In light of the recent Roku TV forced arbitration scandal, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the TV industry is moving firmly toward sabotaging consumers’ abilities to use their TV without a direct internet connection. Whether by extreme measures like disabling the TV entirely if it can’t connect, or by subtle annoyances like displaying popup reminders, blinking LEDs, or sound notifications, consumers are feeling increasingly punished if they choose not to subject themselves to advertisements, onerous and one-sided “agreements” that can be changed at any time, or unrestricted data collection.

Because the vast majority of consumers choose to connect their TVs to the internet, it can be extremely difficult to find information regarding offline-only usage on specific models. Therefore, an RTINGS rating would be extremely useful.

We want to see an offline ratings system that roughly corresponds with the following examples:

• 10/10: No requirement to connect to the internet, no loss of HDMI / input functionality, no “reminders” to connect of any kind unless the user is trying to access Netflix or similar app.
• 8-9/10: No requirement to connect to internet, but “ no internet connected detected” message briefly and/or prominently displayed when powering on the TV. No other loss of functionality.
• 5-7/10: TV is fully functional without internet connection, but a daily or weekly reminder to connect to the internet is briefly displayed and automatically dismisses itself. Or, the on/off LED light stops functioning as an on/off indicator, and blinks at all times to indicate a lack of internet connectivity.
• 2-4/10: TV is fully functional without internet connection, but a daily or hourly reminder to connect to the internet is displayed and must be manually dismissed.
• 1/10: TV will automatically attempt to connect to a public or unrestricted wi-fi network if detected, with no ability to disable such attempts.
• 0/10: TV functionality or HDMI inputs are disabled entirely if an internet connection is not found, either during initial setup, or after any duration of time after the TV is in use.