When we were looking for an upgrade to our TV, I specifically wanted a “dumb display.”
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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.
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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
Thanks, this helps.
do they have a TV tuner, or is it just like a computer screen with network ?Is it cheaper or more expensive than the same spec in regular TV ?
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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.
We have a socalled smart tv, never gave it internet service, we watch through a roku connected via hdmi. End of problem.
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