The ideal software should take 45 seconds to crash after accidentally hitting the wrong button on your remote.

Is this the same guy who programmed Windows Vista? Good god that OS was horrible and would crash if you even looked at it the wrong way

I disconnected both of my smart TVs from the internet and have yet to tell the difference. :)

This is the way.

I just want a TV to be a display that shows what I plug into it.
- I mean, you have a point. Why would Google or LG have to subsidize the hardware to spy on you when you can just let your laptop or media dongle do it anytime you want to watch some Netflix.
- Yoo I have one of those, it's pretty cool
I have my TV locked down to LAN in my router. Lets me still run automations against it but prevents ad bullshit and forced updates.
- Just got a new Roku tv, that’s a great idea thank you.
Self Indulgent Roku TV Vent/Rant that maybe isn't the most fitting to reply on this specific comment but I'm getting it out of my system:

I can't do this because the remote for my TV broke and the on-TV controls are very limited so we use an APP for some things. My phone for some reason cant connect to the TV with the app either so if I want the volume adjusted my options are to either ask my partner or use my RP5 🤡 It's a very unfavorable situation, I want so badly to get a new tv to get away from Roku. Can't block Roku phoning home either because no DNS settings on the TV and we weren't getting the full speed with our own router so we use the ISP provided one now which doesn't let us mess with that. We don't event watch anything on the actual TV (application), its hooked up to a mini PC that does the work.

We can just buy a remote so we can set the TV offline but we don't like this TV so getting a new remote feels like lengthing its lifespan and I'm stubborn.
- Check goodwill, probably a new remote or two for that very tv there. Cost $1 I bet.
- It's rather technical but if you were considering getting smart home devices, you can use home assistant to replace the app on your phone. I followed this guide to make a very lazy Roku card for HA. Then, you can keep the TV on your LAN but ban it from the internet.
  
  I have a pihole on the network to keep the ads off the TV but honestly I wish we hadn't bought the thing. It sounds like you can't use a different DNS? That's a real shame. I'm more or less in your situation, seems like a waste to toss a working device just because it's a rebellious piece of shit.

Using a 12 year old cell phone processor to run data harvesting. Any processing power left over for transcoding and display of video is a bonus.

I actually built the OS for a certain line of smart TVs

It worked well on the first- and second-gen products, but hardware and software were all moved to China years ago and it's gone to shit since then.

To be "fair"(?) it's really more about the awful hardware they shove in even $1000 TVs than the software quality.

I will say it's both.

But hey, you have to give it to them, at least when it doesn't crash they do run pretty beefy 4K HDR video decoding on a ten year old dual core SBC. I'm surprised the whole thing doesn't spontaneously combust at random intervals.
- I'm pretty sure they usually shell out the 2¢ needed for dedicated decoding chips.

Give us T9 on TV remotes.

So many people got so good with T9! And then like a fart in the wind the skill was not usable anymore.
- You don't even have to be good. Moving that cursor around the alphabet is slow and annoying as fuck.
This is a great idea. You're totally right. I'm a little jealous I didn't think of it before, ngl.

The fact that there's no way to force close an app is my real frustration.

I can't even reboot my tv. I have to agree/disagree to the ToS to get it to actually restart.
- I have a piece of shit Samsung TV that needs replacing. When an app crashes I found holding down the standby button for like 20 seconds and then turn it back on seems to kill the apps on the TV so I can reload them.
  
  No idea if it's a legit fix; but if not the placebo effect makes me feel better. Maybe other TVs could work the same way?
- Just pull the plug at that point.

Is there a way to install a smart TV OS on e.g. a raspberry Pi, and have it to the tv all the time? Would there be any downsides?

I have used Kodi on a Raspberry Pi, via OSMC.

There are some hardware limits that make a Pi not perfect for the job, and while there are things I like about Kodi there are things I don't. For one thing, I had speakers attached to the Pi via it's audio jack, but it would keep defaulting to the television's audio over HDMI and I'd have to alter a config file to get the option to use the audio jack to even appear in the GUI's menu. Someone decided to make it do that.

Another commenter mentions HDMI-CEC, which allows the Pi to control the TV like a remote, it can turn the TV on and off, change volume, etc. What this does is make it so that you can't turn the TV off. You turn the TV off, the Pi turns it back on immediately. Again, someone decided to make it do that.

It's one of those open source "It technically works and has the UX of west nile virus, so it's exactly what we want and we will treat you with open hostility if you ask us why it sucks" things, like GIMP and FreeCAD.
- That last paragraph hurts too much, some programmers live too much in a programmers bubble/underestimate UX design way too much
You can use something like Kodi TV on a raspberry pi. Most TVs allow you to automatically load into a device on HDMI.

You'll also want to use the HDMI-CEC connection on your TV to the RPI - this will allow you to use your TV remote with it as well.

Wow, I guess when Bobby Wagner finally retires he's all set on his second career

Yeah quite confusing as a Seahawks fan.
- Turns out our Bobby is @Bwagz and not @Bwags

Lol this is spot on