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TVs seem like the last thing that needs to be smart. Why can't I buy just the panel that shows the image and then connect whatever Android TV box I want so I ca
by StavrosK 7y ago
TVs seem like the last thing that needs to be smart. Why can't I buy just the panel that shows the image and then connect whatever Android TV box I want so I can display the video? Then I can make sure that's patched/upgraded/whatever without having to throw away the actually-expensive panel every time.
I guess that doesn't make people keep buying TVs...
- the_snooze 7y agoI consider a lot of "smart" devices and IoT artifacts as pollution, as far as security and reliability are concerned. Yes, let's take long-lived hardware and embed short-lived networked software in it, and do so in an environment where there are no economic or regulatory incentives to keep them patched over the expected life of the hardware. Thanks for the innovation, tech industry.
- esotericn 7y agoIt's pollution in general. The marketing shit getting people to buy 4K TVs when a 20 year old person struggles to see the difference from the other end of the room is literally producing unnecessary technology when the old stuff was just fine. Add on artificial software breakage and it becomes even more extreme.
- asark 7y agoHDR and larger color gamut's nice. Deeper blacks are nice. Agree 4k's more useful for monitors than TVs, where it's bottom of the list of important modern upgrades to ordinary hi-def TV, IMO, unless you're rocking a legit home theater, as in projector and huge room and all. Semi-properly-set-up surround's way more important than 4k, though also expensive and very inconvenient in most people's TV spaces.
- esotericn 7y agoYes, yes, for videophiles it matters. The vast majority of people buy the shit because it's pushed on them. My grandmother doesn't bloody need 4K.
- asark 7y agoAnd they're pushing 8k now! I don't know who that's even for. The "actually benefits from 4K" slice of the market's already pretty damn small.
- 14 7y agoTo a point I agree. I have a 1080 and my friend picked up just a 2k screen. His it’s like getting an eye massage while watching tv the picture is just so crisp. I do dislike smart TVs however. Very thankful my dumb Samsung has lasted about 10 years and still going strong. Are there any dumb TVs left to buy?
- esotericn 7y agoI have a 4K Samsung Smart TV that I use as a monitor. It just doesn't get on the network. Has never been updated but it's airgapped so who cares. Of course if it gets on some open WiFi or has a sim card in it I'm knackered. Doh. Should probably crack it open and remove the antenna.
- RandomBacon 7y agoUnless you read the code and flashed the TV yourself, you have no idea if it periodically checks for unsecured wifi networks to connect to. So yes, I would remove the antenna. Someone somewhere probably thought, "Hey, let's help out our customers that may be too lazy or not smart enough to figure out how to connect, and do it automatically for them!"
- saagarjha 7y agoSurreptitiously connecting to a network that you don’t own or have permission to use seems like it would fall afoul of the CFAA.
- bilbo0s 7y agoYou could just buy a monitor. Not sure if that would meet your requirements? But it sounds like it would. Just might be a bit more pricey depending on features.
- StavrosK 7y agoIt's not the same, (as far as I know) they don't make monitors that have the specs of TVs at the same price point.
- delfinom 7y agoTV business has gotten so competitive the margins are incredibly thin. Manufacturers want larger margins for their shareholders. Manufacturers see the data whoring, privacy violating business. Manufacturers put in "smart" oses into TVs so they can begin recording what you are watching, saying (they have mics and you agree to the TOS they cna record your living room!) or even doing so they can whore out for more profit than they made on you buying the tv.
- FakeComments 7y agoThey still make dumb panels, eg. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LW4G71Y/ https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LW4G71Y/ I did precisely what you suggest: buy a TV and hook a streaming box to it.
- dwyerm 7y agoSame. I'm running an NEC E-series. The 'smart' features it has are an honest-to-god serial port for plugging it into automation. It's been a decent display to me. The only thing I would warn consumers about them is that you generally can't go see them in a showroom, so you've got to take some chances.
- bryanlarsen 7y agoSmart TV's have very little marginal cost to the manufacturer: A modern TV needs a beefy CPU anyways. There's nothing stopping you from treating a smart TV like a dumb TV. Just don't configure the network.
- landcoctos 7y ago> Just don't configure the network. I've read, but never confirmed that some smart TVs will queue data and then attempt to connect to unsecured networks to upload to the mothership.
- toxik 7y agoRip out the wifi antenna! Or put it inside some Faraday cage.
