6 ms·

I had one of those TVs. The ads show up in the menu bar. I called them and told them I paid over a thousand dollars for this TV and do not want ads. They said t

by junon 6y ago

I had one of those TVs. The ads show up in the menu bar. I called them and told them I paid over a thousand dollars for this TV and do not want ads. They said they'd be happy to help me disable my internet connection. I was so dumbfounded at the petty response that I simply hung up. Lost a customer for life. I will never again buy a Samsung product.

munchbunny 6y ago
This, and the built-in voice assistant, is why I have a blanket rule that the smart TV will never touch the internet. If I want to stream things, that can go through the gaming PC that's right next to the TV.
- sunstone 6y ago
  I do the same except I use a small fanless NUC running Linux Mint which I control with the top of the line Logitech blue tooth "thumb ball" mouse. Aggravations vanquished.
  - MereInterest 6y ago
    Do you have any suggestions for a good mouse for it? I currently use a Logitech combination keyboard/track pad, but it has been connecting worse over the past few years, and I am looking for a replacement.
    - sunstone 6y ago
      Yes, I recommend the Logitech MX Ergo Plus trackball mouse. It's expensive but sometimes on sale. I like it because it doesn't have to "move around" like a regular mouse, so it can just sit on the arm of the sofa (or whatever). It takes about 2-3 hours to get used to if you haven't had a "thumball" before but after that you'll totally forget what kind of mouse you're using. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/logitech-mx-ergo-plus-wireless-trackball-mouse-graphite/6080600.p?skuId=6080600&intl=nosplash https://www.bestbuy.com/site/logitech-mx-ergo-plus-wireless-...
- pault 6y ago
  How do you handle streaming when all of the services refuse to stream 4K on any computer? I think Netflix does HD bit Hulu and HBO are like 720p. It's like watching a torrent from 2005.
  - Bnshsysjab 6y ago
    720 to 4K is not the same as 480p to 720. The latter is far more noticeable. Most of the world hasn’t moved to 4K, I don’t see a huge amount of value in it personally.
    - bee_rider 6y ago
      In that case, why even get a new TV in the first place?
      - Bnshsysjab 6y ago
        Because TVs rapidly get outdated and die. If nothing else the 2inch thick bezels are an eye sore. Just because I don’t care about 4K doesn’t mean I don’t care about image quality. I’d prefer 1080p@60 over 4k@30.
  - munchbunny 6y ago
    1. I don't watch that much TV. 2. I mostly watch Netflix, very rarely Hulu, and in general resolution hasn't been an issue for my usage patterns.
stingraycharles 6y ago
I bought a Samsung smart TV in 2014. I then went abroad for a few years, and came back in 2016. Unfortunately, in the meantime, the whole smart hub stopped working. The answer was the update the smart hub. Unfortunately, you have to update the smart hub through the smart hub which doesn’t work. Samsung support was useless. I now have a “dumb” TV with a separate Apple TV and it’s much, much better.
- jowsie 6y ago
  Depending on the TV, you can update them via USB. Can stick them in dev mode and sideload apps too. On my last Samsung it was the only way to use twitch/plex on the thing.
dr_zoidberg 6y ago
Last TV I bought the salesperson wanted to push a Samsung TV on me, despite my very clear telling of "I dislike samsung". Guy insisted over and over and over. Ended up in the store opposite the mall, where Good Salesman approaches as I walk in: -I want a new TV. -I have this great Samsung model. -I hate Samsung. -I have this great LG model! Funny thing, the that TV came with webOS, which after being bought and sold over a few times, ended up at LG. It works pretty well, never had an issue with it.
- mwaitjmp 6y ago
  LG tv here as well, pretty recent model. I’ve never noticed any ads. Works well as a chromecast target. The in built apps seem pretty decent as well for on demand video.
- karolist 6y ago
  LG makes great TVs, they were one of the last manufacturers to stop doing plasma. My 2015 50" (50PN5300) 1080p plasma screen is only rivaled by new OLEDs, doubles as a space heater in winter time :) This one still has their old Netcast OS. The newer webOs models with magic remote that you can use as a pointer are super nice too, but admittedly my 43UJ701V sometimes does reboot it self, the old Netcast plasma is rock solid. I landed on LG because my requirements were "no Android" and "I hate Samsung", LG are the only ones left pretty much.
  - MaxikCZ 6y ago
    Cant share my enthusiasm for LG TVs. We have one not yet smart model from around 2015. Over few software updates it got itself to state where the TV is totally unresponsive to any remote input for up to 1 minute after starting, including volume buttons. If you happen to turn the TV off with high volume from a quiet film, you gonna stand there listening to loud ads next time you run it, and hate every second of it. The EPG button starts a process that takes about 10 secons everytime to get to actual EPG (screen black and sound stops, epg loading pic, loading finished animation, epg core lines, epg loading data, epg filling up the data, epg resumes playback in a small window inside the epg). Every single time. It shows you 6 channels, and if you keep pressing down you get stuck on a down arrow. Pressing down on a down arrow wont show you next 6 channels, you gotta press down button on remote to get to down arrow in menu, and then press center to actuate the down arrow in the menu. Horrendous. The only sane way to sort channels is to make a backup of settings on USB, edit the textfile on your PC, and load it back. This I only found out by chance and desperation, even LG support denied any other option than to manually press "move up/down" button on a each channel you want to move for 30+ times to get it where you want. Factory reset doesnt help, support doesnt help, nothing helps. I will never buy LG TV again.
petepete 6y ago
I wrote this guide a few years ago, hopefully you'll find it useful. These days a Pi-Hole will do the trick. https://gist.github.com/peteryates/b44b70d19ccd52f62d66cdd4bcef1e52 https://gist.github.com/peteryates/b44b70d19ccd52f62d66cdd4b...
- m463 6y ago
  Note that pi-hole is dns-based. It's pretty trivial to design a device that does it's own name resolution.
  - petepete 6y ago
    And by that time I'll have learnt my lesson and bought a non-smart display, or one from a premium company.
esalman 6y ago
When I first started seeing those ads on my wife's TV, I thought I'd block the telemetry servers with my router. She happens to be using a free AT&T router, turns out it does not have an option to block hosts like a regular router.

