4 ms·

Smart TVs don't cost more. And they function just fine as normal TVs. I got a 60 inch Vizio smart TV for about $400 and I'm pretty happy with it. I was prett

Smart TVs don't cost more. And they function just fine as normal TVs. I got a 60 inch Vizio smart TV for about $400 and I'm pretty happy with it. I was pretty skeptical about the Smart TV features, but the built-in Netflix and Amazon Prime apps are actually very convenient and are more user friendly than a Chromecast. I can search, pause, rewind, change episodes, etc. without using my laptop. When the Smart TV features become obsolete, or I switch to a streaming service that's not available, it still has HDMI ports like any TV. As for this privacy concern, a) it can be turned off, and b) it's nothing new; Netflix tracks your viewing habits, Amazon tracks your viewing habits, Facebook tracks your web browsing habits, etc.

nitrogen 11y ago
"It's nothing new" is not an excuse to continue a bad trend.
- marcoperaza 11y ago
  So long as it can be turned off, I don't really care. My decent-quality TV was cheap and I'm sure that it would have cost more if Vizio didn't supplement their revenue with this program.
  - Bud 11y ago
    You trust the companies to leave the features disabled if you disable them? I don't. Vizio is a bad actor, here. This paragraph illustrates that quite well: "Cable TV companies and video rental companies are prohibited by law from selling information about the viewing habits of their customers. However, Vizio says that those laws - the Video Privacy Protection Act and cable subscriber protections - don’t apply to its business."
    - op00to 11y ago
      So lobby your lawmaker and make it illegal, or get them to enforce laws on the books if that activity is illegal.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
rodgerd 11y ago
> Smart TVs don't cost more. Yes, they do. My non-smart Panasonic was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than the equivalent smart ones.
- marcoperaza 11y ago
  Fair enough, I should have said: Smart TVs don't necessarily cost more.
- hueving 11y ago
  Maybe because it was an older model? That case isn't common.
- op00to 11y ago
  If you expect a certain set of features (3D, higher quality display, etc.), the only devices that satisfy those requirements have smart functionality built in. The non-smart TVs I've viewed at Best Buy in the last year or so all look washed out or otherwise inferior. It sucks, and I prefer to use a streaming box versus the smart functionality, but to get the features I wanted I had to pick a smart TV.

nitrogen 11y ago

"It's nothing new" is not an excuse to continue a bad trend.

marcoperaza 11y ago
So long as it can be turned off, I don't really care. My decent-quality TV was cheap and I'm sure that it would have cost more if Vizio didn't supplement their revenue with this program.
- Bud 11y ago
  You trust the companies to leave the features disabled if you disable them? I don't. Vizio is a bad actor, here. This paragraph illustrates that quite well: "Cable TV companies and video rental companies are prohibited by law from selling information about the viewing habits of their customers. However, Vizio says that those laws - the Video Privacy Protection Act and cable subscriber protections - don’t apply to its business."
  - op00to 11y ago
    So lobby your lawmaker and make it illegal, or get them to enforce laws on the books if that activity is illegal.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

rodgerd 11y ago

> Smart TVs don't cost more. Yes, they do. My non-smart Panasonic was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than the equivalent smart ones.

marcoperaza 11y ago
Fair enough, I should have said: Smart TVs don't necessarily cost more.
hueving 11y ago
Maybe because it was an older model? That case isn't common.
op00to 11y ago
If you expect a certain set of features (3D, higher quality display, etc.), the only devices that satisfy those requirements have smart functionality built in. The non-smart TVs I've viewed at Best Buy in the last year or so all look washed out or otherwise inferior. It sucks, and I prefer to use a streaming box versus the smart functionality, but to get the features I wanted I had to pick a smart TV.