4 ms·

Until a couple years later and the apps stop working from lack of updates and you've got the TV for another decade.

2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago
People will just buy TVs more often. "The customers must love this since they're buying 3x as many TVs! Keep em coming!"
- M2Ys4U 5y ago
  > People will just buy TVs more often. Yes, and that's the problem.
  - 2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago
    I know it is. Good luck convincing enough consumers to give a shit though. It's unfortunate.
hakfoo 5y ago
If it were modular, it would be more manageable. Put the "smarts" in a form factor reminiscent of a Raspberry Pi Compute Module, and put it behind a door like a decent laptop's RAM sockets. This also offers more product flexibility from the same basic chassis. You can offer a "dumb" module for security-centric "cannot have unapproved devices on the network" markets, or a module that has specialized software or connectivity (i. e. a built-in KVM-over-IP client, or something bidirectional for hotels with internal cable and pay-per-view technologies) Aside from the consumer benefit of "You can just snap in a new $100 module in 3 years and it will be snappy and up to date instead of scrapping a $600 set", this could be a good way to manage the ATSC 3 rollout. You can sell a 4K set today without an ATSC3 tuner, then the customer can add it as an "updated smart module" for $100 later once the format is live in their market.
- asciimov 5y ago
  This sounds exactly how TVs worked before they became "smart", except instead of some module we had a standardized plug and you could attach what ever you wanted to the tv. In my case, I have an HD tv from 2006, it ain't smart, but it does tune to what ever port I want by default. I've got roku on there now, but in the past I've had cable boxes, consoles, even some rabbit ears.
- Aerroon 5y ago
  Isn't this basically a digibox (set-top box?) though? The modern ones basically just run android and use AndroidTV. Costs maybe $50 and connects to a TV. Presumably you could even use some other android device to do the same thing.
  - hakfoo 5y ago
    I figured the selling point is that it's sleek and fits inside the footprint of the set, rather than having to be cabled externally or dangle off a HDMI port like a Chromecast or Roku.

People will just buy TVs more often. "The customers must love this since they're buying 3x as many TVs! Keep em coming!"

M2Ys4U 5y ago
> People will just buy TVs more often. Yes, and that's the problem.
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago
  I know it is. Good luck convincing enough consumers to give a shit though. It's unfortunate.

hakfoo 5y ago

If it were modular, it would be more manageable. Put the "smarts" in a form factor reminiscent of a Raspberry Pi Compute Module, and put it behind a door like a decent laptop's RAM sockets. This also offers more product flexibility from the same basic chassis. You can offer a "dumb" module for security-centric "cannot have unapproved devices on the network" markets, or a module that has specialized software or connectivity (i. e. a built-in KVM-over-IP client, or something bidirectional for hotels with internal cable and pay-per-view technologies) Aside from the consumer benefit of "You can just snap in a new $100 module in 3 years and it will be snappy and up to date instead of scrapping a $600 set", this could be a good way to manage the ATSC 3 rollout. You can sell a 4K set today without an ATSC3 tuner, then the customer can add it as an "updated smart module" for $100 later once the format is live in their market.

asciimov 5y ago
This sounds exactly how TVs worked before they became "smart", except instead of some module we had a standardized plug and you could attach what ever you wanted to the tv. In my case, I have an HD tv from 2006, it ain't smart, but it does tune to what ever port I want by default. I've got roku on there now, but in the past I've had cable boxes, consoles, even some rabbit ears.
Aerroon 5y ago
Isn't this basically a digibox (set-top box?) though? The modern ones basically just run android and use AndroidTV. Costs maybe $50 and connects to a TV. Presumably you could even use some other android device to do the same thing.
- hakfoo 5y ago
  I figured the selling point is that it's sleek and fits inside the footprint of the set, rather than having to be cabled externally or dangle off a HDMI port like a Chromecast or Roku.