411–420 of 518 posts
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"doing active scans for any unsecured wifi network in range"
This doesn’t seem like a practical thing for manufacturers to implement. How common are such networks in actuality? Literally the only time I ever encountered unsecured Wi-Fi networks in the past several years were guest networks, and all of those were gated by a capture portal that would have blocked any sort of attempt at telemetry or ad serving.
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Bluetooth on a phone can be disabled. I only turn on bluetooth when it is needed. Wired headsets and wired keyboards will work with some of today's phones.
That doesn't sound like a great user experience. "I have this TV that I want to use as a monitor, but I have to turn of a feature on my unrelated device which I want to use with a headset, keyboard, etc". I would rather buy a dumb TV that didn't require me to lose phone features.
Modern Sony Bravia TV’s ask whether you want a “Basic TV” or a “Google TV” when you first set them up.
It's Google TV either way. The setting is for whether you want to neuter any sort of functionality involving the network or not. That doesn't mean the TV isn't still reporting your viewing habits back to them; it's still running Android, still has a network connection. Hilariously, they allow you to go back to "smart" Google TV with a click of a button, but going to 'basic' mode requires a full reset. Oh, and they're…
What's stupid is Android TV means I can run any app I want, and they can't stop me, so Chromecast ends up being a kind of idiotic solution that never quite finished its search of a problem.
As in, I can use Steam Link or Moonlight to become a thin client of a real computer, I can Plex my entire (legal) library, or use any cloud service natively from the device.
All the things I ever really wanted to Chromecast felt like it was a third class citizen compared to the Android TV experience; and I just mean the purely playback part of it, not the client UI part (which Chromecast doesn't, and isn't meant to, have).
All TV's are dumb tv's if you only use them as an external display/monitor and don't connect them to the net. I have a dedicated computer for a media center and just use HDMI1 input on the TV. Never enter menus. Never update the OS. Never agree to anything. Never let the TV "phone home." Never set up wifi. Never connect a CAT5 to it. Set the input using the remote and forget it. Treat it as a dumb monitor. Computer i…
What’s stopping the TV from taking OTA updates through data sub-channels on TV channels? Satellite receivers have had this type of capability for a few decades.
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How old is your Vizio? All modern Vizio tvs in the past 6 years have a remote with a Menu button. And they ask for accepting Privacy Policy before you can connect to wifi. You can very easily avoid connecting a Vizio to a network and just use it as a dumb tv.
I just got a new Vizio, I only connected it long enough for it download the latest firmware, and then neutered it by removing the Ethernet cable. You can bypass the acceptance of the privacy policy entirely and it just disables all the smart features (can't use any of the apps or cast to it with Airplay or Google Cast), but will still download firmware updates and install them. From the network capture I did on it, i…
Summing up the main options and linking to some comments that mentioned them: * extra-large gaming monitors, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29383077 * Sceptre brand TVs (they can be purchased from Walmart) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29383298 * Projectors maybe, but 4k projectors are very expensive. (On the other hand, 1080p projectors look great in my opinion.) * Most big brands such as LG, Samsung, e…
You can DIY a 4k Projector if you don't want to pay nearly as much: https://youtu.be/YfvTjQ9MCwY
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What value would additional choices serve, if it’s just a pane of glass of a fixed size and resolution?
There can still be differences in color gamut, refresh rates, input lag, viewing angle, black uniformity, local dimming, image retention, supported resolutions, SDR/HDR brightness to name a few.
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That's interesting, but it doesn't look like you have many choices at the 55" size unless you're willing to pay double what I paid 4 years ago for my Sony.
That's exactly the reason why non smart TVs don't sell. The smart one's are subsidized by their ads and spyware; so you'll always pay a massive premium to get a dumb one.
Same reason nVidia's AI cards are so expensive even though they're very similar to their graphics cards. Or "audiophile" speaker cables are expensive even though they're identical to cheap ones.
Product prices are partly a function of the price people are willing to pay (demand).