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Telly Is the First TV Paid for by Brands
- blastro 3y agoI suppose this was inevitable
- ars 3y agoThis TV is going to get hacked in 5 minutes. Or just tape a piece of paper over the advertising screen. I'm thinking of getting one just for the novelty, and not attaching it to the internet.
- bombcar 3y agoThat’s always the best with these things. It’s a giant cue cat! Also I wonder how many verification cans it comes with.
- ars 3y ago> It’s a giant cue cat! I still have a couple of them in a drawer somewhere...........
- function_seven 3y agoOh that's a good idea. Should I sign up for one of these and just wait until they go bankrupt? What are the odds that they'll want to recover individual units from each user? How much will I have to pretend to use it while I await that implosion?
- WrtCdEvrydy 3y agoI bet you that second screen will be hacked by just removing like two wires :D
- function_seven 3y ago"We've determined that over the past six months, you have been provided 47 opportunities to enjoy Hunt's Catsup®. Our consumer data partners indicate to us that you continue to purchase Heinz brand when shopping for your family or loved ones. Unfortunately, this often indicates tampering with the Second Smart Screen. Please confirm your adherence to the Terms and Conditions by taking advantage of the wonderful offers we provide."
- sidewndr46 3y agoThe magic bullet theory is back, almost 100 years later! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypodermic_needle_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypodermic_needle_model
- xnzakg 3y agoRemoving two wires can easily be detected, and then you have to pay $2k. Covering the bottom screen with some nice vinyl wrap, however...
- xen2xen1 3y agoThat sounds pretty easy to detect as well. If it's custom made hardware they gotta have a plan for that.
- millerm 3y agoYou can't do that. From the terms: If we discover that You are not abiding by the requirements above or have disconnected the Product from an internet connection or WiFi for more than short periods each month, You will no longer be able to use the Service and You must return any Products in your possession to Telly. Failure to return Products to Telly will result in Telly charging the credit card on file. If you do abide by the Terms of Service, your credit card will not be charged.
- JohnFen 3y ago> If we discover Well, then the obvious thing to do is make sure they don't discover it.
- dmonitor 3y agoGotta load up on verification cans
- sidewndr46 3y agoThey'd have a heck of a problem at my house because my internet is regularly out for days at a time.
- spacephysics 3y agoTime to use one of those dynamically loaded digital credit cards then set to max $1 charge amount hehe
- worldofmatthew 3y agoThan they send bailiffs to your home....
- ndiddy 3y agoIn addition to advertising, they could make money by producing a reality show about trying to repo the TVs.
- londons_explore 3y ago
- mholm 3y agoMaybe the business model isn’t advertising, but instead doing checks on all the customers and sending a fine to anyone with an active GitHub.
- hardwaresofton 3y agoIMO the start is the small advertising screen. Soon they'll start interjecting ads over the ads on the screen or inserting ads where there weren't any before.
- johnea 3y agoWhat a fucking abomination...
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- techsupporter 3y ago23ish years after the Free-PC ended, we've come back around. What a world. https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/30/business/no-more-giveaway-computers-free-pc-to-be-bought-by-emachines.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/30/business/no-more-giveaway...
- AviationAtom 3y agoI'm already thinking about the amount of e-waste these are likely to generate.
- nkozyra 3y agoOur electronics and our churn through them already contribute so much. Getting a new phone every 12-18 months is a completely normal thing even though we've long passed the point of diminishing returns. I like to think things like this are being properly recycled but I carry a lot of skepticism.
- ornornor 3y ago> properly recycled Yes. Totally properly.
- ChrisRR 3y agoProbably just as much e-waste as currently where people feel the need to constantly upgrade every few years for minor improvements
- voxadam 3y agoI was expecting a story about the i-Opener but I suppose it wasn't free, just heavily discounted. I sort of wish I still had mine, I could use it with my CueCat.[1] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-Opener https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-Opener [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat
- endisneigh 3y agoI see nothing wrong with this. In fact, I’d love for a company to give me a free car with ads on and/or in it for me to use during road trips.
- majormajor 3y agoI'd probably take free ad-sponsored taxis but I'd definitely not want to let a company pay me to put a camera in my home.
- JohnFen 3y ago> I see nothing wrong with this. Aside from all the data collection, anyway.
- NickC25 3y agoIf you're willing to put that aside, it's great. Hopefully this is the death knell for TVs that cost over a grand yet come with bloated adware and other bullshit that you can't uninstall. If I want ads on my TV, you'd best be sure I'd like to be paid for viewing those ads. Fuck paying for the privileged of be advertised to.
