This is ironic for me. 😒I just got pissed off ealier today at my TV & unplugged it from the net, for auto renaming the port that I had my PlayStation temporarily hooked up to, Even though I already limited the tracking settings. I'm going to have to get a separate streaming box or make an HTPC. ...SMH...& I remember having very hard time finding a Non-Smart 4k TV before I brought the 1 have now...
My brother bought cheap Xiaomi smart TV. I've tried to install Brave (using separate APK, and no avail) because the app store is very limited (not like in smartphone). I want to change the firmware but I still don't have the clue for that (still researching). Also, I read if I flash the TV, It will lose DRM LV 1 which (sadly) needed for Netflix. :(
The last dumb tv I had was a Westinghouse that I bought circa 2005. Best Buy was clearancing them out because "no one knows how to use it without a tuner." Meanwhile I've used TV since before that without a tuner.
@@johndumpling1896 even bluetooth is bad to have cause DARPA showed years ago that they were able to remotely hack a vehicle while it was driving on the highway and take over steering, braking and acceleration.
@@johndumpling1896 Not yet, the number of TV's connecting to the internet far far far exceed the number of cars with internet access, but your point is still valid I'm just bit picking about which is the greater threat at the moment
@@stultuses When you can remotely control the car, you can completely take control over it, like crash it into a tree, disable brakes, etc. These are serious problems.
The only functionality I need from my TV is the ability to change inputs and the ability to mess with the color and sound settings. Everything else simply needs to go. I wish there was an easy way to "root" those TVs and install a different kind of ROM.
I'm sorry, but I freaking love the fact that I can be watching a UA-cam video on my phone and, with a couple touches, the video will start playing on my TV.
I've gone to target and best buy the past few days, and am unable to find a non-smart tv. Even a year and a half ago I was able to get a 43' insignia non-smart tv. Now I don't know if that model exists anymore
My whole day is helping seniors change channels and turn on their smart TVs!!!! How can they turn a simple task into such a time-consuming chore, and when you finally set something up, along comes an update that changes everything again!!!!!!!!!!
Moved out of my place, but I put my dumb TV in storage realizing that when I need to get a big screen again, it will be very hard to find one without Internet Connectivity...Down with smart crap!
@Tardagar Dovarg it's because some kind of freak might connect something to the TV someday and the TV sends out whatever it had stored already to the skynet.
@Tardagar Dovarg I don't think we will be able to see anymore dumb TV in the market anymore. May be they will sell the "dumb" as a the new premium privacy respecting tv, who knows!
When I bought my TV, they weren't even 'smart' yet...It still works (probably because I rarely watch TV anyways). If I want smart features, I'll hook up a raspberry pi or something.
It's a display. That's all it needs to be. That's it. And that's all I ever want the damn thing to do. The whole point is that it's part of an interface between me _and the device that's actually doing the "smart" stuff._ In lieu of that though, VLAN-it-up on your network and sandbox the damn thing into a no-internet box. And that's only if you need it to connect to something else via wifi. Which you probably shouldn't do.
Thank YOU, Henry! I knew about most of these issues before, but now it's time for this video to gain lots of views. I'm going to share it with everyone I know. I agree with you 100%.
I use my smart TV to stream UA-cam, Netflix, Prime, etc. I could disconnect it and plug in a Roku or an AppleTV, but then the privacy problem wouldn’t be fixed; it would just have moved to a different device.
@@echohaaff9642 they say they are but are they really? you'll take a company at their word? Google also claims to be that but you see what they really do
I have been dreading the day when I have to replace my current TV. It was a nice unit from the early days of integrating “smart” functions so it is gloriously simple and dumb with tons of ports and connectivity. I know that when it eventually fails, I will have to shop hard to find something that will give me the control to turn off all the microphones, cameras, and 6 different ways it will be trying to phone home to the mothership with any and all information it can gather about me. Ugh. Such a hassle.
I recommend just buying a 43 inch monitor with built in speakers, which I did in December 2022. You can plug a Roku or something else into the back, and a DVD player using HDMI. My LG 43UN700 monitor comes with a remote, to turn on, change volume, adjust brightness and settings. For watching live TV, one can plug an external antenna into an HDMI set top box to the back of a monitor. Most monitors do not have smart features.
You don’t need to convince me the Phillips smart tv takes forever to power on, randomly powers off and takes 5 mins for the input menu to show. It gets slower with every update
I still use a CRT with a recorder with digital channels connected to it, so my TV is really serving just as a monitor. When it eventually dies [15 years strong so far] I might get a TV that lets me watch youtube stuff. I thought to leave the CAT cable disconnected except when actually watching youtube. I expect it will be private enough when it's not connected to the interweb.
every device needs to have 10 decoys so that there are 10 streams to confuse trackers, also anytime the camera or mic is transmitting, a hardware embedded code paints a red border on the screen
I miss regular tvs, i had to get a new tv and was kind annoyed that no matter what store i went to all they had was smart tvs. No one seems to make them these days or least in my general idea. Also if their a brand that doesnt sell smart tvs i would appreaciate a nudge
It's like when I go out to eat (issue 1), if a restaurant has a gigantic menu I can be pretty sure the experience will be alright at best. Focus is key for a great user experience!
@@sol_mental about the only thing I really accept on a menu That's overloaded is maybe a hamburger, and that's going to be based off how it looks. In general it's pretty hard to fuck up a burger
@@DaPanda19 I had a mushroom swiss burger at a restaurant who didn't put any spices or salt in the meat. The mushrooms and cheese were good but I had to shake table salt on the patty to make it palatable. My husband's burger tasted just fine.
Depends on the place. My favorite restaurant is a small mom and pop type business. Their menu is really big compared to a traditional menu, like going through a children's book almost lol. She's so good at cooking though that I nearly get something new every time I visit and it's always consistently good. It's rare, but big menu doesn't automatically mean bad experience.
TV's actually don't make sense to have anymore. I don't watch regular TV so all I really need is Netflix, Prime Video and some other smaller streaming services. A giant monitor with a raspberry pi would probably work fine for that.
It's irrelevant what the TV theoretically does. I have yet to meet a boomer who hooked that thing up to the network (themselves). It's the nerds who are dump enough to link the TV to the internet and do the same for their boomer parents and grandparents. Old folks don't even know what those devils device's can do. They turn them on, only connecting power and TV cable, and that's it.
