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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

#171

Post by akvadrako »

TacticalCoder wrote: post #105
sgtfrankieboy wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because a 32" monitor is small for a TV? and a projector has tons of downsides? The solution is to buy a commercial TV used in retail environments.

> and a projector has tons of downsides? I'm not so sure. I've been using a projector as a TV for something like four years straight: no TV at home, only a projector. As a bonus the living room becomes a home cinema. I didn't see much downsides. Zero issue. No ads. Cheaper than a TV for a much wider diagonal and a more "cinema'ish" picture too (I hate it when movies look like cheap sitcoms on modern TVs). And as many…

You sound like somebody going on about how vinyl is better than CDs. Sure, projectors give you that "authentic" cinema look, in the sense of bad color reproduction, especially being unable to show dark blacks like OLEDs can.

The "cheap sitcom" look is objectively better. With the right filters you can reproduce the cinema look; but nobody who isn't already used to it would want to to that, unless you are going for a specific "old school" style.

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

#172

Post by cassianoleal »

kingrazor wrote: post #23
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…

One thing I hate is when things like input switching are part of the TV OS. It can turn something that should be fast and easy into something slow and glitchy.

> things like input switching are part of the TV OS

As opposed to what?

On my LG there's a button for input switching that does only that. It's part of the OS but I don't see how it could be more convenient.

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

#173

Post by mikestew »

coldtea wrote: post #68
bombcar wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Found a cheap one but it’s 720p. Sceptre 32" Class 720P HD LED TV X322BV-SR Didn’t spent much time looking at Walmart however.

Yeah, taking more about a 50"-65" 4K, with a price at $800 or below... 32"/720 won't cut it - that's what I already have, and have had for like a decade...

I sold a 42"/720 close to a decade ago, and we'd had that TV quite a long time. I didn't know 720 panels were still even produced.

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

#174

Post by callahad »

RajT88 wrote: post #91
Kerrick wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I bought an LG C2 earlier this year. The ads are impossible to remove, but sufficiently avoidable that I do not regret the purchase.

There is an option to run as a dumb panel, but I haven't tried using it that way.

Setting the TV up normally requires accepting a disconcerting number of EULAs. You can choose to decline some individual terms at the cost of disabling features like voice recognition, but others are required.

The TV's home screen is rife with advertisements, mainly in the form of pre-loaded apps and mandatory content sections like "Top Picks for You" or "Sports Alert." The Verge has screenshots at https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/11/22223767/lg-webos-6-tv-so.... These cannot all be hidden or moved below the fold.

The home screen ads really bothered me when I first unboxed the TV. It was new, and I wanted to explore everything it could do. Once the novelty wore off and I stopped giving a damn about the smart features, it stopped being a problem. For example: you never have to see the home screen. If you're not hooked up to cable or an antenna, the TV boots into a screensaver (a Rothko-esque slideshow by default) from which you can summon an app switcher and jump directly to Netflix / YouTube / etc. This skips the home screen altogether, so you never see those ads. System menus are free from ads to the best of my recollection.

I remain vaguely concerned about background data collection and telemetry.

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

#175

Post by behringer »

Unlike other brands, my LG allowed me to decline all the crap ware ToS so it's pretty much just a normal non smart TV. It does give a text add for new apps at the bottom usually when a new firmware update comes out.

Not a bad deal imo. Thanks LG.

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

#176

Post by dn3500 »

lifeisstillgood wrote: post #143
pseudosavant wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Obviously most users won't be able to do this, but this is exactly the type of reason I use OpenWRT on my RPi-based router. I have a firewall rule that prevents the TV from communicating with anything in the WAN zone. I can still have the TV on the Wi-Fi and still use features like Airplay. I disable the firewall rule if I want to try updating the TV firmware.

QQ: how do you replace the ISP router - my cable provider clT out refused to give me the PPP / etc details or I have to go find an RPi with adsl io. I guess I can solve it but any pointers gratefully rec d

See if your cable modem has a pass-through mode. This disables the NAT, DHCP, etc and passes the IP address of the cable side of the modem through to one of the ethernet jacks. Then you plug your own router in to that and do your own NAT, DHCP, firewall, etc. I know Arris used to have this, haven't checked recently.

My current ISP has the cable modem completely locked down. No control over DHCP, no punching service ports through the NAT for home servers. Also they've got me double NATed.

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

#179

Post by flashgordon »

Dumb question - How does one go about (cost effectively) getting just a monitor that has:

* Same size/resolution range as the comparable TV

* Same price range as the comparable TV

* X display ports (combination of hdmi, usb, etc)

* Wifi (and bluetooth too?)

* Audio + ports

* Fine infra-red too for remotes

* Other absoulute hardware essentials i might have missed

Absolutely no inbuilt players or software or bloatware or adware or any of that crap! May be an app (inbuilt or for the phone) to configure presets perhaps.

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