Nowadays, there are the so-called smart TVs and the non smart TVs. Non smart TVs are affordable, they respect your privacy, they don’t spy on you as they don’t record you nor they send data of you. Yet, the quality isn’t lacking. Instead, non smart TVs are getting better at a lower price! Check out our 6 non smart TVs!
Sceptre 43" 1080pBest image quality full HD option
The Sceptre X438BV-FSR is a 43” LED TV. The brightest and the darkest shades of the smallest details spring to life on this non smart TV. MEMC 120 (Motion Estimation and Motion Compensation) flawlessly increases the frame rate on the screen while getting rid of blur. 3 HDMI ports will let you enjoy your videos in an insane quality. On top of that, one port is MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) meaning that if you have a compatible device such as a smartphone or tablet, you’ll be able to display it on the TV to play a game or watch a video. In addition, the television has the Energy Star V7.0 label which ensures that energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Energy and the the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are respected.
Features
Dimensions
With Stand (inches) 42.60" x 5.94" x 25.79"
Without stand (inches) 38.01" x 3.50" x 21.97"
Diagonal
43 inches
Resolution
Full HD (1080p)
HDMI ports
3
Highlight features
Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) to stream smartphone or tablet on TV, Energy Star V7.0 (energy efficient label), 1 USB port, MEMC 120 (Motion Estimation and Motion Compensation)
Verdict
Sceptre X438BV-FSR non smart TV is a great TV displaying images of high quality for an affordable budget. It is an outstanding TV.
Samsung UN32J4001 is 32-inch LED TV, with 720p as resolution, and a 60-hertz refresh rate, two HDMI inputs, one component-video input, plus one USB port. With the “Wide Color Enhancer” technology, enjoy every image as the director intended with enriched colors. This technology improves even non-HD and old content! This compact non smart TV will perfectly fit to your bedroom or your tiny home. It is a perfect match between convenient dimensions and high quality. Moreover, it is an Energy Star certified TV ensuring you it consumes the minimum energy.
Features
Dimensions
With Stand (inches) 28.9" x 18.2" x 6.4"
Without stand (inches) 28.9" x 17.3" x 3.1"
Diagonal
32 inches
Resolution
HD (720p)
HDMI ports
2
Highlight features
Wide Color Enhancer, DTS Premium Sound, 1 USB port, 1 component input
Verdict
Samsung UN32J4001 will meet your expectations as a compact TV. “Wide Color Enhancer” technology is a great plus.
Among the non smart TVs, you might also be looking for an ultra high resolution, one of the latest technology at an affordable price yet. Here is Komodo by Sceptre with its 50 inches screen and 4K resolution blowing your mind. 4K stands for 3840 x 2160 pixels, such a great precision that will immerse yourself in the TV. MEMC 120 referring to Motion Estimation And Motion Compensation 120 Hz will increase the number of images per second enhancing greatly your experience. On top of that, the UHD upscaling allows you to upscale Standard Definition, High Definition or Full HD video to a result close to 4K. Also Mobile high-definition Link (MHL) allows you to display your compatible tablets and smartphones on the TV: video games, videos and images will seem different now.
Features
Dimensions
With Stand (inches) 44. 25” X 27. 59”x 8. 52"
Without stand (inches) 44. 25” x 25. 53" x 3. 64”
Diagonal
50 inches
Resolution
UHD - 4K (2160p)
HDMI ports
4
Highlight features
Ultra High Definition, MEMC 120 (Motion Estimation and Motion Compensation), 1 USB port, HDMI 2.0, Mobile high-definition Link (MHL), UHD upscaling, VESA 200x200mm
Verdict
If you want to experience 4K, you should then opt for the Sceptre Komodo.
Let us propose you a non smart TV for kids’ room and guest room. Sceptre 32 inches is a LED TV having 3 HDMI ports to plug devices such as video games, TV tuner and Blu-Ray player. Your kids will like this HD TV, large enough for them and a high quality image is displayed. It is also a wise choice for guest room as a supplementary TV. MHL and MEMC are two technologies that make this screen better. The Energy Star certification is a way to reduce your electricity bill when kids use TVs too much… Watch them!
