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What companies should I look to for purchasing a top end non-smart TV?

Given the entirely plausible set of scenarios where Smart TV's are susceptible to malware & the added cost of the "smartness" is usually not necessary, I won't be looking to get a Smart TV anytime soon.

But it seems almost every manufacturer has jumped on this bangwagon full steam ahead. Who hasn't? Anyone still focusing on just the display part? Some examples?

At a certain point the TV hardware starts to resemble Monitors in terms of performance/size. Maybe it would just be better to look towards monitor manufacturers that make large screens?

As an example: http://www.vizio.com/tvs.html?screen_size_range=765,767,769,771

All the larger TV's are Smart TV's.

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    What would you consider a "top end" TV? Do you want UHD? High contrast? A specific display type? A really big screen?
    – timuzhti
    Jan 14 '16 at 4:33
  • I'm not looking for a particular TV to buy but would like to know what companies are still working on what I'm looking for. ie newer technologies, better efficiencies, better color representation, etc but not imbued with "smartness".
    – Enigma
    Jan 14 '16 at 5:04
  • It seems to me that you want a big screen, overall newness and non smartness, among other features. It would be great if you enumerated exactly what requirements you have. Here is a relavent meta post.
    – timuzhti
    Jan 24 '16 at 2:02
  • Sure, perfectly valid meta however I think the point is being missed if it seems that I in fact want a TV. I don't. I just want to know who's still progressing display technology with the focus of display technology and not "smartness". I want that so when I do begin looking for TV's I can have a narrowed down list of manufacturers to explore. I'm not looking for any specific hardware and whatever specific answers are provided won't be helpful or valid as technology progresses.
    – Enigma
    Jan 24 '16 at 16:59
  • Well, then this is probably off topic.
    – timuzhti
    Jan 25 '16 at 1:18
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Who's still developing non-smart TV's?

Almost all of them?

I believe your basic assumption is flawed. I'm assuming you're defining a "smart TV" as one that has installable/hackable software or at least some type of Internet connection. A quick search shows that there are still many, many TVs being developed and produced that have none of this; just a nice display and a tuner or video connection. They're relatively easy to spot because they tend to have a lower price point, or you can search for them directly:

Search: LCD TV -smart

I see non-smart TVs by Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic, Sanyo, Westinghouse, Philips… HDTV 720p-4K, HDMI inputs, sizes from 17 inches through 70+ inches. You can search for CRTs, LCDs, LEDs, plasma, etc.

There's still quite a selection. "Non-smart" TVs are readily available.

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  • That link isn't a very good example. Most of what's on the first page is not exactly what I'd call modern mostly dating back to 2009-2011's. An example of what I'm seeing: vizio.com/tvs.html?screen_size_range=765,767,769,771 - every TV there is a Smart TV.
    – Enigma
    Jan 14 '16 at 16:54
  • "Available" isn't the same thing as what I'm asking which is whether or not new ones are still being developed and where?
    – Enigma
    Jan 14 '16 at 17:32
  • If you're looking for on-going advancements in old technologies, that's not likely to happen. But that doesn't mean those systems are not in active and lucrative production. Smart TVs are hot, so of course that's what you're (predominantly) going to find on the front page of a TV site. If you're looking for something that wasn't available in 2011, then include "4K TV" (for example) in your search. Alternatively, see my answer here.
    – Robert Cartaino
    Jan 14 '16 at 17:39
  • I'm not looking for on-going advancements in old technologies but in a product that is driven by display quality/experience and not smartness. Ultimately I may just want to look towards companies that make monitors since that is really their whole focus but I was wondering if any TV companies were say theoretically going to have a brand new top-end 4k TV in say 2016Q3 that just doesn't have internet/smartness or if that age is done and over with.
    – Enigma
    Jan 14 '16 at 17:43
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If you want a modern TV without all the perceived smart-TV risk, just buy any TV with the features you want and disable the Internet and wireless settings.

Boom, instant non-smart TV.

I had a cutting-edge (for the time) 60" Sharp Aquos four-color 240fps 3D full HDTV for over a year before I turned the Internet on. I just had no use for it (at the time). I just wanted a nice TV with a great picture… like you are looking for here.

Any TV with with an advanced feature set will also have advanced configuration settings. Just turn off what you don't want and enjoy the rest.

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  • Yes that is certainly an option however I am quite keen on purchasing a TV where investment wasn't made into something I'm not going to use as there is a perceived burden for me. I end up paying $x more for that R&D and extra hardware/software that I won't be using.
    – Enigma
    Jan 14 '16 at 17:45
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    You can't do this with just any smart TV. Some of them don't really turn off their "smart" features, they just disable showing you the results. Similarly, you can't just refrain from connecting them to the Internet -- some will, by default, connect to any available open wireless access point.
    – Mark
    Jan 14 '16 at 19:54
  • breaks out soldering iron, removes wifi chip, plugs RJ45 connector with hot glue
    – NZKshatriya
    Jan 23 '17 at 22:49

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