A friend is looking for one and I don’t know what to recommend.
Assuming that the goal is to never connect it to the internet and plug in another device with HDMI.
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The Dell P5524Q is a 55" conference room monitor. It has no built-in wifi, microphones, camera, or other smart tv bullshit, it’s just a big monitor. It just turns on when you turn it on and turns off when you turn it off - it doesn’t take 5 minutes to boot up because of the shitty low-grade computer hardware built into it. You can find them on eBay in the US$900 range.
I’d buy an HDMI monitor instead of a TV, I guess. Why a new one though? There are tons of super cheap ones at goodwill stores.
Does anyone make a 65"+ monitor though?
Yes, most major brands. They’re often used in meeting rooms, lobbies, and public places (places you don’t want pop-up ads that you aren’t already being paid for). Not to mention that you can get LED video walls that are modular and snap together.
A monitor that size is way more expensive than a TV though.
Web search says absolutely yes. Affordable ones? IDK, you’ll have to check.
100%. if ever i buy another display thingy it’d be a beamer though
LG OLED for a main tv. Anything less is meh.
Seriously. I’ve had an LG B7 for many years now and it’s amazing. It’s not internet connected and I don’t use any of the built in apps. Straight up display.
The first time a pitch black scene came on and my room likewise went pitch black was something else. No going back from OLED after that.
I think that’s the same OLED I have. B7 or C7. It’s starting to band on red, but I got at least… 7 (?) years out of it, and the bands are only mildly annoying. Similarly, I have never connected it to the internet, and don’t use any of the apps.
It’s not very bright, but I’ll take that over washed out or blotchy blacks. I’ll shop for a used OLED like this when I’m ready.
Sony Bravia. Because I just did this last year. My old TV was also a Bravia, and it lasted about 15 years. One big selling feature for me was that you can set it up as either a smart TV, or a ‘basic’ TV that doesn’t require an Internet connection and doesn’t pester you for one.
LG or Samsung, but the model matters too. If you’re on a budget, there are some solid TCL options
I am very done with Samsung’s smart tv OS.
LG, the quality is really great, just have a few issues with CEC on my Nvidia Shield Pro.
Shield Pro is known to be a bit of a bitch with CEC, in fairness.
I’m lucky! Mine (2015 pro) has been awesome, except for when it was going through a Demon AVR. Its fine when direct to the TV or through the Onkyo. It has flaked out before though, and I never updated to the “experience” version that introduced ads on the home screen.
I’ve read through quite a few posts about specific issues with CEC on LG TVs, just kinda hoping they get fixed when Nvidia actually cares to do something about it
I bought a hisense tv last year, you can run advtv to cripple its ability to phone home and disable stuff, then install projectivy launcher to bypass all the other bullshit.
Sony also was an option for that.
For sure, never ever connect it to the internet.
Samsung equipment is pretty good, and to some degree the larger companies subsidize the cost of the TV with the assumption that you’ll connect it and give them data to sell. So while a large monitor might be more expensive, there’s a reason why. Unless your friend actually gets over the air TV stations, consider a large monitor, then Samsung and LG.
Assuming that the goal is to never connect it to the internet and plug in another device with HDMI.
Ooh, this sounds like you may be interested in Commercial TVs? I heard those are the closest you can get to a dumb TV. I haven’t dived deeper than that though.
Any one have experience with commercial TVs?
Samsung Commercial TVs: https://www.samsung.com/us/business/displays/commercial-tvs/
This one even calls out that it’s not smart:
Samsung HU600F Non-Smart Hospitality TV with Pro:Idiom for Set Top Box Deployments
There’s are still some consumer TVs out there that allow you to use the green without an Internet connection. Although they are kinda rare these days.
