Live data from Hacker News

The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

adguard.com

261–270 of 579 posts

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe, maybe not. The mental effects of products optimized for delivering advertising don't seem to be great for people or society (see: Meta's products, Twitter, TikTok).

Cigarettes cause cancer. Some people (not me) actually get value from ads and AFAIK they don't cause cancer.

Cigarettes also feel great to the people smoking them.

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m sure people will notice if for instance HBO only sold a version with commercials after having an ad free product since 1980.

Sure. But Disney+ in 12 months will have the ad-based version at today's ad-free prices. (And the ad-free subscription at a premium price.

Ok. We all knew that $7.99/month was unsustainable long term.

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#263
post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

> other people shouldn't watch it either. Where did i suggest that? I only showed that what i did is a possible path. At no point i judged the other paths. Watch my phrasing.. "... is an option", "you don't have to ...". I suspect you are reading too much between my lines.

Yes because without such great insight, everyone would have thought that TV was a necessity in life like food water and shelter…

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#264
post #57

> Some may argue that there's no need to be dramatic and that there's nothing wrong in seeing an occasional ad every now and then. Oh, no, I am very dramatic about this. I will go to any lengths not to see advertising. I will entirely forgo any platform that shows me even one ad, especially when I pay them. Amazon Prime video is already pushing it with their preroll previews. The second it's something else I'm cancel…

> Some may argue that there's no need to be dramatic and that there's nothing wrong in seeing an occasional ad every now and then.

Not just that, it also means having thousands of companies know every show or movie you ever watched:

> [tv manufacturer] shared IP addresses of its consumers with the data aggregators who then would find a person or a household to which it belonged.

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#265
post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I first purchased my TV there were no ads on it. The ads came later when Google updated their Android launcher. So, where's my discount?

Why do you think Google - an ad company - was trying to get into the TV market?

I don't have time nor the information to second-guess possible future motivations of every company in a supply chain before buying a product. Most people won't even realise Google provide the software for a lot of these products.

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#266
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

However those TVs are not easy to get and, like you said, they come with an increased price. I couldn't recommend enough to buy an Apple TV (or equivalent) and block all Internet access to your "smart" TV. I did this and everything was instantly better.

How do you block internet if it will join open networks automatically?

break antenna would be easiest solution, but you might possibly void the warranty while opening TV

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but the moment you plug in an Android dongle, Apple TV or similar, you can just disconnect the TV from the internet, which should solve this.

You're going to have to put it in a faraday cage when they start including modems into the TV. lol

Two can play this game if they provide free SIM card they should expect people hacking and freeloading this built in SIM card.

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#268

YouTube's advertising strategy is pushing me to get rid of my SmartTV, or at least find a 3rd Party solution to completely block the ads. I was completely fine with one or two 6 second ads randomly playing before a video, or during a lengthy video. Then they added 14 second ads, which was very annoying, but bearable since it's about the same length as the two short ads. But now they're advertising even if I simply op…

Pay for Premium - YouTube is one of the few services that actually lets you pay to stop the ads, it’s worth it. I wish that also fixed all the bad product design that results from building something corrupted by ad incentives. You can also disable all tracking in settings.

I pay for YouTube premium and although it stops Youtube's ads, the in-video ads from content creators are much more distracting and annoying.

My brain can easily block a banner ad or tune out until the "skip ad" button appears. But when a content creator spends 90 seconds on message and then jarringly shifts to trying to sell me a mattress or a water bottle (Linus Tech Tips) for the nth time, that makes the video lose all value for me.

Content creators gotta eat, I get that. But the ad-supported model is garbage.

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#269
Signage displays are the solution, that is, those big screens used in malls, airports, stations etc. they're sturdy built and guaranteed to work 18/7 or 24/7, so don't expect to pay them like a shiny but crappy consumer Smart TV. However pay attention before buying since manufacturers started to add Android based crap and "smart" features to them as well. Usually the lack of any networking, both Ethernet and WiFi, on their technical sheet is the indicator they're dumb enough to be worth of trust. This arrangement of course requires an external receiver since they're essentially beefy monitors. They also make almost-dumb TVs for the above markets.

As for the brands, I'm aware of Swedx.com in the EU and Sceptre.com in the US. Samsung also makes some interesting products employing the Tizen OS (any jailbreaking available?). I don't have any direct experience with any of those however.

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think Google - an ad company - was trying to get into the TV market?

I don't have time nor the information to second-guess possible future motivations of every company in a supply chain before buying a product. Most people won't even realise Google provide the software for a lot of these products.

Yes because it takes great insight to know that a Google based product probably exists to gather information about you for targeting advertising. It’s not like Google is some obscure company.
Post reply on HN