Ads? I thought HN crowd already know how to use a pihole or at least adguard dns. I got Samsung TV's in every room because they are easy to use with a Galaxy phone, using it as a remote and a keyboard. Also wireless DEX is soooo underrated. Want a specific app on tv? no problem. I'm basically using them as displays for my phone.
I've set up a Proton VPN wireguard connection for my TV with Tracker+Ad block on my router. I'm still somehow getting served ads, despite the VPN working properly. Maybe there's a bug in my router config. I will review it later.
(In Proton's Wireguard Configuration Wizard, I've selected "Block malware, ads, & trackers" - see: https://protonvpn.com/support/netshield)
My smart TV is used as a dumb TV and not connected to the internet because I cannot trust it to work in my interests...