Do they make large (over 70-inch) 4K HDR TVs that aren't "smart?" (no network features)

[Ichinisan]

I've already seen how a major brand smart TV can become absolutely worthless when the manufacturer stops supporting it. My friend's LG 55" had a motion pointer remote and an early Google TV platform. Its really unusable. I'm not even talking about the Internet apps.

You turn it on. It takes way too long to let you select your source (Apple TV 4th gen, which beats the pants off of any smart TV apps). Then you're watching something for a few minutes and something suddenly starts loading, apparently delayed from when the TV was turned on. So whatever you were watching gets knocked to a thumbnail and an unrespnsive home screen hangs for about 1 whole minute. Then you can finally try to make your video source full-screen again and it takes several seconds to respond to that. Absolute garbage!

Even did a factory reset. I allowed the built in Google Play Music app to update and it got stuck as if it's on a vertical smartphone screen, so it's permanently sideways. It confuses the pointer and there's no way to select the button to dismiss the welcome splash.

Anyway, I've also seen Samsung TVs that were completely ruined by lack of support for the Internet features.

I just don't want ANY of that stuff built into my future 4K HDR TV. Hook up a Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Roku, PS4, etc. Is there any good reason why this stuff should be permanently built into the TV?

I'm sure home theater integrators can get some that are basically just a giant monitor, but I don't want to pay obscene prices. I usually look for thrifty deals on Slickdeals, so I'm not even accustomed to paying full retail price for such things.

 

[Kartajan]

Is there any good reason why this stuff should be permanently built into the TV?

1: Planned Obsolescence. The manufacturer would like nothing better than for you to enjoy the functionality on release, and then buy the latest and greatest on schedule just like the smartphone market. Profit margins are mandatory for continued growth...
<Great for the manufacturer, not so much for the consumer>

I will mention that for some market segments, the smartness and "one remote" factor are very useful, although both you and I are apparently not in that segment...

 

[JeffMD]

Simply sounds like the tv you have was poorly designed. They arn't all going to be like that. However the answer to your question is probably no.

 

[ImpulsE69]

You would be hard pressed to find anything over 30" without smart apps. The problem is internet features on TV's are not really supported. I do not even take them into account with TV purchases. They are generally slow, buggy, and you are lucky to get 1 or 2 updates in years and in some cases, they remove parts of them in updates with no notice. They might be good for people with no alternatives, but in this day, if you don't have an alternative, you probably don't watch much anyway.

That being said, I've never had a TV that the smart apps even show up unless I explicitly call them up.

 

[Anubis]

yes, you would be looking for a professional display monitor, similar to these http://www.necdisplay.com/category/large-screen-displays and you are paying out of the ass for not having smart features

thats about the only way to do it, enjoy paying 10x as much for the same thing

 

[Yakk]

Don't connect it to the internet.

Just connect something simple like a Chromecast Ultra if needed, but leave the TV itself unconnected. All the smart features in the world are pretty much useless if it's offline anyways. Works for me.

 

[nitsuj3580]

Don't connect it to the internet.

Just connect something simple like a Chromecast Ultra if needed, but leave the TV itself unconnected. All the smart features in the world are pretty much useless if it's offline anyways. Works for me.

This. I have a 60" Vizio and I just don't connect it to my network. My wife was not even aware the TV had any "smart TV" functionality until recently when my daughter hit the menu button on the remote and a 'connect to network' prompt came up. I just use my HTPC and PS4.

 

[mdram]

doesnt vizo make a series with no apps on the tv, they are all on a tablet and use chrome cast?

 

[Anubis]

doesnt vizo make a series with no apps on the tv, they are all on a tablet and use chrome cast?

P series
https://www.vizio.com/p-series

 

[Kaido]

I usually look for thrifty deals on Slickdeals, so I'm not even accustomed to paying full retail price for such things.

