can i hear you now
March 7, 2017 12:15 PM Subscribe
What's a good 36-38" TV that does 1080p and doesn't spy on you?
My friend needs a new TV, 36-38" and asked me to give her a hand. The only requirement she has is that it can do 1080p, the only requirement I have is that I do not instruct my friend to buy a television that is going to spy on her.
Before now, she had a regular (dumb) Samsung TV purchased new around 2010 and a PS4 and Chromecast. She no longer has the PS4 and Chromecast can be a pain in the ass so apps wouldn't be a terrible feature but, again, not if it is at the cost of privacy. If the answer is "just buy another dumb Samsung TV" that's totally and completely fine as I trust Samsung on at least the quality of their TVs.
Direct links to Amazon appreciated!
My friend needs a new TV, 36-38" and asked me to give her a hand. The only requirement she has is that it can do 1080p, the only requirement I have is that I do not instruct my friend to buy a television that is going to spy on her.
Before now, she had a regular (dumb) Samsung TV purchased new around 2010 and a PS4 and Chromecast. She no longer has the PS4 and Chromecast can be a pain in the ass so apps wouldn't be a terrible feature but, again, not if it is at the cost of privacy. If the answer is "just buy another dumb Samsung TV" that's totally and completely fine as I trust Samsung on at least the quality of their TVs.
Direct links to Amazon appreciated!
I assume the "not spy on you" is a reference to the recent releases that the CIA is able to intercept audio recorded by voice-activated smart TVs, which is to say any conversation occurring in a room with such a TV.
That being said, I'd just vote getting a dumb TV and a roku (which I find much easier to use than Chromecast). I've never used a smart TV, voice activated or not, that wasn't categorically worse at all the streaming stuff than a dedicated set-top box.
posted by Itaxpica at 12:37 PM on March 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
That being said, I'd just vote getting a dumb TV and a roku (which I find much easier to use than Chromecast). I've never used a smart TV, voice activated or not, that wasn't categorically worse at all the streaming stuff than a dedicated set-top box.
posted by Itaxpica at 12:37 PM on March 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
You can buy a smarttv and just not ever use the smart interface or hook it up to the wifi etc. Just go about your normal business with cable/roku/bluray/xbox/fire/apple/whatever as your OS of choice.
Honestly, even a TV without the "smart" functionality can be spying on you, if Entity X pays Samsung or anybody else enough money and/or threatens to put them out of business if they don't. If you have a TV or phone, you should consider planning your revolution in a different room.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:42 PM on March 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
Honestly, even a TV without the "smart" functionality can be spying on you, if Entity X pays Samsung or anybody else enough money and/or threatens to put them out of business if they don't. If you have a TV or phone, you should consider planning your revolution in a different room.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:42 PM on March 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
To that end, I have 2 Samsungs and 1 Vizio from Costco, the most recent a Samsung I bought in January that is the monitor I'm typing this on. They're great, and Costco's return policy makes it pretty much a no-brainer if you have other uses for a membership (or a friend with one). I think all the TVs at Costco have some kind of smart featureset though, if you absolutely have to have a TV without. They've all worked flawlessly with our Fire, Roku, and Apple tv devices.
It turns out the Sony 40" I bought last fall doesn't have smart features, on checking, but that specific model isn't available new any longer. It's also fine, gets along fine with the Roku, has good sound. It has the least stable-feeling feet of all our TVs, and I really need to put earthquake straps on it as it's in the bedroom on top of a dresser where it could fall on a dog or a person pretty easily.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:51 PM on March 7, 2017
It turns out the Sony 40" I bought last fall doesn't have smart features, on checking, but that specific model isn't available new any longer. It's also fine, gets along fine with the Roku, has good sound. It has the least stable-feeling feet of all our TVs, and I really need to put earthquake straps on it as it's in the bedroom on top of a dresser where it could fall on a dog or a person pretty easily.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:51 PM on March 7, 2017
"spy on you" probably refers to the Vizio thing where they sold customers' usage data to third parties.
Any "dumb" TV should be safe. Your TV can't report your watching habits if it doesn't know what you're watching and isn't internet-enabled.
(really this applies to smart TVs too, if you don't use the built-in tuner or any apps.)
posted by neckro23 at 12:55 PM on March 7, 2017
Any "dumb" TV should be safe. Your TV can't report your watching habits if it doesn't know what you're watching and isn't internet-enabled.
(really this applies to smart TVs too, if you don't use the built-in tuner or any apps.)
posted by neckro23 at 12:55 PM on March 7, 2017
Response by poster: What do you mean by "spy on you"?
For clarity's sake, what Itaxpica/neckro23 said and also here in Samsung's privacy policy for Smart TVs:
Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition.
posted by griphus at 1:06 PM on March 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
For clarity's sake, what Itaxpica/neckro23 said and also here in Samsung's privacy policy for Smart TVs:
Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition.
posted by griphus at 1:06 PM on March 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
Nthing those who say just don't plug it into the network, and you eliminate that problem. Then the world of TVs is open to you. If you are paranoid about this stuff (and I'm not saying you're wrong to be), then no smart TV is really safe. So make them all into dumb TVs by not connecting them to the internet.
posted by primethyme at 1:43 PM on March 7, 2017
posted by primethyme at 1:43 PM on March 7, 2017
It's also important to keep in mind that smart devices will update themselves automatically. As such, it's not just a matter of what the TV does now but what it will do in the future. If you buy a "smart" TV and connect it to to the Internet, you have to be able to trust the company that made it from now on.
Also, the fact that a particular smart TV will work without an Internet connection does not mean that it will continue to do so if you let it update. There's nothing preventing a manufacturer from adding such a limitation after the fact, and it only takes one well-meaning visitor with your Wi-Fi password to install the latest update.
You're probably safest with a dumb-as-designed TV and leaving the smarts in an external device.
posted by suetanvil at 2:36 PM on March 7, 2017
Also, the fact that a particular smart TV will work without an Internet connection does not mean that it will continue to do so if you let it update. There's nothing preventing a manufacturer from adding such a limitation after the fact, and it only takes one well-meaning visitor with your Wi-Fi password to install the latest update.
You're probably safest with a dumb-as-designed TV and leaving the smarts in an external device.
posted by suetanvil at 2:36 PM on March 7, 2017
Get the tv you want, don't plug it in to your network.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 4:12 PM on March 8, 2017
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 4:12 PM on March 8, 2017
Any TV that isn't Wifi-enabled or smart. I've been shopping for a bedroom LED in a smaller size than my living room behemoth, and I don't want a smart TV in my bedroom as a precaution (I'm on the sober side of tech-paranoid.) I have this one on my Amazon wishlist: LG Electronics 32LF5600 32-Inch 1080p LED TV
It's only 32" though. Just spend some time on Amazon or Newegg and make sure the tv isn't listed as being smart or wifi-enabled.
posted by Avosunspin at 11:12 PM on March 8, 2017
It's only 32" though. Just spend some time on Amazon or Newegg and make sure the tv isn't listed as being smart or wifi-enabled.
posted by Avosunspin at 11:12 PM on March 8, 2017
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My suggestion would be to get any TV and not plug it into the internet (smart or dumb), and hook it up to a Roku. The Roku won't record you, but it of course records what you watch and when and serves ads and whatnot based on that, as will literally anything you use.
posted by brainmouse at 12:18 PM on March 7, 2017 [4 favorites]