A How-To Geek writer says a Raspberry Pi can add smart features to old TVs, speakers and appliances without ads, accounts or the tracking built into new smart TVs.
Before you replace an old TV, receiver or speaker with a new smart one, a small Raspberry Pi computer may do the job. How-To Geek editor Nick Lewis argues that a Pi can make older gear smart without the ads, account sign-ups and lock-in that often come with new products.
A Raspberry Pi is a small, low-cost computer. Every smart device already has a computer inside, and a Pi can take its place. Lewis says a Pi Zero 2 W can run a smart fridge or washer. A base Pi 5 can handle more complex devices. Both offer networking and Bluetooth.
Old speakers and amplifiers often still sound fine. The digital parts that drive them are what age badly. Lewis says a Pi paired with a decent USB DAC, a part that turns digital audio into sound, often beats the built-in audio in budget smart speakers.
New smart devices usually lock you into the maker's software. An AV receiver comes with the manufacturer's system. Some TVs let you choose between Roku and Google TV. A Pi lets you choose for yourself.
Lewis adds that AI tools such as Claude or ChatGPT can write software if the app you want does not exist.
Smart TVs show home screen ads, insert ads into content and collect viewing data. Lewis points to Automatic Content Recognition, or ACR, which fingerprints what is on your screen. It can even capture content coming through an HDMI cable.
Free, open-source apps generally carry no ads, he says, and Linux-based systems tend to collect less data than ACR does. But there is a warning. Plugging a Pi into a smart TV does not stop that TV's own tracking. To avoid it, keep the TV off Wi-Fi entirely.
The article gives no prices and no step-by-step instructions, so the real cost and effort for a beginner are unclear. Lewis writes from long experience. He has revived old receivers, built a smart speaker that writes music based on the weather, and made a dryer smart. Results may vary for people new to this kind of project.
An old TV or speaker set can get smart features from a Raspberry Pi, but a smart TV still tracks you unless you keep it off Wi-Fi.
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