@@iwankazlow2268 The guys that delivered & set up mine connected it to the internet without telling me. From day one, I've always booted it directly to my cable or consoles, so I never actually saw the "smart" features until Android had to do a very long update several months later. I ended up missing 2 shows because of that.
Well the point about a monitor instead of a smart TV is idiotic: just don't give your Smart TV internet access. Use any other computer to do whatever Smart TVs would do. Take the subsidized deal and keep the damn thing offline: Problem solved...ZERO effort
Not giving a smart device access to the Internet is a lot harder than it seems especially now with things like Amazons sidewalk and other privacy invaders that take your neighbors Wi-Fi or any no Wi-Fi and just borrow it to connect with or without your explicit permission
@@peterprivacy5034 Sidewalk is a mesh network just like the new protocol that the bio luminescent boys are developing, forgot the name of it, but will standardise the creepiness and all the big corps will have free access into our homes. Fun for the whole family! Ludicrous
Step 1: Buy used dumb TV in thrift store or your online used market of choice. Step 2: dig out old crappy laptop or Raspberry Pi and install Ubuntu or equivalent. Boom done. Better for privacy, environment and your wallet.
Love my TV but the "smart" aspect of it is extremely underwhelming. It's a 2018 model and the os doesn't even use android so everything is crappy samsung store stuff, I don't even think it's being supported any more. I would love to be able to flash a custom os on it though and run like arch linux or something on it.
Specificity point is spot on. We don’t need software on a tv unless they fully implement Apple TV or other preferred 3rd party software. However since they implement ads, we will never see the internal smart function of television have the option to manually disable.
honestly if they did smart tvs correctly i would actually buy one. one that turns into an ambient computing device, is actually responsive to user inputs and configurations, but yeah this just benefits the consumer not the corporation so we wont see those benefits.
3:33 "I would gladly pay more for a tv I could confidently trust is respecting me and my data" Oh , if only it is way easier done than just said ; the remaining TVs without any tracking-"smart"-network thingy (like , 1 or 2 units) are horrible screens with outdated screen technology , super low resolution and terrible picture quality . The best option is paying for monitors with worse picture quality for the same price or maybe super pricy commercial displays .
My mom bought a smart TV last year that required a Roku account to even use! You couldn't even watch normal over the air TV with an antenna without setting up an online account.
This reminds me of the days of the VCR's, when you could watch a show for a minute. All the equipment would come up in less than a second. Hit play, there it is. Right where I left off. Today, turn it on, leave the room, come back, it's still booting. When it comes up, then I can select the show I was watching. Wait for that to load, crap. What's better about all this tech? So we can make some ad agency happy, sorry boys the ad blockers are on. Now if I could only easily load adblockers on my smart TV.
Everything is getting worse. Tube tvs lasted forever, these tvs today can't last 10 years most of the time. I still have working Playstation one,two and PS3 controllers. I've had to replace my PS4 controller not once, not twice, THREE times, which works out to being a controller a year so far because I got it in 2020 and it came with a controller. My first cell phone lasted me 5 or 6 years then I just lost it one day. These phones now a days are too big, they break WAY too easily because they're TOO HEAVY. People probably have never even seen me with a phone that didn't have a cracked screen. They're so expensive too, like 500 to 800 for a new one, GTFO OF HERE! I just want to call and text people, FECK!! Food quality and sizes suck, nothing is built to last every thing is just about PROFIT PROFIT PROFIT, FECK THE CUSTOMER, THEY'LL BUY MORE! We seriously need a revolution in companies who care about customers and quality again. Capitalism is at it's end, we knew it would eventually happen. A small handful of massive companies/corporations own the market and control it, like the mafia running the ports. It's corrupted. And covid lockdowns destroyed a lot of the small companies that were left. THE FUTURE SUCKS MY MAN! The future sucks........
My new tv remote does not even have a source button. I have to go through 4 pages of menus showing me random bullshit just to change from ps5 to pc. And on top of that if I leave it paused for a long period of time it will jjst start playing something I never clicked on.
But what if I want to watch UA-cam on my TV? I sometimes just want to stream something from Netflix or something, so like I have to connect it to the internet and I haven't found a privacy respecting way to doing it.
Fully agree (and the reasons I wasn't aware of (a few small points) reafirm my reason for sticking to my old 1080p tv instead of upgrading to 4k and being broke for 2 months even with a smart tv (also you forgot ultrasonic cross device tracking which most definitely is being used even if you don't connect your tv to the internet to sell your data through your phone
Keep it dumb as a rock. The reason anyone can buy a 55 inch smart TV for half the price of a dumb TV at half the size is the data collection profits. I use mine as a monitor to watch streaming video and some antenna channels.
Bro! You hit every point 10 / 10! I've been searching for THIS VIDEO for days & finally found it. Now I just want to put a custom firmware on my TCL to make it just be a Display & not trying to be my Apple TV. Subbed.
My smart tv tries to identify devices plugged into it so it can optimize settings. This process takes about 5 minutes every time the hdmi is switched around. I have to switch the hdmi often because of how few ports it has. The UA-cam app almost never works. This isn't a cheap tv either, vost me 1500 bucks
still using a LG 720p plasma as my monitor. When its time to upgrade...It'll be buying a smart tv and never hooking it up to the net ever...or simply making my way through used plasmas until I find something I like. Any thoughts on doing surgery on smart tv's to lobotomize them? You know...removing the cameras and microphones? Thanks...
I have a Roku TV. Aside from UA-cam, Spotify, and gaming, I don't use it for anything else. Was pretty creeped out that it has the ability to target ads based on the content of connected devices and streaming apps. Needless to say, I turned that off real quick.
@@Patelivision Go to settings. Go to privacy. Make sure limit ad tracking is turned on. There's also another setting regarding ACR. Make sure that is checked off.
Agree 100%! Visio SUCKS!!! Their "app store" has nothing to offer....they are super slow with terrible wifi reception. I wound up buying a firestick lite and plugging it into the hdmi port....... I wish I had invested in a passive 3D "dumb" tv or monitor.....kudos on a great video. Subscribed as soon as I heard you say that visio sucks!
You definitely explained what the problem is, however the solution of "just make it dumb" doesn't really answer the question of what to do about it. I want to watch shows through apps on the TV, and I can't do that if I turn off the network connection. The solution I'm looking for is how to make a replacement for the smart part of the TV. Something I can control myself like a thin client or whatever it is. Would love to see a follow up on this.
Can confirm this. I've just reset the Smart TV of my parents, and noticed that it has loads of features that no one ever used or even noticed. For all practical intents and purposes, its just a dumb TV. And no it doesn't even need it's WiFi.
