I'm going to buy my first new TV in years. Even if it's a 'smart' tv we plan to just use our Roku. I've heard that some TVs require you to connect it to the internet before you can even use a Roku device. For privacy reasons I don't want my TV to EVER have access to my wifi. Is anyone aware of how to know what models/brands of TVs allow me to use it without ever connecting the TV itself to wifi?
If necessary I guess I could connect it to my guest network to 'activate' the TV, set up the Roku to connect to my private network, then change the password to the guest network.
Would rather just have a TV that doesn't even 'phone home' once.
What the hell sort of TV are you looking at that requires an online connection to use it as a simple display device?
That’s a serious question. I want to avoid whatever brand you’re talking about like the plague.
Some food for thought. Vizio made more money selling ads and the data from their customers than selling the actual TVs.
With TVs you are paying to be the product.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/10/22773073/vizio-acr-advertising-inscape-data-privacy-q3-2021
Walmart is in the process of acquiring Vizio for the express purpose of using TV's to serve advertisements.