Samsung remotely disables TVs looted from South African warehouse

Post by user3939382 » Tue, Aug 24, 2021, 9:49 PM UTC

metiscus wrote: post #133

kenned3 wrote: post #82

This is why i only buy "Dumb" TV's and connect a third-party "smart" device to them (Firestick, etc) Smart device wants to do some crap like this, in the recycle bin it goes but the TV which cost far more is still good. Many of these manufacturers also have a well documented history of not supporting anything they sold, in an attempt to push new products (buy an android phone and see how many updates it actually gets…

The problem is finding non smart TVs anymore. It used to be that WalMart would have a tv or two that were still just display devices but I haven't seen a non smart tv for sale in quite a while. Honestly, I'm not a big one for regulation, but I think those TVs should have a large print notification somewhere that says they're spying on you - although people would probably accept the convenience tradeoff.

Post by jcranberry » Tue, Aug 24, 2021, 9:51 PM UTC

francisofascii wrote: post #352

tyingq wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My non-tech extended family members all use separate Roku and/or FireTV devices instead of the built-in TV functionality, because I've seen the devices. I don't know why, but they do.

Maybe because the Roku interface actually works properly, whereas the apps on the smart TV are slow and buggy.

Post by fsckboy » Tue, Aug 24, 2021, 9:52 PM UTC

mattnewton wrote: post #338

arduinomancer wrote: post #287

This thread feels very...Hacker News Bubble? Why is everyone so confused that smart TVs are popular? Being able to just turn on your TV and open Netflix without messing around with inputs/other devices is a huge benefit for non-technological people. And it probably costs <$50 for the manufacturer to include whatever chip is running linux in the TV, its a no-brainer.

There are almost no tv manufacturers offering consumer TVs without the ability to connect to the internet to collect metrics, display ads, and run “apps” like Netflix. I don’t doubt it’s because the upsell is profitable and regular consumers would choose the TV with smart features over a similarly priced TV without, but it’s also possible no one has decided to compete on the “our TV is $40 cheaper, comes with a rebat…

Post by hiram112 » Tue, Aug 24, 2021, 9:53 PM UTC

lostlogin wrote: post #254

rangerelf wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never again will I buy anything Samsung. They have steadfastly refused to fix my fridge's ice maker even though they have admitted it's a design fault, and retailers will not take it back as faulty because the ice maker is not considered vital to the functioning of the refrigerator in general.

New Zealand has a bit of legislation called the Consumer Guarantees Act, and it specifies something to the effect of ‘the thing should have a lifespan commensurate with the price, free of defects or faults’. It’s really great - the downside is that we pay more for things than people overseas do. I vastly prefer that we have it.

Post by k4rli » Tue, Aug 24, 2021, 9:55 PM UTC

RKearney wrote: post #359

arduinomancer wrote: post #287

This thread feels very...Hacker News Bubble? Why is everyone so confused that smart TVs are popular? Being able to just turn on your TV and open Netflix without messing around with inputs/other devices is a huge benefit for non-technological people. And it probably costs <$50 for the manufacturer to include whatever chip is running linux in the TV, its a no-brainer.

> Why is everyone so confused that smart TVs are popular? Because almost all of them use internet connectivity to show you ads on home screens.