this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2025
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Reposting this from here from 2023, after I stumbled across it tonight and it hits hard.

The text in the image:

I love my smart TV. I love the way it takes a long time to boot up because it’s trying to refresh the advertisements on the home screen. I delight in the way it randomly restarts because it’s downloaded an update without asking me, each of which makes the TV slower and slower with every subsequent install. I adore the way it buries the apps that I want to use, and that I use without fail every single time, below the apps that it’s being paid to promote and which I have never touched in my life and would never use without the cold metal of a glock pressed hard against my sweating temple. I am infinitely thrilled by the way the interface lags constantly, due to the need to have one thousand unnecessary animations rendered on hardware ripped wholesale from a ten year old phone. I feel myself borne aloft on wings of pure joy when I am notified that my data will be collected and analysed to determine my usage patterns. Even now I am writing this from a field of beautiful flowers and soft luscious grass as I lie and look up happily at the bright blue sky, smiling happily to know that this is the future of technology

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[–] OmegaLemmy@discuss.online 10 points 1 day ago

These fucking televisions have less ram than my fucking 8 year old phone

At some point it's just better to factory reset this bitch and paste an RPI in the back with my own android TV so it can actually run with 8gb ram 256gb space

[–] randomwords@midwest.social 24 points 1 day ago (10 children)
[–] Piece_Maker@feddit.uk 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

At only double the price of an equivalently priced smart one! Bargain ~/s~

[–] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 7 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

The smart ones are sold at cost or at a loss, and your privacy is then sold to subsidize the profits. A dumb tv costs more money up front (since it's not subsidized by your privacy), but it costs far less in overall value. It's a tradeoff that the consumer needs to make. The lovely thing, is that (for now, at least) it is still a choice we can make.

[–] hessenjunge@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Or you could just block the Spyware TV from accessing the internet.

[–] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 3 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

Not all tvs allow you to do that. Some require you to be online. Some took it a step further and are equipped with 4/5G modems to bypass your network restrictions.

[–] oatscoop@midwest.social 1 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

A set of torx screwdrivers and an exacto knife will take care of that. Pretty hard for a cellular modem to transmit data when the traces to the antenna are cut.

[–] hessenjunge@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Some require you to be online.

I’d take it back to the store as broken. Never heard of that though.

Some took it a step further and are equipped with 4/5G modems to bypass your network restrictions.

Never heard of this either and it would raise a massive stink in the EU. Can you share an example?

[–] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 1 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Both of these were in the USA. The first was with a friend's purchase, the latter was an article he sent me. It's been a little while, but I know one was Samsung, but can't remember the other brand or which was which.

[–] hessenjunge@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I wouldn’t put it past Samsung to try and force you to have internet access enabled so they can spy on you.

However having additional hardware to directly access the internet via cellular is a bit much. That might have been an Aprils fools article by some IT site.

When Sony tried to install root kits on PCs of folks just trying to watch a movie on a legit purchased DVD there was a quite large shitstorm.

[–] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 1 points 10 hours ago

Not an April fools, but it might have been a plan they (whoever it was) chose to later not follow through with.

I vaguely remember the Sony fiasco.

[–] Piece_Maker@feddit.uk 1 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

Which is an entirely fair compromise for people who use Lemmy, but means precisely nothing to the majority.

[–] locuester@lemmy.zip 1 points 7 hours ago

Well that’s not true. They have been in business for 40 years. They sell TVs for people who don’t want anything except video in. Mainly commercial places like offices, stadiums, etc.

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[–] sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 98 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Its only a matter of time.

[–] __init__@programming.dev 28 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Is Sony actually a good guy for holding this patent so that no one else can go and do this shit either?

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[–] N0body@lemmy.dbzer0.com 110 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I remember the ancient times when you could buy something, turn it on, then have it do what you want it to do. Setting the clock was the difficult part. Other than that, it just worked.

[–] SkyNTP@lemmy.ml 26 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Learning ESPHome has been the most liberating thing. Take back control of your home. Local first. Privacy respecting.

