This article misses the point. I desperately want a non-smart TV because I don't want to deal with the absolute mess that is smart TV software. I want to have a TV with a nice panel, a basic OSD that lets me switch inputs and set up color/HDR profiles, and that's it.
Is that really a problem that happens because a TV is "smart" or not? I'm using a LG 4K OLED TV, connected to the internet with a bunch of apps (so smart) and it's ready to be used in like 2-3 seconds after I power it on. Are other TVs really that much worse? I only have experience with LG ones, so I might just be lucky here.
stayed in an airbnb once where the TV would take ~15 seconds to be ready to control, of that time, about 5 seconds was already playing content but you couldn't control the volume. I don't remember the brand, but it wasn't some unknown thing.
Did you actually read the article? They said their first two picks will boot to the most recent input without any UI to step through, which they consider acceptable. Combined with CEC input switching, I agree that the UI shouldn't be much of a concern. I use a TCL P607 disconnected from the internet, and the UI is not a concern because of CEC switching.