Features
Dimensions
With Stand (inches) 28.78” x 18.39” x 7.95”
Without stand (inches) 28.78” x 16.97” x 2.95”
Diagonal
32 inches
Resolution
HD (720p)
HDMI ports
3
Highlight features
MEMC 120 (Motion Estimation and Motion Compensation), 1 USB port, Mobile high-definition Link (MHL), VESA 100x100mm, VGA and component inputs, Energy Star certified
Verdict
In a nutshell, Spectre 32” LED TV and its 3 HDMI ports is a wise choice for a supplementary TV for kids and guest room.
We have found for you who are looking for a TV for your kitchen. LG 24LJ4540 is a 24 inches LED TV. Easily mountable on a wall, you can also put it on a shelf, it won’t bother! This TV will enhance your cooking experience. The image and the sound quality are remarkable. You might also watch TV while eating in your kitchen through the coaxial output. Furthermore, The Triple XD Engine technology processes images with even greater precision in order to enable deeper contrast, more natural color expression and more lifelike picture.
Features
Dimensions
With Stand (inches) 21.9" x 15.2" x 5.8"
Without stand (inches) 21.9" x 13.6" x 2.1"
Diagonal
24 inches
Resolution
HD (720p)
HDMI ports
1
Highlight features
Triple XD Engine, 1 USB port
Verdict
If you hesitate about having a small TV in your kitchen, go on and take this one.
Smart Tvs Are Dumb: Why You Don’T Really Want A Smart Tv?
Watching TV channels, offline videos, playing video games
If the purpose of the TV is to watch traditional channels through cable or a TV tuner, you can go for a non smart TV. Similarly, if you intend to use it for a Blu-Ray or a DVD player then a non smart TV is convenient. Playing video games does not require a smart tv either.
Privacy - Protect yourself and your relatives
Smart TVs have usually microphones too. Just shout that you want to change the channel or turn up the volume and your smart TV will handle it. Even, some have built-in cameras for facial recognition or video chat. You might worry about your privacy. I am not the one who says it, it’s the FBI. The manufacturers might be recording you against your will or even hackers may do it. It is well known that your privacy is worth money (a lot).
If you don't really need a smart TV, then don’t but one. A non smart TV is perfectly fine too. Protect your kids, protect yourself, protect your privacy.
You can still enjoy apps like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime...
Usually, a smart TV contains those kind of apps. However, you can still enjoy this kind of apps with a non smart tv, you’ll just need to plug a computer or an Android box into it. That’s it.
The price matters
Smart TVs are more expensive than the non smart ones (up to 20% and even more). Note it down.
How To Choose The Best Non Smart Tvs?
Ideal resolution for different screen sizes
Resolution is the number of pixels on the screen. 720p is actually 1366 pixels for the width and 768 pixels for the height which means a 720p screen is composed of 1049088 pixels. 1080p stands for 1920x1080 and 4k might stand for 3840x2160 or 4096 × 2160 pixels.
As a reminder: HD is 720p, Full HD is 1080p and UHD is 4K.
Thus the more pixels, the better the image quality. However small screen sizes does not require high resolution as you would need to watch from nearer distance.
Here is the list resolution for each screen size that manufacturers produce:
Screen size
Resolution
≤ 32”
HD - 720p
≥ 32”
Full HD - 1080p
≥ 40”
UHD- 4K
How do you determine the size of a TV for a room?
In the time of cathode-ray tube screen, watchers had to sit far enough no to distinguish pixels. This time is over, screen resolutions have greatly improved. There are however a few factors to take into account when asking yourself this question: “which TV size to choose?”.
There is firstly the budget, which depends on you. The bigger the screen TV is, the more you will pay.
