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Electronics store clerk: "Can I help you?"

Me: "Good afternoon sir. I'm a developer and lifelong PC gamer. I received a second hand PS4, and might buy a next gen console at the end of the year. People tell me that in front of this soft wide desk chair people call a "couch", you need some sort of large computer monitor to enjoy console gaming"

Clerk: "Yeah, we sell TVs. What TV do you have now?"

Me: "I don't own a TV. I just want a huge 4K computer display with a good response time, excellent refresh rate, and great contrast"

Clerk: "OK so this is an entry level 55" smart TV. It's 120hz, QLED, has full array local dimming. It's great for gaming. It's €1000. We also have this LG OLED smart TV for €1200, which is a step up in terms of contrast and response time..."

Me: "Wait... Smart TV? No, I don't want a TV with an operating system. I want a computer display."

Clerk: "There aren't a lot of big computer displays. We have this ASUS ROG 55" computer monitor. It's also 120hz. Very similar response time, but the brightness and contrast aren't as great, it's edge-lit"

Me, trying really hard to make out the contrast differences under ugly fluorescent lights of the store: "So it's a worse big couch display, without smart OS. How much is it?"

Clerk: "€3500"

Me: "So what you're saying is that while the displays are similar or even better, the operating system on all these TVs is so incredibly bad, you have to give €2500 discount for people to even buy it?"

Comments
  • 59
    Actually most smart TVs are being sold at a loss. They make money with ads and data collection through their custom OS
  • 11
    Economy of scale.
  • 11
    How feasible is it to mod the “smart” out of the smart tv?
  • 23
    @FelisPhasma With a large enough hammer everything's possible

    unless... you want a smart hammer
  • 8
    @FelisPhasma The difficult part is that the settings of the panel (brightness, color profile, HDR, inputs) are very integrated into the smart OS.

    If the OS was running on a built-in device that could be turned off separately from the TV panel, that would be fine with me.
  • 3
    I bought a visio 43" tv a couple of years back. It has never been on the internet. I use it as hdmi display. YMMV.
  • 1
    Don't feed dem trolls haha
  • 4
    Wish they stop doing smart TVs and just accept Chromecast is the way to go. The new one even got Android TV...
  • 3
    @SolarStorm I believe strongly that a device should focus on doing one thing, and do it exceptionally well.

    In my bedroom I use Chromecast + Netflix/YouTube, Kodi + Yatse, and a Steam Link. All separate devices. I think it would be great if you could also buy a Tizen or WebOS stick — But I would want it completely separate from my TV.
  • 6
    @Nanos That sounds horrible.

    I don't mind spending $1-2k on a display, but I find it retarded that you can't buy a decent 43" to 55" 4K OLED which is just a fucking display instead of a smart TV.

    Well, sure, you CAN, but then you get a $3k ASUS "republic of gamers" abomination with massive red plastic feet, or DELL is like: "You wanna game, well fuck those stylish ultrasharp displays. Here have some $3k Alienware which looks like it was designed by a 10 year old Fortnite kid"
  • 1
    @FelisPhasma aka not give it internet access.
  • 1
    I don't have tv, last one I bought to play wii a long time ago, you know the dumb, regular one! Was thinking of getting one for switch, but if new ones are all smart tvs then I am better off without one!
  • 2
    I want a dumb 55"+ 4K screen too. Just a few HDMI and DP connections, maybe some digital sound output interface.

    Leaving a tactical 🧇 to receive suggestions. I expect none.

    I too would gladly pay up to 3k for the dumbest screen with only screen settings. Sadly, nowadays that money only buys me an OS that certainly feels buggy and has terribly UX, privacy, security and will be outdated the moment I turn it on, let alone in 2 years.

    Currently I have a very stupid simple Samsung screen of only 32". But it's dumb, so I love it. And it was free. And it is 15 years old. I don't expect any modern TV to be capable of all that!
  • 2
    @eeee What about rooting a TV and making it do exactly what you want? Are android TVs a thing?
  • 0
    There has to be a difference, ROG monitor is usually slim and has technology like free-sync and g-sync for graphics acceleration
  • 0
    @hardfault those dont accelerate anything...
  • 0
    @Demolishun every smart tv is android based
  • 1
    How about a projector?
  • 3
    @Gregozor2121 The two major smart TV manufacturers, Samsung and LG, do not use Android. They're competing. Together, they hold close to 50% of the market.

    Android is actually somewhat of the underdog on TVs, as Sony, TCL and Phillips move way less units than the Big Two, and many budget brands like Hisense also use alternatives like Vidaa.

    LG's WebOS was inherited from Palm through HP, and Samsung's OS is based on The Linux Foundation's MeeGo successor, Tizen.

    The concept behind both is pretty neat: Fully open source alternatives to the increasingly Google-controlled Android.

    In practice, both WebOS and Tizen became what they initially criticized Google for: A closed source, vendor-locked branch of an nearly irrelevant upstream open source repo.
  • 1
    @NeatNerdPrime nah... poor resolution, depends on lighting and room conditions, and more

    Also, what about HDR content? I don't think that would work great
  • 0
    @bittersweet Do they run android apps tho? If they do they are still android for me...

    Sorry i still think it is few years ago and smart tv had been only introduced...
  • 1
    @NeatNerdPrime that is actually a great idea, I had that idea before but lacked big enough wall to project on it, now i have huge ass empty wall and this could be it!
  • 1
    @gitlog sometimes a bit lower resolution makes it more intense. E.g. the movie 'alien' is in VHS format way better then the remastered version.
  • 1
    @devJs you are welcome!
  • 1
    @Gregozor2121 Technically, WebOS Tizen & AndroidTV can all run APKs — but in practice you only reliably get what their app stores give you.

    Samsung for example has an app compatibility layer, but it's more of a hack than running APKs natively on an Android phone. Even AndroidTV doesn't have the same app store as phone Android, although it's the easiest to sideload apps on.
  • 0
    @bittersweet about the device doing only one thing and doing it well... Does your phone have a camera? But for a device like a monitor where the technology does not have any real progress in a decade there's good reason not to couple it with smart anything that is obsolete even when they still sell it.
  • 0
    Smart TVs are crap, seriously. I have a PC if I need a display with an operating system
  • 0
    @electrineer Phones and laptops cram all components into one product as a trade-off, to gain mobility; At the cost of upgradability, repairability and customizability.

    When it comes to stationary products, I prefer them to be modular.

    And even for mobile: The world would be a better place if you could install iOS on a Pixel phone, and there were a dozen popular open source Linux distros that could be installed on an iPhone.
  • 0
    @FelisPhasma don't connect it to the internet.
  • 0
    @lanfiro Big bang theory is a misogynistic pile of crap... and while I might be described as "on the spectrum" (which developer isn't), if I resemble Sheldon it would be as a less egocentric but much more chaotic evil version of him.
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