If you long for the days when a TV was just a TV, you’re out of luck. Every major TV manufacturer has switched exclusively to “smart” TVs, filled with onboard streaming software you may or may not want.
These flashy interfaces are, all too often, coming between you and the stuff you want to do on your TV. There’s also the problem of privacy and security. If you have to log into a television with yet another personal account (possibly connected to all of your streaming media services, to boot), it’s inherently less secure than an old-fashioned screen. That’s before you even throw in the different streaming accounts, payment systems, software updates, or built-in cameras and microphones. At present, there hasn’t been a wide-scale attack on smart TV software, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t vulnerable.
Unfortunately, if this is upsetting to you, your options are limited. But it might be worth it to go through the best of the few options you do have for security, convenience, or just making your television simple again.
Smart TVs Ain’t That Smart
There are many reasons why you might want to avoid the current crop of smart televisions. One of the most common is that, well, they’re “smart,” i.e., far more complex than the old screen-and-tuner variety. All you had to mess with on those were the inputs and picture settings.
The reason almost every TV sold now has smart streaming features is it’s cheap and easy to implement. With a few low-cost parts (often shared with budget smartphones sans the screen and battery), TV manufacturers can turn a “dumb” screen into something that streams video over Wi-Fi from dozens of sources. It’s so cheap and easy to do this that it seems like the entire industry has ticked over to smart TVs in just a few short years.
But cheap and easy isn’t the same as good. A lot of these manufacturers aren’t necessarily that great at software or interfaces, and slapping some ARM-powered guts into a decent screen won’t change that. So, you can find yourself using a now-unavoidable interface that looks like a stripped-down game console, without the benefit of the speed or input consoles have.
There’s also the problem of security. Most TVs want you to log into a new system with a username and password even before you connect the accounts of your streaming services. That creates yet another point of failure for personal security, which doubles if your TV or remote includes a microphone. Smart TVs use local internet connections to update their software, theoretically patching security vulnerabilities.
However, there’s no evidence that TV manufacturers are taking security seriously, so this is yet another thing to consider that you didn’t have to worry about with older designs. It’s been shown that some brands are vulnerable to hacking, so Samsung now includes encryption and anti-malware software on its platform.
It’s all quite removed from plugging a rabbit ear antenna into your old RCA. The options for simplifying a smart TV’s usage and minimizing its security risks are somewhat limited.
