I don't even understand the pitch? you have the disc playing, in your hands, your ownership, no buffering, no subscription required. and they're saying....hey do you want a worse experience?
In the low end market (sub 500eur) they are mostly android tv, so not dumb.
For this reason i own an old wxga nec projector. It can do 720p, is very bright, costs about 50eur used, replacement bulbs cheap on aliexpress. It gets hot though. I pair it with 5.1 audio and rooted android tv box and the wife fully approves this :)
Seriously... Like just don't connect it to the Internet? I dont know how it works when you don't have a PC though, it's easy for me to say don't connect it because my PC is what gets the data im watching. Maybe these people only have a smart TV so that they can watch streaming services with it.
Absolutely this. I'm lucky enough to have access to commercial & hospitality displays. Great picture quality and longevity with none of the forced online nonsense.