131–140 of 661 posts
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I read about Samsung (?) smart TVs connecting to nearby unsecured Wi-Fi networks and others containing LTE hardware with a data SIM.
The WiFi rumor is plausible because it's free for them, the LTE story is not because it would be quite expensive in multiple dimensions.
Maybe not LTE, but Kindle comes with 3G cellular.
LG sells them as some of their "Business" tvs, intended e.g. for hotels. In Canada some of them are branded as "Commercial Lite". Here's an LG 65" 4k HDR dumb TV: https://www.lg.com/ca_en/business/commercial-tv/lg-65UV340H I have a similar model from a few years ago (purchased from Canada Computers fwiw), and I love it. Because I don't notice it exists. It just does its job, like a TV should.
It looks interesting, but the lack of pricing information suggests it to be unreasonably high (plus unnecessary hassle: truly "business"). What did you pay?
As to the hassle, yes you’d probably find it difficult to buy one for personal use. L
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thanks for responding based on the article rather than the title. the 2 recommendations from the article: * Sceptre 65" 4K UHD LED TV * Sceptre 50" 4K UHD Ultra Slim LED TV
Currently $379.99 (usually $429.99) and $239.99 (usually $299.99 at Walmart. Impressive! Electronics are quite a bit cheaper in the USA than in Germany. If quality is similar the panel won't be that great (but not terrible), the UI that is there will be very unimpressive and three's no proof on the web the model actually exists. I hope it's better.
My advice is to stop seeing a “smart tv” as a feature and see it as an expensive piece of equipment subsidised by extra advertising revenue. Don’t get upset about this, just understand it for what it is. Now, what can you do about it? Easy, don’t connect it to the internet. They will tell you that it needs updates but come on, what is a security vulnerability going to to to something that’s only output is a screen an…
And then once one or two companies have made that acceptable, they all will go that way.
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All smart TV's are dumb if you don't connect them to the Internet.
They won't spy on you, but you'll still have to deal with the laggy shitware they run. In some I've had the misfortune of using, simply changing the inputs was a torturous affair because of the shitty software the TV was running.
Now with complex video and audio codecs, video post-processing and shoddily coded software there's been a very severe downgrade in that department. I don't have a TV at home but every time I'm in a hotel or my parent's place I notice how laggy it is when I'm just browsing through the channels (which is what I do 90% of the time when I'm using one, since there's hardly anything worth watching anyway).
For those of you who are too young to know what I'm talking about, have a look at this: https://youtu.be/v83WEzw8tfw?t=44
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Genuine question: what kind of updates would a dumb TV possibly need?
Any digital TV could have a software bug that bricks it.
"Here's why your Samsung Blu-ray player bricked itself: It downloaded an XML config file that broke the firmware":
https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/18/samsung_bluray_mass_d...
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> Problem solved. I suspect that the 5g era will bring with it many more devices connecting unbeknownst to their owners, and that "smart" appliances will be first on the list. As that approaches, we need solutions that address this as well.
That suggests that tv manufacturers are going to pay for that extra hardware, and ongoing costs.
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It looks interesting, but the lack of pricing information suggests it to be unreasonably high (plus unnecessary hassle: truly "business"). What did you pay?
I recently ordered a bunch of LG Commercial TVs for a job, at 55” they came out to about AUD$1600, which I think is pretty reasonable. As to the hassle, yes you’d probably find it difficult to buy one for personal use. L
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I've heard the solution to that is to set up an AP in your house that is either firewalled or doesn't have an outbound connection and connect your smart devices to that AP.
Apartments are a problem though
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Currently $379.99 (usually $429.99) and $239.99 (usually $299.99 at Walmart. Impressive! Electronics are quite a bit cheaper in the USA than in Germany. If quality is similar the panel won't be that great (but not terrible), the UI that is there will be very unimpressive and three's no proof on the web the model actually exists. I hope it's better.
Please post the links to the product pages. Having trouble finding those same prices.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-50-Class-4K-UHD-LED-TV-U5...