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The falling price of a TV set

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Re: The falling price of a TV set

#31

Post by B1FF_PSUVM »

baroffoos wrote: post #11
uptown wrote: post #3

"The trade-offs for cheap TVs is that customers are themselves becoming the product for TV makers [...] For something to be as cheap as a great TV, people have to give something up — whether they know it or not." Just never give the TV its own direct connection to the internet. Use another device that you do trust, to feed the big screen its content.

This is getting really hard with some devices. I got a bose soundbar at the start of the year and it comes with a remote that has a few basic features but it is almost impossible to use properly without configuring it via the app and the app demands that you first create an account and then give the device your wifi password. In the end I eventually caved and installed the app and connected it to the internet to conf…

> then blocked the device from my router.

Hmm. Thanks.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#32

Post by nradov »

Keverw wrote: post #20

> Automakers, for example, can now expect to see bigger profits from the loans they make on selling cars than from selling the actual cars I've heard of that. Then I heard dealers will give you a hard time if you want to buy a car right out, some will even run your credit without your permission. I don't have the money to go buy a new car right now, but it's pretty sad that saving up and paying for things is so disco…

Dealerships generally can't conduct a real credit check unless you give them an SSN. You can absolutely still pay cash for a vehicle if you have it, but with interest rates so low right now it's wiser for most consumers with good credit to stay liquid.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#33

Post by buzzkillington »

Keverw wrote: post #20

> Automakers, for example, can now expect to see bigger profits from the loans they make on selling cars than from selling the actual cars I've heard of that. Then I heard dealers will give you a hard time if you want to buy a car right out, some will even run your credit without your permission. I don't have the money to go buy a new car right now, but it's pretty sad that saving up and paying for things is so disco…

If you save you have options. If you have options you can tell employers to stick it somewhere.

Why do you think healthcare is tied to your job even though it costs around twice as much to the employer as any comparative system in the developed world?

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#34

Post by eikenberry »

baroffoos wrote: post #11
uptown wrote: post #3

"The trade-offs for cheap TVs is that customers are themselves becoming the product for TV makers [...] For something to be as cheap as a great TV, people have to give something up — whether they know it or not." Just never give the TV its own direct connection to the internet. Use another device that you do trust, to feed the big screen its content.

This is getting really hard with some devices. I got a bose soundbar at the start of the year and it comes with a remote that has a few basic features but it is almost impossible to use properly without configuring it via the app and the app demands that you first create an account and then give the device your wifi password. In the end I eventually caved and installed the app and connected it to the internet to conf…

No worries with sound. There are plenty of audio enthusiasts that will have nothing to do with a system like this and there will always be plenty of options because of them.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#35

Post by metafizikal »

ghaff wrote: post #19
jaytaylor wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just get a Chromecast or any other streaming player device and hook it up to the TV with only HDMI. Solved- TV don't need to be able to spy on you.

Chromecasts may be the best low-key (and low-cast) gadget out there. Which probably means Google will kill it :-/ Just use my tablet, phone, or laptop to put content up on the TV. It makes for a pretty nice digital picture frame too.

luckily Chromecast seems to be an important piece of Stadia, so it should be around for a long while

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#36

Post by altec3 »

Keverw wrote: post #20

> Automakers, for example, can now expect to see bigger profits from the loans they make on selling cars than from selling the actual cars I've heard of that. Then I heard dealers will give you a hard time if you want to buy a car right out, some will even run your credit without your permission. I don't have the money to go buy a new car right now, but it's pretty sad that saving up and paying for things is so disco…

A few years ago my parents walked in to a Toyota dealership to buy a new Camry with cash. They were talked into financing it, bought it, then got home and realized they should have just paid cash. The next day they went back to the dealership to pay it off and the guy who gave them the loan was a huge asshole to them the whole time.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#37

Post by amiga-workbench »

baroffoos wrote: post #8
nugget wrote: post #4

I'm optimistic about the next 5 years of SmartTV market evolution. It's a relatively new platform and as the devices reach certain market saturation points (and play nicer with phones) I think we'll start to see a lot of really interesting applications. They're also very cheap compared to other devices.

I think the concept of a smart TV is a good one its just the implementation is always awful. It is useful to be able to stream content directly to your tv but every single smart tv I have seen has a slugish UI, is awkward, has random bugs, becomes unsupported by the OEM after a few years and is now insecure and gets ransomware. And then OEMs crap it up themselves and fill the OS with adverts and tracking. After all t…

I really like the Chromecast UX model, your TV is completely brainless, has no native user interface, no cheap and nasty remote, and any of your other devices boss it around like the dumb wireless monitor it should be.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#38

Post by ojilles »

I do not understand why the prices of these have not fallen to $0, in much the same way an inktjet printer has. Or why the TV does not come as a freebie with some kind of (cable, otherwise) content subscription.

(Disclaimer: I hate “smart” TVs)

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#39

Post by susijdjdjxa »

HenryKissinger wrote: post #21
jaytaylor wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just get a Chromecast or any other streaming player device and hook it up to the TV with only HDMI. Solved- TV don't need to be able to spy on you.

This is not always practical. Either you lay your HDMI cable across the living room, or you have to find a spot for your laptop near the television (not always possible), and then you have to get up and walk to the laptop to change anything.

The Chromecast is a small stick that hangs off the hdmi port. It’s not really plausible for it to not fit in a room layout.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#40

Post by stormbrew »

ojilles wrote: post #38

I do not understand why the prices of these have not fallen to $0, in much the same way an inktjet printer has. Or why the TV does not come as a freebie with some kind of (cable, otherwise) content subscription. (Disclaimer: I hate “smart” TVs)

There are definitely cable bundles that include a tv in some places at least. The value of cable is now so far in the negative for a lot of people though that you'd need to be giving them a hell of a tv to justify it. :P
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