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Samsung Busted for Cheating TV Test Benchmarks

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Re: Samsung Busted for Cheating TV Test Benchmarks

#161
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whether they do now is irrelevant. Their entire history is violating trust.

You can't just make a claim without any evidence and then say "well it doesn't matter if they actually do it or not"

Samsung (and the rest of the TV industry, Samsung is just the worst of the bunch) has fucked up trust in them extremely hard and they are not showing in any way that they have learned from the past or how they plan to re-gain consumer trust. Until that happens, it is foolish to assume they would never implement something like "connect to an open wifi".

Re: Samsung Busted for Cheating TV Test Benchmarks

#162
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never allow a TV or monitor to connect to your Wi-Fi network and you'll be able to avoid these two issues

Every thread dozens of people say, "just don't connect!" They can connect to open networks such as Amazon sidewalk and other deliberate corporate IoT sabotage, and soon I'm sure we'll see the first televisions that require connection to even pass a signal from the HDMI port. The best thing to do is not support this immoral garbage through apathy or ignorance.

Heh I would not be surprised if in the future TVs start shipping a DOCSIS modem in the cable TV backend and put up deals with major network operators to allow a low bandwidth back-signalling channel.

Re: Samsung Busted for Cheating TV Test Benchmarks

#163
post #74

Every time this comes up I feel obligated to add the following: 1) Samsung televisions spy on your mercilessly . They collect everything they can, including screenshots at regular intervals and send them back to Samsung so that they can sell this to "partners". They are not a FAANG and don't have anywhere near their level of security expertise. I have second-hand but reliable information about their security approach…

If Software Freedom Conservancy win their lawsuit against Vizio for GPL violations in their TVs, you will probably be able to install open source Linux distros with Kodi on any Vizio TV and soon afterwards lots of other smart TV vendors will be similar. Allowing the vendor operating system to remain on the device after you purchase it basically means spyware these days. https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/v…

Vizio product quality is so bad I don't expect mine to work 2 years past its ship date. The TV is truly disposable.

Re: Samsung Busted for Cheating TV Test Benchmarks

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LG makea better TVs, appliances, phones, everything.

Ugh. No. Just… no. We moved into a house with LG appliances. The refrigerator broke 3 weeks after moving in. It couldn’t have been even 5 years old. The washing machine says every load is unbalanced. Small load of only socks? Unbalanced. Large load of blankets? Unbalanced. Moderate load of normal clothes. Unbalanced. If that weren’t bad enough, it doesn’t know how to keep track of time. It has a countdown timer showi…

> It has a countdown timer showing how much time is left on the wash. The dryer does, too. They count down at different speeds. They can both be at “10 minutes left” and 10 minutes later the washer still has like 3 minutes left.

That is usually because modern laundry washing machines don't run on fixed-time schedules, they detect how much load they have and how much water is remaining in the clothing and adjust the cycle lengths for ecological reasons (when the clothes are already dry, no need to spin / dry them further). A fixed-time machine would never be able to hit energy efficiency requirements.

Re: Samsung Busted for Cheating TV Test Benchmarks

#165
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their appliance division has issues too. There are 2 ongoing lawsuits around their refrigerators. 2017 ice makers leak water (mine does this). https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/new-development-samsung-ic... 2022: fridge gets too warm: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/samsung-refrigerator-class-acti...

It's a shame because my 8-10 years old Samsung dumb TV, oven/microwave and laser printer are all working great to this day. (That's more coincidence than brand loyalty, my Laden (French cheap brand) washing machine has also been working with no maintenance need for 13 years)

This checks out. I miss the old Samsung. I'm watching one right now.

Re: Samsung Busted for Cheating TV Test Benchmarks

#166

Every time this comes up I feel obligated to add the following: 1) Samsung televisions spy on your mercilessly . They collect everything they can, including screenshots at regular intervals and send them back to Samsung so that they can sell this to "partners". They are not a FAANG and don't have anywhere near their level of security expertise. I have second-hand but reliable information about their security approach…

I have one of the earlier mid range 4k Samsungs. About two years in they gave it an update that added a Lote of bloatware, some of their own TV streaming channels full of Samsung ads. And for a bit I had Adguard home on my router and Samsung endpoints where the biggest thing blocked by far, and it was the only Samsung device in he house. Now I have the internet disabled on it and just use an Xbox for smart stuff, wil…

I use an Xbox aswell, since my TV has an open security hole that the manufacturer refuses to patch, and because it sends unspecified data and fetches updates over an unencrypted connection.

Mind you, the Xbox does just as much snooping, but at least the Xbox fetches updates over encrypted channels and doesn't let anyone on the same network have root access to the TV's linux installation.

Re: Samsung Busted for Cheating TV Test Benchmarks

#167
post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Network administration skills are not an acceptable pre-requisite for a consumer product like a TV.

I'm not justifying it in any way - but changing DNS is trivial - something well within the capabilities of all the readers here.

Could you jot down a few lines explaining how?

Re: Samsung Busted for Cheating TV Test Benchmarks

#168
post #86
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

youtube, netflix, etc...?

...Can all be streaming via a plugged in device. Your television should be a monitor, nothing more.

I have an LG TV, and the ability to have Apps on the TV, without a plugged in decide - Netflix, BBC iplayer, ITV Hub, AppleTV, Twitch, Youtube etc. makes for a very pleasant, seamless experience.

Re: Samsung Busted for Cheating TV Test Benchmarks

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you dislike about induction ranges?

Where to start. The glass can easily chip/crack/splinter, and if you use the wrong choice if words it won't be covered under warranty. You have to use specific pots and pans, regular ones will destroy your glass. They are too expensive, and from what I understand pretty hard to cook with (I've not used them myself aside from testing and whatnot). They simply aren't worth the added hassle, fragility, and added expense…

> The glass can easily chip/crack/splinter

Maybe some knockoffs do, but basically the only way to crack the glass is to make something heavy like a pot fall from a serious height on it.

> You have to use specific pots and pans, regular ones will destroy your glass.

That's untrue, they just need to be metallic for the induction to work

> They are too expensive, and from what I understand pretty hard to cook with (I've not used them myself aside from testing and whatnot).

No? They aren't harder to cook than any other cooktop.

> They simply aren't worth the added hassle, fragility, and added expenses. If it did something super awesome to offset those issues it wouldn't be so bad.

They're the best electric option - fastest to warm and cool, and most efficient. Gas belongs in the past for most people ( air quality, pollution, risks ( like leaks, fires) and in general we should be moving away from all fossil fuels).

Re: Samsung Busted for Cheating TV Test Benchmarks

#170

I wrote Samsung off a few years ago. I was at my dad's house and noticed that his Samsung TV would do this strange thing at the end of commercials for movies. At the end of most movie commercials, there is an all black screen with white text. When this screen would show up, the TV's back-light would suddenly dim and then brighten back up on the when it went away. I went online and found a forum of other folks noticin…

Ah, I see you have discovered the joys of "dynamic contrast". Just about every monitor I've bought recently has that "feature", but luckily it can usually be disabled. Unfortunately they still measure contrast with that feature enabled so it's like five-billion-to-one, allegedly.
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