Why don't manufacturers let you build your own TV?

A few years ago, we saved a ton of money on our new Samsung Frame TV. I love it and its functionality. I've come to really appreciate Samsung Tizen, the operating system. But one thing that got me thinking recently was how I wish I could get better sound coming from it. While I do have a soundbar, it made me daydream about what it would be like to build your own TV.

Making your own TV would give you the power

Do you want the responsibility?

I thought about what would potentially go into building a TV and what features were most important to me as I planned out what TV to pick from.

People probably think that if they were given the chance to build their own TV from scratch, they'd pick some massive TV that's bigger than anything you can imagine. For the sake of this exercise, let's not even entertain that. Why would you want a 200" TV? Do you have space for it? Probably not, unless you want to put it in a part of a room that wouldn't make sense to have a TV in. I'm still considering the layout of the room when I'm creating my TV.

Plus, there needs to be some kind of ground rules. You won't be able to build a TV without considering how much it will cost. For example, Samsung sells a 115" QLED Mini LED 4K AI TV for $27,000. I don't want to own a $27,000 TV. There's so much that could go wrong by having a TV that expensive. I want to build the features that I want in my TV, but I also don't want it not to be affordable for me to buy. So there has to be some kind of balance.

It would be nice to have the power to build your own TV, similar to how you have the opportunity to build your own PC. Why can computer manufacturers make this decision and TV ones can't? Why can I choose how much memory and storage the computer has and what kind of processor it needs, but I can't choose what kind of panels the backlighting will have on my TV? It makes no sense to me why it isn't an option. I do get that there are endless kinds of TVs on the market, so I'm bound to get what I want regardless. But it still would be cool to feel in charge.

What would make the most sense?

Depends what you care about

For me, as much as I like Tizen, I'll still always prefer Roku TV as my operating system. I've had Roku devices for years and always enjoy the simple grid-like layout. I would probably start with a built-in Roku TV operating system. I could opt for VIDAA, since it's efficient and fast, but I'll stick with what I know. Considering where I would put the TV, which is in my family room and which gets good sunlight in the morning but is generally darker after that, I would opt for OLED panels rather than QLED. OLED is generally better in darker rooms as the darker colors tend to come in clearer. QLED is better for brighter rooms. I don't watch that much TV in the morning, making needing a TV that's good in a brighter room a waste.

No matter what, the refresh rate has to be high, at least 120Hz. I also want to use this TV for gaming, so the refresh rate being high is non-negotiable. Because I want to game, I want to have the ports easily accessible, even if I'm mounting it. It needs to have multiple HDMI ports, including one ARC port for my soundbar. I'll give the TV more speakers than my current one has, but I do know that, even at the end of the day, the best way to get balanced sound is by putting subwoofers and speakers around your room, rather than relying on the speakers built into the TV. These are all of my must-haves for the TV.

What are some nice-to-have features?

It's my dream and my choices after all

I think the TV needs to be at least 65". That would serve its purpose well in my space. Give me all the connection possibilities I can handle. I want to be able to view multiple things at once with ease. Let me have a quality camera built into the TV so I can use my TV to video message my friends and family. I want to be able to connect devices with ease so I can cast them onto the TV.

Let me be able to control my smart home devices from my TV and vice versa. This would let me basically use my smart TV as a hub and keep track of all my devices in one place. The TV needs to be energy-efficient as well, as I don't want it to be a huge power suck for my home. The TV should support both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos to give me the best ways to watch and listen to shows and movies. The design should be sleek and having the option to replace the bezel like The Frame TV offers would be a nice touch. Give me a good amount of storage space as well within the OS. I want to be able to download as many apps as I might need, since I'm planning on using my TV for all kinds of resources, since I'm paying a good amount of money for it.

Final thoughts of the pipe dream

It just seems like this could be done

I'm just imagining being able to go to a manufacturer's website and choosing the components that I want to be in the TV and how unique that would feel. There are so many TV manufacturers out there, all competing for the same pool of business (for the most part.) Some of them aim to be more cost-efficient and others are making luxury TVs. But someone could offer this customization option.