I have a 14 year old dumb TV and I hate it because of picture fidelity and it never seems to degrade or die, so that I could buy a new one. Now I hate it a bit less, because it's dumb. :)
The backlight in my non smart samsung bit the dust today, sounds like one bublb took the hold thing down. I can get the led backlight strips, but the parts are like $100. And then i have to take the tv completely apart. So i started looing for a new tv (NON SMART). I found a bunch of site articles on where to buy a NON SMART TV, but then tv is no longer available, or they just straight up list smart tv's on the non smart tv list. This is like phycological warfare. Pretend it's available, only to find out it is really not available. This is like a feedback loop, where they just send you in circles. If you find someone recommending a non-smart tv, they don't list any options or product numbers that you can use to find the TV. Probably cause they don't exist, well not if your looking for at least 40" or bigger. I could find 32" and lower. If you contact electronic stores and ask if they carry any non smart tv's, and they will say no. The devil is a peeping tom, except now he wont let you close the blinds.
It is so true. I connected an USB led light strip into the USB port behind my Sony smart TV. Common sense would say that once the tv shuts off the USB port would not have any current. Well, I shut off the tv at night and during the evening..I am not lying but the lights turn on and off at random during the night. So the tv is turning on and off for some reason without the screen turning on. So it must be something fishy about that. So I shut off any and all features that function in the background. I removed the camera and the microphone. I connected the tv via wired network and unplug it when not streaming
After trying many options, best one is to actually have a PC running Linux connected to "dumb" TV (or smart TV without network access). I've build myself HTPC with cheap older hardware for under 100$ and it even has 1TB drive so i can save some stuff locally. Raspberry Pi could work too, but it costs over 100$ to get 4GB model with case and everything. Performance wise it's much slower than any decent x86 CPU. There are ITX boards with integrated CPU which can work with passive cooling and don't use a lot of power, those are perfect for this.
Easiest way is to get another home router. Just plug one into the other, each is a firewall. Put your most secure stuff (personal info) behind the last (most) firewall(s).
A lot of routers these days have a guest wifi. Just enable that in your router's settings and then you can connect them to that (assuming it's a wireless device)
I'm still using an HD CRT television that my parents bought back in 2004 it sounds amazing it looks great it's extremely reliable and I don't need to worry about my information being stolen It's a Sony by the way
Sounds like the Sony Trinitron. I have seen a few of those when I was really young, and still recognize their distinct silver bezel color and flat panel.
Be aware that if you connect a computer to the SmartTV with an HDMI cable and the computer is connected to the internet, the TV will connect to the internet. It was introduced with v1.4 of the HDMI standard.
So just buying a new smart TV out of the box and it will require me to connect it up to the Wi-Fi? I don't want any spying on me by this new TV, so not connecting it to my Wi-Fi hub won't allow this to happen? It doesn't use 4G or anything or has a mini transmitter hidden in the frame or something? Thanks!
I don't have one, but i visit my aunt who have one, Very beautiful image, good for videogames and movies but then i enter UA-cam which is i more consume in my PC... can´t stand more than 5 minutes with a ****ing AD in every video (i have Adblocker in my PC), If i buy one, maybe work as a monitor to my PC but not for the "Smart" part, and i think there are not smart Tvs who cost less and do the same.
I don't get it. If you had just an offline TV, how do you actually watch content?? Anything you use to cast, stream, or display online video will pose the same privacy and security risks. Is there a video showing how to actually enjoy your TV once you've blocked the smart and connected features?
I'll do #4 on my next HDTV {or 4kTV}. No internet for TV. Remember 'max headroom show' ? with it's "Two Way TVs"*(also video phones). TVs did not have on/off switches** and off switches "illegal". well HDTVs have 'standby mode', never really being "off". We are almost there, "20 minutes into the future" and/or "1984". But with hacker and data pirates. *two way TVs being very "1984" [Book]. ** Some how TV were self-powered, So they were Always on, receiving and sending data signals.
I just don't connect my TV to the internet. Boom! Problem solved. TVs shouldn't need an internet connection to display images. I don't need apps on my TV. Instead I prefer to just connect a Google Chromecast to the HDMI port and cast from phone to TV. Works perfectly well on my 1080p flatscreen, no reason why it shouldn't work just as well on my UHD 4K TV.
Not only that but they update and change the entire menu so you as a consumer have to re-learn how to operate the television or worse take away features that were usefull (LG I'm talking to you, just quit it, quit it!) I wish you could just get a basic television just designed to show your sources with the best resolution available at a price point without paying all the licencing and nonsense crap you don't want.......didn't we learn from the bloat when buying a new computer....no we didn't, we just don't want to give the consumer a choice.
Here what really sucks. I got a Vizio D55 I got back in 2018. it not hooked to internet at this time. But here the kick. Brand new or a factory reset I can’t find any way to get it running till you connected to internet for the first time and log into yahoo. After that you can pull the plug and use it as just a TV
I also use a monitor and a Shield TV, also because in Italy, if you own a device that receives TV signal, you have to pay an annual fee of about 105$ to the state!
100% concur about despising smart TV's and I absolutely loathe the roku smart tv remote. It's a despicable remote for any tv, when you just want to change channels thru an old fashioned OTA remote. I dont mind the separate roku device's remote because you can unplug and disregard the roku remote amd unit when it's not in use. But embedding the roku into the tv hardware sucks as does it's stupid remote.
Are things like pi hole able to block most of the tv tracking traffic, or are they starting to bypass the dns set by the network? I've heard of (and had problems) Google devices simply breaking if 8.8.8.8 was blocked.
Dude I agree I got one it destroyed two new sets of earphones one side is dead worked on everything else before connecting them to the pos. Cant access volume in the menu no buttons like on a regular tv only 1 is the power button no audio out jacks list goes on, never would have bought it if I knew should have done research first
I was told not to hook up the Internet for my TV. Also, it gets slower and slower. You ended up buying a new one in about 3-4 years. My old dumb CRT tv lasted for 10 years.
Need help because after stupidly updating the OS on my LG TV, my Roku remote no longer works. I am a senior who finds using the LG remote extremely difficult and I prefer the Roku remote. Suggestions appreciated!
