this post was submitted on 27 May 2026
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Are there any TVs nowadays that don't advertise to you? I bought a Hisense about 6 years ago because it supposedly didn't advertise. 2 years into getting the TV it advertises now. Any suggestions for a TV that just lets me watch?
Every time somebody brings this up, there's the same obvious answer. The only real option is to have an external streaming device and to disable or completely ignore the built-in operating system.
I got a Philips TV and just never connected it to the internet. Only ad I see is the ugly Netflix button on my remote, rest is handled by OSMC.
I think most TVs can do this. I've even discovered that Samsung that's notorious for forcing you to go through a network setup wizard can be bypassed just by pressing the right arrow button instead of selecting a WiFi. At least all the Samsung TVs from my old workplace had this bypass.
Finally got sick of the FireTV so I plugged a mini PC into a dumb TV. It's kinda sad to have to use a keyboard instead of a controller, but it was a minor tradeoff for a much better experience.
You should be able to use something like Flirc if you want to use a TV remote to control your mini PC.
The OSMC remote would probably also work. It also comes with an RF receiver (doesn't use IR). I got an OSMC box with accompanying remote and I'm very happy. If need be I can plug it into one of my non OSMC devices and test it out with a specific media app.
Honestly this is what I would do if I didn’t have a partner to worry about. They wouldn’t like that but yeah, it’s the cleanest way, if not odd.
It's certainly odd but my wife doesn't mind it because she just makes me operate it 😅