Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition • Hacker News Board

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#301

Post by sokoloff » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 7:02 PM UTC

babuskov wrote: post #274

kop316 wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thankfully it isn't quite that simple for electronics in the US. If it is sold commericially, it has to be registered with the FCC. In this way, you at least know if it has WiFi, LTE, etc, and can see the module that is installed on it. This makes it much easier to go into the device and physically disable the radios on it. Heck, maybe that is something like iFixit could do, have a how to to completely remove radio c…

> This makes it much easier to go into the device and physically disable the radios on it. Wouldn't opening the device void the warranty?

Why are people so worried about preserving the warranty on their electronics? If it lasted 30 days and you don’t break it while futzing with it, it’s likely to work through the warranty period anyway. If it doesn’t, buy another one. TVs are ridiculously inexpensive now.

I see people online waiting years (perhaps 5% of their life) to mod their cars or electronics for fear of losing the warranty.

Side note: Magnuson-Moss in the US prevents manufacturers from failing to honor their warranty because of totally unrelated modifications (or for opening a device without damaging it). “Warranty void if sticker removed” is almost certainly inaccurate legally.

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#302

Post by Scoundreller » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 7:02 PM UTC

Crosseye_Jack wrote: post #271

buddylw wrote: post #165

I'm getting ready to go full Battlestar Galactica in all of my appliances. It's now difficult to find high end washers and ovens without these features. At least right now we can choose not to connect the devices, but what happens if iot LTE connections get cheap enough that the choice is removed altogether, like with Tesla and other high end modern cars? I don't think I'm just being a Luddite. This really seems like…

>what happens if iot LTE connections get cheap enough that the choice is removed altogether. Narrowband IoT is the target market for that. T-Mobile has a plan where a certified module costs $5 (There is a min order to get that price, but for a large vendor that's not going to be an issue) then $6 p/year as long as you can keep below 12MB per year. But you can keep bw down by shipping the fingerprinting software with…

I think we’re safe from that because enough people put their smartTVs on the network anyway.

We’ll lose some precision in the data because it’s biased against grandma, but good enough to sell the reports.

It may be $25/unit, but if 9/10 put their device on the network anyway, that’s $250/useful outcome.

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#303

Post by wumpus » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 7:02 PM UTC

daveFNbuck wrote: post #149

Drakim wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was the common man who shared video rentals yesterday, while it's businesses who monitor and monetize today. Just wait until you see how white collar crime is punished compared to street crimes!

OP was talking about rental records. That would be Blockbuster telling a marketer which videos you rented, not you lending a rented video to a friend.

This is why we have the video rental privacy law:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bork

> During debate over his nomination, Bork's video rental history was leaked to the press. His video rental history was unremarkable, and included such harmless titles as A Day at the Races, Ruthless People, and The Man Who Knew Too Much. Writer Michael Dolan, who obtained a copy of the hand-written list of rentals, wrote about it for the Washington City Paper.[36] Dolan justified accessing the list on the ground that Bork himself had stated that Americans had only such privacy rights as afforded them by direct legislation. The incident led to the enactment of the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act.[37][38]

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#304

Post by jdsully » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 7:03 PM UTC

Crosseye_Jack wrote: post #271

buddylw wrote: post #165

I'm getting ready to go full Battlestar Galactica in all of my appliances. It's now difficult to find high end washers and ovens without these features. At least right now we can choose not to connect the devices, but what happens if iot LTE connections get cheap enough that the choice is removed altogether, like with Tesla and other high end modern cars? I don't think I'm just being a Luddite. This really seems like…

>what happens if iot LTE connections get cheap enough that the choice is removed altogether. Narrowband IoT is the target market for that. T-Mobile has a plan where a certified module costs $5 (There is a min order to get that price, but for a large vendor that's not going to be an issue) then $6 p/year as long as you can keep below 12MB per year. But you can keep bw down by shipping the fingerprinting software with…

$25 is hugely expensive. This is an industry that removes $0.02 bypass capacitors by trial and error to save a few pennies.