Why do you need to "update" your TV? Think how stupid that sounds lol. Just don't even hook it up to the net and you'll never even know about these "updates". From what I've been reading in this comment section, updates seem to take a long time (hours I've been reading, WTF???), screw your settings up and I've even been reading it makes their tv slower. Remember those heavy 80 pound tube tvs? They never had software, no updates and they always lasted so long that usually by the time you want to replace it it's just because it's so old and you just want a bigger one, not because it stopped working. These TVs now a days suck, can't even last 10 years. Pathetic garbage tech.
this is an interesting video! i had a dumb tv that was a hand-me-down that my family had for 10 years. it (finally) broke last month and i had to buy a new one, and in a hurry and budget i bought a firetv and changed all of the data settings before using it, although i prefer to use the roku from my old TV since we don't have cable anymore (that probably is another privacy concern, yikes). i didn't realize until searching for a new tv that 99% of tvs were smart and that it was borderline impossible to not buy a smart tv.
Just for the jokes i searched for "LCD TV" and then for "dumb TV" on amazon, surprisingly amazon knew exactly what i meant by "dumb TV" and showed me normal TVs, with sum bs like clothes mixed in but still alot less smart TVs😂
You bring great points but you can use your great wisdom and knowledge to tell us viewers how we can connect a VPN to a smart TV. The only option out there is using a home router with VPN but many of us don't have home internet rather we use either a smartphone hotspot or dedicated mobile hotspot so there needs to be a way to do this. Help us out and share insight.
Ha, jokes on you, I use my tv as a computer monitor with multiple inputs. It is a Vizio, but it has no microphones or cameras. It's an oldish cheapo 720p LED. It's software/firmware isn't even supported anymore and nothing will run on the "smart" features, which is basically low budget Roku style crap. This is how I like it.
Not only are they invasive as hell, they're also ridiculously slow. Navigating the UIs in every "smart" TV I've owned has been such a painfully slow experience. Even if the smart features were useful, I still wouldn't want to use them because the experience is so bad. The worst thing I've seen though are older models that don't allow more than 32 characters in a network password. Just, what? Password length shouldn't be an issue. So even if you wanted to secure these damn things down, it still won't be ideal.
This is why my next TV is going to be a PC Monitor. No bloatware, no smart features, just 43 inches of excellent screen quality at 4K 120Hz for console gaming and 144Hz for PC gaming.
I had never configured the network on our smart TV, so we were safe, right? Wrong. Came out of the box with wi-fi turned on, and our router had just added it as a device and assigned an IP number. The first we knew that it was on our LAN was noticing the name “Android” in the 5G router table. Dug in and finally found the wi-fi switch in Advanced Settings, turned that puppy off. Now it’s just a TV, with input supplied by our Apple TV and Xfinity cable.
I think that small tvs are more likely to be dumb tv only type tvs. I would rather buy a simple twenty two inch tv than a smart tv with a forty inch screen.
I still own a 50" Blaupunkt dumb TV. And it's better than the 40" smart I owned prior. Still glad I threw out that overly complicated, data gathering, privacy breaching, no old device supporting piece of crap.
Share your thoughts on these crappy inventions down below! Nothing fosters love like shared hatred 😡💚
Why not get a smart TV and just go with your "Step 4" and never connect it to the internet?
This is ironic for me. 😒I just got pissed off ealier today at my TV & unplugged it from the net, for auto renaming the port that I had my PlayStation temporarily hooked up to, Even though I already limited the tracking settings.
I'm going to have to get a separate streaming box or make an HTPC.
...SMH...& I remember having very hard time finding a Non-Smart 4k TV before I brought the 1 have now...
My brother bought cheap Xiaomi smart TV. I've tried to install Brave (using separate APK, and no avail) because the app store is very limited (not like in smartphone). I want to change the firmware but I still don't have the clue for that (still researching). Also, I read if I flash the TV, It will lose DRM LV 1 which (sadly) needed for Netflix. :(
The last dumb tv I had was a Westinghouse that I bought circa 2005. Best Buy was clearancing them out because "no one knows how to use it without a tuner." Meanwhile I've used TV since before that without a tuner.
@Techlore.
how to have privacy and security while being a GAMER. and a FILM movie-/-tv enthusiast.
PRETTY MUCH IMPOSSIBLE.
Finally someone is talking about one of the biggest elephants in the room! Please share everyone
cars connected to the internet are a bigger problem
@@johndumpling1896 its unreal, I hope to see a video from @Techlore like that as well shortly
@@johndumpling1896 even bluetooth is bad to have cause DARPA showed years ago that they were able to remotely hack a vehicle while it was driving on the highway and take over steering, braking and acceleration.
@@johndumpling1896
Not yet, the number of TV's connecting to the internet far far far exceed the number of cars with internet access, but your point is still valid I'm just bit picking about which is the greater threat at the moment
@@stultuses When you can remotely control the car, you can completely take control over it, like crash it into a tree, disable brakes, etc. These are serious problems.
The only functionality I need from my TV is the ability to change inputs and the ability to mess with the color and sound settings. Everything else simply needs to go. I wish there was an easy way to "root" those TVs and install a different kind of ROM.
Like stick a frigging pendrive to it and install a klipping linux on it xD
That would be awesome
@@MrKornnugget Well, yeah. A TV sized monitor with builtin terrestrial television capabilities. I would pay good money for a quality TV like that.
This is why I use either my console or PC that's connected to my TV.
Non-Smart TV Brands: Sceptre & Westinghouse. You can buy these online, Walmart, etc.
I'm sorry, but I freaking love the fact that I can be watching a UA-cam video on my phone and, with a couple touches, the video will start playing on my TV.
You're absolutely right. The lack of options for non-smart TVs over the years has gotten weird, and this perfectly explains why.
I've gone to target and best buy the past few days, and am unable to find a non-smart tv. Even a year and a half ago I was able to get a 43' insignia non-smart tv. Now I don't know if that model exists anymore
Reminds me of Orwell's 1984, with their flat screen monitors described in the book, which monitor the homes.
I believe spectre still sella dumb TVs.
Nightmare material:
When companies put a smart assistant into their devices like Bluetooth speakers, soundbars or even kitchen appliances...
An excuse imo to spy on you and collect more data about you that the companies can then make money off of.
My whole day is helping seniors change channels and turn on their smart TVs!!!! How can they turn a simple task into such a time-consuming chore, and when you finally set something up, along comes an update that changes everything again!!!!!!!!!!
Moved out of my place, but I put my dumb TV in storage realizing that when I need to get a big screen again, it will be very hard to find one without Internet Connectivity...Down with smart crap!
