This is one of the reasons I've never connected my TV to the internet and I never will. I use a mini PC running Linux with a remote and wireless keyboard. It's much more capable than whatever is built into a TV.
this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2024
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slaps back of smart tv this baby has 256MB of RAM!
tv unresponsive for 30 seconds after turning on, loading the RAM full of adware
We have AppleTVs on every TV in the house and none of the TVs have ever been connected to the home network. Same with the rest of the extended family.
We also have a HDHomeRun in each house for those rare occasions when we want to watch Broadcast TV.
The only time a TV changes from HDMI1 is when someone wants to play PS or XBox.
I wonder if it is possible to sue TV makers for adding ads after you purchased the device.
It shouldn't be a matter of suing; the companies (and their executives personally) should be criminally prosecuted for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by exceeding authorized access. Nobody legitimately consents to having their property sabotaged and used to exploit them, so this enshittification should be treated like any other instance of malicious hacking.
And another thing: it is absolutely an indictment of American society how we've all been conditioned to tolerate this shit, to the point that only one person in this thread even manages to think of it as a civil tort and everybody else just sort of shrugs and discusses technological workarounds.
Where the Hell is the righteous anger‽ We should be marching on the FTC with fucking torches and pitchforks, to force them to start doing their goddamn jobs again!
Where the Hell is the righteous anger‽
The ember is still there. Once in a while it flares up. But it burned too bright for too long, and is part of the reason why I'm a cynical husk of a human being. I advocate for privacy-centric thinking among friends and family but it's either preaching to the choir (in the best cases), blank stares, or they've already got an Amazon speaker in every room just to turn the lights on/off and set timers.
tl;dr I'm tired, boss.
Those last two scenarios are painfully accurate.
I am also tired.
There's just soooo many idiots vs people that care and educate themselves on privacy.
Every once in a while I visit friends or stay at hotels and catch a glimpse of cable... My God it's just endless ads with minutes of shows sprinkled in.
And they are paying for it.......
We need better consumer protection laws.
Why is it legal for companies to collect every data they want or the ability to turn it off (and not allow you to use the device you purchased unless you consent to their abusive EULA)? Why is it legal for companies to remove functionality from a device after the purchase? Why is it legal for companies to prevent you from using devices you paid for unless you agree to forced arbitration (and there's no way to withdraw your consent).
I believe so.
But if it goes anything like most class action lawsuits, it'd take forever, and if they don't manage to absolve themselves because you clicked 'Agree' on the TOS screen (even though the TV wouldn't work otherwise), the final settlement would be a whopping $12
Step 1. Buy "smart" TV on sale
Step 2. Use the money saved to buy/build a streaming box of your own choosing
Step 3. Never ever connect the fucking TV to the internet
I've heard it will hop open networks to try to update. Doesn't sound that farfetched in 2024. If you're really concerned, you could disable the wireless adapter...
Not many people run open networks these days. I would be more worried about the things creating a mesh network to download ads from anyone who gave their TV internet access.
The local cable monopoly supplies modem/router/AP combos that broadcast unsecured WiFi hot spots. For "convenience" of its customers.
Pre-submission edit: there may be an authentication page upon connecting to verify that you're a legit customer. I've never tried it personally and have no intention on doing so.
I haven't seen that configuration in a long time.
At least one neighbor has a stock box holding down the fort.
I'm sure some do. I don't have any evidence either way, though. Would be very interested if someone had some hard info.
I notice a major trend of all the largest companies majorly shooting themselves in the stock with turbo greed, even more greed than normal. I feel like we're on the verge of a stock market slaughter.
"maximum ads", "X basic necessity as an investment", "price gouge everything via cartels/monopolies" and "X as a service" are the death nails of the current economic order.
"LINE MUST GO UP! LINE MUST GO UP!"
The board members chant collectively while convulsing and foaming at the mouth
It's everything.
Watch advertising that is an annoyance to have to wait through and won't sway your purchasing decisions in any way, or pay us more money than you would ever consider it worth it to have the no advertisement version.
Oh and we will track your every move on our service so we can work out the best way to ~~gouge your eyes out~~ extract the most money from you in the future.
Legit makes me want to sit down and create "advertising and data tracking free land" to live in. I guess that's a tropical island in the Pacific.
to have the no advertisement version.
You mean, "to have the less advertisement version".
Edit: autocorrect
Glad I’ve kept mine offline all this time. Also have a PiHole that I hope would stop this shit too.
I got enough of it from Samsung.
For the amount of money I paid for these TVs, I should get a discount if you’re going to shove some ads down my throat. Especially when most of them are irrelevant to my interests.
Paid products should have ZERO ads whether relevant or not. I cancelled Amazon prime the minute they added ads into videos. Fuck that shit.
As a consequence my Amazon shopping has taken a nose dive. I used to buy shit constantly because I had free shipping now I have to really really REALLY need something and even then I'll wait till I need at least 35$ worth to still get free shipping.
If more people stood up to enshitification we'd be much better off as consumers.
Exact reason I'm using a shield pro now with the TV disconnect from the Internet
I haven't noticed, but I did hear you can root WebOS TVs which include LGs. I may look into it if it gets intrusive. The front page is already showing ads, after all, although not nearly as awful as my fire stick was before.
Note you may want to check your versions and avoid updating in case they patch out debug or bypass functionalities. I vaguely remember concerns about that on some models.
I really do miss old TVs. I don't want/need a smart TV yet that's all they sell.
Matter of fact I don't need channels. All I need is a giant monitor. No volume control, no channels, just like 3-4 HDMI, power button, and some screen settings.
