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I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content

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Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content

#91

Post by RajT88 »

Kerrick wrote: post #74
walrus01 wrote: post #6

never, ever give a TV an internet connection, wifi password or dhcp lease. I realize there are ads on the homescreen of an xbox series x, ps4 pro, ps5, etc but I would much rather deal with those than whatever shoddy operating system TV manufacturers put on their thing. I have a thousand times more confidence that microsoft and sony will keep their OSes patched and up to date (they have a strong financial/self-intere…

On the contrary, I absolutely love the WebOS that came on my TV, and I use it (connected to the internet) regularly. I've often found myself watching YouTube and even browsing NPR and HN (using a TV remote as the only input device) on the TV rather than using my laptop, desktop, or even my iPhone. It's also open source [0] and you can develop your own software for it [1] without needing to submit that software to the…

I'll be shopping for a new big TV in the near future, and I am an HP TouchPad owner as well.

How difficult has nerfing the ads been on a WebOS TV? That is the only thing keeping me away from an LG -- I want a TV which I don't have to fight.

Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content

#92

Post by shaboinkin »

cantrevealname wrote: post #35

The sentiment here on HN is to never connect the TV to the Internet and instead use a digital media player or external streaming device. I wholeheartedly agree. But then several people mentioned wanting to update the firmware. If you'll never connect it to the Internet, then you should never update the firmware either. It goes against conventional wisdom, but updating the firmware in this situation is more likely to…

I learned this with my router. I updated the firmware thinking it was the smart thing to do, security fixed and all that, but instead I was greeted with ads for their other products and them wanted to shove their stupid phone app in my face to interact with the router. I then installed OpenWRT and said nuts to using proprietary router firmware.

Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content

#93

Post by legitster »

sliken wrote: post #70
alphabettsy wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Roku does tons of phoning home, has ads and analytics to see what you’re watching afaik. Using PiHole shows tons of unexpected traffic.

I don't deny it, but I don't see ads.

There's a single ad on the home page for me.

Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content

#97

Post by p1necone »

asdfk-12 wrote: post #84
cantrevealname wrote: post #35

The sentiment here on HN is to never connect the TV to the Internet and instead use a digital media player or external streaming device. I wholeheartedly agree. But then several people mentioned wanting to update the firmware. If you'll never connect it to the Internet, then you should never update the firmware either. It goes against conventional wisdom, but updating the firmware in this situation is more likely to…

This is good advice. I kept my 4k Vizio offline until updating the firmware on a whim. The update broke the ability to run 1080p@60hz from my PC, making it effectively useless for normal use. The annoying part about the panel is that it was advertised as 4k but only works at 30hz at that resolution. Cheap, so should have figured.

It might be supported but non obvious, some TVs only support 4k60 through one of the HDMI ports.

It could also be a cable issue, although I believe the option usually shows up on cables that dont support it and only fails once you try to switch.

Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content

#98

Post by derefr »

cantrevealname wrote: post #35

The sentiment here on HN is to never connect the TV to the Internet and instead use a digital media player or external streaming device. I wholeheartedly agree. But then several people mentioned wanting to update the firmware. If you'll never connect it to the Internet, then you should never update the firmware either. It goes against conventional wisdom, but updating the firmware in this situation is more likely to…

The problem is that we're at a point in the evolution of TVs where robust support for HDMI-CEC (especially in combination with ARC/eARC) isn't guaranteed; but might be something you can get later through a firmware update.

When you finally decide to shell out for a sound bar, and after hooking it up, your TV now suddenly takes 30 seconds to flicker to life from sleep, you'll really want that firmware update.

(It's similar to where we were ~5 years ago with motherboards and NVMe boot support. The motherboard had the M.2 socket; but whether the NVMe device showed up in the boot options was up to chance. Often it'd only work in legacy mode but not UEFI mode. But, after a few-months-later motherboard firmware update, things would begin to work the way you'd expect.)

Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content

#99

Post by harvey9 »

xienze wrote: post #79
alphabettsy wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Roku does tons of phoning home, has ads and analytics to see what you’re watching afaik. Using PiHole shows tons of unexpected traffic.

So put it on a VLAN with no egress. Smart TVs are annoying but there’s ways around it.

Won't it need the egress to receive streaming video from the internet?

Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content

#100

Post by Waterluvian »

gw99 wrote: post #71

I left my Tizen based Samsung with my ex wife when we got divorced. This was a subtle troll because I am finally free of the fucking thing and she's not. The last decade of ownership has been hell. Slow laggy equipment, HDCP problems, working but forcibly obsoleted hardware, bugs galore and ads stuffed in your face. I now no longer own a television and will never own one again.

Nobody deserves that, you awful awful person. ;)
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