To refuse a smart TV despite my kids' pleas.

[BeSunnyRaven]

We just moved house and got a new TV. I settled for a Cello one with a built in DVD player and no smart bullshite.

I don't want all this telemetry or the attention span ruining elements of being able to watch whenever you want when you want. Nor do I want to connect it to my internet and I'm certainly not paying to watch something, especially not to an american company

DD13 and DS11 desperately want one. I've said that if they want to watch something on netflix or the like, they can use the pirate bay to download it, burn it onto a dvd and load that into the TV.

Apparently that's 'not cool' and 'annoying' or whatever.

AIBU?

If you're going to pirate the files at least stop wasting physical media and play directly from a drive storage. It's a waste of plastic.

My best friend grew up without a tv. I envied her because her dm was present and taught her so many other things in life, helped her with school work, made her beautiful clothes, encouraged her to carry on with guides and help out at charities.
Many dc would benefit from not sitting in front of a box every night.

Of course they would, and such a happy medium does exist thankfully!
My kids had crazy things such as outdoor activities (scouts/horse riding), necessary lessons not taught at school ie swimming. They had days out at the weekend and other less exciting tasks such as walking the dogs daily.
They did however have the tech to catch up with a few shows that they and all of their friends were watching so when all of the school chatter was about Stranger Things (or whichever show was popular at the time) they could join in with the conversation.

This whole thread reads as a weird attempt at reverse snobbery.

It reminds me of how my auntie refused to buy a TomTom (I bet you do too OP!) as she felt ‘they were ridiculous modern crap’ so instead spent every car journey pulled over tearing her hair out at a map. She was late for everything as she had no sense of direction. Tutted at us using our TomTom. But whatever, she’d won the race of purposely inflicted micro-hardships.

So, yeah, I guess ‘Well Done’, OP?

Yep. The inclusion of the DVD player makes this a solid 🎣 8/10.

You can do all those things AND let your child watch TV you know....

Well if something isn't available on the only platform you will watch it on then you should accept that that is your choice not to watch it.

Your boundary is not subscribing to these streaming services, your right to the content ends there if it isn't available in other forms that you will use legally.

You seem very self righteous about this whole issue but are teaching your kids its ok to steal if something they want to watch isn't available. Then justify it with "its ok cos they are billionaires and it's their own fault..."

Because it's a known fact that all British companies are morally incorruptible and definitely don't want people's data

Quite. It's like saying I refuse to buy from Tesco, their awful company. I will only ever shop at Asda.... But there's a really nice jumper that's only sold in Tesco, I'll steal it.

You sound completely batshit right now!

Whatever.

Smart TVs are so shit and slow, that people are beginning to actually seek out non smart TVs.

You're going to alienate your children by being like this.

You may not want this but they do. They will resent you for it, trust me

Well, this is a fun thread for a Sunday morning isn't it? OP is sounding more unhinged with every update!

You’re wrong. I can delete Netflix/Prime/Youtube off my bog standard smart TV.

Where in God's name did you find an unsmart TV with a built in TV player? The local rag and bone man? Do you also wear a liberty bodice and have a rotary dial home phone? I'm 72 and love my smart TV.

I think most of us would accept that new technology comes with positives and negatives and it’s sensible to try to reduce the negatives.

OP, I don’t draw the line in the same place as you- for me streaming music is one of the great positives- but I think the fact you draw a line somewhere is valuable, and it’s probably better to err on the side of less than more.

They're quite easy to get hold of.

This is rage bait.

Why do you assume other people are thieves like you?

From Cello as in the OP, I hadn't heard of them but Google does indeed show what she bought, they only sell one 32" TV so that way to find if you also wish to stick it to the man

This is such a weird take.
I am a present and engaged parent. My children spend most of their evenings/weekends/holidays playing sports, playing with friends, making things, doing their homework, going to their hobby clubs etc.
We also have (more than one) TV.

Yes YABU, are you the poster whose sister bought your kids iPads but you wouldn’t allow them to have them? If so please listen to what people are saying to you, your kids are going to be left behind, socially and technologically. Everything is online now at school, homework, lunch money, bus passes and timetables etc.

Just be careful when you’re up on the roof adjusting the ariel…remember poor Rod Hull!

I have this tv too. Bought it years ago as the TV for our bedroom because it was cheap. We’ve put a Fire stick in it though. 😜 Do still watch the odd DVD if it means not having to pay for it again on a streaming service.

We also have a 55” smart TV in the lounge and literally never watch terrestrial TV. Even things on BBC that I watch live are watched through iPlayer.