All I really want my TV to do is turn on, quickly and reliably, and display whatever is plugged into HDMI1. The market is flooded with “Smart” (actually Surveillance) TVs so not buying one isn’t really practical.
tarentel 2 hours ago [-]
My Sony Google something or other from 2-3 years ago turns on directly to the active HDMI, more or less reliably for most devices, otherwise it'll turn on to the last used HDMI. I never connected it to the internet. I don't buy TVs very often so I was kind of shocked I didn't need the remote anymore to switch inputs when switching between devices. I expect every TV to do this now. It is sad to know that this may not be the case if I ever decide to buy a new TV.
pwg 3 hours ago [-]
I wonder if your comment suggests a re-framing of the TV's name. Start referring to them as "Surveillance TVs" in all contexts. Maybe the idea will spread?
leni536 2 hours ago [-]
Just call them telescreens.
dsr_ 2 hours ago [-]
Not everyone has read 1984, so it's accurate but not horrendously useful.
mchristen 4 hours ago [-]
You can buy what are called digital signage displays which are mostly just that. A quick search shows a 65" Samsung model available in US retail for $1400.
thesuitonym 3 hours ago [-]
Digital signage displays are not TVs though. They are much more expensive and frequently don't have features that dumb TVs had 40 years ago such as speakers, TV tuners, and multiple inputs.
mchristen 2 hours ago [-]
But I think that's the point? One thing I find silly is seeing all these smart TVs with "fancy" speakers sitting behind a sound bar that has a Roku/fire TV/Chromecast plugged in. Paying twice for devices with a large overlap in features...
ForHackernews 2 hours ago [-]
Part of the reason they're more expensive is that they're not subsided by ad revenue.
thesuitonym 1 hours ago [-]
Neither were dumb TVs in the 90s, but they were still somehow affordable.
freeone3000 27 minutes ago [-]
The price of the median purchased TV in 1997 was ~$4000, in nominal (1997) dollars. The price of the median TV in 2026 is ~$800.
So before we account for inflation, consumers are paying about one-fifth the price for a TV now. When we account for inflation, consumers are paying 3.7% of the price for a TV that they did in 1997. And it’s not even the same TV!
An apples-for-apples comparison, a 44” flatscreen TV with 1080i input was $45,000 in 1997 dollars, whereas the current price for a comparable model is $220. (The 2026 model is still better, with a lower operating cost and no burn-in, but it was the worst I could find.)
TVs today are significantly cheaper than those in the 90s. It’s not the TV’s fault they’re unaffordable.
mikestew 3 hours ago [-]
A quick search shows…
I’ve noticed that very few people recommending signage displays as a substitute for a traditional TV ever say, “here’s the one I bought…”
That’s because one will quickly discover that signage displays aren’t very good TVs.
nicwolff 2 hours ago [-]
I have a 55" LG Wallpaper signage display on my living room wall right now, with just an Apple TV plugged in, and it's fantastic. Cost $5000, 3.65mm thick, no smart features at all.
f_allwein 3 hours ago [-]
Not connecting the TV itself to any WiFi/ LAN networks used to help. Is that not the case anymore?
darrelld 3 hours ago [-]
My parents got one from Walmart and to use any of the software interface they needed to login to a Walmart account. Scary.
eszed 2 hours ago [-]
Does selecting inputs work? That's all I need from a TV. If anything, needing to sign in to use the native interface would be a bonus, because it'd prevent non-technical family members from accidently using it. "Babe, we have Netflix on [the dongle], why'd you sign in on the TV?" is a conversation I've had more than once.
mikestew 2 hours ago [-]
That doesn’t preclude plugging an Apple TV into HDMI1. If it does, then back in the box it goes.
2 hours ago [-]
wffurr 3 hours ago [-]
$7000 DGX Spark as a media PC, what a world. Surely there's cheaper hardware that can run a decent voice assistant.
Sytten 3 hours ago [-]
What are the best brands / models to buy right now to install webOS?
So they recommend that you debloat your TV by pasting a rather lengthy prompt into your coding agent, that'll take a long time to sort things out.
And then, near the bottom of the page, they provide a 9 lines of shell script that according to them does "everything the agent does". Uhh.. okay? I guess the agent would be for trouble shooting, but I'm not really sold on this modern of delivering software yet.
Just get an exisiting tv box or make your own. dumb your tv down and keep it that way smart tvs are a joke
gosub100 4 hours ago [-]
This is a side topic, but relevant to those of us who care about UI/UX:
I have a webos TV and notice that it comes with free Samsung IPTV channels. But they are unusable because of the delay in switching between channels! This relatively minor detail could be the difference between a killer app that could grow and monetize, vs something that users try and give up on.
I'm sure there are ways to make it as fast as cable TV, even if it initially degraded the video or had other consequences.
NoboruWataya 8 hours ago [-]
A dumb TV connected via HDMI to a Raspberry Pi running Kodi is smart enough for me.
loloquwowndueo 5 hours ago [-]
Where do you even buy dumb tv at a decent price these days?
