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No, this is just one of many reasons I haven't yet bought a smart TV. I probably will give in this year, but only because I can finally afford something much la
by czx4f4bd 4y ago
No, this is just one of many reasons I haven't yet bought a smart TV. I probably will give in this year, but only because I can finally afford something much larger than what I have today.
Here's the thing: At the end of the day, a smart TV has capabilities that I don't need or want, including to change how it functions without warning or consent. However unlikely the possibility is, a smart TV still has the capability to connect to an open network, phone home, and start doing shit I don't want, which means I have to trust it to not do that.
On the other hand, my old dumb TV has none of those capabilities, so I can trust it precisely because I don't need to trust it. I know it can't do anything except display what it receives on its inputs.
Therefore, any time I've considered replacing my TV with a newer one, I've always weighed predictability against uncertainty and opted in favor of the predictability of what I own.
Maybe that's overly paranoid of me, but at the end of the day, I just haven't wanted a new TV as much as I've wanted something I can trust.
- Melatonic 4y agoYou can always just buy a large "monitor" or many commercial TV's that do not have all the tracking crap. Or buy an older used TV
- asdff 4y agoI can also vouch for LG not doing anythign scummy. Do you even have open wifi near your TV? I don't, all the dozens of neighborhood routers are all password protected by default from the telecom. You'd have to intentionally make an open network these days, unlike 15 years ago when the situation was the opposite.
- czx4f4bd 4y agoI live in an apartment complex with a lot of neighbors and a fair amount of churn, so I have actually seen open networks nearby. I also can't be sure that someone won't move in and create a new one.
- brewdad 4y agoAs I sit in the kitchen of my standalone SFH, I can see 7 wifi networks that are not mine. 2 of them are open. #anecdata
- pixl97 4y ago>You'd have to intentionally make an open network these days, So any 2 bit hacker wannabe in an apartment complex? I mean if I was a teenager in the wifi days I would have been playing games like that.
- asdff 4y agoWhat are you odds for living near a 2 bit hacker wannabe? Plus if they were actually malicious, I'm sure there's worse things that are more effective they could do than making your TV update its firmware without your consent.