5 ms·

Agreed. It's not even the TV that needs access to Internet. What if you have one of the Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, etc devices that stream content from the Int

Agreed. It's not even the TV that needs access to Internet. What if you have one of the Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, etc devices that stream content from the Internet? Without those we might as well go back to storing content locally which let's face it - is mostly retrieved quasi-legally through BitTorrent.

jethro_tell 8y ago
yeah, while that's true, a manufacture like amazon or apple is much more likely to update your device since they are still hoping to sell you content. You think your offbrand Smart TV is going to update past a couple bugs? They already made all the money they are going to make off that TV and they are done. Still have to trust the manufacture for that to work, but at lease you're not just left wide open there. (I mean you still could be, but it seems less likely with this model). And, if it doesn't stay up todate, you can toss the box and plug in a new one.
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  > You think your offbrand Smart TV is going to update past a couple bugs? They already made all the money they are going to make off that TV and they are done. Honestly, who cares? I mean, it's a TV. It should not need Internet to work, and it definitely shouldn't need software updates. Displaying video on a screen is a solved problem. The very fact you can use "software update" and "TV" in the same sentence signals a pretty big problem - a problem of companies selling you TV as a service, and customers accepting half-done pseudo-products.
  - diminoten 8y ago
    TVs have had software for decades. The fact that we're finally using "software update" and "TV" together is a long time coming, and finally a security model we can work with.
    - jethro_tell 8y ago
      yes, but not connected for the most part.
      - diminoten 8y ago
        Yes, with fewer features. Don't make the mistake of thinking you are a representative of all customers. YOU may not care about connectivity, but others, many others, do.
        TeMPOraL 8y ago
        Yes, but the right way to do this is to get a separate device for the connectivity part, in order to protect yourself against services having much shorter lifetime than hardware. Techies knows this, and customers who got burned on smart TVs know this too. Regular people don't always realize this, but companies pushing smart TVs know this perfectly well. This is pretty obvious planned obsolescence. In my eyes, it's scamming people.
        diminoten 8y ago
        Techies don't "know" this, I want to be abundantly clear that having a technical background doesn't make you more savvy to security concerns -- if this were true, the prevalence of security problems throughout the industry wouldn't be nearly as pervasive. Security isn't about being perfect, so stop pushing that false narrative. It's about being good enough, and plenty of companies making smart TVs can certainly become "good enough".
        TeMPOraL 8y ago
        I'm not talking security. I'm talking user-hostile practices and bad engineering.
        deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
  - jethro_tell 8y ago
    I don't have my TV connected to the internet. But I do stream, so I have to have something connected to the internet. And I prefer a box that is likely to be updated.
    - TeMPOraL 8y ago
      Agreed. But I prefer that something to be a separate box, so that I can upgrade and replace it separately from the TV.
- kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
  That's where RokuTV has an edge. They deploy firmware updates and have a consistent track record of supporting old hardware better than any of the consumer electronic giants with proprietary systems.
  - jethro_tell 8y ago
    might be, I'd take a smart tv that was backed by roku, apple, amazon, or even microsoft over some low budget company that doesn't really care once they've made the sale. I prefer to just have a screen and a box though. I cut the wifi out of my TV and only plug it in to update firmware a few times/year.
TeMPOraL 8y ago
> Without those we might as well go back to storing content locally which let's face it - is mostly retrieved quasi-legally through BitTorrent. But at least it's always available and will not disappear between the moment you first watch it and the moment you want to show it to your spouse. I really expect (and hope) to see a resurgence of torrenting in the wake of ongoing balkanization of streaming platforms.
- xnyan 8y ago
  >I really expect (and hope) to see a resurgence of torrenting in the wake of ongoing balkanization of streaming platforms. Agree. A lot of people think it's still the torrent dark-ages where you need to search for individual torrents like a cave-person. If so google sonarr, radarr and get a vpn!

jethro_tell 8y ago

yeah, while that's true, a manufacture like amazon or apple is much more likely to update your device since they are still hoping to sell you content. You think your offbrand Smart TV is going to update past a couple bugs? They already made all the money they are going to make off that TV and they are done. Still have to trust the manufacture for that to work, but at lease you're not just left wide open there. (I mean you still could be, but it seems less likely with this model). And, if it doesn't stay up todate, you can toss the box and plug in a new one.

TeMPOraL 8y ago
> You think your offbrand Smart TV is going to update past a couple bugs? They already made all the money they are going to make off that TV and they are done. Honestly, who cares? I mean, it's a TV. It should not need Internet to work, and it definitely shouldn't need software updates. Displaying video on a screen is a solved problem. The very fact you can use "software update" and "TV" in the same sentence signals a pretty big problem - a problem of companies selling you TV as a service, and customers accepting half-done pseudo-products.
- diminoten 8y ago
  TVs have had software for decades. The fact that we're finally using "software update" and "TV" together is a long time coming, and finally a security model we can work with.
  - jethro_tell 8y ago
    yes, but not connected for the most part.
    - diminoten 8y ago
      Yes, with fewer features. Don't make the mistake of thinking you are a representative of all customers. YOU may not care about connectivity, but others, many others, do.
      - TeMPOraL 8y ago
        Yes, but the right way to do this is to get a separate device for the connectivity part, in order to protect yourself against services having much shorter lifetime than hardware. Techies knows this, and customers who got burned on smart TVs know this too. Regular people don't always realize this, but companies pushing smart TVs know this perfectly well. This is pretty obvious planned obsolescence. In my eyes, it's scamming people.
        diminoten 8y ago
        Techies don't "know" this, I want to be abundantly clear that having a technical background doesn't make you more savvy to security concerns -- if this were true, the prevalence of security problems throughout the industry wouldn't be nearly as pervasive. Security isn't about being perfect, so stop pushing that false narrative. It's about being good enough, and plenty of companies making smart TVs can certainly become "good enough".
        TeMPOraL 8y ago
        I'm not talking security. I'm talking user-hostile practices and bad engineering.
        deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
- jethro_tell 8y ago
  I don't have my TV connected to the internet. But I do stream, so I have to have something connected to the internet. And I prefer a box that is likely to be updated.
  - TeMPOraL 8y ago
    Agreed. But I prefer that something to be a separate box, so that I can upgrade and replace it separately from the TV.
kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
That's where RokuTV has an edge. They deploy firmware updates and have a consistent track record of supporting old hardware better than any of the consumer electronic giants with proprietary systems.
- jethro_tell 8y ago
  might be, I'd take a smart tv that was backed by roku, apple, amazon, or even microsoft over some low budget company that doesn't really care once they've made the sale. I prefer to just have a screen and a box though. I cut the wifi out of my TV and only plug it in to update firmware a few times/year.

TeMPOraL 8y ago

> Without those we might as well go back to storing content locally which let's face it - is mostly retrieved quasi-legally through BitTorrent. But at least it's always available and will not disappear between the moment you first watch it and the moment you want to show it to your spouse. I really expect (and hope) to see a resurgence of torrenting in the wake of ongoing balkanization of streaming platforms.

xnyan 8y ago
>I really expect (and hope) to see a resurgence of torrenting in the wake of ongoing balkanization of streaming platforms. Agree. A lot of people think it's still the torrent dark-ages where you need to search for individual torrents like a cave-person. If so google sonarr, radarr and get a vpn!