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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

#221

Post by matthew-wegner »

flashgordon wrote: post #179

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…

Like the peer comments, what you want is a "display"

Here's one with carrier board for a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, for i.e. digital signage, art display, or whatever else while it isn't showing one its external inputs: https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2022/tv-thats-not-necs-pi-...

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

#222

Post by genewitch »

rewgs wrote: post #57
jrib wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

my parents' TCL TV would blink a white light at the bottom of the front bezel unless we gave it access to the wifi... :(

I assume connecting it to an adhoc network that doesn’t have internet access wouldn’t work?

My TCL will blink that if the WAP is up but the internet is down, but it takes a while for it to start blinking. I just put the TV on the slowest network i have, and i rarely use the TV anyhow. 90% of media consumption is on a 4K PC monitor, and 9.5% of the remaining is on a 720p projector. I wish that 1080p or 2k projectors were cheaper, but at ~$350-$500 a 720p projector is a really hard price/feature point to beat.

On the wall i painted with Silver Screen Behr paint, the pixels are about 1-2mm.

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

#223

Post by Kon-Peki »

Arubis wrote: post #120

I spent $200 on a 43" Spectre UHD 4K TV a week ago and it literally doesn't have wifi capabilities. It just reads off HDMI. The end. WalMart sells their stuff at like half MSRP and there isn't network connectivity with which to exfiltrate your data. I wish every manufacturer worked like this.

The other reason they are inexpensive is that they forego some physical robustness. Like you have to be more careful than normal taking it out of the box and mounting it on your wall. Or if you have kids and things sometimes go flying you better hope they don’t hit the screen.

It is a trade off you have to be willing to make ;)

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

#224

Post by emkoemko »

i am using a C1 for a desktop monitor, this advertising stuff is crazy i turn it on and it overlays a message about getting Disney plus for x per month....

even worse it auto updated and it force me to go through a TOS and privacy policy.... now why the hell do we need all this on a TV

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

#225

Post by rascul »

the_snooze wrote: post #168
reaperducer wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Open Wi-Fi networks are a thing of the past. I've been to two medical facilities and a large regional hospital in the last week where there were open wifi networks with no portals. My apartment building operates an open wifi network for guests so we don't have to bother giving out passwords to visitors. An airport I visited last month has wide open wifi. A see ads on transit buses all the time stating that the bus ha…

It's pretty common for public networks to still have a captive portal to get the user to view an ad or click "I agree" before actually granting full connectivity.

Android seems to be able to handle some of these for me so I don't notice.

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

#226

Post by Schroedingersat »

Alex3917 wrote: post #39
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…

> never, ever give a TV an internet connection, wifi password or dhcp lease. The problem is that it’s becoming unavoidable. Right now the only oven with a good Consumer Reports rating requires a Wi-Fi connection, so it’s either get that model or another one with a significantly worse rating.

Then the consumer reports rating is obviously wrong.

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

#227

Post by AtlasBarfed »

I mentioned this before, the hackers of the world need to try to get linux onto smart TVs, not sure how it would get flashed, but Samsung is being truly obnoxious, and they aren't alone.

They know you have no options, so they can be as obnoxious as they want once you get the TV, and they know everyone else is as bad.

But if there was a way better OS to flash on? Sign me up.

Knowing the TV makers, they likely will have that locked down tight with signed code. But if there is a way to update firmware over the air, maybe there's a way to intercept the update and swap in a different firmware

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

#228

Post by cstejerean »

autoexec wrote: post #201
mikestew wrote: post #31

Just give me my Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, HBO Max,... All of which are available on an AppleTV, and I assume other less-intrusive devices. TFA comes to that conclusion in the last paragraph, but just in case anyone didn't make it that far. And then, as everyone on this page is going to say, never let that TV anywhere near a network connection. Why anyone would go to the effort of dicking with a pi-hole cat-and-…

> IOW, use the AppleTV (or Roku, or whatever) regardless just for the better experience. I've never used AppleTV. Does it come with ads and a bunch of data collection too? Roku collects massive amounts of data and has ads. For example: "Roughly twice per second, a Roku TV captures video “snapshots” in 4K resolution. These snapshots are scanned through a database of content and ads, which allows the exposure to be mat…

I only exclusively use AppleTV and have for a number of years. No ads, and you're asked whether you want to share data for analytics on setup (like any apple device).

I'm not aware of any intrusive data collection like screenshots you mention even if you do opt in to share data.

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

#229

Post by kingrazor »

cassianoleal wrote: post #199
kingrazor wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something like input switching should operate below the OS.

What am I missing? What's wrong with input switching being made at the OS level?

The speed and reliability of the OS. I should be able to change inputs even if the TV OS is unresponsive, which is not uncommon on some smart TVs. If the smart TVs you're using are fast enough and reliable enough that you aren't having issues then I don't think there would be any benefit to you.
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