Loewe[0] make really nice, simple, high-end TVs with great picture and sound, which really don't have intrusive 'smart' features. I use mine purely as a 'monitor' for AppleTV (and Nintendo Switch).
The problem is distribution: they're difficult to source even within Europe.
(UK here) I have had a Loewe for about two years now. I hadn't heard of them myself but came across them when buying a Linn [0] audio system - the audio shop I went to offered Loewe as one of the options for an integrated sound+vision package. My overall system uses Linn as the sound output for the TV instead of a Loewe sound bar.
The TV is fairly excellent and the hosted apps are fine and not in your face - the TV comes on directly showing its current input (e.g. in my case from a BT smart box) rather than apps or a start screen or similar. I can also immediately cast media to it by a right click from my PC.
I initially had problems with the overall system integration: I have poor wifi coverage in my house and the TV (Loewe) and sound systems (Linn) wouldn't always work reliably together until I had ethernet wired into my house. Also, and this is not a big problem for me, an Alexa can recognise the Loeve as a device but appears unable to use it for sound output. In the bin for you, Alexa.
I had never heard of loewe, but after 10 minutes of searching, I still know nothing more about them - there is no pricing available, no idea where to buy them and no list of models. The one model I could find I also can't find tech specs for because the download link is broken.
My problem is, that I essentially want a dumb TV, but with gaming features, I guess the mix of my requirements is what makes it impossible.
If someone knows a dumb, 120hz, GSync and OLED TV, let me know :)
There are a couple OLED computer monitors that are just TVs with the TV parts removed and the monitor parts thrown in. For example, the Gigabyte FO48U.
I recently bought a simple TV from SwedX [0]. Pretty happy with it so far. Seems to be simple enough. No "apps", no network connectivity, simple remote and simple menus. Quite quick to turn on.
I didn't go for an extremely high-end display, but I wouldn't have done that anyway. They seem to be out of stock of a lot of their "4K" models, but they are priced at 600-1000€.
Ships from Sweden, so should be possible for a lot of Europe.
I am glad we are moving in that direction ( as in, there are options for people, who are ok with paying more for not intrusive versions ). Sadly, no US option.
For some reason I'm unable to reply to maccard - apologies for this misplaced response
> I had never heard of loewe, but after 10 minutes of searching, I still know nothing more about them - there is no pricing available, no idea where to buy them and no list of models. The one model I could find I also can't find tech specs for because the download link is broken.
Loewe are indeed wonderful TVs totally letdown by their marketing and distribution.
FWIW their website (which I linked to above) does have model and spec information, but it's fair to say that they've fallen off the radar for most consumer-TV review sites, and even their user-base forum[0] is predominantly German-language (although any questions asked in English do receive a response).
I think the problem is that the TV-market is saturated by the major brands, and they achieve market-dominance by stealing and selling their users' data, instead of pricing their TVs realistically. Most people don't care.
Yeah I looked at those when I learned of them. They often come with serious quality (and price) trade offs if you’re able to source them at all.
If you’re looking for a generic LCD it’s probably fine, but if you’re comparing to an LG OLED you won’t find an ad free option in the commercial market. At least I couldn’t back when I tried.
Giving the TV no network access and using an Apple TV seemed to be the best option.
> If you’re looking for a generic LCD it’s probably fine, but if you’re comparing to an LG OLED you won’t find an ad free option in the commercial market. At least I couldn’t back when I tried.
They don't update the commercial line annually of course, so it's equivalent to a consumer model from a few years ago, but the panels are all the same until the 2021 models anyways.
There are no good high-end “dumb” tv options.