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https://www.techdirt.com/2022/04/14/its-still-stupidly-ridiculously-difficult-to-buy-a-dumb-tv/
Historically, "smart" TVs aren't always particularly smart. They've routinely been shown to have lax security and privacy standards. They also routinely feature embedded OS systems that don't age well, aren't always well designed, don't perform particularly well over time, are slathered with ads, and are usually worse than most third-party game streaming devices or video game consoles.
Yet when if you go shopping for "dumb" televisions — as in just a high quality display with a bunch of HDMI ports and not much else, you're usually going to be out of luck. There are options, but guides on this front will usually shovel you toward computer monitors (too pricey at large sizes), or business-class displays (ditto).
[...] Of course it's challenging because TV manufacturers now make more money collecting and monetizing your personal data than they do selling the actual hardware. Last year Vizio noted it made $38.4 million in one quarter just from tracking and monetizing consumer viewing and usage data. It made $48.2 million on hardware (which also includes soundbars, and other products) in that same period.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by jurov on Sunday April 17 2022, @07:16AM (1 child)
Why no one talks about making some dumb TVs? Or about hacking the smart functions out? There's nobody left that can do either?
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 17 2022, @12:23PM
They do make them - they're just sold as computer monitors. But they're more expensive than "smart" TVs because computer monitors are not (yet) subsidised through invasive data collection. Most people are ignorant to the true cost of owning such a device, and just buy whatever has a lower sticker price.