7 ms·

It baffles me too. My Samsung smart tv started showing me ads in the control panel/home screen. I paid full price for it, why am I seeing ads. I wish I could r

It baffles me too. My Samsung smart tv started showing me ads in the control panel/home screen. I paid full price for it, why am I seeing ads. I wish I could return it, but the snakes waited until the return period was over.

Maha-pudma 6y ago
This happened to me to. It now is not connected to the internet and never will be again. It's also the crappest TV I've ever owned. My old dumb TV is better.
- samename 6y ago
  You can set the DNS on the TV to NextDNS to block the ads and tracking, so you can use the internet again.
WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
This is some bullshit. I would blackhole whatever fucking API they are using... just limit the incoming, but allow outgoing so their ad networks begin counting it as a non-shown ad.
- greycol 6y ago
  Problem is that there is at least one smart TV that gets stuck in a boot loop when it goes to update it's ads and can't. Support in that case tells them to connect to the internet and it'll work (which ofcourse will grab the new batch of ads). There are plenty of other cases with smart TVs losing actual functionality when the server that serves ads is blocked and because it's an updateable service you can't really tell which smart TV will sting you.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- propogandist 6y ago
  you should stop your tv from making outbound calls. Many "smart tvs" are mining details on what you're watching and sending it back to the mothership, including conversations it may hear in the room, if your TV has voice activation features You should disconnect your TV from the internet and not let it connect. Run a barebones version of Firestick (ideally with piHole) as it is constantly phoning home to Amazon. Roku is a popular alternative, but it too is constantly phoning home. Two random articles, which includes coverage on the Samsung & Smart TV problem 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://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/18/you-watch-tv-your-tv-watches-back/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/18/you-wat...
  - WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
    Yes... but years of working in ads has made me realize that fucking with unfilled rates will cause a lot of grief to the company fucking me over... so I'm tempted to just tarpit the incoming data, not the outgoing one.
- Lio 6y ago
  You should black hole smart TVs in general anyway for security. This relates to Vizio[1] but it seems most manufactures are snooping on their customers. 1. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/02/vizio-pay-22-million-ftc-state-new-jersey-settle-charges-it https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/02/vizio...
glandium 6y ago
My Panasonic smart TV used to have an app for Hulu. It doesn't anymore. Same for a bunch of other apps. The app list is full of holes now.
- mysterydip 6y ago
  One of the apps on my roku, which also is one of the "quick launch" buttons on the remote, was removed. Now I have a button on my remote that will forever be useless.
mlboss 6y ago
Better to have a dumb TV with chromecast.
- zbrozek 6y ago
  It is. But how? Where'd you buy a dumb TV?
  - cortesoft 6y ago
    Best bet is probably to get a computer monitor.
    - Koshkin 6y ago
      A 65-inch computer monitor is expensive.
      - 1qaz2wsx3edc 6y ago
        My 55" is much more reasonable.
  - StavrosK 6y ago
    Can you not just not connect it to the network?
    - Mister_Snuggles 6y ago
      I hear that some smart TVs will seek out open Wifi networks and connect to them to get updates. So now your neighbours can (probably unknowingly) connect your smart TV to the internet for you.
      - StavrosK 6y ago
        That must be the device equivalent of finding a house with an unlocked door and going inside to rummage around their fridge and eat their food. Am I now legally liable for my TV stealing the neighbour's internet?
mdorazio 6y ago
In the case of the smart tv it's actually because you didn't really pay the full price of the tv. The manufacturer counts on the revenue from those ads to boost the tv profit margin to an acceptable level, otherwise they would have to charge you more for the tv initially. If you don't believe me, look up the price of a "commercial display" comparable to your tv. And before anyone asks, the majority of customers would rather have a cheaper tv with ads in the menus than a more expensive one without.
- edgarvaldes 6y ago
  >In the case of the smart tv it's actually because you didn't really pay the full price of the tv How can the consumer know, if it is not disclosed? And when every TV manufacturer is doing "ads in your smart TV", there is no incentive to not sell it at full price AND show you ads.
  - bostonvaulter2 6y ago
    I think that a good step would be to require a sizeable disclaimer on the box/marketing material stating that it is ad-supported/tracking-supported. That way it is much easier for consumers to know why the price is as cheap as it is.
- valvar 6y ago
  Commercial displays are not more expensive because they don't have ads - that's an absurd suggestion. They are more expensive because they have higher requirements. They need to be running for at least 8 hours per day without issues, but often 24/7, as opposed to the usual 4-6. That's the main difference.
  - SamBam 6y ago
    That might be true, but it's not an "absurd suggestion." Amazon will sell you a Kindle for nearly 20% cheaper if you let it show you ads.
    - 6y ago
climb_stealth 6y ago
I can recommend the Nvidia Shield [0] as an alternative to dealing with the Samsung firmware. I bought it after seeing it recommended here on HN. It's snappy, it has the apps that I care about (Plex, Youtube, and various Australian public on-demand channels). Also it pretty much just works. It turns on together with the tv and you basically don't have to deal with anything Samsung at all anymore. It has some gaming capabilities but I never tried those and don't care. [0] https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/ https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
robmsmt 6y ago
It turns out I am not the only one who does not want a smart TV. The benefit for me is practically zero. All I need is a dumb TV/monitor/projector and the ability to plug it into a chromecast type of device/laptop.
- distances 6y ago
  Good news is that projectors are still dumb. Just input selector and picture settings.
cel1ne 6y ago
I use an AppleTV connected to a 43-inch 4k monitor [1]. No crappy TV-software and it's a proper screen, with proper response-time to use for the laptop as well. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Monitor-Bdm4350uc-42-5in-3840x2160/dp/B01CO2QT4M https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Monitor-Bdm4350uc-42-5in-3840...
- josteink 6y ago
  Does that monitor support 12-bit HDR though?
  - cel1ne 6y ago
    Unfortunately no HDR support.

