elrik@lemmy.world 1 month ago
My TV is probably going to kick the bucket in a year or two at most. Filtering “non smart TVs” on a site like BestBuy shows only commercial display options at this point.
Are there any well maintained projects out there that are able to replace the firmware on newer smart TVs to get rid of these features? I really just want a dumb display with an input for a Chromecast with CEC support (or similar device if Google decides to enshittify that platform with screensaver ads too).
I think the best way forward would be a single board computer that can do an open source equivalent to chromecasting. Plug that in and leave your TV unconnected to the network.
You can’t do chromecast directly, because Google holds encryption keys for it. Unfortunately, this means casting apps need to be modified to support it.
There’s a few projects like this:
I’m pretty happy with Chromecast currently for its simplicity. I meant to try and replace the TV firmware so it’s more or less a dumb TV that just displays its inputs without having ads and other gimmicks.
If you want a Chromecast, why not just buy a TV that runs on Google TV (Android) instead?
Because it is easier to upgrade a streaming device than a whole-ass TV.
The TV I currently have is Android OS but the built in Chromecast is noticeably lower quality. Not sure if it’s an older version or what.
Regardless, IMO the displays themselves outlast their software support, and I prefer to just plug in whatever the latest device.
I’ll also mention Android OS on my TV takes a full minute to “boot” and that itself makes me want to yeet it out the window.
MeatsOfRage@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Just don’t connect it to the internet and it’s a dumb display, simple as that
ResoluteCatnap@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
Last tv i bought wouldn’t let you set it up without connecting to the internet. Guess we’ll need open hardware tvs next if they don’t aleady exist
Rubanski@lemm.ee 1 month ago
Couldn’t you theoretically set it up and afterwards unplug the wifi adapter?
ResoluteCatnap@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
I just returned it, but my idea was a separate VLAN and block all connections except for whitelisted ones for streaming. Smart tvs/rokus/etc do a lot of talking and they could theoretically brick themselves if there isn’t an internet connection available.
The future is a wonderful place!
elrik@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Probably the best idea I guess as long as you can set the TV up without Internet.
Eiri@lemmy.ca 1 month ago
For now. I suspect some evil person will eventually think of baking in default ads for when it can’t connect to the network to get new ones.