- vkou 3y ago> Fuck paying for the privileged of be advertised to. You've described TV in a nutshell.
- hammyhavoc 3y agoTV previously generally didn't watch you. "If you stare into the void, the void stares back."
- JohnFen 3y agoSure, if you're willing to ignore the downside of anything, then that thing is great. Personally, this is no more attractive than any other "smart" TV -- which is to say it's a nonstarter -- but I have no doubt that there are enough people who don't mind it that they might be able to make a business catering to them.
- dhruvrrp 3y agoI'm curious what the terms of usage would be, since eventually people will figure out how to block all the ads one way or another. Also after having seen a few cheap Walmart tvs, some with very intrusive ads I think there might be a market for this
- hammyhavoc 3y agoThey make you send it back, or if you tamper with it, charge you two grand.
- toddmorey 3y agoI'm curious if you'll be able to turn the damn thing off or prevent it from turning itself on.
- joezydeco 3y agoYou mean like covering the lower screen with some black duct tape?
- Hamuko 3y agoI imagine at some point they'll update the TVs so that the lower screen is required to use the TV (like for changing settings or something), and people will make sliding/pivoting physical ad blockers for the second screen.
- joezydeco 3y agoTrue, you could put the whole navigation system down there. I'm sure they've already thought of all of this.
- afavour 3y ago> people will figure out how to block all the ads one way or another. I’m not so convinced about this. Locked down hardware and software, not like you can download a browser plug-in. In before anyone says “PiHole”: anyone actually doing that would be a rounding error in usage.
- gvedem 3y agofor those who thought juicero was peak consumerism
- xavxav 3y agoI couldn't tell if this was satire or not but it seems to be completely serious?
- hyperhello 3y agoWhat happens when a person feels “over advertised” to? Two video ads at once, three, at some point does consumer psychology begin to turn? I can’t take certain broadcast media already because at some level I’m physically aware of how unrewarding it is. I wonder what would happen if people encountered a situation so manipulative it was like a trauma.
- NickNaraghi 3y agoOne step closer to the TV programming in Idiocracy[0]: https://te.xel.io/img/posts/2016-05-14-facets-of-greatness-the-unknown-monumental-accidents/idiocracy.jpg https://te.xel.io/img/posts/2016-05-14-facets-of-greatness-t... [0] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/
- celestialcheese 3y agoI don't think this will work, because it seems like the average person prefers being lied too, or put another way, people prefer to live in blissful ignorance. A $300 TV gives you the illusion of privacy, sure you see some ads, but you always have seen ads with your paid cable subscription, so what's the difference. With this, a free TV immediately makes me skeptical and defensive. "Nothing in life is free". Plus, Telly is doing a hostage situation - Here's the $300 tv for free, but if you fuck with anything, we'll charge you $2k (or whatever it is). I don't see this going well for Telly.
- biofunsf 3y agoThe difference is that this TV is being upfront about ads and that it’s FREE. I don’t think the average person really cares about their privacy. I’m sure many will jump at the chance for a free TV since all TVs are ad supported anyway. (If people cared they’d uncheck the obscure setting on their smart TV that disable ad personalization) > Plus, Telly is doing a hostage situation - Here's the $300 tv for free, but if you fuck with anything, we'll charge you $2k Wait is this mentioned anywhere? I’m pretty skeptical of this. Even if you got the free TV and never even hooked it up or immediately broke it I don’t think Telly is going to hunt you down demanding their money back.
- LocalH 3y agoIn the terms: > The Product requires an Internet and Wi-Fi connections from third-party providers in order to be functional. Your Internet connection or data plan is subject to the fees, restrictions, terms and limitations imposed by your provider. In order to use the Product and Services, You will: > (a) Use the Product as the primary television in Your household; > (b) Keep the Product connected to WiFi and internet; and > (c) Not use any software on Your WiFi network that with advertising blocking capability. > (d) Not make physical modifications to the Product or attach peripheral devices to the Product not expressly approved by Telly. Any attempt to open the Product’s enclosure will be deemed an unauthorized modification. > If we discover that You are not abiding by the requirements above or have disconnected the Product from an internet connection or WiFi for more than short periods each month, You will no longer be able to use the Service and You must return any Products in your possession to Telly. Failure to return Products to Telly will result in Telly charging the credit card on file. If you do abide by the Terms of Service, your credit card will not be charged.
