As an owner of 2 LG OLEDs, I am not surprised at all. I neutered these things the first day I was past the return policy. Opened the back and unplugged the WiFi/BT chip, bought a cheap dumb universal remote with no mic in it, disagreed to all T&C in the TV, updated the firmware via USB and just use an AppleTV over HDMI for streaming. Kind of silly to have to go through all of this but hey thats where we are in 2026 i…
In the future they could make it refuse to boot without all the "required" hardware, like BT/wifi module.
I'd rather open it up and remove/destroy just the network card. (I don't have to do so though because my tv is 20 years old.)
What if the network isn't on a separate card?
Then if you are lucky, the telescreen is in an unusual position. By sitting in the alcove, and keeping well back, you might be able to remain outside the range of the telescreen.
Goddamnit, I have an LG TV. The panel panel itself is beautiful, but the software is complete shit and I only use an apple TV on it.
The snakes in charge of this should be thrown in jail. They talk about "owning the glass and the living room" and you can just tell they've sold out their soul long ago.
Modems becoming super cheap is gonna be a big problem for this, because those make it even harder to prevent such snooping. Just imagine having to jam the devices in your own home just to stop them from profiling you. Better pray to your deer god that modem + data contract is gonna stay more expensive that the expected value from selling more data... We really need regulation to stop this.
Disconnect the u.fl to the antenna and it’ll be hard for it to transmit data unless you live next door to a cell tower.
TVs have streaming services, those need internet to function. What else does anyone (average consumer) use their TV for? I don’t want a separate device to plug in and remote just to stream things.
But surely you know the TV will have ads, and spyware and screenshots you every few seconds to send to manufactures, and in some cases even has microphones involved? The apps built into the screen literally meet the definition of trojans which any casual search on most brands would tell you. All avoidable by plugging in an $20 dedicated source device for streaming or whatever. Is saving the $20 really worth it?
> But surely you know
No? It's hardly written in the advertising copy for the TV, is it.
This is a technical website with technical users. You are failing to put yourself in the shoes of non-technical, ordinary users who just want to watch Netflix.
> All avoidable
If you know that you should avoid it but people don't.
All TVs offer extra functionality like connecting to Netflix, Disney+, HBO etc. It obviates the need for an extra device like Roku or Apple TV.
So most consumers are willing to knowingly give up privacy, security, and freedom just to save 20 bucks on a hdmi streaming device? I have no words for how depressing that is. Then again most consumers use Bytedance, Meta, Google, and Apple products so I guess I should not be too surprised.
> So most consumers are willing to knowingly
"Knowingly". No, they don't know. You seem to think that because you know, then so must everybody else.
I have no words for how depressing that way of thinking is.
I have just launched http://weowntheglass.com , it features an oled-safe screensaver steady stream of public domain images of violent uprisings against an oppressive class. The ACR should enjoy that!
What if it was a quick succession of screenshots from actual TV shows? Random pictures probably don’t have any ACR match but TV shows would.
I took a look at some of the ACR patents I could find and it seems they typically use a perceptual hash time series to positively ID content, with short match rejection to avoid 'channel surfing' attributions. So the effective strategy would be a random feed of conflicting demographic content streamed for at least a few minutes each -- something like 5 minute shuffle of Miss Rachel, Game of Thrones, This Old House, 30 Rock, The Decalogue, Gunsmoke, CSPAN, Sesame Street, QVC, something like that. Problem is... who wants that actually streaming on their screen all day? My site as built probably doesn't actually poison the ACR data, it's more like waging memetic warfare/raising awareness.
Can you actually even turn and keep the microphone off or does it toggle itself back on like Apple's Wifi and Bluetooth one-touch toggle off for now buttons?
> Apple's Wifi and Bluetooth one-touch toggle off for now buttons? This comparison rubs me off the wrong way every time I see, because. 1. The notifications clearly tell the behavior (doing $THING until tomorrow). 2. There's a way to turn them "really off". What LG does is completely different. IIRC from the teaser of this video, the microphone is never "completely" off or apps can re-enable them somehow.
Respectfully disagree. Toggle buttons have an expected behavior that everyone understands.
It should work just like a physical button. I don’t appreciate the “we know better for you so we’ll adjust the behavior accordingly” MITM.
Why would you ever connect a TV to the internet in the first place?
In my experience (I have a 2015 TV that's been EOL'ed by anyone doing apps for TVs) streaming services are increasingly not allowing chromecast, instead requiring you to log in on the TV.
I cancel those services... but I recognize that many people go the other way.