The sole exception is my PlayStation 5. I use apps on it for all streaming.
It’s concerning nonetheless as others are pointing out that in the current trajectory the TVs may soon refuse to display any content unless connected.
But here's where it might go.
Verizon and other cell companies bundle streaming apps with their plans. It's really not a far leap for them to bundle a TV as well. Especially if TVs get really expensive due to whatever factors - get a 120" TV for just $30 extra on your bill over the next 5 years. And Verizon could contract with an OEM to make a Verizon-specific model, and put a 5G modem in it, and lock it to Verizon service. Verizon's just an example here, AT&T, T-Mobile could do the same.
It looks like shit, is difficult to install, and costs an arm and a leg, but at least it prevents egregious privacy violations from your average chaebol or CCP-intervened corporation!
Apparently I can attempt to import one from Romania, but that seems fairly complicated. Even sites that recommend dumb TVs just recommend SmartTVs that works well as a dumb TV.
My guess is that the vast majority of people will trade data for a cheaper price point every time (my wife is certainly one of these people), so the market just can't support the volume of sales necessary to make the price point of dumb tvs competitive.
Not that I've done it, I don't get enough value out of it to justify the hassle or the privacy intrusion.
I expect this to happen if enough people block ads on TVs. (They'll probably promote it as a "backup connection" or something.)
They didn't put SIM cards in there to spy on you. They were always an opt-in (at additional cost) option for a better user experience.
I'm sure Amazon tracked all sorts of activity on those, but that's not the point.
It would be quite trivial to add them to TVs to avoid ad blocking and track behavior when wifi isn't available.
I’ve yet to see a device that caches more than one set of credentials. But I suppose it’s only a matter of time.
Then we shall only ever connect to a throwaway wifi ssid created for the sole purpose of setting up that TV and deleted promptly afterwards.
Samsung will then use NFC / QuickShare transient hotspot to helpfully sync all useful info from your Samsung phone nearby.
Then we block that IP address or MAC ID from router side.
Then smart TVs will switch to open mesh networks hosted by unsuspecting ISP customer boxes in neighborhood.
And maybe even starlink.
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Maybe wifi standard should stop using static passwords and create a device specific hash to let it connect. Wifi admin should get to approve each device connection request.
Although I'm not sure my family will be too happy.
The TCL can still act as a HDMI switch with CEC, and that can be labeled through the remote if you want, so there was never any need to connect to a network.
Is there examples of such devices? AFAIK every smart TV can be switched to HDMI input without being ever connected to the Internet.
(It will also wheedle you to re-enable the AI features and telemetry if you turn those off. Which you do like eight levels of confusingly and scarily named submenus.)
"But while BMW ultimately backed down over heated seats, the company still believes in the features-as-a-service model, and will continue to offer post-purchase upgrades through its ConnectedDrive platform. "
I’m afraid there’s not going to be a great affordable path out of this hypersubsidized trap we’ve set the market into.
We just gave away our 55" Hisense to our friend. I hope she doesn't think it means we hate her now. ;)
(Side note: not having a TV in the living space allowed us to freely design it to be a living space.)
Actually we've made an effort to have people over more now, and we gather around the coffee table to chat. And even when we don't have people over, we're more likely to talk and be social.
Is there any smart TV that I can actually just use a TV how I want? Or am I reduced to buying an Apple TV device and unplugging the TV from the internet entirely ?
This means they can't surveil, brick, or change your hardware after you bought it.
So yes, then add whatever dongles to provide content. If the dongle turns bad (evil), chuck it and get a different kind. You preserve your privacy, hardware ownership rights, and freedom to choose.
Whether it's the TV hardware or the streaming service in your house, your standard of living is now judged by whether you pay extra for the ad-free tier.
Apple tends to skew luxury purchase, so it makes sense it hasn't been riddled with adware yet. The Apple logo is a status symbol that you're not being bombarded with ads in every corner of underutilized screen real-estate.
Had this setup on different tvs for 10+ years, can confirm it is excellent.
I’ve heard that large computer monitors and TVs intended to be used as displays can be used without connecting them to a network.
> Or am I reduced to buying an Apple TV device and unplugging the TV from the internet entirely ?
An Apple TV is a good choice even otherwise. I’ve never seen a smoother and quicker interface on a native Smart TV (granted that I’ve only seen Android and webOS). I use my Apple TV as the only network connected device while my TV is not connected to any network ever. Once in a while, I update the TV’s firmware by downloading it to a thumb drive and plugging that into the USB port of the TV.
At least until TV makers wise up to that strategy and build a TV that requires internet access to unlock the HDMI port, that's the way to go.
Why would this be something that you're "reduced" to? Why would it be a bad thing?
Usually I require a root cert so devices can have their traffic inspected or be isolated into an unsafe network where most nonessential traffic is blocked by default. I suppose letting an iot device connect will become more risky in the future when I can't control the dns resolver or can't confidently block requests through dns alone.
I also have Nvidia Shield connected to it, that one is setup the same way.
It’s amazing how this one turned morphed from humor into an eerie warning of the future in 20 years.
Yet advertisers still believe more ads always mean more sales.
Does anyone watch linear TV other than for sport and news?
Everything else (movies, TV shows) is through streaming apps, no?
Nowadays, you have to wait for the thing to finish booting.
In the future, you have to wait for the ads to finish playing?
i will be replacing my existing (3 year old tv) when its time with a pc monitor and yes, i will go down in size. i’ve found that really large tbs aren’t really adding that much and dominate your house the minute you walk in.
If not, you can try and find one on Ebay or local classifieds that is. That's the hardest part.
Then you setup a VLAN (I use OpenWRT, which has great support for this) and some firewall rules that forbid all traffic that isn't port 80 or 443. Then you create a dnsmasq blacklist for all the LG domains (good list is [1]).
Then you install this: https://github.com/webosbrew/youtube-webos
Enjoy Youtube on a large screen under your control without ads, and without annoying sponsors.
[1] https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hagezi/dns-blocklists/main...
Why you would want your TV Manufacturer to control the experience at this point I have no idea. 5-6 years ago, we were a Roku only household. Now we are Apple TV all the way and haven’t looked back.
Time to kick the addiction. Seek out ways to spend your time that are good for you and/or others.
I bought a 100" TV with setup and it was only $1600. I don't know how they make money on that with all the logistics required. Two people for delivery, two different people for the wall hanging, all the materials for the packaging, and that is just to get it to my house.
I suspect the domestic costs are really dependent on volume (like, can you ship a container of 45 TVs to a warehouse near NYC or do you have to ship each unit individually) and I don't feel confident estimating that side of it.
You can buy a $5k TV and its startup time, auto-play adware at the Home Screen, constant OS popup notification BS, etc are almost universal.
You can't buy your way out of scammy experiences anymore because the market has figured out the people most able to afford buying their way out of it are the highest value ad/scam targets.
- Imperfect information, aka Market for Lemons: It can be hard to find out how prevalent ads will be when buying a product. Consumers often make a purchasing decision without knowledge about ads.
- Changing terms after lock-in, aka Enshittification: Manufacturers (like Hisense here) can add advertising to products after consumers have already bought them. Initially, consumers have negotiation power since they can freely choose a product, but later they are locked in and cannot easily react to the manufacturer changing the product to their detriment.