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 :)
I have access to netflix but always pirate while connected to Trakt in order to have a history of what i watched and to be able to continue watching wherever, whenever