I know you asked for TV recommendations, but, if your friend is open to other ideas, they could also look into home theater projectors. I got a super cheap projector on sale a few years ago and being able to watch TV and movies on a 150 inch screen is absolutely bitchin’. I later upgraded to a higher quality projector cause the cheap one crapped out after about a year (and replacement bulbs were impossible to find due to the supply chain issues during early covid). Spent about the same amount on the high quality projector that I would have spent on a much smaller TV.
Though there’s obviously drawbacks to projectors:
- They generate a lot of heat. In the hottest months of the year, I don’t like turning it on
- You will initially blind yourself a lot by accidentally looking at it when it’s turned on. After blinding yourself a dozen or so times you’ll develop the muscle memory to avoid it.
- You gotta replace the bulbs periodically, but they last for thousands of hours. My current bulb has about 5000 hours on it and still doesn’t need to be replaced.
- Contrast is really weak compared to a TV. Need to close the curtains and not let sunlight into the room if you want to be able to see the picture clearly
- Need a big surface to project the picture onto, ideally a screen, but a blank wall works just fine.
When we moved into our house a few years ago, I saw there was an elevated alcove in the living room with a big, blank wall on the opposite side of the room. I knew right then that it would be perfect for a projector.
Movie night kicks ass. Every re-watch of Lord of the Rings is like watching it in the theater again. And Superbowl Sundays are epic on the big screen.
I have an Epson 2250 and it’s worked nicely these past few years.
LG OLED. You can find last year’s models at some price clubs. I’ve seen the 65” C4 for like $1100 which is great.
I really like my LG G4 OLED, best television I’ve ever had and reviews are great.
Not a Vizio and not a Samsung.
Not Vizio because their customer support is terrible and the firmware updates they push render older televisions slow as dog shit and require customer service intervention to undo.
Not Samsung because their panels are so fucking blue that it scalds your eyes.
Probably not an LG because their webOS interface is dogshit.
So I guess a Sony Bravia because it can be used as a dumb TV or worst case like a TCL or something. I just use my cell phone Wi-Fi as its Wi-Fi setup and then change the Wi-Fi SSID so that it gets to talk once and then never again.
Slight counterpoint
I have 2 TVs in my house. A 70" Vizio as my main TV and a 40-ish inch Samsung fame in the bedroom
Haven’t used the TVs smart features in years, everything I watch is run through a game console or dedicated streaming device (currently a 4k Chromecast)
Their software is kind of dogshit, but I never interact with it except once in a blue moon after a power outage or something when it defaults back to that. I otherwise find it to be a perfectly fine TV for the price I paid for it.
However, as bad as the software is on the Vizio, the Samsung is 10x worse. And unfortunately as bad as it is, that’s what we use because it was hard enough trying to hide the box the TV came with (the way they get the frame TV’s so light and thin is by moving all of the electronics into a separate box, I installed a cabinet in the wall behind the TV to hide it) let alone trying to hide a separate streaming stick/box along with it. I also feel like using one of those may not play as well with the art mode as the built-in software, which is kind of the whole point.
I second LG. Probably even if I don’t connect it to the internet. OLED + webOS + magic remote. If it was super important to not require internet etc, still LG but JB it.
The vast majority of TVs nowadays have really just become manufactured e-waste, mainly due to the piss poor computers they have running the “smart” features. Have a look at your local thrift store or Goodwill. You might find something there for a discount that will last a bit.
Nowadays, I probably wouldn’t buy a new TV. Too much malware preinstalled even if their smart features aren’t under powered. I would look instead at digital displays or larger computer monitors. It will bump the price back up to what TVs used to cost when I was younger, but at least your paying with cash instead of your privacy. Will probably last a bit longer to boot.
I think that’s the point of this post, either as a commentary or specific recommendations to avoid junk. Let’s hope LG or Samsung have some good offers.
If you’re going to utilize the interface for apps then LG or Samsung, if not, then it doesn’t matter much, try and get the equivalent panel if you can afford it in one of the brands that uses LG and Samsung panels. The biggest difference going with big brands is upscaling performance and menu smoothness.
