My parents are getting a new tv, and are asking for recommendation. I think all I can influence is the brand/model (not realistic to propose rpi and more complex systems). I instinctively avoid google/android and lean towards anything else open source, so probably LG WebOS… But I had bad luck searching for more detailed comparisons. Maybe you have experience or opinions?
- Kairos ( @LodeMike@lemmy.today ) 3•4 hours ago
Home theater PC
- meyotch ( @meyotch@slrpnk.net ) 15•7 hours ago
You don’t have to get a smart tv at all. TVs do not need to be smart. If you search ‘business monitor’, you will find large quality displays such as used for corporate signage. The one issue is they often have only a few inputs, but that is easily addressed and worth it to avoid the completely unnecessary hassle of a TV too smart for your own good.
My two cents
- Kongar ( @Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.com ) English35•10 hours ago
Just don’t connect it to the internet.
- delirious_owl ( @delirious_owl@discuss.online ) 2•5 hours ago
Bad advice.
- Kongar ( @Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.com ) English1•3 hours ago
Why? That’s exactly what I did with my tv. It never saw the internet and works just fine. I literally don’t care what Samsung does or pushes out for updates because it doesn’t matter.
I can still do everything I want from Netflix to streaming from my NAS etc.
/shrug
- jlow (he/him) ( @jlow@beehaw.org ) 2•8 hours ago
Yeah, but is that an option realistically, if the parents want Netflix and Iplayer or whatever?
I think just with electric cars all the options are a complete privacy nightmare …
- Kongar ( @Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.com ) English2•3 hours ago
Ya, because it’s a TV. You connect those things to the inputs and drive the content from other things (game console, firetv, htpc, etc.
I’m baffled by people negatively reacting to my post. It’s how tvs have worked for 50+ years. Just because they recently got the ability to execute programs, doesn’t mean you have to use it. Just air gap it and the issue is 100% solved as far as the tv is concerned.
- niucllos ( @niucllos@lemm.ee ) 4•4 hours ago
*all new cars
- WreckingBANG ( @WreckingBANG@lemmy.ml ) 5•8 hours ago
Everything is really bad. But sadly it is nearly impossible to buy a normal TV these days. Just buy any SmartTV, and get yourself a MiniPC with the Linux Distro of your liking.
- ninjaturtle ( @ninjaturtle@lemmy.today ) English12•9 hours ago
I would avoid anything built into the TV.
- Its starting to be used for spying on you
- The chip they come with are usually not that good unless it’s a high end TV.
- They are building ads right into the TV themselves.
I would not connect the TV to the internet and use a external media player. Either a Nvidia shield or an Apple TV is your best bet.
You can also try building a media player yourself using a small computer.
Note - The self made media player will be more limited in terms of apps available, unfortunately, as well as streaming quality from some of the streaming services.
- some_guy ( @some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org ) 4•8 hours ago
Buy a retail display screen. Totally dumb.
- Vitaly ( @Vitaly@feddit.uk ) 11•10 hours ago
I heard that https://libreelec.tv is pretty good
- ninjaturtle ( @ninjaturtle@lemmy.today ) English2•9 hours ago
Its good if everything you need can run from Kodi. It uses its own Linux distribution in the background, so you won’t really be able to install anything else unless you build it.
- underisk ( @underisk@lemmy.ml ) 1•4 hours ago
Then run it in a container under a better distribution if you desperately need to put neofetch on your HTPC. Or run the other distro in a container under libreelec since I’m pretty sure it supports them.
- sic_semper_tyrannis ( @sic_semper_tyrannis@lemmy.today ) English1•9 hours ago
Absolutely this. Depending on how you use it though, make sure you have a VPN and private DNS setup on your router
- Vitaly ( @Vitaly@feddit.uk ) 2•8 hours ago
Why do you need private dns for?
- sic_semper_tyrannis ( @sic_semper_tyrannis@lemmy.today ) English2•5 hours ago
If Kodi is used to watch movies and TV shows for free then you’d want to protect your internet traffic from unwanted eyes
- Vitaly ( @Vitaly@feddit.uk ) 1•4 hours ago
Isn’t a dns included in most vpns?
- BearOfaTime ( @BearOfaTime@lemm.ee ) 2•6 hours ago
To control what can be accessed.
Having your own DNS enables you to block ads on every device in your network.
PiHole makes my smart TV more responsive, because it can’t get crap to load into the home screen.