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As of today at 1:11pm EDT, I'm on the market for a 50" Mini-LED/OLED dumb TV in the US. I remember a while back that people were talking about commercial displays or hospitality displays to avoid the built-in spyware of "Smart" TVs, but in 2026, both of these also seem to have built-in spyware (although business-oriented). I just need 3 HDMI + RCA inputs, and an Optical Audio output, don't need any software on the TV itself.

Do you have any pointer? Or should I just take the L and get any smart TV, never set up network and hope for the best?

#AskFedi #AskFediverse

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silverwizard
silverwizard  
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@Hypolite Petovan my experience is either buying computer monitors, or buying shit used. It's getting bad out there.
@Hypolite Petovan
Hypolite Petovan
Hypolite Petovan  
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@silverwizard I've looked into current computer monitors, and I couldn't find any around 40-50" that aren't ultra-wide. Used shit for a TV is kind of scary.
@silverwizard
silverwizard
silverwizard  
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@Hypolite Petovan All very reasonable issues! But yeah - I've no other help.
@Hypolite Petovan
silverwizard
silverwizard  
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@Hypolite Petovan Listen - I don't remember what social media is for ok.
@Hypolite Petovan
Ambient Sponge
Ambient Sponge  
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Hypolite Petovan
Hypolite Petovan  
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@Klingon Sponge Thank you for the link, reviews for these business displays seem mixed, it's hard to justify the markup involved with professional equipment.
@Ambient Sponge
Leif Samuelsson
Leif Samuelsson  
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A TV, or a phone for that matter, is not so smart without internet access.

I have my TV connected to devices at home, but it is blocked at the router. No updates or other funny business.

Sometimes I have to manually set the time, but maybe I could provide a local time server if I feel like it.

Hypolite Petovan
Hypolite Petovan  
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@Leif Samuelsson My worry is that a Smart TV would refuse to work at all unless it's connected. I've not seen anything of the sort yet, but I feel like it's a niche concern as well.
@Leif Samuelsson
Leif Samuelsson
Leif Samuelsson  
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Make sure you buy it with a return policy that allows you to test it.
Hypolite Petovan
Hypolite Petovan  
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@Leif Samuelsson It's sound advice, but I'd rather not have to test too many of them.
@Leif Samuelsson
Games That I Missed
Games That I Missed  
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Sceptre sells dumb TVs in the United States market: https://www.sceptre.com/TV/4K-UHD-TV-category1category73.html . No network connectivity at all.

I don't know whether any of these are mini-LED or OLED, but maybe something might fit your requiremets.

4K UHD TV

www.sceptre.com
Hypolite Petovan
Hypolite Petovan  
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@Games That I Missed Thanks, however it doesn't seem like anyone is carrying Sceptre displays anymore in 2026 ๐Ÿ˜ข
@Games That I Missed
Colin
Colin  
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@PurpleJillybeans not sure what kind of commercial tv spyware you're talking about or saw but it's NOTHING compared to the consumer stuff.

I'd say just keep going the commercial route.

@PurpleJillybeans :PrideDisk:
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