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Samsung TV owners complain about increasingly obtrusive ads

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Re: Samsung TV owners complain about increasingly obtrusive ads

#491

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I use a pi-hole to block that traffic.

The difference is that you had to accept their EULA. I didn't because even if I technically prevent their data extraction, I still want it to be illegal for them.

That is true, but it will nag you every time you turn on TV.

Re: Samsung TV owners complain about increasingly obtrusive ads

#492

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Or just use a chromecast

Yeah let google serve you ads and sell your info, not Samsung or LG or Sony

I never saw an ad with Chromecast, and I use it basically since it's inception.

Re: Samsung TV owners complain about increasingly obtrusive ads

#493

... and that's exactly why my TV will never have an internet connection. By now, it doesn't really matter which brand you use. I have analyzed Samsung, Sony, LG and Philips and ALL of them send data about your usage to NetEase in China and ALL of them have ToS that say that they might record your voice and store it for improving their AI or whatever. Plus all of them shove suggested apps in your face, so I'd say it i…

I use a pi-hole to block that traffic.

Eventually TVs will VPN out. Dat revenue is way too sweet...

Re: Samsung TV owners complain about increasingly obtrusive ads

#494
post #31

Fuck the guy who wanted to suck up to the management in some stupid meeting projecting estimated revenue out of this to ask for a raise later because he "contributed to a revenue increase" to the company. There's absolutely no after thought to this decision - If I paid 1000s of dollars for an "idiot box" that's supposed to reproduce faithfully the signal that I pass it, showing ads is unacceptable, no matter what the…

> hopefully they face backlash over this stupidity and this doesn't go on to become a norm Do we have any evidence Samsung TV sales have taken a hit from these measures?

The TV market isn’t that elastic. If there’s a backlash, it’ll take months to years to shake out.

Re: Samsung TV owners complain about increasingly obtrusive ads

#495

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Look at "digital signage" TVs built for business are available that don't have the consumer software. They are of course more expensive and optimized more for continuous usage (16hr/day 7days/week for samsung), but as of now I don't believe they get ads pushed to them. https://www.samsung.com/us/business/products/displays/4k-uhd...

We were actually working on writing a scheduling system for the LG webOS ones for a time, I joked about taking one home with me. If I'm not mistaken the LG ones were significantly more expensive than their consumer counterparts, but those Samsung ones don't seem all that much more expensive.

There are Samsung ones that are 4-5x more expensive with more features (HDR 10+, HDMI CEC, etc.) so its definitely important to make sure they have all the features you want. As with anything it may or may not fit your use-case

Re: Samsung TV owners complain about increasingly obtrusive ads

#496
post #183

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Worth noting that Sony also produces Android TVs AFAIK which I guess have the same prob. My older Bravia doesn't, but then isn't all that smart ;) and the lcd technology is outdated.

Mine is an Android OLED model from 2019 — I guess it’s more correct to say I haven’t _noticed_ an ad. I use my Apple TV exclusively for “smart” functions, and the TV wakes up and goes to the correct input whenever a connected device wakes. I never see the Android TV home. It’s still a far cry from the Samsung.

> I use my Apple TV exclusively for “smart” functions

That's the difference then. I have a Bravia and use the Android TV functionality. It started showing ads on the home screen earlier this year and I can't figure out a way to disable them and still be able to use the apps I actually want to use. If the ads had been there on day one, I would have been tempted to return the TV.

Re: Samsung TV owners complain about increasingly obtrusive ads

#497

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Was this the essay you were referring to [1]? I think you’re bang on with this comparison. My dad and I have long complained how (for example) grocery stores seem to constantly cancel our favourite products. We know it’s not the manufacturer because the product is still on their website. My dad and I even have a term for the people in the head office who make the decision to phase out our favourite products: spreadsh…

Supermarkets also need to stay open so they can sell you your beloved products, and you'd not believe how thin the margins of some supermarkets are: Having 8 kinds of lemon yogurt, each someone's favorite, while disposing of the products past the expiration date leads to either some of the highest prices in town, or closing down. Profitability in very small supermarket chains is small. Now, the models that the somewh…

Supermarkets also need to stay open so they can sell you your beloved products, and you'd not believe how thin the margins of some supermarkets are

Oh, no doubt. I'm not saying the spreadsheet guys aren't needed. They clearly are because competition is so stiff. So the reason store A needs spreadsheet guys is because store B has them. All of the spreadsheet guys, collectively, lock the grocery stores into a race to the bottom.

I'm complaining about the existence of spreadsheet guys in the first place. Pulling back a little bit, maybe we need to question whether technology is always beneficial to society? Maybe some technology is inherently worse for society but we can't get rid of it because it's now locked into the market.

Re: Samsung TV owners complain about increasingly obtrusive ads

#499
post #39

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I also bought a Sony Android TV for this reason. Then last month Google pushed an update for the "Android TV Home" app and now there are many people complaining about ads on the home screen [1]. This is not really Sony's fault but rather Google's but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth… https://9to5google.com/2020/08/18/android-tv-homescreen-ads-...

Just buy an Apple TV, and then whatever TV you like.

Or my preference is a Chromecast, whatever TV you like. Then you don't have to deal with Apple's UX or Google's. At that point your phone is the remote.

Re: Samsung TV owners complain about increasingly obtrusive ads

#500

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This is why my tv stays offline and isn’t setup. My Nvidia shield runs to hdmi and is the only playback source.

Does the Nvidia Shield not utilize ACR like the smart TVs? I hear they're great but they run Android so I'm skeptical.

I'm not sure currently. If not, it wouldn't surprise me if its added.
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