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The falling price of a TV set

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111–120 of 211 posts

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#111
post #104

Ok here's a question: why do I care? Watching TV has always been an experience with ads in it. Netflix is going to know what I watch no matter what device I use. In fact, my TV is probably the most private way for me to watch a streaming service since it knows basically nothing else about me. So I got a beautiful TV for an affordable price and the manufacturer made some more money on ads in a way that I have not noti…

> In fact, my TV is probably the most private way for me to watch a streaming service since it knows basically nothing else about me.

Ahem...

https://www.ft.com/content/23ab2f68-d957-11e9-8f9b-77216ebe1... https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/18/you-wat... https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/19/samsung-s... https://www.cnet.com/news/samsungs-warning-our-smart-tvs-rec... https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/02/some-apps-were-listening-t... https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/your-... https://www.howtogeek.com/338409/hundreds-of-smartphone-apps...

and so on...

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#113

TV's have been dropping in price for of 70 years. There's no conspiracy. Here's someone who made a list - https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/10/why-is-tech-getting-c... https://imgur.com/gallery/W3ouE Every year everyone gets richer and better off, although it'd be nicer if the true poor got a little more sped up.

> it'd be nicer if the true poor got a little more sped up.

on a side note, that the poor are getting sped up is why there is so much migration going on. When they get a little money, they are no longer content to stay where they are, and they rather migrate to richer countries due to lack of opportunities at home.

Hence, a future with fewer poor, will lead to huge social unrest in the currently rich countries.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/10/1049641

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#115
post #79

I'm waiting for HDMI cartel (run by major TV makers) to stop poisoning devices with HDMI. Time to adopt DisplayPort everywhere.

You will be waiting a long time.

Someone will break up that collusion eventually. There is no need to pay those parasitic fees that they keep HDMI around for.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#116
post #104

Ok here's a question: why do I care? Watching TV has always been an experience with ads in it. Netflix is going to know what I watch no matter what device I use. In fact, my TV is probably the most private way for me to watch a streaming service since it knows basically nothing else about me. So I got a beautiful TV for an affordable price and the manufacturer made some more money on ads in a way that I have not noti…

I see two major problems with this business model of subsidizing TV hardware with adware/telemetry/spyware solutions:

1. The UI platforms + middleware used for these TV's are often a low budget MVP development (it's also not part of the core knowledge of manufacturers), meaning you don't need to go far to find customers complaining of unresponsive UIs and sudden crashes.

2. The lifetime of the device far exceeds the likely manufacturer support for the device's software. This means you will end up with an insecure unpatched device connected to your home network.

Both these problems are resolved with a 'dumb' TV/Display, to which you connect your media center of choice.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#117
post #88
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow maybe this is a US to EU mismatch but I just got a 4K 65” HDR screen for $500 including tax? That seems very expensive by my standards, as $500 ~= €448 and €580 ~= $650

Can confirm, low-end prices for HDR-capable non-OLED (so, worse blacks than higher-end screens but still much better than most of what was typical, say, 10 years ago) 4K screen @ 65" is like $500. Under $400 for 55" and same quality.

Mind you, this is a 18/7 screen with an insane viewing angle. Your eyes do not have that much in-picture dynamic range; you only see it when the content is dim. (I have an older version of this on my desk.)

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#118
He mentioned cars. Can't wait until personalized ads show up in cars.. "visit McDonald's drivethrough in 0.5 miles, buy your favorite, the McRib(TM), and get a free drink with code xyz! Only 2 minute detour and the drivethrough currently has 2 cars in it!". And it will have user profiles and knows the driver's gender, etc, and shopping preferences. Child seat fitted since 2 months but weight sensor suggests no child on-board? "Discount at Walmart for new parents! For example diapers 20 pieces for 5 dollars! Come on by and have a relaxing shopping experience without the need to baby-wrangle!"

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#119
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 incentivize people to take up loans by giving bigger rebates on financing.

You can take advantage of that. After all the price negotiation is done when I buy a car, I would ask the salesperson for the rebates on financing. Usually they have $0 for the all-cash deal, $X for 0% rate loan, $Y for 2%, $Z for 5% loan, where X Then on the first loan payment, pay off the whole thing. Just be sure there's no prepayment penalty.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#120
Vizio snooping system:

ACR collects data related to publicly available content displayed on your television/display, such as the identity of your broadcast, cable, or satellite television provider, and the television programs and commercials viewed (including time, date, channel, and whether you view them live or at a later time) . We also collect unique identifiers about this TV, including the IP address. This data is collectively referred to as “Viewing Data .” ... When ACR collection is turned on, we may share Viewing Data with authorized data partners including analytics companies, media companies and advertisers. VIZIO and its authorized data partners use Viewing Data to generate summary analysis and reports of how users engage with content on their TVs and other devices. VIZIO Viewing Data is sometimes enhanced with household demographic data and data about digital actions (e.g. digital purchases and other consumer behavior taken by devices associated with the IP Address we collect). Viewing Data also enables our authorized data partners to deliver advertising relevant to your profile that you might find useful, both on the VIZIO TV/display and other devices sharing your IP Address. Viewing Data is also used to help content publishers, broadcasters or content distribution services create or recommend more relevant entertainment based on summary insights, as well as helps us improve the design of our products, software and services . You can easily turn this feature On or Off in the RESET & ADMIN menu. If you have trouble enabling or disabling Viewing Data, please contact VIZIO Customer Support by going to support.vizio.com ...

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