Basic TVs

[Tavis75]

I was reading an interview yesterday with a guy from Samsung talking about the future of their TVs and what he was mainly talking about was the UI, AI powered suggestions etc. and looking at the TVs available now, nearly every one these days seems to be a smart TV, does no one just want a basic TV these days? Or are the companies just pushing the smart ones because of the additional tracking\ads they can shove on there. Seems to me that most of the smart features are mostly unecessary and just add extra complications, plus most of the apps and services will likely stop being updated and become unusable long before the end of life of the TV.

What I'd personally want from a TV is; a screen, a plug and a few HDMI sockets (I could probably get by with 1, but better to have a few spares just in case). I'd also accept that many people would be likely to expect a Freeview\Freesat tuner and some speakers!

If I want to use streaming services etc. I will most likely be plugging in an external device like an AppleTV or similar, which can be updated and replaced easily as required, and the rest of the features seem pretty pointless.

Am I alone in this? Is everyone else clamouring for more "smart" features? Or is it a case of the companies pushing tech that no one really wants?

 

[Armageus]

Nope not alone at all - I'd rather have a TV that instantly turns on, rather than modern ones that have to wait a few seconds to "boot up".

For my needs a Roku stick offers all the "smart" functions I need, is regularly updated and "just works".

 

[Terminal_Boy]

My 2012 Panasonic Viera HD TV suits me just fine.

Receives French terrestrial TV with a skip load of connectivity allowing me to have DVD player, Freesat box, Firestick and Wii permanently connected.

My experience with both entry leveL and high-end smart TVs is that there’s an extra layer of often sluggish and poor designed menus between you and your entertainment of choice.

I foresee that the eventual replacement of my trusty Viera is going to really **** me off.

 

[sandys]

Nope not alone at all - I'd rather have a TV that instantly turns on, rather than modern ones that have to wait a few seconds to "boot up".

For my needs a Roku stick offers all the "smart" functions I need, is regularly updated and "just works".

If it was truly modern it wouldn't take seconds, it's immediate. The only one that takes a second or two for me is the Freely but it doesn't have a live source it gets it from the internet so it has to get wifi then the signal.

As analogue signals disappear this will be normal. Generally if you have something that takes longer because of connectivity you probbaly have poor connectivity your end, just delete connectivity options like wifi/ethernet and they should boot up.

Some manufacturers can have bad software though, my mum bought a TCL that required so much internet on boot for the front end her 20Mb connection could not cope and it did indeed take about 5mins (probably an exaggeration but time slow when women moan ) to get to a channel, we switched to to an LG that brought the channel up immediately.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

The Hi-Sense TVs I’ve had the great misfortune to operate briefly have taken their own sweet time to boot.

My 4K Freesat box is very sluggish as it searches for both WiFi connection and last used satellite channel during boot. The UI is pants compared to my old Humax box.

 

[mid_gen]

I don't really have a problem with the LG TV OS. I much prefer using the wand thing to any other input method on a TV. The AppleTV and YouTube apps are snappy and good quality, all I need.

That said, if I could just buy a truly dumb TV cheaper and just plug an AppleTV and Sky in, I'd probably do it.

 

[Grimley]

Am I alone in this? Is everyone else clamouring for more "smart" features? Or is it a case of the companies pushing tech that no one really wants?

I don't think you are. I genuinely think that there would be a market for said telly. I sold tellies years ago when Digital broadcasting was in its infancy, most people back then just wanted 5 channels, good picture and be able to connect their VCR. Based on my own experience of selling them over the course of 5 years in the latter half of the 90's.
Fast forward to now and said people are older, either dont want an all singing all dancing telly and dont sub to any of the streaming services or have no clue on how to. My parents are a prime example of this. they know how to change channels, volume +/-, turn it off - That's it!
Their panasonic packed up last week, dad had an old Samsung telly collecting dust in the shed so the pair of them relied on me to install it. OK nearly all new tellies these days, all you have to do is plug it in, turn it on follow the prompts on the screen - job done. My folks would get confused and call someone to do that if I wasnt around.