I never connect my smart TVs to the network, I just plug in my Apple TV and move on. It's frustrating because it takes longer to turn these devices on than it should because of all the additional overhead I don't want or need. I wish someone would make a painless gadget to flash the software with dumber software that loads instantly.

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rtkwe 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

They're also cheaper because they're subsidized. I did the same thing with a FireTV but understood the extra crap they want to boot and use is part of why they're so cheap, they're hoping for information to sell or puchases they can monetize.

	▲	Loughla an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		We just bought a vizio to replace one that broke. Once you skip the setup process, all you need to do is remove the solder from the 'home' button on the remote or whatever it is and you'll never see their pop up crap again. I get why people like this, though. It takes all of your accounts and puts them in one place. Honestly, if I could run Plex and my own media through it, it would be tempting to just block it from dialing out and get rid of my Nvidia shield.
	▲	skillina 42 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		The frustrating thing is the lack of options. If you buy a $300 TV or a $3000 TV it will still come loaded with bloat/ad/spyware built in.

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tombert 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Yeah, I don't connect my TV to WiFi at all; as long as TVs have HDMI ports I'll just use an Nvidia Shield TV (or something similar). If I do that I have access to more apps, a snappier interface, and it's easier to upgrade if I need to later.

I've looked into flashing it to use a dumber firmware, but it got into technical documentation that I don't really understand really quickly. I haven't looked into it since I got a Claude Code membership though, so it might be worth revisiting with AI assistance.

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Marsymars 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I've got a Sony TV with Google TV (not connected to internet) that turns on pretty quickly.

If it's going from a cold boot e.g. where it was unplugged or if it's doing a full reboot it takes a bit longer and shows a splash screen, but if it's turning on from a regular "off" state it takes about the same amount of time as the rest of my dumb screens and goes directly to the last used input.

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bombcar 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Some TVs have an “instant on” feature that uses some more watts but only ever turns the backlight/screen off.

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1234letshaveatw 36 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

My google dongle got progressively worse and worse. Frequent disconnects, I found out you had to like orientate it a special way, youtube kept having issues. Dumped it and switched to my built in LG OS (WebOS based I think). Works fine, does basically the same thing as my Google dongle did without the slow degradation march

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joering2 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Same here! none of my home Tvs, most LG and Samsung, have ever seen w Wifi password. Always putting firestick on it and call it a day. At least firestick I can unplug throw away, God only knows what updates TV does that I obviously cannot revert.

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autoexec 2 hours ago | parent [-]

> Always putting firestick on it and call it a day.

Aren't you just letting amazon collect and monetize your viewing habits while allowing them to push ads at you? Avoiding ads and data collection are the reasons I'd want to leave my TV offline in the first place.

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tverbeure 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Option A: use Amazon Prime Video to watch shows. Share your viewing habits with Walmart/Vizio and Amazon.

Option B: use Amazon Prime Video to watch shows. Share your viewing habits with Amazon.

	▲	autoexec 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Using a firestick means amazon collects data on what you watch regardless of the platform you view it on. Also ads.

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inquirerGeneral 31 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

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