I blocked my smart TV from reaching the internet, and it …

Making the TV actually smart.

Your smart TV likes to pretend it's capable of running apps like a smartphone or PC, but it's more than likely horrifically underpowered, both in software and hardware. I have a Samsung RU7100 from 2019, making it almost seven years old at this point. It's not ancient by any means, but it's notably behind the trend compared to newer TVs. Still, this entry-level smart TV offered impressive specs and a good experience at a reasonable price, and we decided to pick up the 65-inch model for the living room.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be not that smart. Don't get me wrong, the RU7100 is a fantastic TV for consuming content and playing games on the Nintendo Switch, but it certainly has its faults. The Wi-Fi is temperamental at best, the software is slow, and the UI could have seen some more development before release. The worst part is the responsiveness, which can be unbearable at times. A stark contrast is our new TCL QD-Mini LED bedroom TV.

It's more affordable than the Samsung panel, but runs Google TV. This thing absolutely flies. Whether it's loading and using installed apps for self-hosted media or browsing Netflix, there's almost no lag. It's widely reported by owners and has been the case for many years now that "smart" TVs, which are just fancier screens with slightly beefier internal hardware and interactive software built right in, have largely been on a range between disappointing and downright awful.

The issue with smart TVs is what manufacturers ship with them in the first place. Ever wondered how you manage to score sometimes unbeatable deals on these things? It's all attributed to cost-cutting and to the fact that they can load the OS with targeted advertising that literally monitors what you watch. It can be straightforward to get around these trackers and targeted ads with something like a Pi-hole, but we shouldn't have to constantly run through loops to block content we don't want access to for the best viewing experience.

Then there are the anemic TV chipsets, which are often severely underpowered for the task at hand. Just like the chipset inside your vehicle's infotainment system, it can quickly run out of steam, causing sluggish responsiveness. The OS powering the TV may not receive updates as frequently, and there may be some firmware bugs that have yet to be squashed. This all spoils what could be an amazing viewing experience.

What makes matters worse is that we purchase these smart TVs expecting precisely that, thanks to the impressive marketing that goes into selling large screens. An easy fix for this is to pick up specific streaming devices like an Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV stick, but I've had poor experiences with the latter, resulting in either going with Apple's walled-in garden (though its TV box is fantastic) or sticking it out with the vanilla TV experience and trying to get it working slightly better.

If your smart TV's operating system is stuttering, clearing its cache is often a quick way to speed it up. We love buying physical media. We have a budding vinyl collection, hundreds of console games stacked on shelves, and thousands of purchased digital albums, movies, and shows — all on disc whenever possible (remember those?). Streaming is great, and we also rely on Netflix, Amazon, and a few others for all our needs, but there's something about lossless experiences without any compression.

Then there's the fact that you own the media, and there won't be a day that a company decides a specific piece of content is no longer available. To better catalog and enjoy this media without swapping discs all the time, I rip everything we buy and load it onto the Jellyfin server. It may not be 4K, but I often find Blu-ray to be as good, if not better, than 4K, though this is entirely subjective and your mileage may vary for quality.

As for our living room Samsung TV, I decided to block it from accessing the internet completely. Apps can only access other devices on the network, allowing Jellyfin to continue functioning. Immediately, the performance was noticeably better, but this didn't come as a surprise. Sometime in 2022, the Wi-Fi stopped working on the TV. It just refused to connect or would keep dropping out. So we had a few days without internet access on the panel, and it seemed to work better.

We used our Xbox One as a Blu-ray player and loaded up some discs, and everything we did through the TV interface felt snappy. So I connected it to a closed network with no internet access and only allowed it to stream Plex content. The app was far more responsive than before, especially when searching through the expansive catalog. So, I decided to do the same once again, but this time using VLANs.

Virtual LANs (VLANs) can be used to segment the home network, and they can also help restrict what specific network clients can do, including smart TVs. I use them at our home to keep guests in a sandboxed room, separate IP cameras from the rest of the LAN, and IoT hardware from interacting with anything but Home Assistant. So, the smart TV now has its own VLAN and can only communicate with our Jellyfin server and a few select domains and IP ranges.

Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video all still work, but nothing else can connect to and from the TV. The processor is obviously freed up to handle more UI work, which means everything feels slightly more responsive than before. It's also good for the LAN port, which caps at 100Mbps. This is perfectly fine for streaming from a service such as Netflix, but if you wish to really push the boat out with super-high-quality, high-bitrate content, it will help to have all network bandwidth available for the task.

Lastly, there's a guarantee that we won't be pushed through advertising outside specific instances, like using an app. The best part is that almost no configuration is necessary on the TV itself. That depends on what you use the TV for. If you primarily use streaming services and enjoy the native GUI, I'd suggest using a VLAN if possible. Configure firewall rules to allow specific data through, and you'll be up and running with a tailored network profile for the TV, helping block all that unnecessary bloat.

You may be surprised by how much noise the TV generates (and receives) over network data alone.

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