Suggestions for very large, wall-mounted (NON-Smart TV) televisions?

[Tharthan]

(I don't know if this kind of thread would technically run afoul of rule 4 of the Off-Topic rules. It wasn't meant to, it was simply an honest question, asking fellow forum users' suggestions.)

I know some people who are looking for a 50'', 55'', or beyond widescreen television made for mounting to a wall, that is not a smart TV.

A lot of places that sell televisions now only offer smart TVs; they don't even give the option of a normal television. But I have convinced these friends of mine to opt for a normal television rather than a smart TV.

Does anyone here have any recommendations of particular models, brands, and the like for televisions that match that description?

[Pentium4User]

Are such model still produced?
One possibility would be to buy a SMART TV, but don't connect it to a network in any way. IIRC all of them can be used without network connection.

[Moonchild]

I think you'd be looking for a unicorn if you want both large screens, flat enough to wall-mount and not being a semi-computer.

I suggest you do what was suggested:

buy a SMART TV, but don't connect it to a network in any way.

So make sure you confirm with the salespeople where you buy it that an internet connection is not required for the TV to be used. Quite a few models unfortunately don't fall into that category and require a tether of some sort to be fully functional (which would be a small step removed from being totally dependent on the manufacturer for even basic use... in which case you don't actually own the TV even if you paid for it)

[Tharthan]

I think you'd be looking for a unicorn

Surely they still exist, no? I would have to check with my friends but I suspect they would be fine with an older model, too, so long as it is still actually sold. They aren't demanding a brand new 2021 or 2022 model or anything like that.

[basicuser]

Surely they still exist, no? I would have to check with my friends but I suspect they would be fine with an older model, too, so long as it is still actually sold. They aren't demanding a brand new 2021 or 2022 model or anything like that.

I can’t recommend a TV since I haven't owned one since 1992, but give a search on DDG for “dumb TV's”.

[Moonchild]

Surely they still exist, no?

55"+ size, widescreen and not a smart TV? I'm not so sure.
Now, I admit I haven't looked at the TV market for many years myself either, so i may be wrong, but large size TVs were the more expensive models for older ones, and those were the first to adopt "smart" features by default. So i'm not sure if non-"smart" ones were made to begin with, but I'd expect the choice to be limited to begin with; and no TV merchant will want to be selling multi-year-old models if they can help it...

Then again I may be completely wrong and they are much more easily available than I think.

[athenian200]

They do exist, but your options are quite limited.

You would either have to get something like a Sceptre on the low-end, or possibly a pricier commercial display designed for something along the lines of digital signage. If you were shopping for a smaller TV, I would probably recommend just using a large computer monitor with a sound bar as a TV (and maybe an external ATSC tuner if if they need OTA broadcasts)... that works just fine, though once again you will pay more for the privilege. What really makes this hard is the fact that it has to be in that 50" to 55" range, that's where all the smart stuff is. There are some smaller 42" displays I found that would be perfect otherwise, and some huge stuff that's like 80" to 90", but in that 50 to 55" range? It's very hard to find anything that doesn't have smart TV guts.

Interestingly I had the reverse problem recently. I wanted a 42" TV, but all the affordable new televisions out there were like 50" minimum unless you wanted to walk all the way down to 32" inches. The 42" devices are all now specialty stuff that costs more than a larger TV, but the upside is that they don't have the smart stuff.

Traditional consumer TVs from major brands at those sizes? Yes, that's hard to find. But if you really want a large display and distrust smart TV electronics inside of it, then there are a couple low-end brands you could go with to get a cheap one, or else you might have to go with something that is more along the lines of a large format computer monitor/digital signage solution and hook up a sound bar to it.

That said, depending on how serious you are about this project, it might be possible to buy a smart TV for its LCD panel, and then rip out the electronics and find some way to create a custom control board for it. I see people do that for random laptop LCDs all the time. But yeah. So the answer is, of course it's possible to get a larger non-smart TV, but you've started your friends down a very inconvenient path that will require a lot of research.

[Mæstro]

Off-topic:
I find it bizarre that many use the diagonal, measured in 2·54 cm increments of all things, for screen sizes. Only the screen’s breadth and height in centimetres count. If only the Yankee marketers could see that they could display even bigger numbers with ordinary units.

[Moonchild]

Off-topic:

I find it bizarre that many use the diagonal, measured in 2·54 cm increments of all things, for screen sizes.

I don't know what part of the world you live in but TV sizes are always displayed in the local unit system to the best of my knowledge.
As for "why the diagonal"? Because it only needs one measurement to know the approximate size of the TV screen. Now it gets slightly wonky with different aspect ratios of course, but it's still "close enough" to a single standard that people keep using a single measurement to indicate size.

