TCL Roku TV

I really don't think it's fair to chalk this up to fanboyism. It's really hard to argue that a majority of the platforms natively available on smart TVs are pretty bad, and that they have made a habit of using software updates to cram in more ads. I used a TCL roku TV 10 years and recommended them to everyone looking for a decent budget TV with a good minimal interface. That same exact TV is still used on occasion; the interface has gotten awful and interactions are sluggish. Many platforms have gone the same way: Google TV boxes are known to be broadly awful at this point, my samsung TV's built-in apps got progressively less responsive with more ads on my homescreen over the last few years. I haven't experienced it but I hear complaints about the performance and intrusiveness of LG TVs now as well. After cycling through my options, the Apple TV is the only one that doesn't exhibit the same behavior: It is responsive, has a good interface that looks nice, has a very nice minimal remote, and it works the same today as it did yesterday (and basically as it did 2 years ago). I'm not trying to claim allegiance to any brand, it just seems that somehow Apple is the only one not participating in enshittification, at least not to the same degree. If that changes the Apple TV will be out the door and I'll probably need to roll my own out of some sort of mini PC on an open-source platform. And as one last note, for the time being Apple still has some credibility in terms of privacy. Th…

I have a TCL Roku TV that I use disconnected and with an Apple TV. It still has annoyances here and there, like pausing for three seconds or so on every startup before it switches inputs. I’d pay a mild premium to not have that.

TCL roku TVs are cheap and you can just tell them you don't have an internet connection (or whatever) on first setup. I have no idea if TCL or Roku have pulled a samsung/sony/visio - i forget which - and connect to "open wifi" to phone home. I got tired of my TCL Roku taking so long to turn on and switch inputs and turning itself on and off to update. So i factory reset it and told it "no network". works fine. Sceptre makes dumb TVs, too. https://www.sceptre.com/ - i have been buying their panels for something like 24 years. they're "decent" nothing super remarkable, but they're just dumb displays. at least mine are. And finally, find a projector that does what you want. they're usually so compact they don't have roku/other smart stuff. I use a wall, we used dark brown or black paint to frame out a 95" screen roughly in between 16:8 and 16:9 aspect. wash the wall or sand lightly and wash the wall, then apply Behr Silver Screen in the matte-est behr base. I personally did three coats, it took less than a quart, so you only need a quart for ~100" with 3 coats. It looks like a movie screen when it's off, and it looks like a TV screen when the projector is on. observe a random clip of it in action https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6VJ9WlLcs note i know there is trapezoid, i fixed that later by ceiling mounting the projector in the middle as opposed to slightly to the side. a more expensive / nicer projector can actually transform the image trapezoid to fix this, and the most…

I hated my stupid TCL Roku TV so I got a TCL Android TV and it’s worse. The terrible incompetence of the team who manages to make a UI that lags out by multiple seconds when trying to cursor to the OFF option is frustrating. But I’m sure it makes their Project Manager overlords happy because it’s easy to supply ads to. If anyone here wants to solve a real problem and get rich doing so: start a company that makes dumb electronics. I’ll pay a premium.

Smart TVs have gotten absolutely terrible. My 2016 TCL Roku used to be pretty decent - quickly responsive, all the apps worked reasonably well, not filled with garbage. I didn't love the ads but they weren't particularly intrusive. By now, though, it's a lot less responsive, and I often have to tell it to check the WiFi connection even when nothing has changed, or else it thinks it isn't connected to the internet. The Samsung/Google TV I bought last year is absolute garbage. Always pushing ad-supported channels so Google can make a commission. Sluggish response out of the box that has only gotten worse. Roughly daily it will freeze up and need to be unplugged. I've had to just connect it to my computer and basically use it as a monitor to get any use out of it. Certainly soured me on any more Google products.

I want to offer supporting evidence. Had a Vizio that is closing in on a decade old and runs great. Was given a TCL 4k Roku TV that is a piece of crap. Can't complain too much since it was free, but I'll never buy a TCL or Roku TV. And I used Roku's for almost a decade since I was an early cord cutter. Both of the early cord cutting companies that drove all this are on the decline: Roku and Sling. Google especially has stolen a lot of marker share with Chromecast and YouTube TV, respectfully. Kind of sad to see it happen, but monopolies are the norm now.