So you can’t plug an antenna or cable box into the TV and just use those inputs?
When you turn it on, it takes you first to a “home screen” which is dependent on an active internet connection. You can eventually select a different input option but it takes a few minutes to bypass all the adware crap Visio forces down your throat.
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Why do you have it hooked up to the internet then?
I guess people’s concern is that the smart TV will monitor your watching habits over HDMI and stream them back to the manufacturer? Or overlay ads on top of whatever you are watching? I don’t know if any smart TVs currently do either of these but keeping them unplugged from the internet is a good way to prevent unwanted firmware updates that enable non features like that.
But smart TV disconnected from the internet seems a lot simpler than trying to find a dumb TV.
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We watch nearly 100% on projectors nowadays; anything worth watching is worth watching big. While there are many "smart’ projectors on the market, the better ones are usually free of that nonsense.
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We got a pretty good Sony “smart” TV as our latest TV upgrade, but never connected it to the internet.
I made sure it had wired ethernet port, turned wifi OFF and set the IP settings to some that will never work even if someone did accidentally plug an ethernet cable into it. Every other bluetooth or similar remote access method has also been turned off.
With this sony the firmware can be updated with a USB stick.
It has just been used as a HDMI monitor for the Linux HTPC that delivers the content… and occasionally as a digital TV set. So this has been an adequate workaround for now.
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My solution?
HD antenna. Even in my exurban shire, I pick up ~75 channels (w/a few overlapping).
Obviously not perfect, but my super smart TCL tv has never been connected to the intertoobz.
I really wanted to do this when my old cable provider got into a snit around retransmission fees and stopped carrying CBS for a period of years. I bought an antenna to get OTA but it just didn’t work - even if I boosted the gain.
I live in an area where I’m surrounded by hills and I can’t mount an antenna outdoors. So, sadly this isn’t an option for everybody.
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That’s weird. I have several Vizios. They all work without an internet connection including the newest OLED. I just use an Apple TV which everyone here seems to be afraid to speak of around here. The one Roku tv we inherited on the other hand. Oh boy… it has a rather large 1.5” dome light, right on the front/ middle of the TV, that won’t stop flashing whether it’s connected to the interest or not, but it seems to indicate some sort of network activity. I had the TV briefly connected to the internet because it was whining about a firmware update. I forgot to disconnect it, when a guest was watching OTA HBO an add popped up directly over the content. Ugh immediate disconnect was initiated. It stays in the guest room, no internet and tape over the light. I’ve never hated a TV more. My Vizios with ATV’s are champions by comparison. The OLED picture is astounding. Roku/ TCL can suck it.
I’ve thought about that. How often do you have to replace the bulbs with those?
Oh, and welcome to BoingBoing!
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We use a projector outside occasionally but our main TV watching room inside is to bright during the day for a projector.
I have a Roku stick plugged into it or a hard drive for ripped dvds.
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My 2011-vintage projector bulb finally gave up the ghost last year, in a spectacular death. It sounded like a gunshot, and was terrifying. Who know how much mercury vapor I inhaled.
Next time around I’m going LED or laser.
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Projectors were mentioned once or twice upthread. For me personally, they are not a viable alternative to a TV. I’ve never seen a home projector image that didn’t look washed out and dim, requiring total darkness to view. Furthermore unless you have the special fancy retroflective screen material, all set up perfectly flat and clean, the colour gamut is off and everything looks odd. That’s to my eye, anyway. I’ve looked at a half dozen of them at friends’ houses, and haven’t seen one I would consider replacing a TV with. YMMV
Not passing judgement on any projector fans here, but the people I know personally who have them are mostly in love with the idea of them and are willing to tolerate a lot for that idea. 
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Any device can be dumb if you hit it the right way with a hammer.
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In post-Soviet USA, TV watches you!
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In the last year as part of my move, I purchased both a TCL and Hitron panel. One using Android TV, one using Roku TV. I didn’t need any of the smart features (we have Apple TVs for that) so I never logged in to the smart parts of either TV. They’re connected to the internet for software updates, but having never logged into them and never using the apps included, the most it could possibly do is report anonymized stats back to their overlords. And I’m fine with that.
I really think the key to this whole bruhaha is to use a trusted set-top box for your smart features. Don’t use the ones that come with your TV.
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Welcome to BB, new comrade…
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“ This is my 2nd account here”
They can help you recover your old account.
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But where do you get the content from?
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i finally gave up my crt a year or two back. the red glow of misaligned beams was becoming a bit much. the longer it was on the worse it got. ( also text was exceedingly small in videogames )
fortunately i had an extra computer monitor… with built in speakers even.
im not saying it looks or sounds particularly good. but good enough for me
Not sure where this impression comes from. I use Apple TVs and think they are good (not great) products, even if YouTube is suboptimal and there’s other annoying Appleesque quirks to live with. I also have a smart TV but I rarely use its “smart” features since I have other devices like the taboo Apple TV that work much better for most things.
Projectors may have a small footprint but they need a large room to work because they need to be mounted far away enough to produce a decent size picture. Also they are meant to be ceiling mounted which may not be practical for many reasons — high ceilings, low ceilings, cabling challenges, bright room, etc. Not everybody lives in a space where it’s practical to mount one, or has a space where it’s feasible to have a pull-down screen.
I have a decent sized (not huge) TV but with the layout of my living room the only place I can really mount it is above the fireplace, which I know is considered a cardinal sin to some. (I don’t like it either, I don’t really have a choice if I want a TV — and at least it keeps the cats away.)
