I choose to use a mini PC with arch Linux to connect to me TV. Most of media services I have can be access through the web browser.

I just purchased a new Samsung TV. it required an Internet connection when I first set it up, but once I got through that initial data dump / update, I reset the network configuration and turned it back into a dumb(er) TV.

I use a piholed Roku 4k for my main streaming device. I will admit it is also trying its damnedest to track what I consume and serve ads to me too, but what am I going to do? Read a book?

Are there any dumb TVs with good panels and HDMI CEC for sale? That would be perfect to use with an Nvidia shield or apple TV or equivalent..

The cold steel of a glock barrel against my temple applies to the whole "Smart" part of my TVs. Everything has a Kodi rPi attached to an HDMI input.

https://labzilla.io/blog/force-dns-pihole

I've been meaning to do this for a while as I noticed that the TVs in our house are slyly avoiding PiHole for DNS

LibreELEC is the solution

Modern day poetry

Someone should start a brand like Nothing Phone / other niche phone manufacturers, but for TVs. Many of us have an attachment to iOS that makes the phone space really difficult, but I'd jump on a beefed up nerdy niche smart TV in a heartbeat.