May be we just desolder the wifi, bt & lan port...
@Tardagar Dovarg it's because some kind of freak might connect something to the TV someday and the TV sends out whatever it had stored already to the skynet.
@Tardagar Dovarg I don't think we will be able to see anymore dumb TV in the market anymore. May be they will sell the "dumb" as a the new premium privacy respecting tv, who knows!
When I bought my TV, they weren't even 'smart' yet...It still works (probably because I rarely watch TV anyways). If I want smart features, I'll hook up a raspberry pi or something.
Only reason I have a “smart” tv is because literally every TV is a smart TV now but I don’t connect them to the internet so I should be good
That is what I'm considering. My laptop hooked up to the TV craps all over the onboard TV apps.
Is there a way to stop internet through HDMI? when I hook up my mini pc to my tv that is.
It's a display. That's all it needs to be. That's it. And that's all I ever want the damn thing to do. The whole point is that it's part of an interface between me _and the device that's actually doing the "smart" stuff._
In lieu of that though, VLAN-it-up on your network and sandbox the damn thing into a no-internet box. And that's only if you need it to connect to something else via wifi. Which you probably shouldn't do.
buy very large computer display and use that for a TV
@@TheSulross yes, i want an 85" class user display
@@maximumwoof8662 85 inch laptop
Interesting
Exactly how i also think of phones. Which is why i have a flip phone and will never buy a 'smart' phone. No thanks.
Thank YOU, Henry! I knew about most of these issues before, but now it's time for this video to gain lots of views. I'm going to share it with everyone I know. I agree with you 100%.
It's all fun and games 'till Samsung says "Emergency call from McAfee is blocked"
2:10 every manufacturer does this. I honestly don't care that our TV is 15 years old and ~20 inches.
I use my smart TV to stream UA-cam, Netflix, Prime, etc. I could disconnect it and plug in a Roku or an AppleTV, but then the privacy problem wouldn’t be fixed; it would just have moved to a different device.
why’re you including apple here 😭 out of all the major companies, they’re the most privacy friendly
@@echohaaff9642 they say they are but are they really? you'll take a company at their word? Google also claims to be that but you see what they really do
San Bernadino
I've always preferred the freedom projectors provide, a plus is they rarely have any 'smart' capabilities, unless you pay extra for it
I have been dreading the day when I have to replace my current TV. It was a nice unit from the early days of integrating “smart” functions so it is gloriously simple and dumb with tons of ports and connectivity. I know that when it eventually fails, I will have to shop hard to find something that will give me the control to turn off all the microphones, cameras, and 6 different ways it will be trying to phone home to the mothership with any and all information it can gather about me. Ugh. Such a hassle.
I recommend just buying a 43 inch monitor with built in speakers, which I did in December 2022. You can plug a Roku or something else into the back, and a DVD player using HDMI. My LG 43UN700 monitor comes with a remote, to turn on, change volume, adjust brightness and settings. For watching live TV, one can plug an external antenna into an HDMI set top box to the back of a monitor. Most monitors do not have smart features.
Better than a tv. A projector. That what I would get.
Alot of projectors are also smart projectors
@@sanjkarunakaran1788
Actually no.
Many are not. Businesses cannot afford data collection by those companies as it would be a security breach.
I have never hooked my TV to the internet because I never stream.
On top of their security issues usually the remotes suck too ergonomically challenging and as most of the time its dark in the room suck even more.
I stream from the internet to my laptop and project the display to my big acreen TV (15 years old) via hdmi connection. Works great.
You don’t need to convince me the Phillips smart tv takes forever to power on, randomly powers off and takes 5 mins for the input menu to show. It gets slower with every update
Ridiculous! TVs shouldn't even NEED updates!
That’s just your Philips TV.
wait yours hasn't been crashing on the guide forcing a hard power down by pulling the plug?
Mine does exactly the same since the last update some days ago ...getting really unusable right nov.
I still use a CRT with a recorder with digital channels connected to it, so my TV is really serving just as a monitor. When it eventually dies [15 years strong so far] I might get a TV that lets me watch youtube stuff. I thought to leave the CAT cable disconnected except when actually watching youtube. I expect it will be private enough when it's not connected to the interweb.
every device needs to have 10 decoys so that there are 10 streams to confuse trackers, also anytime the camera or mic is transmitting, a hardware embedded code paints a red border on the screen
How does one do that?
I only “smart” tv features I use is airplay and burn-in protection.
Apart from that it’s just a monitor for my pc and game consoles.
I miss regular tvs, i had to get a new tv and was kind annoyed that no matter what store i went to all they had was smart tvs. No one seems to make them these days or least in my general idea. Also if their a brand that doesnt sell smart tvs i would appreaciate a nudge
It's like when I go out to eat (issue 1), if a restaurant has a gigantic menu I can be pretty sure the experience will be alright at best. Focus is key for a great user experience!
Some menus are too long. That's why I never eat Chinese! No other reason.
That's a real thing tho, I'm always afraid of trash food on restaurants with a huge menu
@@sol_mental about the only thing I really accept on a menu That's overloaded is maybe a hamburger, and that's going to be based off how it looks. In general it's pretty hard to fuck up a burger
@@DaPanda19 I had a mushroom swiss burger at a restaurant who didn't put any spices or salt in the meat. The mushrooms and cheese were good but I had to shake table salt on the patty to make it palatable. My husband's burger tasted just fine.
Depends on the place. My favorite restaurant is a small mom and pop type business. Their menu is really big compared to a traditional menu, like going through a children's book almost lol. She's so good at cooking though that I nearly get something new every time I visit and it's always consistently good. It's rare, but big menu doesn't automatically mean bad experience.
TV's actually don't make sense to have anymore. I don't watch regular TV so all I really need is Netflix, Prime Video and some other smaller streaming services. A giant monitor with a raspberry pi would probably work fine for that.
I stream with Kodi fuck Netflix and the rest
Is a raspberry pi what Henry is using? What is it? 6:03
How would a rPi be able to play DRM-locked Netflix or Prime Video?
I ended up getting one about 4 years ago, but only because I wasn't able to actually even FIND a dumb TV anywhere when I was shopping for a 4K one!
It's irrelevant what the TV theoretically does.
I have yet to meet a boomer who hooked that thing up to the network (themselves).
It's the nerds who are dump enough to link the TV to the internet and do the same for their boomer parents and grandparents.
Old folks don't even know what those devils device's can do. They turn them on, only connecting power and TV cable, and that's it.