- excalibur 7y ago> Or put it inside some Faraday cage. ...your TV? Are you going to hang out inside the cage with it? Or maybe watch it through the screen door? There's a use case for 4K, it has enough pixels so that even looking through the Faraday cage you still get 1080p.
- hanniabu 7y agoThe antenna, not the whole tv
- mayniac 7y agoDon't take your tv out for a walk then.
- bryanrasmussen 7y agowashers and dryers are the last things that need to be smart. But TVs sure are up there.
- sbhn 7y agoYou can buy a pc monitor with various input methods. There are no SMART pc monitors im aware of
- jamiethompson 7y agoMy current "Smart TV" setup is a 10 year old 42" dumb tv with an Amazon Fire TV stick plugged into the back. I don't know what I'll do when it dies (it's dying). I wish you could just buy modern TVs that are essentially just monitors.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y agoSerious question, why do you need a giant TV? Why not just use a personal device like a computer, tablet, or phone to watch whatever? I imagine you'll say something about watching TV with other people, which seems fair, but in my experience people don't watch TV "together". The TV is on, maybe one person is paying attention to it, most are just on their phone, or talking to eachother. Maybe my experience is an outlier here.
- FrightHorse 7y agoNo one needs a giant TV, but a lot of people 'like' a bigger screen. A lot of media is just better on a big screen. It's the whole reason a great many people enjoy or even prefer watching movies on a theater screen. I don't think there's much more a reason that, nor do folk need more reason than that.
- photojosh 7y agoI'm staring at a screen 50cm away for 8 hours a day already... it's nice to give my eyes a break and stare at one 3m away for my remaining awake time. ;)
- jamiethompson 7y agoThe main reason is I have kids. In the past, I mainly just used a tablet to watch video.
- jayd16 7y agoBuy film studio monitors. They can get ugly and expensive though. Although, considering how big TVs are these days maybe there isn't a professional equivalent.
- 7y ago
- cryptozeus 7y agoSo they can collect your viewing history and sell it to providers. Wasn’t the samsung tv trying to spy on users via its camera to track viewing activity ?
- kalleboo 7y ago> Why can't I buy just the panel that shows the image You can, they sell "just dumb panels" for commercial signage applications. They cost way more. Smart TVs selling your eyeballs and your data make them cheaper than dumb panels. And since most consumers buy on price, they also get the advantage of scale. So they're more expensive and they do less, their only market is a handful of privacy geeks who aren't going to just not connect it to the internet - a tiny market. https://www.businessinsider.com/smart-tv-data-collection-advertising-2019-1 https://www.businessinsider.com/smart-tv-data-collection-adv... > A January interview on The Verge's podcast with Vizio's chief technology officer, Bill Baxter, did a great job illuminating how this works. > "This is a cutthroat industry," Baxter said. "It's a 6% margin industry. The greater strategy is I really don't need to make money off of the TV. I need to cover my cost." > "It's not just about data collection. It's about post-purchase monetization of the TV." > "You sell some movies, you sell some TV shows, you sell some ads, you know," he said. "It's not really that different than the Verge website."
- StavrosK 7y agoOh, interesting. I guess I'll just keep never connecting the TV to wifi, then.
- targonca 7y agoGood luck with that. It will simply connect to a neighbouring open WiFi and transmit your data anyway :)
- dddddaviddddd 7y agoMaybe remove the wifi card or antennas?
- StavrosK 7y agoNah, thank God for the GDPR.
- tremendo 7y agoWhat data? If the TV isn't online, then why would you enter any data on it? I guess you could always connect a Roku and then give your data to Roku, or a Chromecast since Google already has your data, or a FireTV stick, since Amazon already has your data. Well, at least Samsung/LG/Sony/Vizio/etc don't, reduce a little bit the attack surface.
- jayd16 7y agoSounds great! But lets sell then together in a clean package with no setup. Seems obvious to me why they sell.
- GordonS 7y ago> TVs seem like the last thing that needs to be smart. Why can't I buy just the panel that shows the image and then connect whatever Android TV box I want so I can display the video? You can still buy "non-smart" TVs and do this. But I think most people want this functionality built in to the TV, for 2 reasons: 1. Aesthetics. For example, my TV is wall mounted, and I don't want a box strapped on the side of it with wires hanging out. 2. Ease of use. Most people want to plug it in and have it just work