🗓 2025-07-05 , by Billie

How to find and buy a dumb TV

What I call a dumb TV is a television without any internet capabilities, so that any tracking of you and your watching behavior is impossible.

In this article, I will sum up my experience with finding and buying one.

My use-case is very traditional:

• input of digital, terrestrial channels via DVB-T2, alternatively via sattelite (DVB-S2/S2x) or cable (DVB-C2),
• use a classical DVD player,
• optionally, a small PC connected to access some media through Kodi.

So why not use a pc with a monitor?

I first thought I can buy a mini-pc and connect it to a large monitor. This is an alternative to consider, and for some use cases, it even might be better. However, this solution comes with some tradeoffs for me:

• the start-up is usually more complicated and takes longer (even with Kodi),
• the setup is more complex, likely countering simplicity when using it,
• due to complexity it is less usable the more different people use it,
• this solution quickly becomes bulky,
• thus the look might quicky get ugly,
• and it is eventually more expensive than a dump TV.

You will need additional speakers, since most of the monitor audio is simply too weak to produce an acceptable sound for a whole room, even when your expectations are low. As I also prefer a compact result, addionall speakers would be a tradeoff for me.

This solution also raises the question where the content comes from. Should you rely on straming only, this is fine. Should you want to receive DVB-T2 and/or a sattelite signal (DVB-S2), this means you need to take care of additional input devices connected to your mini-pc to process the mentioned input signals.

As I am used to linux, the latter raises serious issues, as all information about DVB-T2 on linux found on the net is terribly outdated. You basically need to buy a DVB-T2 stick in a guessing game if it will ever run properly on linux.

However, you can solve this by buing an external DVB-T2 receiver with a HDMI output that can be connected directly to the monitor. But then, on the other side, you will lose the great benefit of being able to record the input with your mini-pc and you will waste one HDMI input on the monitor.

If you are puristic and the only thing you want to do is watching DVB-T2 and/or DVB-S2/S2x, a monitor with an external receiver might be an option, but you likely will also need external speakers. Likley, a dumb TV will give you a better experience with more functionality at a lower price.

Why not buy a smart TV and let it unconnected?

Simply put, because the user experience with a smart TV left unconnected to the internet is much worse than with a dumb TV. Also, the smart counterpart is usually more expensive than a dumb TV.

However, you might go for a smart TV and leave it unconnected, if you want to save time searching for a dumb TV.

When you start searching for a dumb TV poperly (see blow), you will likely need at least two hours to get a reasonable list of results to pick your buy from.

Remember, no guarantees a smart TV will work like expected without an internet connection.

Ok, then let’s find a dump TV

The main challange is to find a dumb TV. Usually, shops have no option to filter for dumb TVs, meaning to exclude smart TVs from your search.

• First of all, there are some other use-cases for dumb TVs. Looking at them will ease our search: especially hotel rooms.

• You might try to search for TVs advertised for equipping hotel rooms. The reason is that most hotels don’t want their guests to tamper too much with the settings, since correcting settings and channel setup is always time-intensive and thus costly. Also, a TV not working as expected likely results in a downvote of the hotel.

• So dumb TVs mostly have some nice options to lock settings and to lock the channel setup and to also completely block some channels. Look for such features.

• A nice feature for hotels is to copy the settings (including the channel setup) to a data stick (USB) and to easily load it on an identical TV. This way, they don’t have to set up each TV manually, which saves a lot of expensive work time. It also makes it easy to restore settings, should a guest tamper with them. Look for this feature, should a TV have it, it is very likely a dumb TV.

• Limit the price you look for. Dumb TVs are usually significantly cheaper than their smart counterparts.

• Verify the absence of a LAN-port by checking the specs and by looking at the pictures, especailly the pictures of the back with the connectors.

• Make sure the specs and the advertising text both omit any WiFi capabilities.

• Read the full advertising text of the device. Make sure online streaming providers are not listed as a feature.

• Make sure no online-updates of the firmware and/or apps are mentioned. Since dumb TVs have no networking capablilites at all, the firmware of a dumb TV ususally can’t be easily updated at all.

• Consider dropping offers with no picture of the connectors, since this might indicate that the seller is careless with specs.

• Be cautious. Once you identified a dumb TV, write down or copy the exact model number.

• Triple-check the model number. Most dumb TVs have a (more expensive) smart counterpart with almost identical specs but a slightly different model number.

• Double-check the specs of exactly this model number with at least one other source, e.g. an other online shop, or even better with the manufacturer’s product page. Preferably also double-check photos of the back with the connectors.

• Be vigilant that you exactly buy the intended model, especially when checking other sellers, since you might be offered similiar but smart models instead when searching for the product number.

What might be also worth to check:

• Make sure the TV has the desired number of HDMI outputs (most TVs have two, some have three) you need.

• Make sure the model has DVB-T2 and/or DVB-S2 (not only their ancient precessors DVB-T and DVB-S), so that you do not buy a completely outdated device with a receiver incapable of processing modern, digital input.

• The presence of the obsolete SCART interface may indicate that the device is outdated at all.

• Check the resolution (e.g. 4K, 1080p or 720p), don’t fall for advertising buzzwords like “HD ready”. Match the physical size of the TV with the resolution, also consider the distance between the TV and the position you will watch it from. As a rule of thumb, a low resolution is more tolerable when the device is small and the distance large.

• Verify the postal address of the shop, especially the return address. Make sure it is in your country.

• Make sure you are eligible to easily return the device for a full refund, just in case the specs and/or model is wrong.

Considering all the above should lead you to ownership of a nice, dump TV safe from tracking.

Just to give you a clue: at the time of writing this, 32" dumb TVs start at approx. 140€ (720p), 40" at approx. 200€, 43" (1080p) at approx. 220€. So buying a dumb TV isn’t that expensive.