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Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second

newscientist.com

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Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second

#91

Post by allturtles »

flacebo wrote: post #34

Smart TVs are a curse (from a consumer perspective). A separate smart device makes much more sense. People usually replaced their TVs when they broke, which could be 6-8+ years. Nowadays as their already slow hardware becomes even more obsolete, streaming apps are no longer updated and start to break, new ones are not released, etc. they go ahead and buy a new one. You also have to accept all kinds of crappy agreemen…

> Not to mention even the most expensive TVs come with baffingly slow hardware and software. $2k devices can take 10+ seconds to load the menu with 4 options, where you can modify picture settings. Incredible.

Yes it's really curious how much worse technology has gotten in some dimensions in recent decades. Analog TVs would respond to inputs effectively instantaneously - if you changed the channel, the very next frame would be drawn from the new channel. My TV now takes multiple seconds to change channels.

Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second

#92

Post by from-nibly »

Someone1234 wrote: post #75
jdenning wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best option I’ve found is to ditch the TV and use a projector

A lot of popular projectors are "smart projectors" too. Same issue.

I got a benq projector where the smart thing was an extra dongle that you could choose to add or not.

Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second

#93

Post by reginald78 »

rlv-dan wrote: post #3

> [...] in their automatic content recognition systems [...] Samsung TVs can take screenshots every 500 milliseconds and LG TVs every 10 milliseconds I wonder how much energy it take to analyze 4k images 10 times a second?

The answer is: Who cares? The rube who bought the thing is paying for it.

Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second

#94

Post by eimrine »

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #88
eimrine wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if any traffic is encrypted? Taking snapshots is not sending them in the meaning that software can delete similarly looking images by their own definition of similarness. And BTW that kind of testing is more needed for some industry critical equipment - processors with ME, routers, etc. TV is a brainrot thing for dumbs, nobody needs a TV which doesn't spy you.

> And BTW that kind of testing is more needed for some industry critical equipment - processors with ME, routers, etc. Yes, obviously testing should be ubiquitous. > TV is a brainrot thing for dumbs, nobody needs a TV which doesn't spy you. No, TV is nigh-universal and everyone deserves privacy.

> everyone deserves privacy

Definitely not users (useds?) of proprietary software. Use monitors for privacy they do not have any urge to phone home.

I agree that the testing should be ubiquitous but if the device is crooked it is no sense in trying to figure up how exactly crooked it is. Maybe it uses steganography, maybe it is able to detect MiTM devices, some TVsets cease to keep working if the internal memory is 100% filled with pictures of what are you watching so no extra knowledge about the crooked device is useful if you have already agree to have Pavlik Morozov with microphone and videocam right in your bedroom.

Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second

#95

Post by nickburns »

flacebo wrote: post #34

Smart TVs are a curse (from a consumer perspective). A separate smart device makes much more sense. People usually replaced their TVs when they broke, which could be 6-8+ years. Nowadays as their already slow hardware becomes even more obsolete, streaming apps are no longer updated and start to break, new ones are not released, etc. they go ahead and buy a new one. You also have to accept all kinds of crappy agreemen…

What makes you think an internet-connected streaming device couldn't and isn't just doing the same thing?

I otherwise completely agree with everything else you've said.

Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second

#96

Post by water-data-dude »

flacebo wrote: post #64
_mlbt wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple TV is really your best option if you want privacy. Google is primarily an ad company that wants to learn as much about you as possible to target those ads.

Just because Apple promises? There is actually zero evidence that apple is any better for privacy. Your absolute best option is something like a raspberry pi with an open source OS.

When companies have a privacy policy that says “we will spy on you and sell your information to whoever will pay us for it”, and then they do exactly that, that’s one thing. That’s the Google Experience™.

When companies have a privacy policy that says they won’t do that, and then they do, that’s an entirely different thing. They lied, and that puts them in legal jeopardy. It also hurts their bottom line.

Is it possible Apple is sneakily spying on you and selling your info to third parties in secret illegal deals? Sure, I guess? But I don’t think it’s super likely.

Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second

#97

Post by tky »

mcherm wrote: post #49

I'm in the market for a new TV. Is there any source that lists models that do NOT engage in this sort of spying? I am willing to pay a significant premium and forego convenience features, but I lack the expertise to review products myself.

Look into “industrial” or “commercial” displays. Many of them are the traditional dumb display, but they may not have the refresh rate or other features you want in a consumer device.

Re: Smart TVs take snapshots of what you watch multiple times per second

#100

Post by 0cf8612b2e1e »

rightbyte wrote: post #15
shiroiushi wrote: post #10

Someone needs to put a network sniffer on a bunch of different TVs and see exactly what traffic they're generating and how much. Sending 120 4k images per minute (or worse, 6000 for the LG) on a residential WiFi connection should be pretty obvious, and it should be fairly easy to block too.

They could be looking for watermarks or match some 'frame hash' versus a database. The spyware traffic could be measured in single digit bytes.

Use one of those perceptual hashing algorithms that work across noise and resolutions. Then you just need a tiny fingerprint sent per scan that can be aggregated across consumers.
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