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I would like to see a TV with the following attributes:

1. 8 Inputs, with at least four HDMI and one HDMI accessible from the front panel. The remaining inputs would have at least two composite inputs. There would be no cable input since most cable companies, around here anyway, require a set-top box anyway.

2. An optical audio output, for those who wish to hook up a proper audio system. Those who don’t would get ok-ish built in speakers.

3. An always-on power outlet or two, to make hooking up the obligatory set-top box, Apple TV, etc easier. It would also have two USB power outlets, which are also always on, which would make hooking up a Raspberry Pi, Chromecast, etc easier. This requirement is optional, but desirable.

The remote on the TV would have a button for each input, a power button, volume controls, and a couple of buttons to support the on-screen settings menu (things like picture adjustments, activate/deactivate/rename inputs, etc). The TV would respond to HDMI CEC controls from attached devices, but would have the option to ignore these on particular inputs.

In the end, the TV provides the appropriate infrastructure to hook up whatever devices meet my needs. It also doesn’t try to solve problems that TV manufacturers aren’t good at solving.

Why does nobody make a TV like this? Assuming this was price-competitive with a regular TV, I’d buy two.

EDIT: I found one that’s pretty close[0].

[0] https://www.costco.ca/Haier-49UG2500-49-in.-4K-LED-TV.produc...




What you're describing is a monitor. A big, good looking monitor. That's all I want too. The interface on my (non smart) TV is unbearably slow and I don't want to use it. Unbelievably, the interface on the last "smart" TV I tried, which costs 5x as much, is even slower. I cannot stand using tools that can't keep up with how fast I think.


Yes, exactly. Living room monitors need to become a thing.


They kind of are a thing, there's the LG 43UD79-B[1] which is a 43" UHD monitor. Not the biggest screen, but decently sized and it advertises a 5ms GTG response time which should be adquate for monitor like use.

[1] http://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-43UD79-B-4k-uhd-led-monitor


Be careful to check of those things support HDPC or whatever it's called. I have the Dell 42.5 inch monitor and it won't play 4k content.


True, except I've always felt a monitor doesn't contain built-in speakers.


Me too. I really don't want built in speakers. They would be a waste of space.

The closest thing I've found to what I want is a projector. But those are inconvenient for other reasons and I can't stand the visual corruption that occurs on a single-cell (affordable) projector.


Because there's almost no profit in selling a dumb screen. SmartTVs are all about the TV manufacturer trying to get a cut of subscription services.


There is if you slap the term gamer on there and put a 200% markup on mediocre panels... so they’re coming soon:

https://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/bfgd-big-format-g...


Doesn’t the inclusion of the SHIELD just turn it into another Smart TV-type device?


If the gaming focus is as strong as implied, odds are the SHIELD interface will just be another input rather than the driver.

NVIDIA isn’t manufacturing the TVs themselves, they’re probably just going to do what they do with GSync, give OEMs a box and say “Hook it up to this type of connection and we’ll certify it”


> don’t be tempted by the buzzwords and shiny tech

> the Big Format Gaming Display (BFGD)

The only way this would be more delightful is if it were styled "BigFormat Gaming Display".


Mentioned it in a comment below, but they’re very coming soon:

https://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/bfgd-big-format-g...


Those have smart features embedded.


Given the marketing, and the fact OEMs are probably implementing the standard with their own designs, they’ll like be fairly vanilla monitors with a separate interface for the Shield features


You've mostly described modern AVRs, except the optical audio out is the second worst option available.


Alternatively, I got a completely dumb panel and an audio receiver for my speakers which meets most of those requirements. The receiver only passes through video, and handles the audio itself. It's more or less the same in the end, but then the TV only needs one input.


Haier doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to picture and sound quality. Sony, Samsung, and LG do, but they don't have dumb TVs anymore.

I wish it was possible to jailbreak TVs and make smart TVs dumb, but I don't think that is a feasible option.


I haven’t heard good or bad about Haier, but I’m guessing that the price reflects what you get for it.

Maybe one of the better brands will take note and develop something with a similar feature set, but a higher quality panel, etc. I’m not hopeful though.


How about just a single power input and a single HDMI input? No speakers, no input switching, no tv tuner (I have separate components for all these that will do a better job). No smart anything, no networked anything. Literally a big monitor.


Regarding point 3: Most USB ports don't provide enough power for a Raspberry. You're going to need a separate power supply.


The intent here is to build that into the TV, though I didn't state that in my original comment. These ports should both be able to deliver 2.1A.


That’s because they often are not USB 3+, just 1 or 2.

USB3.1 supports a power draw up up to 3A, tho 1.5A is the more common implementation. Either will power a rPi just fine.


No tuner? That's how I watch most of my TV -- I don't really want to have to add a separate tuner box.


My ideal TV doesn’t appeal to everyone, but it’s not meant to either. Trying to appeal to everyone is what got us into this mess with Smart TVs in the first place.


sounds like the TV industry needs some indiegogo or kickstarter projects to add new competition




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