@@iwankazlow2268 The guys that delivered & set up mine connected it to the internet without telling me. From day one, I've always booted it directly to my cable or consoles, so I never actually saw the "smart" features until Android had to do a very long update several months later. I ended up missing 2 shows because of that.
Well the point about a monitor instead of a smart TV is idiotic: just don't give your Smart TV internet access. Use any other computer to do whatever Smart TVs would do. Take the subsidized deal and keep the damn thing offline: Problem solved...ZERO effort
Not giving a smart device access to the Internet is a lot harder than it seems especially now with things like Amazons sidewalk and other privacy invaders that take your neighbors Wi-Fi or any no Wi-Fi and just borrow it to connect with or without your explicit permission
@@InspiredInsights4U well if you use passwords on your WiFi and don't plug in an ethernet cable you should be good
...
@@peterprivacy5034 Sidewalk is a mesh network just like the new protocol that the bio luminescent boys are developing, forgot the name of it, but will standardise the creepiness and all the big corps will have free access into our homes. Fun for the whole family! Ludicrous
😃idk why i feel so good after watching your videos , thanks for always making great content
thts the feeling of empowerment!
Step 1: Buy used dumb TV in thrift store or your online used market of choice.
Step 2: dig out old crappy laptop or Raspberry Pi and install Ubuntu or equivalent.
Boom done.
Better for privacy, environment and your wallet.
Big brain time
Love my TV but the "smart" aspect of it is extremely underwhelming. It's a 2018 model and the os doesn't even use android so everything is crappy samsung store stuff, I don't even think it's being supported any more. I would love to be able to flash a custom os on it though and run like arch linux or something on it.
lol so you can say: BTW I use arch on my tv
@@dnawalahmed2979 I mean why not just treat it like a Raspberry Pi
Much rather have an Android box. Plus gives the option to move the box to another TV, bring to friends home, etc, if needed.
Specificity point is spot on. We don’t need software on a tv unless they fully implement Apple TV or other preferred 3rd party software. However since they implement ads, we will never see the internal smart function of television have the option to manually disable.
Many Commercial-grade TVs do not have SmartTV capabilities. That may make it easier to find one.
honestly if they did smart tvs correctly i would actually buy one. one that turns into an ambient computing device, is actually responsive to user inputs and configurations, but yeah this just benefits the consumer not the corporation so we wont see those benefits.
3:33 "I would gladly pay more for a tv I could confidently trust is respecting me and my data"
Oh , if only it is way easier done than just said ; the remaining TVs without any tracking-"smart"-network thingy (like , 1 or 2 units) are horrible screens with outdated screen technology , super low resolution and terrible picture quality .
The best option is paying for monitors with worse picture quality for the same price or maybe super pricy commercial displays .
My mom bought a smart TV last year that required a Roku account to even use! You couldn't even watch normal over the air TV with an antenna without setting up an online account.
This reminds me of the days of the VCR's, when you could watch a show for a minute. All the equipment would come up in less than a second. Hit play, there it is. Right where I left off.
Today, turn it on, leave the room, come back, it's still booting. When it comes up, then I can select the show I was watching. Wait for that to load, crap. What's better about all this tech? So we can make some ad agency happy, sorry boys the ad blockers are on. Now if I could only easily load adblockers on my smart TV.
Everything is getting worse. Tube tvs lasted forever, these tvs today can't last 10 years most of the time. I still have working Playstation one,two and PS3 controllers. I've had to replace my PS4 controller not once, not twice, THREE times, which works out to being a controller a year so far because I got it in 2020 and it came with a controller.
My first cell phone lasted me 5 or 6 years then I just lost it one day. These phones now a days are too big, they break WAY too easily because they're TOO HEAVY. People probably have never even seen me with a phone that didn't have a cracked screen. They're so expensive too, like 500 to 800 for a new one, GTFO OF HERE! I just want to call and text people, FECK!!
Food quality and sizes suck, nothing is built to last every thing is just about PROFIT PROFIT PROFIT, FECK THE CUSTOMER, THEY'LL BUY MORE!
We seriously need a revolution in companies who care about customers and quality again. Capitalism is at it's end, we knew it would eventually happen. A small handful of massive companies/corporations own the market and control it, like the mafia running the ports. It's corrupted. And covid lockdowns destroyed a lot of the small companies that were left. THE FUTURE SUCKS MY MAN! The future sucks........
When I disable WiFi - my Fire based Toshiba shuts down all the fancy UI BS and allows me to choose my Input. Good.
My new tv remote does not even have a source button. I have to go through 4 pages of menus showing me random bullshit just to change from ps5 to pc. And on top of that if I leave it paused for a long period of time it will jjst start playing something I never clicked on.
But what if I want to watch UA-cam on my TV? I sometimes just want to stream something from Netflix or something, so like I have to connect it to the internet and I haven't found a privacy respecting way to doing it.
Nvidia Shield
Fully agree (and the reasons I wasn't aware of (a few small points) reafirm my reason for sticking to my old 1080p tv instead of upgrading to 4k and being broke for 2 months even with a smart tv (also you forgot ultrasonic cross device tracking which most definitely is being used even if you don't connect your tv to the internet to sell your data through your phone
Keep it dumb as a rock.
The reason anyone can buy a 55 inch smart TV for half the price of a dumb TV at half the size is the data collection profits. I use mine as a monitor to watch streaming video and some antenna channels.
Bro! You hit every point 10 / 10! I've been searching for THIS VIDEO for days & finally found it. Now I just want to put a custom firmware on my TCL to make it just be a Display & not trying to be my Apple TV. Subbed.
My smart tv tries to identify devices plugged into it so it can optimize settings. This process takes about 5 minutes every time the hdmi is switched around. I have to switch the hdmi often because of how few ports it has. The UA-cam app almost never works. This isn't a cheap tv either, vost me 1500 bucks
Excellent and informative instruction. Thank you for this video.
Years ago when a smart TV was all that was available, we opened it and found the WIFI card quite obvious, simply removed it. Does this still work?
Varies greatly. Many designs are based on single-board computers that have integrated/onboard wifi.
still using a LG 720p plasma as my monitor. When its time to upgrade...It'll be buying a smart tv and never hooking it up to the net ever...or simply making my way through used plasmas until I find something I like. Any thoughts on doing surgery on smart tv's to lobotomize them? You know...removing the cameras and microphones? Thanks...
