I recently bought a new TV and did some research to find the “least worst” TV with regard to internet connectivity and reliance on its “smart OS” navigation to just use an external HDMI port. I can report pretty good news for the Sony Bravia line of Android TVs.
- there was no requirement to connect it to the internet
- during setup there is a choice for “basic” which adds only a few default apps (which are uninstallable/disablable by the user)
- there is a setting called “Power on and remember last input port”. What this means is you last used HDMI1 port when you powered off the TV, when you power it back up again it automatically goes right back to that HDMI input port without any extra button presses or user interaction. In practice this means you see the Sony logo on the screen and just a fraction of a second the graphic circles of part of the AndroidTV interface before it switches to the HDMI1 input where we left off before powering off the tv prior.
Bonus feature we like:
- there is a setting you can enable/disable that if the TV is already powered on, when you power on a device on another HDMI port than the one you’re on, the TV will automatically switch to that HDMI input without prompting. So if we’re watching the AppleTV on HDMI1 and then want to watch a Blu-ray, simply powering on the Blu-ray player will also have the TV switch to that HDMI2 input.
I wish there was no AndroidTV OS on it at all, but the only time I’ve ever seen it was the one time when we went through the initial setup. We haven’t seen or interacted with it since.
if you don’t mind my asking which model, currently going through the same process right now and I’m between Sony and LG
I originally went shopping for a Bravia II 7, but found an open box Bravia 5 (which is the one I got) for less than half the cost of the Bravia II 7.
Have you tried using it as a DLNA renderer? For example using BubbleUPnP on a mobile device as DLNA controller to cast content from Jellyfin+DLNA plugin as DLNA server.
I haven’t. I have not once hooked it up to a network, and my preference is that I never do so.
Just buy a monitor ,connect a SBC to it ,ad software ,install IPTV player, tvgarden , and visit FMHY.net for ideas
ad software
I prefer my TVs to have no ads, thank you very much.
and how will you control it with the TV remote? don’t say to use the mouse and keyboard from the couch because then I rather won’t turn it on at all
Use Kodi and it will respond to HDMI-CEC. Works a treat with my LG.
My dream is for my kid to learn enough about electronics to be able to open up his TV, identify any microphones, and be able to disable them. Then he might have a chance of privacy when he’s an adult.
That’s likely not going to cover it. They’re taking snapshots of what’s on screen and sending that info home. They’re using wifi and Bluetooth to get your location and information about what other devices you have. Never connecting it to the internet is going to be one of the best things to do for privacy.
If they’re using bluetooth and wifi, we better find and remove those components too. Ain’t no way they won’t have the OS forcibly connect to the nearest open network or start bluetooth to deliver what they want when you ain’t using it, regardless of whether or not you have connected to internet or not.
If they’re using bluetooth and wifi, we better find and remove those components too.
Removing the Bluetooth/wifi module maybe more difficult. For cost cutting reasons, these controllers are built into the logic boards now, but disconnecting the bluetooth/wifi antennas inside the TV is trivially easy. They are simple push-on mechanical connectors. No wire cutting needed. Gently grab the gold/silver metal part pull straight up from the board.
I just googled “lcd TV logic board” and this was one of the first images I found. I put a red square around the antenna connectors.
Not connecting it to the internet and using HDMI like we’ve been doing for the last 20 years…
Except there are lots of good reasons to hate HDMI.
So reluctantly using HDMI is more appropriate.
I hear that some models now require internet access to even be able to use it
Sounds like a great item to return to the store for a full refund. Manufactures just love returned products, completely destroys the profit on the next several sales.
unfortunately, the store often eats the cost as a lower-priced open box.
Then it’s on the store to stop carrying bad products.
This. Everything is this.
My fear is that this will change. We already saw LG load malware via windows when connected. So in theory future devices like Roku and Apple TV could act as a proxy for the tv.
