At least, not in a good way.
You might be surprised just how dumb your smart TV really is.
We ask a lot of our televisions. The good ol’ days of playing a tape or DVD are almost unknown. Now we stream or cast content from all over the globe… or the media server in our basement. But modern TVs aren’t just screens in our living rooms any longer. Unfortunately a lot of content from your Smart TV isn’t anything you asked for.
Television manufacturers discovered alternate revenue streams that dwarf the dollars earned from the actual sale of their TVs. Once onboard connectivity became a staple feature it was a simple matter to monitor viewing habits or serve up targeted promotions. They’ve evolved into advertising platforms we unwittingly invite into our homes. In 2026 it’s almost impossible to find a “dumb TV” larger than a 32 inch screen.
The ink jet printer is a perfect analogy. Sell the printer for peanuts because you’ll make a bundle selling ink cartridges.
HD or Not?
Another obstacle for a modern TV is content. A jillion different formats are used today, and each of those can be interpreted by your TV differently. Or not at all. And every week some new variation is rolled out, so whatever was the hot ticket last week is passe by Thursday.
That’s a lot of new information and standards to keep up with. All this means the processor inside your telly (aka, the computer) needs to work harder to display content as intended. Transcoding all those formats takes horsepower. But what happens when your Whizbang 8k XUHD television can’t understand the format?
Well, in non-technical parlance: It looks like shit.
High definition claims have been confusing TV viewers ever since it was abbreviated HD. Today 4k and UHD are often found of sets, but seldom do they ever actually deliver. Upscaling is another “feature” that attempts to fabricate more pixels when watching lower resolution content. But the most egregious practice is downscaling. This happens when the TV receives a format it is unable to display- even though it claims it can!
When your TV processor can’t keep up it has to downsample the video feed. That’s why you hear people complaining that their 4K television doesn’t look any better than their old one. Depending on the incoming signal- you might never see 4K on your 4K set. One way around this is to use an external gadget to handle the processor duties. A common option for cordcutters is referred to as Other-The-Top or OTT boxes, because they stream directly from the Internet to your TV. These typically (though not always) offer more processor horsepower, better support for newer formats and expanded memory. Popular OTT devices include Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Googlecast, etc.
Reputable OTT products usually have more streamlined interfaces, less ads and an important, if also offer less noticeable, benefit: security. Firmware updates for these devices typically occur much more frequently than for TVs.
Attack of the Bots
Sometimes knowledge can be a burden. For instance, the more you know about all the nasties online looking for any vulnerable device with an open port, the less likely you are to connect anything to the Internet. A constant parade of malware, bots and spiders are crawling the web looking for a warm, electronic nook to plant their parasitic payload. Huge networks of botnets, automated robot networks, have taken advantage of unprotected devices, and converted them into new launching points for further attacks.
It’s a full-time challenge to keep routers, servers and laptops updated with the software safeguards required to protect them from these constant attacks. But most consumers have no idea their TV, security cameras or refrigerator could also become a victim. We don’t typically think of our TV as a computer… but it is. Connected devices from reputable companies sometimes offer online updates that attempt to counter new threats. Not surprisingly, the firmware in your smart TV was not developed to provide world-class security protection.
But security fails aren’t the only reason to be picky about your next television purchase. Claimed resolution numbers, privacy issues, unsolicited advertising and even cheap cables can ruin your new TV experience.
Most of these issues are due to the wimpy processors used in most television sets. And not surprisingly, cheap TVs have cheap processors. Low-end sets may have as little as 256k or 1GB of memory (RAM), while high end sets have as much as 8GB. The more memory available the better the TV can process the source signal, stream online content and decode digital audio. So how can you compare? Ummm… well, you can’t really.
Unless you’re shopping for an expensive high-end TV it’s better to stick with a dumb one. Or, if you end up with a “smart TV” just don’t connect it to the Internet. Instead connect it to an external OTT device and enjoy the better resolution, fewer ads and better security.
Tips
- Do not enable the TV network (WiFi or Ethernet) connection.
- Check the setup menu for software or firmware updates, and periodically check for them.
- If suspect, check temperature of devices while turned off. A very warm device you aren’t using might indicate it’s being used by someone else!
- Disconnect un-used devices from your network, then perform a factory reset.
- Don’t connect cheap no-name stuff to your WiFi.
- Don’t buy cheap no-name stuff in the first place!
