WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.680 Smart TVs are actually pretty stupid. 00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:09.280 Between these slow, laggy interfaces, frequent advertising, and privacy concerns, 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. 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:22.720 Even cheap TVs are usually running a smart operating system these days. 00:00:22.720 --> 00:00:25.920 So where have all the dumb TVs gone? 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 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 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. 00:00:46.720 --> 00:00:52.560 Companies like Roku, Amazon, and Google pay TV manufacturers to get their operating systems 00:00:52.560 --> 00:00:57.440 pre-installed. And this has become an important source of revenue for the manufacturers. 00:00:57.440 --> 00:01:00.800 Even if you're buying a TV from a company like Vizio or LG, 00:01:00.800 --> 00:01:04.880 which operate their own smart TV platforms instead of paying for someone else's, 00:01:04.880 --> 00:01:10.080 they're still monetizing that operating system. One way they do this is through advertisements. 00:01:10.080 --> 00:01:14.320 These are typically produced and displayed by whoever developed the operating system. 00:01:14.320 --> 00:01:18.880 So in the case of a company like Vizio or LG, they're keeping the profits. 00:01:18.880 --> 00:01:22.480 While platforms like Roku, who live on a different company's TV, 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:27.440 might split advertising dollars with TCL or whoever actually made the hardware. 00:01:27.440 --> 00:01:31.360 You also might see free channels built into the operating system. 00:01:31.360 --> 00:01:36.400 These are usually ad supported with some of that revenue possibly going to the manufacturer. 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:42.080 Aside from advertising, you often see money flow directly from an app developer to a TV 00:01:42.080 --> 00:01:47.760 manufacturer, such as through the Netflix, Hulu, or Apple TV buttons on the remote. 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:51.840 These streaming services pay manufacturers for those dedicated buttons. 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. 00:02:00.160 --> 00:02:03.760 Streaming services can also pay to have their apps pre-installed 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, 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:12.240 even if they do not own the operating system. Okay, we get it. 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? 00:02:18.880 --> 00:02:24.240 Lower-end TVs, including smart TVs, are now commodity goods that are being sold at prices 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. 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:36.960 Without smart features, manufacturers would be taking not insignificant losses on budget sets, 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:42.720 which would explain why dumb TVs only account for around 2% of TV sales these days. 00:02:42.720 --> 00:02:45.760 It's a little bit like how the inkjet printer business works. 00:02:45.760 --> 00:02:50.160 You sell low-end hardware at a break-even price or even at a small loss, 00:02:50.160 --> 00:02:54.080 then make your money through ink refills, just like your mama dreamed. 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, 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? 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:11.440 Well, although many more technically inclined customers have frequently complained about 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, 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.640 and are willing to put up with a laggy UI in return. 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, 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:33.680 which generally have better performance. And because so many TV models are commodity items, 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:39.200 manufacturers are more concerned about keeping costs down than they are about snappy performance. 00:03:39.200 --> 00:03:43.040 If they're cheap enough that people end up replacing them every few years, 00:03:43.040 --> 00:03:47.280 manufacturers simply aren't going to worry all that much about ensuring the chips inside 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:51.520 can keep up with more advanced software that rolls out as the years go by. 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:54.960 Instead, you'll get relatively inexpensive hardware sometimes 00:03:54.960 --> 00:04:00.800 that has to juggle image processing, the user interface, and all that smart junk. 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:04.000 Although this is a bit less of an issue on higher-end TVs, 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, 00:04:08.720 --> 00:04:11.840 there's no reason for them to not include smart features. 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 00:04:17.840 --> 00:04:21.920 is fairly trivial, there isn't an incentive for these manufacturers 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:25.120 to save money by not including them. 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. 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:35.840 And if you want something nicer, you might look for commercial-grade TVs designed for 00:04:35.840 --> 00:04:40.720 places like restaurants and airports, where the screen needs to be running continuously. 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:43.920 But be prepared to pay a bit more than you might expect. 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:48.160 Barring that, just buy yourself a really big computer monitor. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:53.120 It's simple. And thank you for watching. 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. 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:03.280 Comment below with video suggestions, and don't forget to subscribe and follow TechWiki. 00:05:03.280 --> 00:05:05.440 Okay? All right, did you write all that down? Great.