1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,680 Smart TVs are actually pretty stupid. 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:09,280 Between these slow, laggy interfaces, frequent advertising, and privacy concerns, 3 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:17,760 the user experience often isn't all that great. But if you just want a dumb TV without these features, they are shockingly hard to find. 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:22,720 Even cheap TVs are usually running a smart operating system these days. 5 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,920 So where have all the dumb TVs gone? 6 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:33,680 I just want a dumb TV. Unsurprisingly, TV manufacturers have a financial incentive to load down their products with 7 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:39,600 smart junk you may not want. Although details of these specific deals between manufacturers and the companies 8 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:46,720 developing these smart platforms are kept confidential, all of the major smart TV makers are getting some kind of kickback. 9 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:52,560 Companies like Roku, Amazon, and Google pay TV manufacturers to get their operating systems 10 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:57,440 pre-installed. And this has become an important source of revenue for the manufacturers. 11 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,800 Even if you're buying a TV from a company like Vizio or LG, 12 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:04,880 which operate their own smart TV platforms instead of paying for someone else's, 13 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:10,080 they're still monetizing that operating system. One way they do this is through advertisements. 14 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:14,320 These are typically produced and displayed by whoever developed the operating system. 15 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:18,880 So in the case of a company like Vizio or LG, they're keeping the profits. 16 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:22,480 While platforms like Roku, who live on a different company's TV, 17 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:27,440 might split advertising dollars with TCL or whoever actually made the hardware. 18 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:31,360 You also might see free channels built into the operating system. 19 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:36,400 These are usually ad supported with some of that revenue possibly going to the manufacturer. 20 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:42,080 Aside from advertising, you often see money flow directly from an app developer to a TV 21 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:47,760 manufacturer, such as through the Netflix, Hulu, or Apple TV buttons on the remote. 22 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:51,840 These streaming services pay manufacturers for those dedicated buttons. 23 00:01:51,840 --> 00:02:00,160 And if you sign up for a subscription to one of these services, the manufacturer also may get a cut of that money depending on whether a deal is in place. 24 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,760 Streaming services can also pay to have their apps pre-installed 25 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:08,800 so you see them on a home screen out of the box, and manufacturers can receive a cut of that money, 26 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,240 even if they do not own the operating system. Okay, we get it. 27 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:18,880 Smart features make these TV manufacturers a bunch of money. But can't they also make good money selling dumb TVs? 28 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:24,240 Lower-end TVs, including smart TVs, are now commodity goods that are being sold at prices 29 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:30,800 close to the break-even point. And these more value-oriented TVs make up about half of the market these days. 30 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:36,960 Without smart features, manufacturers would be taking not insignificant losses on budget sets, 31 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:42,720 which would explain why dumb TVs only account for around 2% of TV sales these days. 32 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,760 It's a little bit like how the inkjet printer business works. 33 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:50,160 You sell low-end hardware at a break-even price or even at a small loss, 34 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:54,080 then make your money through ink refills, just like your mama dreamed. 35 00:02:54,080 --> 00:03:00,400 Being a doctor, that's for losers. Sell print to ink. Here, TV manufacturers are selling hardware at thin margins, 36 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:07,120 but propping themselves up with subsidies and ad revenue. Okay, but what about the fact that they're often extremely frustrating to use? 37 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:11,440 Well, although many more technically inclined customers have frequently complained about 38 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:19,360 the slow performance of the built-in smart features, plenty of people still prefer the convenience of just having streaming functionality in one device, 39 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,640 and are willing to put up with a laggy UI in return. 40 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:28,000 And it helps that if it really bothers you, you can always buy a separate streaming stick or box, 41 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:33,680 which generally have better performance. And because so many TV models are commodity items, 42 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:39,200 manufacturers are more concerned about keeping costs down than they are about snappy performance. 43 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:43,040 If they're cheap enough that people end up replacing them every few years, 44 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:47,280 manufacturers simply aren't going to worry all that much about ensuring the chips inside 45 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,520 can keep up with more advanced software that rolls out as the years go by. 46 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,960 Instead, you'll get relatively inexpensive hardware sometimes 47 00:03:54,960 --> 00:04:00,800 that has to juggle image processing, the user interface, and all that smart junk. 48 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,000 Although this is a bit less of an issue on higher-end TVs, 49 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:08,720 and smart features may not be as necessary on them in order to sell them at a profit, 50 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:11,840 there's no reason for them to not include smart features. 51 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:17,840 It's not like these big businesses hate money. And because the cost of adding smart features and the hardware necessary to support them 52 00:04:17,840 --> 00:04:21,920 is fairly trivial, there isn't an incentive for these manufacturers 53 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,120 to save money by not including them. 54 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:31,360 But if you really want a dumb TV, there are a few smaller brands that do still manufacture them. 55 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:35,840 And if you want something nicer, you might look for commercial-grade TVs designed for 56 00:04:35,840 --> 00:04:40,720 places like restaurants and airports, where the screen needs to be running continuously. 57 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,920 But be prepared to pay a bit more than you might expect. 58 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:48,160 Barring that, just buy yourself a really big computer monitor. 59 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,120 It's simple. And thank you for watching. 60 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:59,120 Like the video if you liked it, dislike it if you disliked it. Check out our other video on the differences between TVs and monitors. 61 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:03,280 Comment below with video suggestions, and don't forget to subscribe and follow TechWiki. 62 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:05,440 Okay? All right, did you write all that down? Great.