Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies

theverge.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 204 posts

Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies

#131

Post by ChrisClark »

omega_rythm wrote: post #75
astrodust wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every "Smart TV" I've seen is like a dumbed down version of a real device like a Chromecast or an Apple TV. How do you make something so brutally garbage, anyway? Some of these TVs take so long to register a button press you have to wonder if they aren't using a 6502 inside to power the thing. The only experience that's worse is those set-top boxes the cable companies provide you with. The Amiga had near flawless, re…

> The only experience that's worse is those set-top boxes the cable companies provide you with. I don't know about the American market. Over here (France), set-top boxen aren't so bad. And there are regular software upgrade; some of them even include games and apps.

In Canada it's like he said though. Press a button, there is just enough of a delay to wonder if you pressed it hard enough, then it starts moving... slowly.

Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies

#132

Post by rasz_pl »

a3n wrote: post #62
andybak wrote: post #42

Earlier 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?

Seiki makes cheap dumb 4K TVs.

Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies

#133

Post by lukashed »

spiritplumber wrote: post #114

Step 1: Buy a projector. Step 2: Buy a roku box, or a used laptop. Step 3: Buy a decent pair of speakers. Step 4: Set it all up. Step 5: Enjoy a large screen that is also portable, and that probably cost significantly less than the same-size TV would have.

I think it's only a matter of time until projectors get "dumb-smart" as well, unfortunately. So yeah, you'd better get a projector now.

Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies

#134

Post by boobsbr »

Htsthbjig wrote: post #123
ChrisLTD wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I don't. I bought a 55 inches LG OLED and basically connect it to a computer. It is an amazing device for work. In 2 or tree years I will change my computer, but not my screen. People are buying 4Ks screens today, with quantum dots LCDs and OLED you could display color for which no specification exist yet!! In one or two years you will have devices that could use the color space. There is very little content for 4K.…

I have a Smat TV from LG and basically what it does is update itself through wifi.

I don't have Netflix to watch on it. I don't share files on the network to stream from it. I don't watch Youttube on it, either through my phone or through the TV's app. I just plug my laptop into the HDMI port, my wife watches cable (most basic package with internet), I maybe play Xbox 360 twice a year. Most of the non-smart features are also useless for me. The standard settings are so good enough for me that I only switch input ports and change the volume.

Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies

#135

Post by arca_vorago »

jessaustin wrote: post #124
arca_vorago wrote: post #115

You know what I'm curious about? Why so many people rail against GPL for business use, claiming it makes it more difficult to monetize a product, but then companies like Samsung and Google turn around and use GNU/Linux and other GPL code on a project and then lock it down with proprietary blobs and DRM. Doesn't seem to really be hurting them at all, but it is certainly hurting consumers that linux is being used to ab…

I haven't used one of these TVs, but if they're using linux and you can't patch it, why haven't they been sued? That is the point of the GPL.

Perhaps we need to contact the FSF about this? That's a good question.

For any curious this is the page that details what they need for such a report. I will be doing this sometime this week and sending all of it to them.

https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-violation.html

Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies

#136

Post by boobsbr »

jpindar wrote: post #118
Roboprog wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like how you think. I'm not sure what the biggest monitor you can get is, though.

The largest monitor I am aware of is the one in the Dallas Cowboy's stadium, which is 72 feet by 160 feet and 1920 x 1080 resolution. The largest one a normal person can afford is of course a different question.

It's not even 2k? Ewww.

Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies

#137

Post by boobsbr »

btbuildem wrote: post #86
snarfy wrote: post #26

> 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..

Can you even buy a dumb TV anymore?

Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies

#138

Post by tbirdz »

jessaustin wrote: post #124
arca_vorago wrote: post #115

You know what I'm curious about? Why so many people rail against GPL for business use, claiming it makes it more difficult to monetize a product, but then companies like Samsung and Google turn around and use GNU/Linux and other GPL code on a project and then lock it down with proprietary blobs and DRM. Doesn't seem to really be hurting them at all, but it is certainly hurting consumers that linux is being used to ab…

I haven't used one of these TVs, but if they're using linux and you can't patch it, why haven't they been sued? That is the point of the GPL.

You're thinking of the GPLv3's anti "tivoization" clause. Linux is released under the GPLv2 only, and that license does not include that clause.

Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies

#139

Post by rsync »

a3n wrote: post #62
andybak wrote: post #42

Earlier 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. Look for "commercial displays". You know those industrial looking NEC monitors with the tiny bezels that are turned sideways to be departure/arrival boards in airports ?

I use one of those as a TV. Is wonderful. Will probably last 20 years. Prior to that I used a panasonic commercial plasma. Still running after 10 years.

Neither of them have any smarts whatsoever. They're not even that expensive, which makes sense because many installations use 8 or 12 of them at a time as screenwalls.

http://www.necdisplay.com/p/large--screen-displays/p462?type...

Re: Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies

#140

Post by njharman »

mpeg wrote: post #23

A bit disappointing that a hacker community's first reaction is to position against smart TVs. Smart TVs are awesome, we just need open source firmware for them in the same way that we have DDWRT/OpenWRT, XBMC and such. Imagine the control scheme using a wiimote-style pointer, built-in webcam, quad core CPU and an API to give you access to your viewing habits, or interface with other smart devices around your home. R…

Smart TVs aren't awesome. They are the opposite of hacker ethos.

They are large, monolithic, proprietary, closed swiss-army knives. Hackers (by and large) like small, open, single purpose tools that they can combine however they like, in new ways not expected.

Post reply on HN