Maha-pudma 6y ago

This happened to me to. It now is not connected to the internet and never will be again. It's also the crappest TV I've ever owned. My old dumb TV is better.

samename 6y ago
You can set the DNS on the TV to NextDNS to block the ads and tracking, so you can use the internet again.

WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago

This is some bullshit. I would blackhole whatever fucking API they are using... just limit the incoming, but allow outgoing so their ad networks begin counting it as a non-shown ad.

greycol 6y ago
Problem is that there is at least one smart TV that gets stuck in a boot loop when it goes to update it's ads and can't. Support in that case tells them to connect to the internet and it'll work (which ofcourse will grab the new batch of ads). There are plenty of other cases with smart TVs losing actual functionality when the server that serves ads is blocked and because it's an updateable service you can't really tell which smart TV will sting you.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
propogandist 6y ago
you should stop your tv from making outbound calls. Many "smart tvs" are mining details on what you're watching and sending it back to the mothership, including conversations it may hear in the room, if your TV has voice activation features You should disconnect your TV from the internet and not let it connect. Run a barebones version of Firestick (ideally with piHole) as it is constantly phoning home to Amazon. Roku is a popular alternative, but it too is constantly phoning home. Two random articles, which includes coverage on the Samsung & Smart TV problem 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://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/18/you-watch-tv-your-tv-watches-back/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/18/you-wat...
- WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
  Yes... but years of working in ads has made me realize that fucking with unfilled rates will cause a lot of grief to the company fucking me over... so I'm tempted to just tarpit the incoming data, not the outgoing one.
Lio 6y ago
You should black hole smart TVs in general anyway for security. This relates to Vizio[1] but it seems most manufactures are snooping on their customers. 1. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/02/vizio-pay-22-million-ftc-state-new-jersey-settle-charges-it https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/02/vizio...

glandium 6y ago

My Panasonic smart TV used to have an app for Hulu. It doesn't anymore. Same for a bunch of other apps. The app list is full of holes now.

mysterydip 6y ago
One of the apps on my roku, which also is one of the "quick launch" buttons on the remote, was removed. Now I have a button on my remote that will forever be useless.

mlboss 6y ago

Better to have a dumb TV with chromecast.

zbrozek 6y ago
It is. But how? Where'd you buy a dumb TV?
- cortesoft 6y ago
  Best bet is probably to get a computer monitor.
  - Koshkin 6y ago
    A 65-inch computer monitor is expensive.
    - 1qaz2wsx3edc 6y ago
      My 55" is much more reasonable.
- StavrosK 6y ago
  Can you not just not connect it to the network?
  - Mister_Snuggles 6y ago
    I hear that some smart TVs will seek out open Wifi networks and connect to them to get updates. So now your neighbours can (probably unknowingly) connect your smart TV to the internet for you.
    - StavrosK 6y ago
      That must be the device equivalent of finding a house with an unlocked door and going inside to rummage around their fridge and eat their food. Am I now legally liable for my TV stealing the neighbour's internet?

mdorazio 6y ago

In the case of the smart tv it's actually because you didn't really pay the full price of the tv. The manufacturer counts on the revenue from those ads to boost the tv profit margin to an acceptable level, otherwise they would have to charge you more for the tv initially. If you don't believe me, look up the price of a "commercial display" comparable to your tv. And before anyone asks, the majority of customers would rather have a cheaper tv with ads in the menus than a more expensive one without.

edgarvaldes 6y ago
>In the case of the smart tv it's actually because you didn't really pay the full price of the tv How can the consumer know, if it is not disclosed? And when every TV manufacturer is doing "ads in your smart TV", there is no incentive to not sell it at full price AND show you ads.
- bostonvaulter2 6y ago
  I think that a good step would be to require a sizeable disclaimer on the box/marketing material stating that it is ad-supported/tracking-supported. That way it is much easier for consumers to know why the price is as cheap as it is.
valvar 6y ago
Commercial displays are not more expensive because they don't have ads - that's an absurd suggestion. They are more expensive because they have higher requirements. They need to be running for at least 8 hours per day without issues, but often 24/7, as opposed to the usual 4-6. That's the main difference.
- SamBam 6y ago
  That might be true, but it's not an "absurd suggestion." Amazon will sell you a Kindle for nearly 20% cheaper if you let it show you ads.
  - 6y ago

climb_stealth 6y ago

I can recommend the Nvidia Shield [0] as an alternative to dealing with the Samsung firmware. I bought it after seeing it recommended here on HN. It's snappy, it has the apps that I care about (Plex, Youtube, and various Australian public on-demand channels). Also it pretty much just works. It turns on together with the tv and you basically don't have to deal with anything Samsung at all anymore. It has some gaming capabilities but I never tried those and don't care. [0] https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/ https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

robmsmt 6y ago

It turns out I am not the only one who does not want a smart TV. The benefit for me is practically zero. All I need is a dumb TV/monitor/projector and the ability to plug it into a chromecast type of device/laptop.

distances 6y ago
Good news is that projectors are still dumb. Just input selector and picture settings.

cel1ne 6y ago

I use an AppleTV connected to a 43-inch 4k monitor [1]. No crappy TV-software and it's a proper screen, with proper response-time to use for the laptop as well. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Monitor-Bdm4350uc-42-5in-3840x2160/dp/B01CO2QT4M https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Monitor-Bdm4350uc-42-5in-3840...

josteink 6y ago
Does that monitor support 12-bit HDR though?
- cel1ne 6y ago
  Unfortunately no HDR support.