So I'm not sure how much of this is an AndroidTV issue, but it seems to me it might be.
This TV, when in sleep mode / screen off (what used to be known as 'turned off', or whatever happens when I hit the 'off' button on the remote) repeatedly turns its backlight on, then off, then on again for the duration the device is plugged in. No image comes up, and it's only noticeable in a dark room, but I do not like the power consumption implications this presents as well as any possible wear-and-tear doing this 5-8 times a minute would entail.
I have disabled 'wake on LAN/WAN' options as well as every other option I can think of, except screen saver which cannot be disabled. Do I just have a defective unit or is there anything else that can be done here?
Not a defective unit. Mine and another one a relative got for themselves are doing the same. Couldn't figure out a setting that stops the behaviour other than doing a long press on the off button, that does a full shut-down.