161–170 of 246 posts
You probably only have a few services that you genuinely want the TV to reach. If I had a "smart" TV, I think I'd go with a whitelisting approach instead.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s not just a recurring cost with 4G/5G modems, but it’s also practically infeasible in many countries where getting a cellular connection of any kind requires KYC and related formalities. There’s no way these TV manufacturing companies can buy one connection per TV (and accept the liabilities that come with such a connection) or get their customers to have one. If they do try WiFi to a known hotspot that the compa…
>It’s not just a recurring cost with 4G/5G modems, but it’s also practically infeasible in many countries where getting a cellular connection of any kind requires KYC and related formalities. That doesn't seem to bother Amazon's Whispernet. Amazon has been doing this for years[0]. Free cellular access for specific Kindle devices for specific purposes. They've sold many millions of those around the world. Granted, Ama…
Would manufacturers need to add cellular support if they could instead sign deals with other companies to auto-setup a wireless connection?
I realize Sidewalk is very low bandwidth, but I wonder if that's a problem for the telemetry data we're worried about.
Praise be the folks that curate these lists. Even without a pi-hole you can plug these into any firewall for your brand(s). More annoying is the 15 second "home menu" that pops up on my OLED every time it is turned on. I almost always forget to manually dismiss it before I set the remote down and there's no option I can find to disable it. I would pay a premium for a TV with no internet connection.
Computer monitors are overwhelmingly "dumb", as well as having far lower latency and far higher refresh rates. And also more expensive :) I wish I knew if that was because the crapware and ads on smart TVs are actually reducing the cost, or if it's just that smart TVs use crap hardware and software by comparison. Given how laggy they can be, that wouldn't surprise me.
It's not clear whether they have HDCP, but... surely they must? That's table stakes for a computer monitor.
"#secure.netflix.com" "#api-global.netflix.com" "#appboot.netflix.com" These are commented out, but did someone really think the app would still work after blocking these? I get blocking ads, but I don't understand the mindset of someone who wants "smart" features but still wants to block everything.
1. It's actually very difficult to buy a non-smart TV. They usually cost more. 2. The comments also serve as a "no really, don't block these" reminder to enthusiastic contributors.
What sucks is that none of this will work once the manufacturers figure out DoH.
FWIW, AdGuard is a Pi-Hole alternative, and it has DoH blocking.
Is the Pi-Hole even reasonably effective these days? > Nearly 70% of smart TVs and 46% of game consoles were found to contain hardcoded DNS settings - allowing them to simply ignore your local network’s DNS server entirely. https://labzilla.io/blog/force-dns-pihole
Praise be the folks that curate these lists. Even without a pi-hole you can plug these into any firewall for your brand(s). More annoying is the 15 second "home menu" that pops up on my OLED every time it is turned on. I almost always forget to manually dismiss it before I set the remote down and there's no option I can find to disable it. I would pay a premium for a TV with no internet connection.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> How one of the worlds largest companies sells stuff that so blatantly violates the GDPR while web developers at tiny companies sweat over whether we can save an IP for five minutes is beyond me. Money solves a lot of problems, and people at tiny companies seem more likely to actually care.
The fines are the same for both. It’s like Bill gates doesn’t really care if he runs every red light camera on the way home but his maid does.
this garbage with "smart" electronics is getting on my nerves