The second element is how far you will sit from the screen. To calculate the perfect size of the TV so that you can fully enjoy you need to determine from where you will watch it. Sitting too close will cause eye strain, sitting too far won’t allow you to enjoy. The screen resolution impact the distance as well. If you opt for a UHD TV (4K), you will be able to sit closer to the TV. Hence you should go for a bigger screen size. In opposite, with 720p TVs you will more likely sit further. While it all boils down to personal preference, there are simple formulas that provide you an idea about the recommended distances:
Viewing distance / 2 = recommended Full HD TV diagonal size
For instance, if you usually sit 8 feet (8x12=96 inches) from your TV, you should go for a 96/2 = 48 inches screen. Note that 48 inches represents the diagonal size of the screen. Let's look at HD tv now, remember HD = 720p.
Viewing distance / 2.5 = recommended HD TV diagonal size
The recommended viewing distance of a 32 inches HD TV is 32 x 2.5 = 80 inches = 6.7 feet.
Viewing distance / 1.75 = recommended UHD TV diagonal size.
Here is a table summarizing the sitting distance for each resolution related to the different screen sizes.
Screen size
Viewing distance - HD TV
Viewing distance - Full HD TV
Viewing distance - UHD TV
24"
5 ft
4 ft
-
32"
6.7 ft
5.3 ft
-
40"
-
6.7 ft
5.8 ft
43"
-
7.2 ft
6.3 ft
45"
-
7.5 ft
6.6 ft
50"
-
8.3 ft
7.3 ft
Viewing angle also matters
You are about to watch an NBA match, the room is crowded, people have to sit somewhere with a non optimum angle? Then you you should buy a screen a bit larger. Ideally, the television should be placed parallel to your eyes, with no more than a 40 degree angle to the left or right. Similarly, there shouldn’t be more than 15 degree angle up or down.
What kind of output do you need and how many of them you need?
Majority of the devices, if not all, use an HDMI port to connect to the TV. Look for non smart TVs that contain enough HDMI for your need so that you won’t have to change the wires. Usually, the larger, the more HDMI there is.
You might want to watch videos or movies. Make sure that the TV is able to read the target format (.avi, .mp4…) and that the TV has a USB port.
Characteristics (contrast, brightness and LED vs LCD)
Contrast ratio is the difference between the brightest image that a TV can create and the darkest one. So the higher, the better. Note that you should go for a dynamic contrast, much better in terms of quality than a native contrast.
Brightness is a characteristic as well, not as much important as contrast since TVs are most of them bright enough.
Despite having a different acronym, a LED TV is just a specific type of LCD TV. LED TVs are more energy efficient but are most expensive.
Who Makes The Best Non Smart Tvs?
Samsung
Widely famous South Korean brand, Samsung Electronics has been constructing TVs for more than 15 years. This company introduced the concept of ‘Internet TV’ in 2008. 20% of the TVs sold around the world are Samsung ones.
LG
LG, another South Korean brand, is a popular electronic device maker. It has been a pioneer in the TV market. The company has sold more than 500 million TVs. Also, LG launched OLED TVs in 2013.
Sceptre
Sceptre is a Californian company focusing on screens and monitors. For over 30 years, the company has been designing and delivering quality products for affordable prices in the USA.
FAQs
What is the difference between a smart TV and a “dumb” TV?
Basically, a smart TV has a network card which means it has the possibility to connect to the internet (usually through WiFi). Often smart TVs come along with apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, web browsers and so on.
In addition, microphones are part of the so-called smart TV. You can provide them instructions to increase to volume, dictate words and so on… However as pointed out earlier, it is one of their caveat.
Conclusion
After all, non smart TVs aren’t really dumb at all. We actually personally prefer non smart TV ‘cuz we usually end up not using most of the smart features of smart TVs that we pay for. While TV technology is getting more complicated, it’s always a wise choice to stick to a “dump” TV that gives you more practical and user-friendly viewing experience. We hope that with our list of 5 best non smart TVs, you will find a suitable one that can accompany you and your family every night in your living room, kitchen or bedroom. Please contact us if you have trouble shopping or comment to improve this list. Thank you very much.