I have a Roku TV. Aside from UA-cam, Spotify, and gaming, I don't use it for anything else. Was pretty creeped out that it has the ability to target ads based on the content of connected devices and streaming apps. Needless to say, I turned that off real quick.
What did you do to turn it off
@@Patelivision Go to settings. Go to privacy. Make sure limit ad tracking is turned on. There's also another setting regarding ACR. Make sure that is checked off.
@@EdwardPHandsBasedManchild thank you
Agree 100%! Visio SUCKS!!! Their "app store" has nothing to offer....they are super slow with terrible wifi reception. I wound up buying a firestick lite and plugging it into the hdmi port....... I wish I had invested in a passive 3D "dumb" tv or monitor.....kudos on a great video. Subscribed as soon as I heard you say that visio sucks!
And what about the TVs that use any nearby open WiFi when you don’t add it to your network?
You definitely explained what the problem is, however the solution of "just make it dumb" doesn't really answer the question of what to do about it. I want to watch shows through apps on the TV, and I can't do that if I turn off the network connection. The solution I'm looking for is how to make a replacement for the smart part of the TV. Something I can control myself like a thin client or whatever it is. Would love to see a follow up on this.
Exactly! May be we don't find dumb tv ever after it seems..
Can confirm this. I've just reset the Smart TV of my parents, and noticed that it has loads of features that no one ever used or even noticed. For all practical intents and purposes, its just a dumb TV. And no it doesn't even need it's WiFi.
I have a 14 year old dumb TV and I hate it because of picture fidelity and it never seems to degrade or die, so that I could buy a new one. Now I hate it a bit less, because it's dumb. :)
The backlight in my non smart samsung bit the dust today, sounds like one bublb took the hold thing down. I can get the led backlight strips, but the parts are like $100. And then i have to take the tv completely apart. So i started looing for a new tv (NON SMART). I found a bunch of site articles on where to buy a NON SMART TV, but then tv is no longer available, or they just straight up list smart tv's on the non smart tv list. This is like phycological warfare. Pretend it's available, only to find out it is really not available. This is like a feedback loop, where they just send you in circles. If you find someone recommending a non-smart tv, they don't list any options or product numbers that you can use to find the TV. Probably cause they don't exist, well not if your looking for at least 40" or bigger. I could find 32" and lower. If you contact electronic stores and ask if they carry any non smart tv's, and they will say no. The devil is a peeping tom, except now he wont let you close the blinds.
It is so true. I connected an USB led light strip into the USB port behind my Sony smart TV. Common sense would say that once the tv shuts off the USB port would not have any current. Well, I shut off the tv at night and during the evening..I am not lying but the lights turn on and off at random during the night. So the tv is turning on and off for some reason without the screen turning on. So it must be something fishy about that. So I shut off any and all features that function in the background. I removed the camera and the microphone. I connected the tv via wired network and unplug it when not streaming
After trying many options, best one is to actually have a PC running Linux connected to "dumb" TV (or smart TV without network access). I've build myself HTPC with cheap older hardware for under 100$ and it even has 1TB drive so i can save some stuff locally. Raspberry Pi could work too, but it costs over 100$ to get 4GB model with case and everything. Performance wise it's much slower than any decent x86 CPU. There are ITX boards with integrated CPU which can work with passive cooling and don't use a lot of power, those are perfect for this.
How would you make a separate network for IOT devices, I've always wanted to do this but I'm not much of a networking kinda tech guy.
Easiest way is to get another home router. Just plug one into the other, each is a firewall. Put your most secure stuff (personal info) behind the last (most) firewall(s).
A lot of routers these days have a guest wifi. Just enable that in your router's settings and then you can connect them to that (assuming it's a wireless device)
I'm still using an HD CRT television that my parents bought back in 2004 it sounds amazing it looks great it's extremely reliable and I don't need to worry about my information being stolen
It's a Sony by the way
Sounds like the Sony Trinitron. I have seen a few of those when I was really young, and still recognize their distinct silver bezel color and flat panel.
The time has changed "Dumb is the new Smart"!
Why not buy a smart TV (cheaper than a dumb TV since the manufacturers assume they'll be able to sell your data) and not give it your WiFi password?
Be aware that if you connect a computer to the SmartTV with an HDMI cable and the computer is connected to the internet, the TV will connect to the internet.
It was introduced with v1.4 of the HDMI standard.
So would it connect through a chromecast?
@@Vipelez
Good question. I'm not sure.
So just buying a new smart TV out of the box and it will require me to connect it up to the Wi-Fi? I don't want any spying on me by this new TV, so not connecting it to my Wi-Fi hub won't allow this to happen?
It doesn't use 4G or anything or has a mini transmitter hidden in the frame or something?
Thanks!
People should be smart, not appliances. Those should be dumb.
Unfortunately, it's not that way.
I don't have one, but i visit my aunt who have one, Very beautiful image, good for videogames and movies but then i enter UA-cam which is i more consume in my PC... can´t stand more than 5 minutes with a ****ing AD in every video (i have Adblocker in my PC), If i buy one, maybe work as a monitor to my PC but not for the "Smart" part, and i think there are not smart Tvs who cost less and do the same.
I don't get it. If you had just an offline TV, how do you actually watch content?? Anything you use to cast, stream, or display online video will pose the same privacy and security risks. Is there a video showing how to actually enjoy your TV once you've blocked the smart and connected features?
I'll do #4 on my next HDTV {or 4kTV}. No internet for TV.
Remember 'max headroom show' ? with it's "Two Way TVs"*(also video phones). TVs did not have on/off switches** and off switches "illegal". well HDTVs have 'standby mode', never really being "off". We are almost there, "20 minutes into the future" and/or "1984". But with hacker and data pirates.
*two way TVs being very "1984" [Book].
** Some how TV were self-powered, So they were Always on, receiving and sending data signals.
I just don't connect my TV to the internet. Boom! Problem solved. TVs shouldn't need an internet connection to display images. I don't need apps on my TV. Instead I prefer to just connect a Google Chromecast to the HDMI port and cast from phone to TV. Works perfectly well on my 1080p flatscreen, no reason why it shouldn't work just as well on my UHD 4K TV.
There's no such a thing as privacy when you're online.
Don't companies like Roku also sell your data? Is there really any option for tvs where they won't sell your data?
Not only that but they update and change the entire menu so you as a consumer have to re-learn how to operate the television or worse take away features that were usefull (LG I'm talking to you, just quit it, quit it!) I wish you could just get a basic television just designed to show your sources with the best resolution available at a price point without paying all the licencing and nonsense crap you don't want.......didn't we learn from the bloat when buying a new computer....no we didn't, we just don't want to give the consumer a choice.