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#305

Post by twojacobtwo » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 7:05 PM UTC

pluszero wrote: post #256

buddylw wrote: post #165

I'm getting ready to go full Battlestar Galactica in all of my appliances. It's now difficult to find high end washers and ovens without these features. At least right now we can choose not to connect the devices, but what happens if iot LTE connections get cheap enough that the choice is removed altogether, like with Tesla and other high end modern cars? I don't think I'm just being a Luddite. This really seems like…

Maybe we should just ddos these endpoints, they don't deserve anything better.

Would it note be relatively trivial for the manufacturer to just filter incoming requests by whitelist of registered ids of their appliances?

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#306

Post by notduncansmith » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 7:06 PM UTC

It’s hard to believe Samsung has any customers outside of their Korean hegemony.

Samsung hasn’t proven themselves as a trustworthy smart electronics vendor in the past, be it smart TV, smart watch, or smart phone:

2015 - https://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-changes-smarttv-privacy-po...

2015 - https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/06/new-e...

2015 - https://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-lg-smartwatches-yield-pers...

2015 - https://www.techhive.com/article/2881944/samsungs-latest-sma...

2016 - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/19/samsung-g...

2018 - https://betanews.com/2018/07/03/samsung-messages-photo-bug/

2018 - https://www.consumerreports.org/televisions/samsung-roku-sma...

That’s not to mention they’ve been found price fixing, astroturfing, embezzling, and bribing.

Vote with your dollar.

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#307

Post by xphilter » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 7:06 PM UTC

This is not new. It’s been embedded in tvs for years. You can thank judges who don’t care about consumer privacy and mandatory arbitration clauses for the spreading of this junk. If consumers could sue these companies none of this would be happening.

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#308

Post by Scoundreller » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 7:06 PM UTC

andrewksl wrote: post #298

Kaibeezy wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Make cars too, please. Manual transmission (actual stick and clutch, not silly paddles), minimal ECUs, disableable seatbelt chime, cigar lighter, and so forth. You know, less cyber.

Wouldn’t that make it almost impossible to meet emission regulations? I’m not a fan of how opaque cars have gotten, but I’ll accept some loss of control for cleaner air.

Automatics are still too dumb to keep the clutch engaged while braking.

Officially automatics and manuals are a wash for mileage, but I think driving style can make manuals the winner.

All that kinetic energy getting dissipated by brakes instead of turning the engine and all of its accessories in autos.

I’m quite surprised auto manufacturers haven’t implemented engine braking for émissions, reducing brake wear, and quicker « free » cabin heat in cold conditions.

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#309

Post by tjoff » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 7:06 PM UTC

jdsully wrote: post #304

Crosseye_Jack wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>what happens if iot LTE connections get cheap enough that the choice is removed altogether. Narrowband IoT is the target market for that. T-Mobile has a plan where a certified module costs $5 (There is a min order to get that price, but for a large vendor that's not going to be an issue) then $6 p/year as long as you can keep below 12MB per year. But you can keep bw down by shipping the fingerprinting software with…

$25 is hugely expensive. This is an industry that removes $0.02 bypass capacitors by trial and error to save a few pennies.

It is also the same industry that grossly overvalues ads.

In their mind $25 is a steal.

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#310

Post by snuxoll » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 7:07 PM UTC

M4v3R wrote: post #102

twostorytower wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's to prevent you from doing the same with a SmartTV in the future? Just disconnect it from the network and keep a box plugged into HDMI1.

Some functions of "smart" TVs are impossible to turn off, unfortunately. I personally don't like the FPS smoothing most modern TVs do, and for many there is no option to turn it off completely.

Motion smoothing was the first thing I turned off on my new LG TV when I got it this month. It’s a nice feature for sports, but it sucks for basically everything else - especially animation where everything turns into a hot mess.

This is a pet peeve of mine, walking into the house of a family member, business lobby, etc. and see awful looking video on the screen because they didn’t turn this garbage off.