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Smart TVs like Samsung, LG and Roku are tracking everything

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Re: Smart TVs like Samsung, LG and Roku are tracking everything

#281

Post by giancarlostoro »

walrus01 wrote: post #33

In my opinion you should not use ANY of the smart features of a "smart" TV. Don't give it your wifi key and don't put it on your LAN. I have about 400% more trust of Microsoft and Sony than I do of random smart tv manufacturers. I also have a fairly high degree of confidence that the xbox one and PS4 software will remain up to date with security patches, and address critical issues quickly. I have no confidence for T…

I have an LG smart TV I got when I got an LG G5. I do exactly this. I dont connect it to the internet. I did at first but then I changed the wifi password / reset the damn thing. It is just a dumb TV for my MiBox (Android TV) which I prefer since if that component dies I can replace it. Though I am likely going to buy an Apple TV instead in the future if I see any decent offers on one.

Re: Smart TVs like Samsung, LG and Roku are tracking everything

#283

Post by c22 »

makecheck wrote: post #6

The smarter a TV is, the stupider it breaks too. My parents had a TV with a built-in Skype app, and at some point the TV maker stopped supporting it. After that, every single time the TV was turned on the TV popped up a vague modal error message (that didn’t even mention Skype, just “an app” or something). I verified that it is impossible to turn off this message or do anything about it. Think about the stupidity.

I bought a Vizio tv a couple years ago that came with a very simple remote. The remote had power, volume, channel, and input buttons and nothing else. It seemed like they intended you to pair it with a smart phone to change any real settings. At some point about 8 months after I bought it turning on the screen caused a message to be displayed informing me that there was a new more fully-featured remote available and that they'd send one to me for free if I registered at the displayed url. The message could only be dismissed using a button that did not exist on the included remote. I literally could not use the television for two weeks while I waited for the new remote to arrive in the mail.

Re: Smart TVs like Samsung, LG and Roku are tracking everything

#284

Post by opan »

Can anyone recommend brands or models for a fun and hackable TV? Something to let me run my own software on it and remove any ads or unwanted features from menus (I don't want any big Netflix or Hulu buttons). Maybe something running Android. Preferably something with an existing community around it, like an equivalent to OpenWRT or LineageOS for TVs.

Re: Smart TVs like Samsung, LG and Roku are tracking everything

#285

Post by ksec »

Which is the reason why Apple should enter the TV market. The argument against it from the likes of Benedict Evans to Horace Dediu has been TV is a low margin business, but so are all the Android Phones in the bottom 60% of the market. I still dont get it.

And since Apple TV sort of means 5 to 6 different things [1], they might as well make an actual Apple TV set to make it even more complicated.

If there are two things that I think Apple should really do, are Wireless Router and TV. I dont want a Google Nest WiFi or Amazon Eero.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21438152

Re: Smart TVs like Samsung, LG and Roku are tracking everything

#286

Post by unwiredben »

Diesel555 wrote: post #206

Roku scares me when I'm watching movies on my Rapsberry Pi. They are .mp4 files. I'm not using their software at all... and about 2 minutes in I get a pop-up "You can view this move elsewhere at XYZ." How do they know what movie I'm watching? They are analyzing the feed. Scary.

This is the ACR technology in Roku TV devices. It works on the TVs inputs and fingerprints the video several times a minute, sending thumbnails to a server to get visual matches. To disable, go to Settings/Privacy/Smart TV experience and turn off the "use my TV inputs" option.

Re: Smart TVs like Samsung, LG and Roku are tracking everything

#287

Post by unwiredben »

moepstar wrote: post #209
dreamcompiler wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently we now need HDMI condoms. Do such things exist?

Most probably there will be a market for HDMI cables with Ethernet specifically disabled - so, IMHO, there'll be sellers for it :)

Pretty useless. The number of devices that actually use Ethernet over HDMI is appromiately zero.

Re: Smart TVs like Samsung, LG and Roku are tracking everything

#288

Post by rco8786 »

qwerty456127 wrote: post #129
rco8786 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would love to. Who is currently making these dumb TVs? I’m in the market and can’t find anything.

Buy a used one. Or even better - buy a projector.

Not too interested in an old used TV, or a projector really

Re: Smart TVs like Samsung, LG and Roku are tracking everything

#289

Post by rco8786 »

namibj wrote: post #149
rco8786 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would love to. Who is currently making these dumb TVs? I’m in the market and can’t find anything.

Iiyama is one if them. Don't consider branding, look for tech specs/price.

They appear to specialize in PC monitors? I see a few commercial-looking LED screens they make but they're super expensive for what they are

Re: Smart TVs like Samsung, LG and Roku are tracking everything

#290

Post by tenebrisalietum »

voltagex_ wrote: post #160
Buttons840 wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HDMI cables can double as Ethernet cables. In the future "just unplug it from the network" will mean "just unplug all HDMI devices".

Please stop repeating this. Yes, it's in the spec, but can you find anything that actually implements it? Manufacturers can barely get HDMI CEC working, let alone Ethernet.

Plus it's 100Mbit Ethernet. Too bad you can't use the full bandwidth of HDMI as a network interface.
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