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Your point is generally valid, in that the price of selling advertisements and data is factored into the cost of TVs. But, in case you or anyone else despairs of buying a reasonably priced "dumb tv": you can still buy a 55" 4K TV with no spyware and no apps for $450 or less. For example, the Sceptre U558CV-UMC is $400 at that large online retailer from Seattle. I own the 65" version, and it's fantastic.

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Okay, so what's the catch? If other manufacturers rely on the spyware and ads to finance the business, which is how they are able to sell such a high spec TV for $450, how is that vendor able to sell such a TV for $400 with no spyware and ads? Not a rhetorical question; I'm actually curious how they make it work.

The problem as I see it is that if you really want a dumb TV, you generally have to settle for an off-brand, or lower quality, smaller, or older. Hisense has a 75 inch option on the rtings list that is rated fairly well, but what do I know about Hisense? Sony has one ad-free TV on the list but it's several years old now. Most of the rest are Vizio, ironically. And why should I trust them not to send out an update that changes the behavior of the TV to include ads?

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