291–300 of 383 posts
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It’s getting harder and harder to. I ended up buying a projector and a screen, large TVs are pretty much all infected with this kind of “smart os” and I don’t want a tv constantly asking to be connected to the internet so it can download adware.
This. When I was in California I tried to find a 4k TV that was "dumb". It was impossible.
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1. Turn off your Samsung TV's internet connection 2. Connect Apple TV via HDMI Not only does this improve your privacy, but it improves the UI and remote of your TV.
Samsung can still try to connect to open WiFi networks. Not accepting the EULA makes this irrelevant.
Now we need open firmware for our tvs
Anyone could order the parts and put their own TV together, it really isn't as crazy as people think.
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1. Turn off your Samsung TV's internet connection 2. Connect Apple TV via HDMI Not only does this improve your privacy, but it improves the UI and remote of your TV.
The skinny, slippery, round cornered, black AppleTV remote seems to be designed to be as easily lost as possible. Weeks often go by without finding it, during which we use other streaming devices instead. The Amazon FireTV remote is quite easy to lose, but I stocked up on spares when it was on sale for $15. The TiVo remote is not only too big to lose, it has a remote-finder feature where you can induce it to play a t…
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LXI592F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fab_...
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1. Don't buy a smart TV 2. Done
What do you buy instead? I don't imagine it's easy to find a recent, high-quality TV without "smart" features. A few years ago, I looked into getting a digital signage display instead, but they were pretty expensive.
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720 to 4K is not the same as 480p to 720. The latter is far more noticeable. Most of the world hasn’t moved to 4K, I don’t see a huge amount of value in it personally.
In that case, why even get a new TV in the first place?
Just because I don’t care about 4K doesn’t mean I don’t care about image quality. I’d prefer 1080p@60 over 4k@30.
If you own an Internet-connected TV, you've been seeing these for 2 years or more. I submitted it 11 months ago ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21427405 ) and it wasn't new then. The ACR-based retargeting audiences ( https://www.samsung.com/us/business/samsungads/resources/tv-... ) are probably the most offensive. For example: "Reach viewers who saw your competitor’s ads as quickly as 60 seconds after linear a…
How can we block all of this? Is Pi-hole sufficient?
I keep seeing people who argue that TVs would be notably "more expensive" if they didn't come with ads. Let's say that the average Samsung TV costs $1,000, ad revenue per person is around $30 a year, and the average lifespan of a TV is 10 years. I own a Samsung TV since 2016. I think they may have pushed 5 firmware updates since then. There is no way I can be convinced that Samsung needs to increase the price of TVs…
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They make amazing phones, but yes, their software overlay is trash, IMO. I have a Samsung TV too and don't have it connected to the network so I don't have to deal with the smart TV crap.
Samsung's site selling Ads to those who buy them states clearly that TV's, Phones and Tablets are all monitored and viable options for delivery of ads, and the accurate determination of those who use them. See for yourself: https://www.samsung.com/us/business/samsungads/
Some highlights:
When you purchase a Samsung product, create a Samsung Account or register for or use a Service, you may provide us with personal information such as:
-information you store on your device, such as photos, contacts, text logs, touch interactions, settings and calendar information
-recordings of your voice when you use voice commands to control a Service or contact our Customer Service team
-location data, including (1) the precise geolocation of your device if you consent to the collection of this data and (2) information about nearby Wi-Fi access points and cell towers that may be transmitted to us when you use certain Services.