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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Whatever RTings recommends.
I was kind of expecting the comments to be the way they are, which is nice.
Preferably a TV with no smart features.
Or just take the cheapest option and never connect it to the internet.
Is look for a hospitality TV or some other dumb tv, at least 120hz refresh, excellent contrast, 4k.
Can you even find these anymore?
Yeah. The AI search engine is dumb and included at least 1 smart tv, but here are examples https://www.perplexity.ai/search/i-m-looking-for-dumb-tvs-A8yqzSZKQ7ipW8MSOrkmGg
Or there’s this list
I wouldn’t get a television. I would get a monitor. No UI. No smart features. Just a black square that had HDMI inputs.
If you really want to watch OTA TV, you can buy box tuners that connect to the HDMI. Usually with DVR capability.
It will cost more. Like…a LOT more. But thats just what regular TVs used to cost back in the 90s. You wanted a bigscreen tv? $800 then, which would be like $2,000 now. And “big screen” was like 55 inch. Though it was a 4:3 ratio. So 55 inch then wold be more like 70 inch now in a 16:9 ratio.
Honestly, same with me. I’d go for a CRT TV, though, and play old video games through that (or just connect a PC to a smaller monitor that’s manageable).
It would need to be an OLED.
I really like the reviews on this site https://www.rtings.com/
I dont see it mentioned here, but I went with a 75" Spectre earlier this year. I had a 40" Spectre that was given to me third- hand, and I only replaced it because it was too small for the new place I moved into. Spectre doesn’t seem to even offer smart TV, and I wanted to support that decision. The only potential downside that you may see is the lack of a 4k offering, but that wasn’t something I care about.
Since I use a PC with a TV and ignore the “smart” infestures entirely and never connect to the internet unless I become aware of a bug fix that concerns the displayed picture, it doesn’t matter much to me. I just compare panel quality on the fly with my phone while out buying one and check for any deal breakers like a high failure rate or something. I’d look for microLED /w an adequate amount of dimming zones, HDR1000, VRR Freesync, and 120hz. The last two times I went during winter holidays and bought heavily discounted clearance last year’s models 75" panels. Won’t again until it breaks. Edit: LG currently but I have no brand loyalty.
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.
900 for a 55 in TV seems really high doesn’t it?
Almost 2 decades ago I paid close to that for a 50" plasma TV as one of my first big purchases after I got my first job.
Of course this isn’t a direct 1:1 comparison, they’re different display technologies, TVs these days have a 4k if not 8k resolution when that one I bought was 720p, there’s been almost 20 years of advancement driving costs down, and 20 years of inflation driving them up, etc.
So I don’t even know where to begin trying to fairly compare the relative costs of those 2 TVs
But back then tv manufacturers also weren’t getting paid to include apps, and put a button on their remotes to launch Amazon prime, or show me ads, or anything of the sort. Their only revenue stream was me buying the tv.
Well you can get a smart TV of that size for $300 or less. Which you can always just not hook up to the Internet, still have to deal with a crappy operating system but I don’t think that’s worth $600 to avoid really. Also elsewhere in this thread there’s a link to a Samsung non-smart TV of that size for 600 so I really think 900 is too much.
It would also need speakers (I recommend plug in kind) but I really like my Epson 3200 projector: Bright enough to use in the day, my screen is 120", and there’s no “smart” garbage.
If you want an actual TV, look at commercial displays instead of stuff from big box stores: They will be more expensive, but won’t have any of the junky ad ridden stuff.
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.
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.
There’s at least one supplier here in the UK that still sells free-to-air-only dumb TVs. Digital of course, because we turned off analogue TV signals years ago, but no smarter than that. Definitely no Internet connectivity.
If I decided I was going to become a regular TV watcher again, I’d probably get one of those.
I really like my LG G4 OLED, best television I’ve ever had and reviews are great.
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.
That’s because TVs subsidize the price with their spyware. But it’s pretty easy to not connect it to the Internet.
Also economies of scale. They will sell 10.000 TVs for every commercial display.
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
