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My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

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Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#231

Post by exabrial »

k3oni wrote: post #124
exabrial wrote: post #111

On a similar note, Samsung updated a bunch of apps on my dad's s7 and pushed a bunch of notifications to him, trying to get him to join some Samsung rewards club and suspended use of his phone until he clicked next. He's 67 guys. The madness needs to stop.

Wow, now that's all kinds of f'ed up. Not so crazy about the update but to suspend the use of the phone is just stupid when you talk about just some apps updates.

Now it's incredibly hard to get them to keep their software up to date. They refuse to install security updates for fear the rig will be pulled out from underneath them again.

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#232

Post by Mister_Snuggles »

cup-of-tea wrote: post #190
Mister_Snuggles wrote: post #116

I would like to see a TV with the following attributes: 1. 8 Inputs, with at least four HDMI and one HDMI accessible from the front panel. The remaining inputs would have at least two composite inputs. There would be no cable input since most cable companies, around here anyway, require a set-top box anyway. 2. An optical audio output, for those who wish to hook up a proper audio system. Those who don’t would get ok-…

What you're describing is a monitor. A big, good looking monitor. That's all I want too. The interface on my (non smart) TV is unbearably slow and I don't want to use it. Unbelievably, the interface on the last "smart" TV I tried, which costs 5x as much, is even slower. I cannot stand using tools that can't keep up with how fast I think.

Yes, exactly. Living room monitors need to become a thing.

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#233

Post by pjmlp »

buro9 wrote: post #76
pwg wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Solution: don't ever purchase a smart TV. Preferably, no one would ever purchase a smart TV. When smart TV sales go to zero, the makers would get the message. Sadly, too many folks don't know, or if they do know, they don't care.

Try it. I did. I couldn't find a non-smart TV. They are everywhere. If you want the 4k, then you have a smart TV. The best alternatives were super large monitors (way over the price of a TV, and with no decent sound built in), or corporate display panels (for advertising, signage, etc) whose prices are also way above a TV and include no sound system at all.

Not really.

There a plenty of dumb 4K Blaupunkt TVs sold in Germany pretty much everywhere.

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#234

Post by ReverseCold »

lern_too_spel wrote: post #200
lukeschlather wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why Android over Linux or MacOS? It feels like at this point, Android and Windows are surveillance systems. If you don't want a surveillance system, you need to go with Linux or MacOS (or iOS.)

Android tracks you less than iOS. You don't even need to create an account to use an Android TV or an Android phone.

Google Android tracks you the most.

How do I even turn off location services without breaking Android Device Manager?

I have location history off but I still get notifications from maps that say things like "X place you're at is popular, click here to see reviews or something"

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#235

Post by Mister_Snuggles »

BoorishBears wrote: post #201
NelsonMinar wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because there's almost no profit in selling a dumb screen. SmartTVs are all about the TV manufacturer trying to get a cut of subscription services.

There is if you slap the term gamer on there and put a 200% markup on mediocre panels... so they’re coming soon: https://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/bfgd-big-format-g...

Doesn’t the inclusion of the SHIELD just turn it into another Smart TV-type device?

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#236

Post by Mister_Snuggles »

smnrchrds wrote: post #214
Mister_Snuggles wrote: post #116

I would like to see a TV with the following attributes: 1. 8 Inputs, with at least four HDMI and one HDMI accessible from the front panel. The remaining inputs would have at least two composite inputs. There would be no cable input since most cable companies, around here anyway, require a set-top box anyway. 2. An optical audio output, for those who wish to hook up a proper audio system. Those who don’t would get ok-…

Haier doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to picture and sound quality. Sony, Samsung, and LG do, but they don't have dumb TVs anymore. I wish it was possible to jailbreak TVs and make smart TVs dumb, but I don't think that is a feasible option.

I haven’t heard good or bad about Haier, but I’m guessing that the price reflects what you get for it.

Maybe one of the better brands will take note and develop something with a similar feature set, but a higher quality panel, etc. I’m not hopeful though.

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#237

Post by Fej »

buro9 wrote: post #55

I'm the author and linking to my tweets is a bad idea because they auto-delete after 14 days. For future HN context, as the author I'm reproducing them here in full: My @Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app from https://samba.tv and boy oh boy... this is worse than recent @facebook stuff. From their own privacy policy: https://samba.tv/legal/privacy-policy/ … they track what you w…

Google did the Nexus Player with Android TV, and I haven't heard anything about it since it came out.

There was also the Nexus Q a while ago but that was before Android TV and also a massive failure.

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#238

Post by ReverseCold »

drewmol wrote: post #209
bobwaycott wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can then avoid connecting it to the internet at all, providing you a TV with all the beautiful looks and dumb insides.

The problem I've run into: the buggy software that's 3-6-9 months+ out of date by the time you get it out of box. Offline sofware update is not always an option. Maybe update once and then disconnect? As someone mentioned, only until they have autoconnect built in through partnership with mobile providers

Does open smart TV software exist?

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#239

Post by hsivonen »

It's pretty sad that even a "premium brand" like Sony does this.

Last year, Sony's privacy policy for their Digital Paper app (without which the Digital Paper device is useless) and Headphones Connect (not required for the headphones to function) claimed the content of the device the app was installed on as fair game for telemetry without opt out. That's not OK. The Headphones Connect privacy language seems to have been revised in January, but I'm still not installing the app.

Digital Paper is marketed to legal and medical professionals!

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#240

Post by IntelMiner »

johnchristopher wrote: post #215
buro9 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HN replying to myself with some context outside of the tweets. I actually trust stock Android over Samsung, Sony, etc Android. Hence my "if we're going to have Android TV perhaps Google could supply it without the forced add-ons". I see this similar to installing Windows yourself rather than having "Windows with added vendor crap"... like if you know you want Windows, a stock one is better and same with Android. I'm…

Considering this: > Ideally you run a TV on a different VLAN. Why don't you go with a pi instead of a shield ?

Android app support most likely

Also 4K and H.265/HEVC video support

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