[off-topic] TV or not TV, that is the question

[Dan Buzzard]

Hi,

I just have a Ubuntu PC plugged into my TV with wireless keyboard and mouse and just use it to watch media like I would on a laptop or at my desk.

 I don't watch TV. But if I did then a TV set top box would be the way to go.

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/blaupunkt-btv3stb-full-hd-set-top-box


These devices are meant to allow old TVs to receive modern digital broadcast and from what I've seen most of them haven't gone "smart" yet.

-Dan


On Sat, 30 Dec 2023, at 3:44 PM, gavinwc wrote:
> Hi People,
> 
> Season's greeting to you all, even non-Christians and atheists like me :-)
> 
> This is a very pedestrian question from someone who has been quietly lurking for nigh-on 25 years now with very little to say over that time, but I respect your collective experience for a source of good advice -
> 
> Problem: I abhor any "smart" device, phones, fridges, TVs, etc. But, we have decided to be decadent and get a new TV. Our existing dumb TV is long in the tooth and faulty, but I have long augment its features with streaming services via a raspberry-pi/kodi setup. All I really want to do is upgrade that sort of system, maybe substituting the pi box with a more powerful mini-PC like an Intel NUC, or something similar so I can also lie back and do a bit of web browsing occasionally. 
> 
> But, where are all the "dumb" TVs these days!? 
> 
> I know this dilemma is the stuff of many wasted bytes and pixels online, but my searching for solutions is proving very time-consuming with many web pages outdated. I know I can supposedly not activate the TV's smart features, and have done that in the past, but other family members soon couldn't cope and activated them anyway. Besides that, I don't trust that a deactivated smart TV is just sitting there as a fully passive receiving device of free-to-air broadcasts. 
> 
> At this stage, because I'm also looking to do some computing operations, I'm looking at a cheap IntelNUC mini-PC mated to a BIG UHD monitor (eg, Dell 43"), but such a setup lacks a TV tuner for free-to-air reception. External TV tuner dongles also seem to be a dying thing these days and web pages are mostly outdated. What to do?
> 
> Best regards,
> Gavin Chester
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