Attention Samsung mobile phone division! Malignancy detected in TV division! Excise without delay!
Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies
81–90 of 204 posts
Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies
#82If I had seen this story on The Onion, I would have laughed, and thought "that would never happen in the real world". But here we are. In the real world. My mind is blown. Just WOW.
Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies
#83> Samsung explained that these sorts of ads were supposed to be opt-in only and was working with Yahoo to improve the system. No user would opt-in to commercials, ever. I don't believe for a second this system was designed with opt-in in mind. Whenever an ill conceived feature like this is brought to the light, it's always explained as a bug, glitch, or some screw up in engineering. Well, it's not a bug. It was speci…
> No user would opt-in to commercials, ever. I don't believe for a second this system was designed with opt-in in mind. The occidental mindset is heavily geared against advertising. If you got free rebate coupons, gifts, etc. as rewards for opting in, would you still refuse it? I'm trying to say that we don't necessarily see the whole picture, and the article doesn't give hints about the purpose of that "feature".
>If you got free rebate coupons, gifts, etc. as rewards for opting in, would you still refuse it?
Yes
Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies
#84> Samsung explained that these sorts of ads were supposed to be opt-in only and was working with Yahoo to improve the system. No user would opt-in to commercials, ever. I don't believe for a second this system was designed with opt-in in mind. Whenever an ill conceived feature like this is brought to the light, it's always explained as a bug, glitch, or some screw up in engineering. Well, it's not a bug. It was speci…
Smart TVs are a good idea. Who doesn't want less crap plugged into their TV? However, TV manufacturers – for some reason – are ill-suited to developing the software that would make for a good experience.
> Smart TVs are a good idea. Who doesn't want less crap plugged into their TV?
I don't. For the same reason I don't want all-in-one desktop computers -- the display is both a substantial portion of the expense and the part that gets outdated the slowest. So, I'd rather replace the parts that provide the content to display separately from the display.
I'd rather replace my Chromecast for new functionality than replace my TV.
Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
Or do all of that and buy a dumb TV instead of the "smart" TV, putting the ~$200 savings into the NUC or other box. No sense in paying for a component you'll never use.
As others have noted here already, the smart TVs are quickly becoming the only thing you can buy now, at least in North America.
If you do all your shopping in brick-and-mortar stores that only carry expensive Samsung and LG TVs, I'd believe that. But there's a wealth of "dumb" TVs available online and even in big-box stores like Best Buy and Walmart.
I'd say if someone is savvy enough to know they don't want a "smart" TV, they will know where to look for a good deal.
Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies
#86> Samsung explained that these sorts of ads were supposed to be opt-in only and was working with Yahoo to improve the system. No user would opt-in to commercials, ever. I don't believe for a second this system was designed with opt-in in mind. Whenever an ill conceived feature like this is brought to the light, it's always explained as a bug, glitch, or some screw up in engineering. Well, it's not a bug. It was speci…
Technically, it's the people who bought the smart TVs that screwed up..
Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies
#87> By either selecting that I agree or by not selecting that I disagree, I agree to the Yahoo Connected TV Terms of Service Written under the deselected "I Agree" checkbox, with no "I disagree" option visible. This has to be some kind of record. And on a TV that you paid hundreds if not thousands of dollars, not in some spooky shareware download.
This reminds me of Android's terrible UI for opting in to GPS snoop recording^H^H^HGoogle Location Services: You can either (disagree) OR (agree and not answer again). It is not possible to to disagree once and for all! It's like they're trying to catch you off guard.
Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
Smart TVs are a terrible idea for the same reason that combined printer and scanners are a bad idea but with the negative aspect magnified many times. The cost and life expectancy of each part is very different and you don't want their replacement/upgrade to be tied together. A display panel should last you more than a decade and probably costs many 100s or 1000s. The 'smart' bit is probably worth less than $200 and…
I haven't bought a TV for five years (a Samsung, as it happens, plugged into a Roku). Can you even buy a TV that isn't smart these days?
Yes, it's called a monitor. There are plenty of monitors that have hdmi inputs and a standard audio jack output for connecting to a set of speakers.
Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
Then why not just save yourself some money and get a "dumb" TV? I can only imagine they jack the price up a hundred or two for the "smart"
Because the panels are commodities and market pressures are such that "Smart" TV features are the battleground that the manufacturers are trying to differentiate on. You can get a reference monitor, which will be the same panel as a $800 Smart TV for $4k.
I am considering [1] replacing my last TV (a 50" Panasonic reference plasma) with another reference monitor, but sadly plasma is no longer an option, unless I strike right. this. very. second.
[1] http://homonculus.net/2015/01/27/so_i_may_have_to_buy_a_new_...
Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies
#90This business practice of hiding secret drawbacks in Terms of Service need be sent to the courts and stopped. In the history of contact law, the practice has come, been outlawed, reinvented, been outlawed again, and repeated with new schemes every 10-20 year or so. Last time it was Hidden fees and surcharges, before that, incomplete prices and hidden costs. The law adapted and with it business practices, but the lure of addition revenue after sale are still going strong.
So instead of hiding costs in contracts, companies now simply takes control of the property they have sold. Same attack vector, same intent as before, and contract law is lagging behind as usually. It is extremely doubtful that this kind of TOS is legal, and without the TOS, Samsung is commercially invading peoples private property. They are not allowed to plant advertisement signs on land they don't own, and a TOS which no one reads or understand should not change that fact.