Im wondering what kind of tv to look for?
IMO 4k is useless because the network where I live is bad and 1080p is good enough. I don’t think smart tv functionality is a thing to look for, more like a « what not to look for » criteria.
What other criterions should be taken?
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Look for commercial grade TVs, like those displays in restaurants and whatnot. They’re often a bit more expensive and frequently lower resolution and slower refresh, but they last a lot longer and picture quality is usually fine. You won’t find them at Amazon or bix box stores (if you do, make sure they’re actually commercial grade, not just advertised that way), so you’ll need to figure out where local businesses get them.
So if you’re interested in just a basic, 1080p screen and value longevity over consumer features, look at what businesses buy.
One key term to search for is “digital signage”. Since they’re built to stay on 24/7 for years, you’ll probably need to buy another one, which offsets the higher price to an extent. If you can make do with a smaller panel, a large monitor with HDMI input is another option.
You can also sometimes find a shop that’s selling off someone’s warehouse remainder of older dumb panel consumer TVs, although that’s getting much rarer as the number of new-in-box units decreases.
The cheapest one in the size you wanted. You can get 55" 4k tvs for as little as $250 when on sale at microcenter and they work/look great. Buy a $50 sound bar on Amazon as all TVs in the low range have terrible sound.
A non-4K TV in 2024? Good luck with that. Just take one, it doesn’t hurt when your content is lower res, but you can still benefit from it when you play videogames or watch 4K Blu-Rays. I would definitely take an OLED display. Check out https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/tvs-on-the-market
Agreed. There is zero benefit to eschewing 4k, and zero benefit to looking for a dumb TV; get a smart model and don’t connect it to the internet.
Some TVs require an internet connection and account creation before they will work.
Isn’t this completely illegal in most countries?
I’ve never heard that; which ones?
Which? Gotta avoid them like the plague
Yes. This is a total enshitification move. Who makes those TVs…do not buy those TVs.
I can recommend Vizio since it does not require you to connect the internet to use it. However, if you want bluetooth enabled it requires the internet. Otherwise it works great. I use it as a desktop monitor.
Warning, do NOT connect Vizio to the internet. They were busted for sending images of all content you watched to their servers, so they could profile you and sell that data. Who knows what else they’ll get up to in a secret update down the road.
Wow what the actual fuck. Well, they’re on my denylist for eternity.
Good luck
Is this just based on availability of sub 4k res televisions? Im in the UK but a lot of shops that sell TVs still have plenty of 1080p and even a few “HD Ready” (720p). Granted its smaller televisions, once you get above mid 30s its 4k only available
I’m just assuming the OP is looking for a general advise on a new TV. If he’s actually looking for a 20 inch TV he is looking for such a niche device that he should probably have stated that.
But OP stated no real requirements at all which makes it nearly impossible to actually recommend something. What even is the TV used for? He wants a non-smart TV but but seems to be streaming? What about size? How is the room lit?
One with no microphone, no spy camera, no Internet, etc. if they even make those anymore.
They are called computer monitors. There are also commercial sign displays, but the picture quality is usually not very good.
IIYAMA make DSDs that are 4K, although I know that’s not a requirement for OP, so that should be able to replace a TV pretty well
kagis
It looks like there are enough people now who explicitly don’t want those that some retailers do have a category for them.
I’m happy with my Samsung S90C (oled). I didn’t find any non-smart-tv options that I liked after my 18 year old Samsung TV died, and after using a PC monitor and PC speakers for a few weeks while researching options, I settled on this one, which was on my shortlist and on sale at a nearby bricks’n’mortar store.
Even in a well lit room, I’m very happy with it. I also use the apps to stream content, so one less box is needed. Let’s hope it lasts 18+ years too.
4K works with consoles, and avoiding it won’t save you money.
Don’t even try he’s probably disabled
I just bought a refurb 1080p projector that can project up to a 150" picture for $30.
Depending on your situation, something to think about
How is the picture quality and brightness? I’ve been thinking about getting a projector, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. A $30 refurb might be a fun experiment, but certainly not something I’d expect to replace our current TV.
What’s the power usage like though? Last I remember, projectors used big fat bright-ass hot power-gobbling bulbs.
Don’t watch TV. Live like Ted Kaczynski
If you’re buying new just go for 4k, you don’t have to use it, but it’s nice to have for in the future or any gaming you might do soon. I’ve noticed that new it’s cheaper to buy 4k with hdr than 1080p without. I saw a Sharp tv with 4k hdr10 for 299€. If you really want 1080p any thrift shop will have some tv stacked in a corner, just look up the model number and you’ll see most of them that don’t have giant bezels are 1080p50, which fits your needs. Older tvs dont require internet for alot of features, or they won’t work with internet anyway, so you won’t miss much. Good luck in your search!
Avoid Samsung TVs, they will wait until your return window is closed and then start showing ads. Buggy, ad-ridden garbage.
I will never buy another Samsung thing. Except flash disks I guess are fine. Hard to jam ads in there, lord knows they are surely trying to, tho.
4k useless? Are you living in 2007?
Depending on the size of the screen and the sitting distance, sometimes 1080p is more than enough.
