4 ms·

Much safer to never give the TV network credentials.

by qq66 11y ago

windexh8er 11y ago
One of the crappy things is, for example, the way LG chooses to approach this. My guess is they're just as bad as Vizio with their new "WebOS" TVs (disclosure: I own one, started reading disclaimer - they send all activity to LG proper as well). Opted out of everything thinking I won't watch any OTA or cable on the TV anyway since it's a media room panel, however I did want to use the built in Netflix / Amazon from time to time instead of having to provide another box in a minimalistic A/V setup. Problem is... As soon as I tried to fire up Netflix the app on the TV needed an "update". To get the update you have to agree to all ToS. Complete and utter BS approach to forcing customers into a path of least resistance. It's also hard to get a premium panel (I was specifically looking for 4:4:4@60Hz) without the "smarts". It boiled down to price vs features vs requirements and thus I ended up where I did. I ended up revoking my acceptance of ToS and biting the bullet to use an external device for streaming content... Unfortunately I don't think most people care, or if they would they don't realize they should in these scenarios. The unfortunate reality...
- pdkl95 11y ago
  > Netflix the app on the TV needed ... agree to all ToS Was the Netflix app one of the advertised featured? Was this ToS presented[1] to you before you purchased it? If they advertised a feature but failed to deliver it in the product you paid for, then I think you deserve your money back. They failed to deliver a merchantable good, as required[2] by UCC § 2-314(2)(f). [1] "It was posted on our website" doesn't count, unless that was the place you purchased the TV. Requiring consumers to search every manufacturer's website before purchasing anything is insane. [2] https://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/2-314 https://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/2-314
  - windexh8er 11y ago
    > Was the Netflix app one of the advertised featured? http://www.lg.com/ca_en/tvs/lg-58UF8300-uhd-tv http://www.lg.com/ca_en/tvs/lg-58UF8300-uhd-tv - It's not clear from the product landing page what's included with regards to apps. However, Netflix is installed out of the box and there doesn't appear any way to uninstall it. But, it's unusable, as stated, until it's updated. The only way to update it is to agree to the ToS. You can see on this landing page: http://www.lg.com/us/experience-tvs/smart-tv/use http://www.lg.com/us/experience-tvs/smart-tv/use That Netflix is clearly part of the standard build (no installation required - Netflix comes with the TV out of the box, no interaction required. Sounds like this is illegal. So what's my recourse with LG?
Bud 11y ago
Nope. Not safer. There are ample ways for TVs to sneak onto the internet, without credentials, and those ways are only growing with time.
- qq66 11y ago
  What are those ways?

Much safer to never give the TV network credentials.

by qq66 11y ago

Much safer to never give the TV network credentials.

One of the crappy things is, for example, the way LG chooses to approach this. My guess is they're just as bad as Vizio with their new "WebOS" TVs (disclosure: I own one, started reading disclaimer - they send all activity to LG proper as well). Opted out of everything thinking I won't watch any OTA or cable on the TV anyway since it's a media room panel, however I did want to use the built in Netflix / Amazon from time to time instead of having to provide another box in a minimalistic A/V setup. Problem is... As soon as I tried to fire up Netflix the app on the TV needed an "update". To get the update you have to agree to all ToS. Complete and utter BS approach to forcing customers into a path of least resistance. It's also hard to get a premium panel (I was specifically looking for 4:4:4@60Hz) without the "smarts". It boiled down to price vs features vs requirements and thus I ended up where I did. I ended up revoking my acceptance of ToS and biting the bullet to use an external device for streaming content... Unfortunately I don't think most people care, or if they would they don't realize they should in these scenarios. The unfortunate reality...

pdkl95 11y ago
> Netflix the app on the TV needed ... agree to all ToS Was the Netflix app one of the advertised featured? Was this ToS presented[1] to you before you purchased it? If they advertised a feature but failed to deliver it in the product you paid for, then I think you deserve your money back. They failed to deliver a merchantable good, as required[2] by UCC § 2-314(2)(f). [1] "It was posted on our website" doesn't count, unless that was the place you purchased the TV. Requiring consumers to search every manufacturer's website before purchasing anything is insane. [2] https://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/2-314 https://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/2-314
- windexh8er 11y ago
  > Was the Netflix app one of the advertised featured? http://www.lg.com/ca_en/tvs/lg-58UF8300-uhd-tv http://www.lg.com/ca_en/tvs/lg-58UF8300-uhd-tv - It's not clear from the product landing page what's included with regards to apps. However, Netflix is installed out of the box and there doesn't appear any way to uninstall it. But, it's unusable, as stated, until it's updated. The only way to update it is to agree to the ToS. You can see on this landing page: http://www.lg.com/us/experience-tvs/smart-tv/use http://www.lg.com/us/experience-tvs/smart-tv/use That Netflix is clearly part of the standard build (no installation required - Netflix comes with the TV out of the box, no interaction required. Sounds like this is illegal. So what's my recourse with LG?

Bud 11y ago

Nope. Not safer. There are ample ways for TVs to sneak onto the internet, without credentials, and those ways are only growing with time.

qq66 11y ago
What are those ways?