Wi-Fi & connectivity

[HatingVizio]

Hi,

So I was a long-time Roku user, but when it died (thank goodness I had insurance), I decided to try out Vizio's smart TV. BIG MISTAKE. Not only is the set filled with apps I'll never use, but I can't remove them - they're always in my face.
I was assigned to another town for my job, and I'm living in an Extended Stay hotel for the next six months, so I brought my TV with me (55in). Well now, I'm dealing with every friggin' smartcast floating through the hotel, especially between the hours of 2 and 5am, when porn is the soup d'jour of the visiting class. And yes, my tv is off, but it'll come on in the wee hours, thanks to whomever is using their smartcast (I feel bad for any family member with kids with reservations).

Contacted the hotel tech department, and as usual, their techs are trained to tell you to reboot, check this and that, generally everything that has nothing to do with the problem at hand. Finally, after ten days of calling everyday and not getting service from a bunch of three-week trained techs, we figured out that being on the hotel Wifi is why the smartcast is coming through and piggybacking off the Vizio tv. Noone knows why this is happening - they say it shouldn't - but they also seem to suggest that there's nothing I can do about it, since apparently we're all sharing the same public network, and I don't have internet service of my own, so that's the story. Here's the question:

I can't remove or turn off smartcast, but I can set up the Vizio without their smartcast, which means I won't get any of the channels that come with 'their' smart TV. If I set it up that way and purchase the Roku "STICK" would it work on my Vizio? Would I get their line up? And most important, are there settings that would prevent piggyback smartcast users from infiltrating my set?
At this point, I'd love to see the display screen of Roku again, and if I can't get around this crazyness, I may give this Vizio away and buy the same, older Roku I had which made me very happy for the most part.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[AvsGunnar]

Short answer is yes.  As long as the TV has an HDMI port you can use the Roku device of your choice, regardless of whether you have a smart TV or a non-smart TV.

For second part of question, you can block casting/mirroring to your Roku device in Settings..System...Screen Mirroring...Prompt or Never Allow.

With or without the Roku, you can disable Vizio Smartcast by disconnecting from the hotel network when TV is not in use.  No wi-fi connection = no casting ability.  Possibly able to disable "networking" under Vizio settings.

I would personally only set up and connect the  Roku to the Wi-Fi and not the TV (if an option) while at the hotel.

Surprisingly, the random porn and Vizio Smartcast is not unique to you.  This has been mentioned on web for years and Vizio has not yet seen fit to implement a "disable" feature.  

Good luck.