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My TV started playing a video in full screen by itself. What happened?

support.vizio.com

241–250 of 268 posts

Re: My TV started playing a video in full screen by itself. What happened?

#241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Smart TVs are slower to do things like turn on

That depends on the TV. I have 3 smart TVs from different manufacturers that have never been online. They all turn on as fast as my dumb computer monitors.

That's because they are already on with just the display turned off. Unplug it for 10 seconds then plug it in and try turning it on.

Re: My TV started playing a video in full screen by itself. What happened?

#242
post #22

This is why I haven't connected my smart TV to my WiFi. It just has a Google TV + HDMI from my PC. At least with Google TV, the only ads I see are random sportsball ads when YouTube has some partnership deal and those are easy enough to ignore.

I hope you never have a guest that connects it when you're not aware.

Re: My TV started playing a video in full screen by itself. What happened?

#243
post #28

Just remember that while you are watching the ad, the ad is watching you. Actually anything you do on your internet connected Smart TV is being collected and sold by the TV manufacturer. Smart TVs should be called Surveillance TVs at this point.

It's almost like the wall screen from 1984.

Re: My TV started playing a video in full screen by itself. What happened?

#246
post #207

Speaking of Vizio, what happened to the SFC vs Vizio GPL violation case? Last time I checked : https://www.dlapiper.com/en/insights/publications/2024/01/sf...

Another user said they have a court date in September and posted this link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vizio#Legal_issues

Re: My TV started playing a video in full screen by itself. What happened?

#247
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many Android TVs do this, including Hisense, and they try to mask it with dishonest verbiage about what the feature is doing. It's definitely not just a VIZIO thing.

The android ones are just pictures with no ads

I was unclear. I meant monitoring what you watch. Basically all of them do it. Samsung, LG, Sony, etc [1].

[1] https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/home-entertainment/how...

Re: My TV started playing a video in full screen by itself. What happened?

#249

You can turn it off. This is just a poorly worded FAQ. At the beginning, there is an FAQ that says you can't turn off ads in scenic mode. Q: Can I turn Scenic Mode ads off? A: No, not at this time... But in fact you can turn the Scenic mode off completely, but it buried later in the content of an FAQ about settings. Q: Can I change any settings for Scenic Mode? A: Yes. To use Scenic Mode with or without volume, navig…

Sounds like a job for Pi-hole.

pi-hole doesn't prevent dns over http, direct connections to dns servers or hardcoded ip addresses

Re: My TV started playing a video in full screen by itself. What happened?

#250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know how much longer that will be possible with how cheap 5G is getting. Sooner or later they’ll be able to install a $10 part and make a deal with wireless carriers as backhaul for unconnected TVs. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has already made a deal with Spectrum or XFinity to use those open wifi networks that are open to customers via their account signin. The best solution is commercial displays but…

This idea doesn't bother me at all. I won't buy any TV for which I cannot disable the 5G antenna with basic tools by following a simple procedure described on some website. If said TV won't work without 5G connectivity, it goes on my "Do Not Buy" list.

Good for you? What if you won't be able to find any tv that works without cryptographically signed periodic online check-ins.

Sure we could all try to ignore the horrors of modern society and move to a cabin in the woods (and then get to know our local mailmen when we find out that even that isn't enough) but perhaps it would be better and take a stand now while we can.

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