Sounds great, but have you actually tried that recently?
And its unlikely to get any better.
Playing It Dumb
Why would you want a dumb TV?
Glenn Carstens-Peters / Unsplash
You just hook it up to your Wi-Fi, and youre done.
While thats great, those TVs are also a huge security and privacy hole.
For instance,Samsung TVs were caught spying on viewersback in 2015.
Possessed Photography / Unsplash
Smart TV sets record your button pushes and other interactions and alsorecord the audio from your living room.
Facebook uses this information to sell targeted advertising, but smart TV makersjust sell it directly.
Smart TV maker Viziomade $38.4 million in a single quarterjust from selling view data and ads.
For comparison, its devices (the actual TVs, etc.)
made it $48.2 million.
Worse, the data sales are growing faster and will soon make up the majority of its revenue.
That, right there, is the number one reason you cannot buy a dumb TV.
That might be a cable box, or it may be an Apple TV unit.
Not only will you protect your privacy, but youll also enjoy a better experience.
Just trying to change channels on a TV can be a nightmare if you havent yet studied the remote.
Possessed Photography / Unsplash
And then theres the price.
Smart TVs are cheap because TV makers want you to buy them.
“A big computer monitor could be a great alternative if youre only looking at the screen.
Can You Protect Yourself?
Its still possible tobuy a dumb TVor alternative gear.
Samsung, Scepter, and Westinghouse make some, but finding one to buy may be tricky.
The final option is to just buy a smart TV and never, ever connect it to your Wi-Fi.
But then, youd still have to deal with the awful user interface.
In the end, it might just be better to watch shows on your iPad.