I got one two weeks ago when my previous dumb tv packed up after
14 years. No complaints so far.
thesuitonym 3 hours ago [-]
Sceptre still sells dumb TVs in the US.
loloquwowndueo 2 hours ago [-]
Bummer I’m not in the us :)
thesuitonym 1 hours ago [-]
Hopefully you're somewhere that the cello site the other fella posted ships. Sceptre probably also sells them in your locale but I wouldn't know about that.
everdrive 4 hours ago [-]
A yard sale.
loloquwowndueo 2 hours ago [-]
Not looking for a CRT my dude but thanks
everdrive 2 hours ago [-]
I got my last two dumb-flat panels from either Craigslist or yard sales. They're out there. Not too many Yard Sales have CRTs any longer. Or at least, the flat-panels are more common by now.
DarkCrusader2 5 hours ago [-]
Does DolbyVision or HDR10+ content work in this setup? My understanding is that they won't.
I also got a lot of stuttering issue with 1080p x265 content last time I tried hooking up the Pi with my TV.
I would love to get Kodi working with HDR10+ on my Samsung TV without buying those expensive android boxes (which are very expensive and difficult to obtain in my region anyway).
prmoustache 2 hours ago [-]
> Does DolbyVision or HDR10+ content work in this setup?
I don't know what these things are but I just plug the hdmi cable to my laptop and use a wireless keyboard+trackpad combo[1] as a remote. Never understood the need for a "TV" interface or TV box. I tried Kodi and its alternatives years ago but never found them to be faster to load the apps and browse for content than loading the netflix/prime/hbo web pages in a tab or freetube in a dedicated window, switching tabs or virtual desktops is usually faster than switching apps on one of these interfaces, same for browsing on your filesystem for local content or run a music app.
But what do I know, I am a simple person who likes simple solutions.
[1]the microsoft one that look nearly the same as a Logitech K400. Not sure if it is still sold.
lp92 49 minutes ago [-]
Both of those are HDR standards. If you're using g a good OLED or even mini LED with enough zones, it makes a pretty big difference in the visuals. The support for both are usually locked down unless you're using a compatible device.
spacesez-ai 2 hours ago [-]
I hit the same stuttering with 1080p x265 on a Pi 4 and it turned out to be software decoding; once hardware HEVC decode was actually enabled in Kodi it played 1080p smoothly, though 10 bit content was hit or miss. HDR10+ is the harder wall: Kodi on Linux basically drops the dynamic metadata and passes plain HDR10, so your Samsung just applies static tone mapping and you lose the peak brightness tricks. If most of your library is HDR10+ rips, a used Shield may still cost less than fighting this despite the price. Curious what your source files are, because remuxes that keep the HDR10 base layer look fine, it is only the dynamic metadata you lose.
everdrive 4 hours ago [-]
Can Kodi use widevine yet? I did this years ago, but it was a game of cat and mouse I kept losing. Right now we just plug a linux laptop into the TV via HDMI.
epihelix 7 hours ago [-]
This is the way.
globular-toast 6 hours ago [-]
[dead]
hahahoo 5 hours ago [-]
[flagged]
Rendered at 16:54:25 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
So before we account for inflation, consumers are paying about one-fifth the price for a TV now. When we account for inflation, consumers are paying 3.7% of the price for a TV that they did in 1997. And it’s not even the same TV!
An apples-for-apples comparison, a 44” flatscreen TV with 1080i input was $45,000 in 1997 dollars, whereas the current price for a comparable model is $220. (The 2026 model is still better, with a lower operating cost and no burn-in, but it was the worst I could find.)
TVs today are significantly cheaper than those in the 90s. It’s not the TV’s fault they’re unaffordable.
I’ve noticed that very few people recommending signage displays as a substitute for a traditional TV ever say, “here’s the one I bought…”
That’s because one will quickly discover that signage displays aren’t very good TVs.
https://github.com/Gathin23/cleanyourtv/tree/main
And then, near the bottom of the page, they provide a 9 lines of shell script that according to them does "everything the agent does". Uhh.. okay? I guess the agent would be for trouble shooting, but I'm not really sold on this modern of delivering software yet.
https://github.com/Gathin23/cleanyourtv/tree/main#doing-it-b...
And the result I didn't find particularly pretty to look at
Also, it says you have to have system root of the tv, how does one get root access to the LG TV?
https://cani.rootmy.tv/
I have a webos TV and notice that it comes with free Samsung IPTV channels. But they are unusable because of the delay in switching between channels! This relatively minor detail could be the difference between a killer app that could grow and monetize, vs something that users try and give up on.
I'm sure there are ways to make it as fast as cable TV, even if it initially degraded the video or had other consequences.
I got one two weeks ago when my previous dumb tv packed up after 14 years. No complaints so far.
I would love to get Kodi working with HDR10+ on my Samsung TV without buying those expensive android boxes (which are very expensive and difficult to obtain in my region anyway).
I don't know what these things are but I just plug the hdmi cable to my laptop and use a wireless keyboard+trackpad combo[1] as a remote. Never understood the need for a "TV" interface or TV box. I tried Kodi and its alternatives years ago but never found them to be faster to load the apps and browse for content than loading the netflix/prime/hbo web pages in a tab or freetube in a dedicated window, switching tabs or virtual desktops is usually faster than switching apps on one of these interfaces, same for browsing on your filesystem for local content or run a music app.
But what do I know, I am a simple person who likes simple solutions.
[1]the microsoft one that look nearly the same as a Logitech K400. Not sure if it is still sold.