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Ok here's a question: why do I care? Watching TV has always been an experience with ads in it. Netflix is going to know what I watch no matter what device I u

by habosa 7y ago

Ok here's a question: why do I care? Watching TV has always been an experience with ads in it. Netflix is going to know what I watch no matter what device I use. In fact, my TV is probably the most private way for me to watch a streaming service since it knows basically nothing else about me. So I got a beautiful TV for an affordable price and the manufacturer made some more money on ads in a way that I have not noticed. I'm cool with this trade.

draugadrotten 7y ago
> In fact, my TV is probably the most private way for me to watch a streaming service since it knows basically nothing else about me. Ahem... https://www.ft.com/content/23ab2f68-d957-11e9-8f9b-77216ebe1f17 https://www.ft.com/content/23ab2f68-d957-11e9-8f9b-77216ebe1... https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/18/you-watch-tv-your-tv-watches-back/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/18/you-wat... https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/19/samsung-smart-tvs-send-unencrypted-voice-recognition-data-across-internet https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/19/samsung-s... https://www.cnet.com/news/samsungs-warning-our-smart-tvs-record-your-living-room-chatter/ https://www.cnet.com/news/samsungs-warning-our-smart-tvs-rec... https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/02/some-apps-were-listening-to-you-through-the-smartphones-mic-says-report/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/02/some-apps-were-listening-t... https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/your-phone-is-literally-listening-to-your-tv/416712/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/your-... https://www.howtogeek.com/338409/hundreds-of-smartphone-apps-are-spying-on-your-tv-watching.-heres-how-to-disable-them/ https://www.howtogeek.com/338409/hundreds-of-smartphone-apps... and so on...
DoingIsLearning 7y ago
I see two major problems with this business model of subsidizing TV hardware with adware/telemetry/spyware solutions: 1. The UI platforms + middleware used for these TV's are often a low budget MVP development (it's also not part of the core knowledge of manufacturers), meaning you don't need to go far to find customers complaining of unresponsive UIs and sudden crashes. 2. The lifetime of the device far exceeds the likely manufacturer support for the device's software. This means you will end up with an insecure unpatched device connected to your home network. Both these problems are resolved with a 'dumb' TV/Display, to which you connect your media center of choice.
- scarface74 7y ago
  Most of the lower end TVs have Roku integrated. While you might not like their business model, Roku knows how to make a good set top UI on cheap hardware.
  - timw4mail 7y ago
    Roku is probably the least evil of the smart tvs.
  - DoingIsLearning 7y ago
    I don't doubt what you say is true in the US retail landscape. Although the HW will work anywhere, Roku as a service is very much a US centric business. At least in Europe the options out of the box integrated in these 'smart' TVs are either Android or some OEM crippled flavour of a nix distro. Also we need to distinguish between released set top boxes from a triple-play provider, and these 'inside' the TV half-baked software releases.
Johnny555 7y ago
Netflix is going to know what I watch no matter what device I use Sure, Netflix is going to know what you watch on Netflix, but do you really Roku and Sony to know too? my TV is probably the most private way for me to watch a streaming service since it knows basically nothing else about me It may know your email address from your Netflix login when you log in to Netflix from your TV, your TV could send its serial number, Netflix could sell your identity to the TV maker. Or if you use an app to set up your TV, they could get your identity from that. Or, worst case, they can probably figure out who you are from your IP address.

by habosa 7y ago

draugadrotten 7y ago

> In fact, my TV is probably the most private way for me to watch a streaming service since it knows basically nothing else about me. Ahem... https://www.ft.com/content/23ab2f68-d957-11e9-8f9b-77216ebe1f17 https://www.ft.com/content/23ab2f68-d957-11e9-8f9b-77216ebe1... https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/18/you-watch-tv-your-tv-watches-back/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/18/you-wat... https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/19/samsung-smart-tvs-send-unencrypted-voice-recognition-data-across-internet https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/19/samsung-s... https://www.cnet.com/news/samsungs-warning-our-smart-tvs-record-your-living-room-chatter/ https://www.cnet.com/news/samsungs-warning-our-smart-tvs-rec... https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/02/some-apps-were-listening-to-you-through-the-smartphones-mic-says-report/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/02/some-apps-were-listening-t... https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/your-phone-is-literally-listening-to-your-tv/416712/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/your-... https://www.howtogeek.com/338409/hundreds-of-smartphone-apps-are-spying-on-your-tv-watching.-heres-how-to-disable-them/ https://www.howtogeek.com/338409/hundreds-of-smartphone-apps... and so on...

DoingIsLearning 7y ago

I see two major problems with this business model of subsidizing TV hardware with adware/telemetry/spyware solutions: 1. The UI platforms + middleware used for these TV's are often a low budget MVP development (it's also not part of the core knowledge of manufacturers), meaning you don't need to go far to find customers complaining of unresponsive UIs and sudden crashes. 2. The lifetime of the device far exceeds the likely manufacturer support for the device's software. This means you will end up with an insecure unpatched device connected to your home network. Both these problems are resolved with a 'dumb' TV/Display, to which you connect your media center of choice.

scarface74 7y ago
Most of the lower end TVs have Roku integrated. While you might not like their business model, Roku knows how to make a good set top UI on cheap hardware.
- timw4mail 7y ago
  Roku is probably the least evil of the smart tvs.
- DoingIsLearning 7y ago
  I don't doubt what you say is true in the US retail landscape. Although the HW will work anywhere, Roku as a service is very much a US centric business. At least in Europe the options out of the box integrated in these 'smart' TVs are either Android or some OEM crippled flavour of a nix distro. Also we need to distinguish between released set top boxes from a triple-play provider, and these 'inside' the TV half-baked software releases.

Johnny555 7y ago

Netflix is going to know what I watch no matter what device I use Sure, Netflix is going to know what you watch on Netflix, but do you really Roku and Sony to know too? my TV is probably the most private way for me to watch a streaming service since it knows basically nothing else about me It may know your email address from your Netflix login when you log in to Netflix from your TV, your TV could send its serial number, Netflix could sell your identity to the TV maker. Or if you use an app to set up your TV, they could get your identity from that. Or, worst case, they can probably figure out who you are from your IP address.