by junon 6y ago

munchbunny 6y ago

This, and the built-in voice assistant, is why I have a blanket rule that the smart TV will never touch the internet. If I want to stream things, that can go through the gaming PC that's right next to the TV.

sunstone 6y ago
I do the same except I use a small fanless NUC running Linux Mint which I control with the top of the line Logitech blue tooth "thumb ball" mouse. Aggravations vanquished.
- MereInterest 6y ago
  Do you have any suggestions for a good mouse for it? I currently use a Logitech combination keyboard/track pad, but it has been connecting worse over the past few years, and I am looking for a replacement.
  - sunstone 6y ago
    Yes, I recommend the Logitech MX Ergo Plus trackball mouse. It's expensive but sometimes on sale. I like it because it doesn't have to "move around" like a regular mouse, so it can just sit on the arm of the sofa (or whatever). It takes about 2-3 hours to get used to if you haven't had a "thumball" before but after that you'll totally forget what kind of mouse you're using. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/logitech-mx-ergo-plus-wireless-trackball-mouse-graphite/6080600.p?skuId=6080600&intl=nosplash https://www.bestbuy.com/site/logitech-mx-ergo-plus-wireless-...
pault 6y ago
How do you handle streaming when all of the services refuse to stream 4K on any computer? I think Netflix does HD bit Hulu and HBO are like 720p. It's like watching a torrent from 2005.
- Bnshsysjab 6y ago
  720 to 4K is not the same as 480p to 720. The latter is far more noticeable. Most of the world hasn’t moved to 4K, I don’t see a huge amount of value in it personally.
  - bee_rider 6y ago
    In that case, why even get a new TV in the first place?
    - Bnshsysjab 6y ago
      Because TVs rapidly get outdated and die. If nothing else the 2inch thick bezels are an eye sore. Just because I don’t care about 4K doesn’t mean I don’t care about image quality. I’d prefer 1080p@60 over 4k@30.
- munchbunny 6y ago
  1. I don't watch that much TV. 2. I mostly watch Netflix, very rarely Hulu, and in general resolution hasn't been an issue for my usage patterns.