[doofy]

My 55 inch LG is wall mountable, and is non smart simply by virtue of not being plugged in to the router.

[athenian200]

My 55 inch LG is wall mountable, and is non smart simply by virtue of not being plugged in to the router.

People who are concerned enough about smart TVs to ask a question like this are not going to be satisfied with "just don't enter your Wi-Fi password and trust that it's not spying on you" as an answer. Besides, I've heard that some smart TVs can't even be used offline... the one I have technically works without an Internet connection and there's an option to bypass online setup when you first get it (I insisted on checking because I was curious what would happen if I didn't want to connect it to the Internet and just use stuff plugged into HDMI), but I have heard of some that won't even let you view what's plugged into your HDMI ports unless you connect it to the Internet first so it can phone home, register itself, and finish setup before you can use it offline. I have a feeling that's the exception rather than the rule, but I still get why someone would be uncomfortable knowing those models are out there.

[Eduardo Lucas]

I was needing an tv for my bedroom as i have none in my house and live with my parents. I Think i will look for some chinese random stuff instead of traditional manufacturers, dont want to risk having a online only TV

[athenian200]

Another solution aside from the Sceptre and other random Chinese models is something like this...

https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/de ... ccessories

But notice that it's very expensive and geared to corporate environments. That's what you'll notice when shopping around for these. You'll find really low-end Chinese brands, high-end corporate stuff, older and smaller units... basically, everything you can get is just outside of the "sweet spot" where you get a nice large television for a fair price. It's just how markets work... the price of opposing the majority goes up as the scale of production of the thing you don't want increases and the production lines get standardized around precisely the design you don't want, with the smart features, and you get left having to turn to either the used market or the few older and/or specialty lines still churning out something that is close to what you want or can be adapted to it because it's based on a similar tech.

Off-topic:
Incidentally, Dell is also still selling large touchscreen monitors for conference rooms. You remember Microsoft's big push for touchscreen monitors on desktop thinking they would be the next big thing, and now you can't find one anywhere? Well, the bet paid off in the enterprise space, though the touchscreen concept wound up being more useful for kiosk-type computers as well as presentations in conference rooms than for people sitting in front of their computers.

But really, for anyone who isn't in Tharthan's situation of needing a big 55" display and is willing to settle for something a little smaller...

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16824716002?quicklink=true

43" gaming monitors might be the best deal, though they are overpriced for what they are.

[doofy]

but I still get why someone would be uncomfortable knowing those models are out there.

Sure. I get that.
Simply pointing out that my potentially smart tv is non smart by virtue of never having been connected to the router.

It accepts all connections I've thrown at it, be it hdmi, optical, the red white yellow stuff, usb.
It's simply a dumb tv.
Which is what was being asked for.

[Tharthan]

If only the Yankee marketers could see that they could display even bigger numbers with ordinary units.

Ordinary units? My friend, we already use ordinary units!

It's simply a dumb tv.
Which is what was being asked for.

Is it a dumb TV, or is it rather... a wise TV?

[doofy]

It's dumb. Never asked to be registered, never asked to update firmware, never asked for nothing.
In my head you can make any tv dumb simply by filling the ethernet port with concrete.

And if tvs do exist that require an internet connection in order to function, then you research which they might be and avoid them.
This is my third LG (slow learner) and none have ever been directly connected to the internet.
Might as well be CRTs.

[BenFenner]

You're describing a ViewSonic display. They used to be top-tier displays for maybe 25 years, but as of late have fallen a little behind with the slow adoption of OLED. Still, they are my preferred display (monitors and TVs) and are amazing with their quality of life enhancements. You will have no trouble finding a very large unit with no "SMART" TV nonsense.

https://www.viewsonic.com/us/products/s ... plays.html

[Bendy_Demon]

If my only option to a tv is being forced to buy a 'Smart' tv or none then I will opt for none. I'm kinda weird in that I like choices though that gets kinda hard these days I suppose

[badnick]

Do a search and buy a second hand Panasonic Plasma Tv. Best picture ever.

[fatboy]

This is a massive mission. I recently wanted to buy a new TV in Canada, and the only "dumb TVs" available were quite small <38" or something.
I had no choice but to buy a HiSense Roku. Even though I hate smart TVs I do find this TV quite solid and reliable, HOWEVER, I would suggest you do no connect it to your wifi. I know it has a microphone, which it uses to listen to what you are watching.

SO yeah, I guess that's "the norm". One of these days everything will be "smart" i.e invasive surveillance capitalism tools.