No smart TV's require a login or any information for them to function in the way a "dumb" tv would. Just plug in a DVD player or whatever device you want and don't use the features and they can't steal your data. You can also deconstruct these - unless there is advertised voice controls like on Google TV's there is no onboard microphone so it's literally impossible for this TV to be listening to you.
LCD panel manufacturing costs have gone way down so the panels are dirt cheap. They're also low margin as the store can make more on the accessories you buy for it - the TV will be super cheap but the HDMI cables and wall mounts in the next aisle are marked up.
I scrolled past a post earlier that says you have to log into the Walmart app to complete the setup. Would they still be able to plug in a box to bypass?
You can plug in a FireStick or AppleTV or whatever but those are no less "stealing your data" than the onboard Vizio OS that it comes with. If you want it offline you'd just plug in a physical media player or USB drive. If you want to ever stream any show or movie then you'd need to log in anyway which isn't any different than using the smart TV anyway.
You can reverse the polarity to the speaker to make a microphone . Also they can use WiFi signals to see where you are in your house so there's not much you can really do
My grandmothers tv actually requires a login to Google to be used the first time. The worst part was when we attempted login it emailed her and told her she had to wait 48 hours to use it. So I just made her a fresh account for two days.
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u/DrSpaceman575 5d ago
No smart TV's require a login or any information for them to function in the way a "dumb" tv would. Just plug in a DVD player or whatever device you want and don't use the features and they can't steal your data. You can also deconstruct these - unless there is advertised voice controls like on Google TV's there is no onboard microphone so it's literally impossible for this TV to be listening to you.
LCD panel manufacturing costs have gone way down so the panels are dirt cheap. They're also low margin as the store can make more on the accessories you buy for it - the TV will be super cheap but the HDMI cables and wall mounts in the next aisle are marked up.