stingraycharles 6y ago

I bought a Samsung smart TV in 2014. I then went abroad for a few years, and came back in 2016. Unfortunately, in the meantime, the whole smart hub stopped working. The answer was the update the smart hub. Unfortunately, you have to update the smart hub through the smart hub which doesn’t work. Samsung support was useless. I now have a “dumb” TV with a separate Apple TV and it’s much, much better.

jowsie 6y ago
Depending on the TV, you can update them via USB. Can stick them in dev mode and sideload apps too. On my last Samsung it was the only way to use twitch/plex on the thing.

dr_zoidberg 6y ago

Last TV I bought the salesperson wanted to push a Samsung TV on me, despite my very clear telling of "I dislike samsung". Guy insisted over and over and over. Ended up in the store opposite the mall, where Good Salesman approaches as I walk in: -I want a new TV. -I have this great Samsung model. -I hate Samsung. -I have this great LG model! Funny thing, the that TV came with webOS, which after being bought and sold over a few times, ended up at LG. It works pretty well, never had an issue with it.

mwaitjmp 6y ago
LG tv here as well, pretty recent model. I’ve never noticed any ads. Works well as a chromecast target. The in built apps seem pretty decent as well for on demand video.
karolist 6y ago
LG makes great TVs, they were one of the last manufacturers to stop doing plasma. My 2015 50" (50PN5300) 1080p plasma screen is only rivaled by new OLEDs, doubles as a space heater in winter time :) This one still has their old Netcast OS. The newer webOs models with magic remote that you can use as a pointer are super nice too, but admittedly my 43UJ701V sometimes does reboot it self, the old Netcast plasma is rock solid. I landed on LG because my requirements were "no Android" and "I hate Samsung", LG are the only ones left pretty much.
- MaxikCZ 6y ago
  Cant share my enthusiasm for LG TVs. We have one not yet smart model from around 2015. Over few software updates it got itself to state where the TV is totally unresponsive to any remote input for up to 1 minute after starting, including volume buttons. If you happen to turn the TV off with high volume from a quiet film, you gonna stand there listening to loud ads next time you run it, and hate every second of it. The EPG button starts a process that takes about 10 secons everytime to get to actual EPG (screen black and sound stops, epg loading pic, loading finished animation, epg core lines, epg loading data, epg filling up the data, epg resumes playback in a small window inside the epg). Every single time. It shows you 6 channels, and if you keep pressing down you get stuck on a down arrow. Pressing down on a down arrow wont show you next 6 channels, you gotta press down button on remote to get to down arrow in menu, and then press center to actuate the down arrow in the menu. Horrendous. The only sane way to sort channels is to make a backup of settings on USB, edit the textfile on your PC, and load it back. This I only found out by chance and desperation, even LG support denied any other option than to manually press "move up/down" button on a each channel you want to move for 30+ times to get it where you want. Factory reset doesnt help, support doesnt help, nothing helps. I will never buy LG TV again.

petepete 6y ago

I wrote this guide a few years ago, hopefully you'll find it useful. These days a Pi-Hole will do the trick. https://gist.github.com/peteryates/b44b70d19ccd52f62d66cdd4bcef1e52 https://gist.github.com/peteryates/b44b70d19ccd52f62d66cdd4b...

m463 6y ago
Note that pi-hole is dns-based. It's pretty trivial to design a device that does it's own name resolution.
- petepete 6y ago
  And by that time I'll have learnt my lesson and bought a non-smart display, or one from a premium company.

esalman 6y ago

When I first started seeing those ads on my wife's TV, I thought I'd block the telemetry servers with my router. She happens to be using a free AT&T router, turns out it does not have an option to block hosts like a regular router.