Hope the EU regulates this so I can -- at least -- import a TV from somewhere that doesn't have this shit
I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content
111–120 of 398 posts
Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content
#112Just 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-…
One remote is inherently better than two remotes. It's objectively less hassle. The apps are actually mostly identical from experience. I actually use a PS4 at the moment, and it occasionally forces me to update before I can use the TV app, so even more hassle.
Unless, of course, the one remote is garbage, and the hassle of working the system with one remote is greater than with two.
Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content
#113never, 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.
What for? Genuine question, what reason does an oven need an internet connection for?
If I bought an oven and it required an internet connection I'd be getting my money back.
Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content
#114Corporate slogan of the 21st century: Why settle for some of your customer's money when you can get all of your customer's money (and monetize their data too)? Microtransactions, ads, selling customer usage data, up-front costs, PPV, subscriptions... I'm shocked we as customers can actually afford to obtain and use any of these devices anymore.
A lot of things are sold cheaper than they would be otherwise (including at a loss) because they can make part of the money through ads/add-ons instead. It's customers who have shown they prefer those cheaper on the face of it options rather than those with much bigger up-front cost (which still exist but have been mostly left to business products since only there are enough of their customers fine with it).
I doubt this.
Even more because the cheaper products have less lucrative users, and are way less likely to include ads than the most expensive ones.
Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content
#115Consider getting a digital projector instead. I got a relatively cheap one (Dr J mini projector, 1080p) for $60. It...is not like a TV. Works only in low lighting conditions and has some focus issues, but if you just want a big screen with decent resolution, absolutely worth skipping a TV for this. And NO SMART FEATURES.
I'll be upgrading to a better, eventually 4k projector, but it seems like the ad and spam smart crap hasn't hit projectors yet....YET.
Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content
#116Corporate slogan of the 21st century: Why settle for some of your customer's money when you can get all of your customer's money (and monetize their data too)? Microtransactions, ads, selling customer usage data, up-front costs, PPV, subscriptions... I'm shocked we as customers can actually afford to obtain and use any of these devices anymore.
A lot of things are sold cheaper than they would be otherwise (including at a loss) because they can make part of the money through ads/add-ons instead. It's customers who have shown they prefer those cheaper on the face of it options rather than those with much bigger up-front cost (which still exist but have been mostly left to business products since only there are enough of their customers fine with it).
> are sold cheaper than they would be otherwise
They are absolutely not selling $3k TVs at a loss.
Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
> perhaps in the near future we'll have public wifi or free Google community wifi, and the new firmware will have the smarts to use that and bypass your wifi. Xfinity WiFi has been around for at least 8 years. Amazon sidewalk has been around for over a year. Wanna bet those are or will be used by your smart TV producers to connect them to the internet via wifi?
What makes me think this will never happen is that - Open Wi-Fi networks are a thing of the past. There hasn't been any around me in a residential area for a long time now. Businesses and workplace lobbies, more likely, though. - No one is going to just give Samsung free Internet except the hapless consumer by supplying Wi-Fi credentials. - Samsung might make a deal with providers, but it would have to have unique cr…
Every TV ships with a unique secret key. Secret keys that are used to do anything other than connect to an Ads server are disabled.
Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content
#118I run a pihole on my network for exactly this reason. The amount of network traffic the TV attempts, even when on standby or watching over-the-air broadcast is astonishing.
It's a veritable dystopia with these little snitches.
Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content
#119When I was a kid, the most frustrating technical challenge around TVs was how to get the VCR clock to stop flashing. How the world has changed since then!
Your parents never asked you to set up a timed recording on that VCR eh
Re: I spent $3k on a Samsung Smart TV and all I got were ads and unwanted content
#120I 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.