Dumb TVs are still a thing https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1629173-REG/nec_e658_...
> powered by Samsung's Tizen OS for business Not exactly (or at least bad example.)
I missed that, updated with a different brand.
After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads
81–90 of 292 posts
Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple TVs in the default configuration show large video ads for Apple stuff in the hero unit on the homescreen, same as Amazon is being accused of doing in TFA.
One of my favorite parts of AppleTV is that it has those beautiful screensavers.
I would pay for more aerials. I don’t understand why they are limited to so few, and if I could eliminate N.Y.C./London/Hong Kong/SF/other major cities, and get some lesser seen areas, that would be awesome.
Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads
#83The Kindle Fire tablet is an upseller's paradise.
The OS walls the user into an experience was built on constantly FOMOing the user over today's new Amazon content.
Given that it was supposed to help my kids study for school during covid, that was a hard pass. I won't buy Amazon OS goods again, but if other people are lured by the low prices and then just accept what Amazon offers then I can only assume it's done wonders to their bottom line.
Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads
#84The trick is to never give your TV access to the internet and to pair it with an Apple TV. If you buy a TV and it won't even boot or work without an internet connection - return it and get a different one.
That works fine with a TV. I bought one knowing that the "smart" features weren't all that great. I tried connecting it to the internet, and it felt more sluggish, although it's a brand new 2023 model. I was able to reset it to factory defaults and it's working well enough for what I bought it for (the image is very good, at least for my needs). For reference, it's a TCL with Google TV. But the Fire TV TFA talks abou…
The fire stick is the pure streaming dongle, a Fire TV is an actual TV which includes that dongle built in and sold at a discount.
So, buying a cheap Amazon fire TV and not connecting it to the internet is a reasonable choice for a cheap ‘dumb’ TV.
Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads
#85I may be in the minority here but I bought an LG TV in 2020 and the built in webOS interface and streaming apps have been great. I think there might be some ads but I'm honestly not 100% sure as they are very unintrusive. We had a Roku from our previous set up I had planned to use after hearing terrible things about the typical smart TV software, but have since gotten rid of it.
It might be a subjective preference thing.
For me, smart TVs have a lot of features that make me angry: surveillance capitalism, manufacturers acting like the own a device I bought, subjecting me to ads, etc.
Even if I'm arguably wrong about those views, subjectively the infringements make me experience unpleasant emotions, which detracts from the product's value for me.
Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple TVs in the default configuration show large video ads for Apple stuff in the hero unit on the homescreen, same as Amazon is being accused of doing in TFA.
One of my favorite parts of AppleTV is that it has those beautiful screensavers.
When we switched to the 4 from the 3, the 3 used to have a "photos of the day" screensaver, filled with an ever changing, curated selection of photos.
For whatever reason, they dropped that in the 4. All of the screensavers (as far as I can tell) are static now, which is kind of a shame.
Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads
#87The trick is to never give your TV access to the internet and to pair it with an Apple TV. If you buy a TV and it won't even boot or work without an internet connection - return it and get a different one.
Apple TVs in the default configuration show large video ads for Apple stuff in the hero unit on the homescreen, same as Amazon is being accused of doing in TFA.
There is a setting to choose what the home button does. My Home Screen looks just like a grid of icons. No ads or anything. The Apple TV app is not the same as the Home Screen.
Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads
#88If you own a FireTV stick or display you'll notice that the FreeVee streaming app has started to become more and more prominent. It's deceptively simple - they are taking old shows like Murder She Wrote and streaming them non-stop on a "channel" much like the old terrestrial broadcast networks did. They're solving the streaming problem for older customers that don't grok Netflix or Hulu.
These shows take pseudo-commercial breaks and send you 2-3 ads tailored to you specifically. My wife didn't believe it until I did a simple Amazon search on my phone for automotive batteries. Not more than 30 minutes later the ads switched to some random LiPo battery for RVs.
Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads
#89Can you root or otherwise put an alternative ROM on these things? They are basically just running android, right?
I'm curious if there's a practical way to replace the offending electronics.
I.e., retain the device's panel, panel driver, chasis, speakers/amplifier, IR receiver, and perhaps power supply.
But replace the computing hardware with something more open?
I guess I have no idea how much custom firmware is needed to really get the most out of such devices. Especially for e.g. getting good color, and avoiding burn-in, on the display.
Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads
#90Google has started to do the same thing making my nvidia shield a paperweight to me.
Highly recommend installing FLauncher[1] as an alternative to Google's ad-filled TV home screen. Just a nice simple icon grid.
[1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.efesser.fla...