you want that kind of device, it seems that “Digital Signage” or “Commercial Display” is the category under which you are wanting to look.
They do often have network ports as they’re designed to be centrally managed (think hotel TV) but there’s zero requirement to give it a connection and it works beautifully without one.
Anyway there you go, hope that helps someone.
@monkeyninja
I love my old Panasonic industrial display! It has no built-in tuner, no internet connection, no built-in speakers. It just shows me the goddamned pictures, and it's perfectc -
@fay59 @monkeyninja are you sure or are features user accessible turned off?
@mildpeach @fay59 Can you clarify your question? I'm not really sure I follow. There are no smart features built into the TV if that's the question.
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@monkeyninja Yep, recently bought a Samsung Commercial TV and a Samsung Soundbar system to hook my degoogled Onn 4K TV box to, and it's been a fucking blast.
@mast0d0nphan That's exactly what we got over here as well, it's been fantastic.
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@sasutina13 @monkeyninja Is that why they're so expensive? I don't regret my purchase of a Samsung Commercial TV, but that would make sense if they're built to last.
@mast0d0nphan @sasutina13 I think so, yeah, I know mine came with a ridiculous warranty (ridiculous by modern standards for electronics)...something like 10 years I think? I have to go back and check.
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@monkeyninja Thank you, great to know!
@jackyan You're quite welcome! I'm glad this post seemed to help a bunch of people.
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@monkeyninja
I love my old Panasonic industrial display! It has no built-in tuner, no internet connection, no built-in speakers. It just shows me the goddamned pictures, and it's perfectc@tlariv Love it. That's what a TV is supposed to do, it's crazy to me that folks have to go digging to find what should be basic functionality.
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When we were looking for an upgrade to our TV, I specifically wanted a “dumb display.” No internet connection, no built in streaming services, just a display that would connect to a computer and show me the stuff my browser was playing from my Jellyfin server. If you want that kind of device, it seems that “Digital Signage” or “Commercial Display” is the category under which you are wanting to look.
They do often have network ports as they’re designed to be centrally managed (think hotel TV) but there’s zero requirement to give it a connection and it works beautifully without one.
Anyway there you go, hope that helps someone.
@monkeyninja Is there some reason why you can't just use a computer monitor? You're feeding it from a computer.
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@Aissen Sorry @monkeyninja, Aissen is correct. There is almost no situation where it makes sense for a regular consumer to buy a "dumb display". You can just leave your TV offline and you won't have any problems with it.
Why buy a traditional "smart" TV?
1. It's subsidized. Vizio makes more money from ads than they do TVs. Buying a TV and keeping it offline lets you free ride on this.
2. Probably 10x or 100x smart TVs vs. dumb TVs are made per year. Economies of scale drives the per-unit cost down.
3. Commercial TVs have very different use cases than home TVs. Commercial displays are meant to look good or okay in a brightly lit retail environment. Home TVs are at their best in a dark or dim room (while still looking fine in sunlight). A commercial TV has to look "good enough" for someone to buy the product, or go to hall B at the convention center. A home TV is supposed to wow the audience, who is actively looking at it.
4. More traditional port setup and interface.I ran an LG OLED offline for 6 years. You may want to update it every year or two (using offline firmware and USB) to perhaps improve performance - or it might make it slower. My LG is admittedly faster on local files after an update.
PSA: TVs can get slower when online. A family member bought a bargain-bin Phillips Google TV in 2020. When connected to the Internet, the entire interface, even changing channels, slows to a crawl. But if you factory reset it and keep it offline, it's pretty snappy.
