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Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

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Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#641

Post by asdkhadsj »

hibbelig wrote: post #255
asdkhadsj wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not even a free problem, it's general pricing. Companies constantly seek ways to increase profits, while customers constantly seek bargain basement pricing.Electronic privacy is not a problem people have dealt with at large, I think. People also often view the competency of corporations much higher than the HN crowd typically does. I think this is the same for any category of information though. Informed people…

I apologize for being dense. Are you saying that informed people will advise against health? I think you meant something different but I’m too dense to understand.

Nah, I just brought up Health as a general topic - one that has a deep pool of knowledge, more than a typical person even remotely knows, and also one that the experts in it's subfields advise against all sorts of things. What to eat, how much to drink, how much to exercise. My step mother didn't even know what a carb was, which I thought was basic understanding on food intake. So I used health as an example of a field where:

1. there is a lot of knowledge

2. the ramifications of not knowing things in that field are fairly high.

3. is a common source of experts advising the public do things differently. Eat less, exercise more, etc.

Which I think is somewhat the case here with Privacy and Information Tech. It's a problem that affects the public to some degree of severity, but "they" seem largely unaware of it.

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#642

Post by clement_b »

bentcorner wrote: post #437
clement_b wrote: post #424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't agree more, but the choice in dumb TVs is limited. In the end the best option seems to be a video projector, but I really dislike the image quality v.s. a panel. Any recommendations?

You can try looking into commercial TVs (aka digital signage). These are displays with usually few smarts in them, and also designed to be on 24/7. You'll likely pay more than a regular consumer TV.

OK. I switched TV two months ago. I considered purchasing the biggest PC monitor and work it from there but the size threw me off. Ended up buying an LG TV because it seemed that WebOS was the best choice when it comes to performance. I use to have an expensive Sony Bravia TV powered by Android TV and that was the slowest experience I have had on a device since the 'bad Windows PC era' of ~2000 - ~2010.

If anyone in the TV industry is reading this, there is a market for dumb TV panels. Happy to pay a premium for that the same way I was happy to pay a premium to have 4k early on!

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#644

Post by 3guk »

I've actually been researching this a little bit more using some of the test sets that I have, and it seems that there might be a way to disable some of these features through the service menu.

If you enable the service mode / service menu of the set: https://factory-reset.com/wiki/Samsung_Service_Menu - then navigate to the "Control" sub menu, disable the following settings:

Voice Recognition OFF, Network Support NONE, BT Support OFF, Samsung Smart Control OFF

With the "Network Support" in particular it seems to disable all internet related settings on the TV.

It seems that in some cases this is in the "extended service menu" for which you will need a special remote to access.

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#645

Post by MisterTea »

dep_b wrote: post #643

This is why you pay more for a Dumb monitor than a Smart TV. The monitor has no avenues to sell your data so all cost and profit needs to be extracted from the consumer through the sales price.

Is that really the reason though? I highly doubt they would lower prices because they are compensated by selling our privacy down the river. Mining data is extracting more value, why lower your profits?

Before the advent of the smart TV, bumb TV's have always been cheaper than commercial displays or monitors of similar screen spec. The commercial offerings have things like rs232 control, sdi video for long runs, and other features to allow them to be remotely controlled for signage and kiosk use. The dumb TV went away because we're knee deep in cheap SoC's that can both control the TV portion and run hulu and netflix. No boxes, wires or cables. No separate remotes. Digital convenience, aka "faux luxury", is the drug of choice nowadays.

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#646

Post by the8472 »

Note that this is also in the UK privacy policy[0]

> We may use automatic content recognition (ACR) and other technologies to capture this information. Your Smart TV transfers video snippets or TV tuner information in order to determine the programs watched.

And in the german one[1], which is just a translation

> Wir können zur Erhebung dieser Daten die automatische Inhaltserkennung (ACR) und andere Technologien verwenden. Ihr Smart TV ermöglicht die Bestimmung der gesehenen Programme durch Übermittlung von Audio- und Video-Ausschnitten bzw. von Informationen vom TV-Tuner.

I doubt that this is defensible under GDPR.

[0] https://www.samsung.com/uk/info/privacy/ [1] https://www.samsung.com/de/info/privacy/

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#647

Post by the_jeremy »

amatecha wrote: post #619
spitfire wrote: post #398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I already did, over a decade ago. I tell friends "No cloud services on this ship!". They've bought into it too, buying more CD's, records and dumb only TV's. My current setup is an old 1080P Bang & Olufsen setup. Looks and sounds great. Similar with audio - B&O did airplay back in the 80's called master link. So each room in the house can play music from anywhere else. The only things networked are actual computers a…

I'm somewhat the same way, but I've been looking at 4K TVs for ages and cannot seem to find a single one that isn't "smart". Maybe one day I'll find a good one that is dumb!

I only had luck searching for monitors. There are 43" 4k monitors[0] (probably larger as well but this fit my use case).

[0]: https://smile.amazon.com/AOC-U2790VQ-3840x2160-Frameless-Dis...

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#648

Post by grawprog »

pixelface wrote: post #602
hypnotode wrote: post #592

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do, they just don't call them TVs. Look up commercial digital displays, exact same brands with the same screens as the consumer model but no tracking and bloatware. Of course, without the subsidies from selling your data, they're going to run you an extra 30-50%

it's not just that, they're generally rated for 24/7 usage and feature much higher build quality - often with ultra thin bezels to allow them to be used in tiled arrangements. whether that usage rating is related to any actual difference in the hardware is something i've pondered, but it is something they do specifically mention. I wish it was only a 30-50% premium though as my experience is that they are an integer…

>I wish it was only a 30-50% premium though as my experience is that they are an integer multiple of the equivalent consumer TV

You weren't kidding, just had a quick browse for some, they were between $5000-$17000 for sizes equivalent to home TVs.

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#649

Post by baq »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #578
jsizzle wrote: post #520

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn’t GDPR apply to EU citizens, regardless of geography? I know that at my place of work, I have to get consent from EU citizens to email them, even if we are talking in the US

I don't understand how this works. If you're not in the EU, the EU doesn't have jurisdiction, period. They can say whatever they want but it doesn't mean anything. I'm sure China would love to enforce their laws worldwide too, but it doesn't work that way.

China does try and succeed, I’d like to remind you of the NBA fiasco and the Blizzard catastrophe.

Re: Samsung TVs May Upload Screenshots for Automatic Content Recognition

#650

Post by trekrich »

killface wrote: post #553
Scoundreller wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s so many inputs, I’m sure there’s piles of vulnerabilities. IR interface buffer overflows anyone?

i've never been so happy to not have a smart tv...

might is not a smart tv. I will need one sooner or later, so i am going to look at corporate televisions. Like in meeting rooms, and hotels that dont have this smart cack into them. Just a good panel, with honest HDMI ports on them!
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