If you're not hung up on HDR & don't mind a no-name brand, Walmart has the 75" 4K Sceptre TV (no smart TV features whatsoever) for $1099 with free ship-to-store:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-75-Class-4K-Ultra-HD-LED-TV-2160p-60Hz-U750CV-U/55427162

It's OOS right now but seems to come back every couple weeks. Pretty freaking awesome price for the size!

 

[Ichinisan]

If you're not hung up on HDR & don't mind a no-name brand, Walmart has the 75" 4K Sceptre TV (no smart TV features whatsoever) for $1099 with free ship-to-store:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-75-Class-4K-Ultra-HD-LED-TV-2160p-60Hz-U750CV-U/55427162

It's OOS right now but seems to come back every couple weeks. Pretty freaking awesome price for the size!

That would be awesome. I really do want HDR for the PS4 Pro.

 

[Kaido]

That would be awesome. I really do want HDR for the PS4 Pro.

TCL has a 75" with HDR coming out this June; it has Roku built-in, but fwiw the Roku interface works really well, it's basically like an iPhone - big buttons for "apps" (channels) & you can rename the HDMI inputs for your gaming console, no stupid interface list like on regular TV's. Their PQ is great too, I had a 65" 4K TCL previously (got shattered, sniff ) & it was excellent. With HDR & adding ten extra inches, it should be even more awesome.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

P series
https://www.vizio.com/p-series

Yea I have the the Vizio M Series 70" tv and there are no smart apps. Just has chromecast, so you can cast whatever is "castable" to the tv and that's it. No apps to update, except for the built in chromecast, which is regularly supported by google. The included tablet is a bit gimicky, considering you can just download the smartcast app to control or make adjustments on the set.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Your friend's TV might be fine if he disabled the network connection so it wasn't trying to update itself (and failing) each time it was powered on.

 

[13Gigatons]

Just don't connect it to the internet ever. Automatic firmware update (that may break features) and add spyware/junk-ware.

I prefer separate components, cheaper and easier to upgrade.

 

[IGBT]

I have a 75" samsung quad core 4K HDR / UHD so called smart TV. I went into system properties and shut off all the smart features and in the EULA check "do not accept" to shut off all the account BS and voice recognition..which also kills the microphone. I connect the cat cable up to it from time ti time to update the firmware which it updated to rev1469 recently. I have a ROKU box which I connect to it and is much faster then the built in ROKU. With all the 'smart" garbage and EULA shut off it works very similar to a non smart device and allows the quad core CPU to focus entirely on picture performance.

 

[Zaap]

This. I have a 60" Vizio and I just don't connect it to my network. My wife was not even aware the TV had any "smart TV" functionality until recently when my daughter hit the menu button on the remote and a 'connect to network' prompt came up. I just use my HTPC and PS4.

I have a 60" Vizio also and keep it network connected simply because it has Chromecast built in and works pretty much flawlessly for casting all of our other devices and PC/Mac content to it.

I never thought I'd use that feature but I use it all the time now. I'll be talking to my wife or kids about something... then just pop out my phone find a quick example on YouTube and cast it instantly to the Vizio so everyone can easily see without crowding around a small device.

The 'smart' features don't bother me and of course Chromecast built in I use. The ONLY gripe I have is Vizio fluffs off the deeper level of control to their stupid app which is an intrusive mess I refuse to keep on my phone.

Recently I had to reinstall the stupid thing just to change the name of an input to a new device. Then uninstalled it! If there's a way to do that sort of thing without the dumb app, I haven't seen it.

 

[Zaap]

Yea I have the the Vizio M Series 70" tv and there are no smart apps. Just has chromecast, so you can cast whatever is "castable" to the tv and that's it. No apps to update, except for the built in chromecast, which is regularly supported by google. The included tablet is a bit gimicky, considering you can just download the smartcast app to control or make adjustments on the set.

Just saw your post after I posted.

I love the Chromecast feature of my Vizio. Despise the need of a crappy app to make set adjustments tho.