Option 4. I don't nook up the ether net cable and I don't give it the password for any one of my three wireless networks.
Here what really sucks. I got a Vizio D55 I got back in 2018. it not hooked to internet at this time. But here the kick. Brand new or a factory reset I can’t find any way to get it running till you connected to internet for the first time and log into yahoo. After that you can pull the plug and use it as just a TV
are smart tvs easy to open? you could just disconnect the wifi card or blacklist the MAC of the wifi card
@@MordistSport the only benefit i see would be to make sure the firmware is current. Then disconnect from the wifi/LAN.
I also use a monitor and a Shield TV, also because in Italy, if you own a device that receives TV signal, you have to pay an annual fee of about 105$ to the state!
My dad just bought one
He whines about me wanting a better PC but he gets an overpriced Smart TV for himself
Dad of the year everyone
😅😅😅😅
100% concur about despising smart TV's and I absolutely loathe the roku smart tv remote. It's a despicable remote for any tv, when you just want to change channels thru an old fashioned OTA remote.
I dont mind the separate roku device's remote because you can unplug and disregard the roku remote amd unit when it's not in use. But embedding the roku into the tv hardware sucks as does it's stupid remote.
The worst thing is the Software, the tv quality is fantastic but it has an outdated software
Are things like pi hole able to block most of the tv tracking traffic, or are they starting to bypass the dns set by the network? I've heard of (and had problems) Google devices simply breaking if 8.8.8.8 was blocked.
I've heard that you can force Google devices to use alternate DNS but mine always break too, I could never get them to work without 8.8.8.8
Dude I agree I got one it destroyed two new sets of earphones one side is dead worked on everything else before connecting them to the pos. Cant access volume in the menu no buttons like on a regular tv only 1 is the power button no audio out jacks list goes on, never would have bought it if I knew should have done research first
I've hated the idea of smart TVs from the start but it's hard to get 'dumb' TVs here now.
I totally agree with you, I bought one awhile back, it sucks, but I have a Sony that I've had for years years it's a flat screen, its still cool,,
My new 'Smart' TV is really dumb. I always use a TV box.
I was told not to hook up the Internet for my TV. Also, it gets slower and slower. You ended up buying a new one in about 3-4 years. My old dumb CRT tv lasted for 10 years.
Need help because after stupidly updating the OS on my LG TV, my Roku remote no longer works. I am a senior who finds using the LG remote extremely difficult and I prefer the Roku remote. Suggestions appreciated!
If you have a "smart" tv you wish to keep offline, is it OK to periodically turn the wifi on and then off again for firmware updates?
Why do you need to "update" your TV? Think how stupid that sounds lol. Just don't even hook it up to the net and you'll never even know about these "updates". From what I've been reading in this comment section, updates seem to take a long time (hours I've been reading, WTF???), screw your settings up and I've even been reading it makes their tv slower.
Remember those heavy 80 pound tube tvs? They never had software, no updates and they always lasted so long that usually by the time you want to replace it it's just because it's so old and you just want a bigger one, not because it stopped working. These TVs now a days suck, can't even last 10 years. Pathetic garbage tech.
Reminds me of something from a book, I think the title was 1984, not sure............can you hear the sarcasm?
A desktop monitor and a converter box.. Yes! Now what to do about the smart refrigerator, smart washer and dryer, smart toilet..?
this is an interesting video! i had a dumb tv that was a hand-me-down that my family had for 10 years. it (finally) broke last month and i had to buy a new one, and in a hurry and budget i bought a firetv and changed all of the data settings before using it, although i prefer to use the roku from my old TV since we don't have cable anymore (that probably is another privacy concern, yikes). i didn't realize until searching for a new tv that 99% of tvs were smart and that it was borderline impossible to not buy a smart tv.
Just for the jokes i searched for "LCD TV" and then for "dumb TV" on amazon, surprisingly amazon knew exactly what i meant by "dumb TV" and showed me normal TVs, with sum bs like clothes mixed in but still alot less smart TVs😂
@@thatguywiththeak820 Haha nice
You bring great points but you can use your great wisdom and knowledge to tell us viewers how we can connect a VPN to a smart TV. The only option out there is using a home router with VPN but many of us don't have home internet rather we use either a smartphone hotspot or dedicated mobile hotspot so there needs to be a way to do this. Help us out and share insight.
Simplest solution is don't plug in the Ethernet cable. That what I've done. For BBC iPlayer and stuff like that, a raspberry pi would be fine.
what us stopping roku, amazon, and every tv stick maker from doing the same thing? should we just stop using Netflix now?
Ha, jokes on you, I use my tv as a computer monitor with multiple inputs. It is a Vizio, but it has no microphones or cameras. It's an oldish cheapo 720p LED. It's software/firmware isn't even supported anymore and nothing will run on the "smart" features, which is basically low budget Roku style crap. This is how I like it.
Not only are they invasive as hell, they're also ridiculously slow. Navigating the UIs in every "smart" TV I've owned has been such a painfully slow experience. Even if the smart features were useful, I still wouldn't want to use them because the experience is so bad. The worst thing I've seen though are older models that don't allow more than 32 characters in a network password. Just, what? Password length shouldn't be an issue. So even if you wanted to secure these damn things down, it still won't be ideal.
That's why I use a Firestick. The UI is much quicker.
This is why my next TV is going to be a PC Monitor. No bloatware, no smart features, just 43 inches of excellent screen quality at 4K 120Hz for console gaming and 144Hz for PC gaming.
I had never configured the network on our smart TV, so we were safe, right? Wrong. Came out of the box with wi-fi turned on, and our router had just added it as a device and assigned an IP number. The first we knew that it was on our LAN was noticing the name “Android” in the 5G router table. Dug in and finally found the wi-fi switch in Advanced Settings, turned that puppy off. Now it’s just a TV, with input supplied by our Apple TV and Xfinity cable.
I think that small tvs are more likely to be dumb tv only type tvs. I would rather buy a simple twenty two inch tv than a smart tv with a forty inch screen.
I still own a 50" Blaupunkt dumb TV. And it's better than the 40" smart I owned prior. Still glad I threw out that overly complicated, data gathering, privacy breaching, no old device supporting piece of crap.
I like to watch UA-cam on my smart TV. I could cast this video to it. But, I have Chicago PD playing.