I’m going to buy my first new TV in years. Even if it’s a ‘smart’ tv we plan to just use our Roku. I’ve heard that some TVs require you to connect it to the internet before you can even use a Roku device. For privacy reasons I don’t want my TV to EVER have access to my wifi. Is anyone aware of how to know what models/brands of TVs allow me to use it without ever connecting the TV itself to wifi?
If necessary I guess I could connect it to my guest network to ‘activate’ the TV, set up the Roku to connect to my private network, then change the password to the guest network.
Would rather just have a TV that doesn’t even ‘phone home’ once.
Functionality, ease of use, and longevity taken into account, I’ll have to disagree based on my experience. Shield, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire, Raspberry Pi in that order. But if they’re planning on using it just for streaming, a Roku stick is the simplest, cheapest, and easiest option. And unless they’re already deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem, I’d avoid it too.