[–] renard_roux@beehaw.org 19 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I spy a research rabbit hole in my near future ... 🐰

Edit: ESPHome is a system to control your microcontrollers by simple yet powerful configuration files and control them remotely through Home Automation systems.

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[–] COASTER1921@lemmy.ml 26 points 2 days ago

Generally it's not too hard to disable the smart TV part of it and just use HDMI for TVs running Android. But on Roku TVs for whatever reason you need to connect them to the internet and a Roku account at least once to unlock the picture settings. Hardware features of a TV like brightness adjustment have no business relying on some random server.

[–] tree@lemmy.ml 24 points 1 day ago (6 children)

I wish there was a company like Fairphone or Framework laptops but for TVs.

[–] Corgana@startrek.website 10 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I'm surprised nobody has yet jail-broken Samsung and LG TVs and made a custom Tizen ROM

[–] LiveLM@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 day ago

Probably too many models with too many varying components for anyone to bother trying....

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[–] Fridgeratr@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

I have a Samsung smart TV and the operating system on it is so annoying. It's so slow, has dumb ads, and I can't cast to it like at all.

I'm even more pissed that they just disabled the Steam Link app for essentially no reason; it worked great for streaming games from my PC.

I've been thinking it would be cool to flash a different OS onto it, but I'm not sure if that's actually possible.

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[–] seemefeelme@infosec.pub 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I never understood why people hated smart TVs until one day mine decided to install an update that presents me with advertisements and a hub screen when I turn it on. If I don't select something in time, the screen disappears, which locks all of the controls, and I can only reset it by turning it off and on again. Why??? Just why?!?!

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 12 points 1 day ago

You know why.

[–] astronaut_sloth@mander.xyz 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This is why I am dreading when my 2017 dumb TV dies. It's really telling that dumb TVs, which should be cheaper to produce and sell, are either not available or very expensive (as in commercial displays). Really proves the point that the consumer is really the product.

[–] oatscoop@midwest.social 1 points 11 hours ago

Projectors come with their own set of issues, but at least you can still get a really good one without all the "smart" features.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 23 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Meanwhile, the marketing department reading this: "Boss! It's working! The people are actually enjoying it!!"

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[–] beejjorgensen@lemmy.sdf.org 49 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Last I looked, we could still buy commercial displays. They're dumb TVs. They cost more, of course.

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[–] Onsotumenh@discuss.tchncs.de 17 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I'm in the market for a new tv and all this crap just makes me want to scream in frustration. But prolonging the decision will just make it even worse.

On top of that my 2017 shield is starting to show its age and there is really no comparable 4k (streaming) alternative thats not a security risk. I feel more and more pushed towards piracy, so that I can use my linux box and decide how and where to watch content. I hate it...

[–] sanzky@beehaw.org 14 points 2 days ago (5 children)

smart TVs mostly can be used as a dumb TV if you reject the terms of services when you set it up. I understand they are annoying, but people making such a big fuzz about them are clearly just fabricating drama.

[–] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 14 points 1 day ago (5 children)

You don't even have to reject the terms of services, just never connect it to the internet. Not even once.

Won't even be able to send rejections to a server.

I can recommend TLC, they can be used as a dumb TV and never need an internet connection if you just use it as a screen. Wouldn't recommend them with internet though since the remote literally has a microphone build-in.

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[–] Skunk@jlai.lu 31 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (18 children)

Ah! I was reading that post yesterday https://lemmy.world/post/22309068 as I am looking for a 55’ 4K oled dumb display.

So far no joy.

Apparently some manufacturers makes internet mandatory at first boot and even if you block or disconnect it later it will nag you for firmware update every now and then.

The only possibility I have found for an EU customer at the moment is Sony Bravia. Yup Sony sucks but apparently Bravia’s let you choose to refuse the terms of service and not use the smart things, thus making them dumb tv.

But maybe I’m wrong, maybe it’s not the case anymore or maybe they will decide to change that.

That sucks, if any of you knows about a commercial display/computer monitor/dumb tv in oled 4K hdr 55’ available in Europe, I might fall a little bit in love with you.

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