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Hisense TVs add unskippable startup ads before live TV

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Re: Hisense TVs add unskippable startup ads before live TV

#91

Post by xyzzy_plugh »

ceejayoz wrote: post #78
ectospheno wrote: post #10

Once I verify a home video product works as intended I remove its network connection and never connect it again. I then leave its static ip address configured and block any traffic from it on the off chance it’s ever connected again. The sole exception is my PlayStation 5. I use apps on it for all streaming.

Even some cheap Kindles came with a SIM card. I expect this to happen if enough people block ads on TVs. (They'll probably promote it as a "backup connection" or something.)

I think you're confused. Kindles need to be connected to the Internet so you can purchase and read books on them. The SIM card removed friction from the process e.g. buying books while on vacation or at the airport or whatever.

They didn't put SIM cards in there to spy on you. They were always an opt-in (at additional cost) option for a better user experience.

Re: Hisense TVs add unskippable startup ads before live TV

#92

Post by phaser »

Reminds me of the people of the future in Mike Judge’s “Idiocracy” who watch large TVs where most of the space is taken by advertising.

It’s amazing how this one turned morphed from humor into an eerie warning of the future in 20 years.

https://youtu.be/YqQ6D0Bu-a8

Re: Hisense TVs add unskippable startup ads before live TV

#93

Post by hellojesus »

Frotag wrote: post #22
bilekas wrote: post #6

Ughh.. I recently turned on my 1000EUR+ LG Oled TV to find that it had automatically installed a Copilot app.. And keeps doing it every few days. Is there any smart TV that I can actually just use a TV how I want? Or am I reduced to buying an Apple TV device and unplugging the TV from the internet entirely ?

Alternatively, dns block the update domains, wait a few months to few years for someone to discover an exploit for rooting, root and sideload.

What happens when they move from default dns to ech with pinned dns servers? I was reading about ech a bit yesterday so I could keep up with apps trying to circumvent dns filtering on my kids' devices.

Usually I require a root cert so devices can have their traffic inspected or be isolated into an unsafe network where most nonessential traffic is blocked by default. I suppose letting an iot device connect will become more risky in the future when I can't control the dns resolver or can't confidently block requests through dns alone.

Re: Hisense TVs add unskippable startup ads before live TV

#94

Post by pithos »

beej71 wrote: post #81

Searching for "commercial display" will get you some dumb TVs. They tend to cost 2x, but you get what you pay for. We just gave away our 55" Hisense to our friend. I hope she doesn't think it means we hate her now. ;) (Side note: not having a TV in the living space allowed us to freely design it to be a living space.)

What do you do with this living space without a TV? Serious question from someone who grew up with a TV companion. I imagine this is what the current generation feels when thinking about smartphones.

Re: Hisense TVs add unskippable startup ads before live TV

#95

Post by gtowey »

ducktastic wrote: post #52
xiconfjs wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

fewer competitors every year...Sony gave up as well :/

It's ridiculous that going to a Target/Bestbuy/etc you cannot find any non-smart TVs generally. I have had several older models of non-smart tvs that suddenly stop working after a few years. It's disgusting

A smart TV just means one that can show you advertising and hoover up personal data. This is additional revenue. What company would sell you anything else?

Re: Hisense TVs add unskippable startup ads before live TV

#96

Post by abdullahkhalids »

andrepd wrote: post #62
aerhardt wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also had to take this approach with my LG TV. The OS actually had its use for a while but Apple TV has become my driver. I no longer wish to consent to LG’s EULAs which are starting to look like the legal corpus of a small nation. I’m also not interested in their software updates. Internet privileges: revoked. It’s concerning nonetheless as others are pointing out that in the current trajectory the TVs may soon ref…

LG TVs may be rooted. You probably can also run a pi-hole sort of thing to block any traffic except whitelisted domains. Not that I've done it, I don't get enough value out of it to justify the hassle or the privacy intrusion.

According to Root My TV, it seems like all methods of rooting recent LG TVs have been patched.

[1] https://rootmy.tv/

Re: Hisense TVs add unskippable startup ads before live TV

#97

Post by bilekas »

everdrive wrote: post #75
bilekas wrote: post #6

Ughh.. I recently turned on my 1000EUR+ LG Oled TV to find that it had automatically installed a Copilot app.. And keeps doing it every few days. Is there any smart TV that I can actually just use a TV how I want? Or am I reduced to buying an Apple TV device and unplugging the TV from the internet entirely ?

>Or am I reduced to buying an Apple TV device and unplugging the TV from the internet entirely? Why would this be something that you're "reduced" to? Why would it be a bad thing?

It kind of defeats the initial purpose of buying a smart tv though. I wanted to avoid having an extra peripheral for connectivity.

Re: Hisense TVs add unskippable startup ads before live TV

#98

Post by MathMonkeyMan »

st_goliath wrote: post #56

In the past, you had to wait for the tubes to warm up, before you got a picture. Nowadays, you have to wait for the thing to finish booting. In the future, you have to wait for the ads to finish playing?

Gotta chug that verification can.

Re: Hisense TVs add unskippable startup ads before live TV

#100

Post by ceejayoz »

xyzzy_plugh wrote: post #91
ceejayoz wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even some cheap Kindles came with a SIM card. I expect this to happen if enough people block ads on TVs. (They'll probably promote it as a "backup connection" or something.)

I think you're confused. Kindles need to be connected to the Internet so you can purchase and read books on them. The SIM card removed friction from the process e.g. buying books while on vacation or at the airport or whatever. They didn't put SIM cards in there to spy on you. They were always an opt-in (at additional cost) option for a better user experience.

> They didn't put SIM cards in there to spy on you.

I'm sure Amazon tracked all sorts of activity on those, but that's not the point.

It would be quite trivial to add them to TVs to avoid ad blocking and track behavior when wifi isn't available.

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