- wzy 3y agoNow this IS "late stage Capitalism"!
- hettygreen 3y agoYes! This the dystopian future I was hoping for! What's crazy is that TV's are already crazy cheap. I was in the grocery store a few weeks ago spending $5 on some lettuce and right next to the checkout was a big stack of 50" TV's that they were selling for $199. I'm simplifying here, but how is mining a dozen rare-earth materials, making a handful of integrated circuits, casting a flawless LCD panel, pick and placing circuit boards, winding coils for magnetic speakers, molding a case out of plastic and shipping the entire large box across the world the equivalent of growing 40 heads of Romaine lettuce? Doesn't the lettuce just kinda grow from seeds with occasional watering? Maybe a good startup would be a refrigerator that only opens after you let it track your movements, preferences, listen in on your conversations and then watch a few targeted advertisements in exchange for some free lettuce?
- comfypotato 3y agoJust pointing out that the lettuce costs what it does because of logistics. It’s fresh where you expect it to be. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cost of growing the lettuce is less than 5% of the cost. My dad used to comment often on how it always baffled him that 90% of the cost of anything involving steel beams in his construction work was just moving the beams.
- saulrh 3y agoAlso reliability and consistency and efficiency. Growing one head of lettuce in your yard is easy. Growing fifty million heads of lettuce a year, year round, every year, rain or shine, summer or winter, in sickness or in health, without it consuming 20% of your entire population... Yeah.
- hettygreen 3y agoSure... but is there not a bunch of logistics related to procuring the hundreds of parts in the TV's bom, organizing international shipping, distribution and sales required to get the TV to the exact same grocery store as the lettuce? The lettuce is grown in my own country and is already picked and tended to by low-key slave labour (migrant workers).
- soared 3y ago> We also collect information about how you interact with our TV,such the physical presence of you and anyother individuals using the TV at any given time > We may share your Viewing and Activity Data with third-party datapartners and advertisers who use it to show you relevant ads andprovide you with customized content > We may also use your Viewing and ActivityData to improve the Services and understand how you interactwith the Service > You have the right to opt-out of sharing your Viewing and Activity Data, but unfortunately, that means you will no longer have access to the Services [and must return the television] https://www.freetelly.com/viewing-and-activity-data-policy https://www.freetelly.com/viewing-and-activity-data-policy
- marricks 3y agoNot to overuse a reference already used to death but: telescreens for surveillance capitalism. Hooray.
- kimbernator 3y ago"physical presence of you and any other individuals using the TV at any given time" okay, so the deal is we give you a cheap TV that's constantly showing ads and we are going to watch you through this nifty camera. But you can video call on it!
- xen2xen1 3y agoMax Headroom? Go Blipverts!
- secretsatan 3y agoI mean, what does this mean for the privacy of your guests? If you invite someone round, do they have to sign something?
- hiatus 3y agoDo guests in your home have to consent to Alexa or any other device? I don't think so.
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- idopmstuff 3y agoA lot of hate here for this, but honestly, I think it's just fine - they're transparent, you know what to expect, and you can make an informed decision.
- burkaman 3y agoI don't think it's necessarily transparent. This page claims it will only put ads in a corner of the Smart Screen, but I would be pretty surprised if they don't also use the rest of the Smart Screen, and the main screen, and the speakers, and camera and microphone for targeted advertising. They also don't make it clear that they will actively monitoring what you're watching and adjust the ads accordingly, and I don't think that will be obvious to the people that sign up for this. I would also expect microtransactions to unlock some of the functionality they advertise on the page, which again is not stated anywhere. The level of data collection is unexpected too - this thing is going to monitor how many people are in your house and watching particular TV programs, and probably scan their faces too. They will sell that data to anyone who wants it, and not make it clear anywhere besides the fine print that they know you don't read. Informed consent is when you buy a newspaper knowing there is an ad on page 2. Uninformed consent is when you visit a news website knowing there is an ad on the side, but not knowing that it's installing 10 cookies that will track all your browsing activity forever and sell the data to anyone. This TV is equivalent to that second example.
- Kaotique 3y agoSure they are somewhat transparent, but is the average person really going to read all the fine print?
- gjsman-1000 3y agoWhat a hostage situation. Get our free TV; but try to cover the ads, or mess with the Wi-Fi, and we'll charge your credit card the full thousand bucks - just like that. Oh, your internet was down for four days because Comcast sucks? Well... sorry for putting you in financial distress. Have a free movie rental! We'll also send a free cupcake if you take down your bad review! Oh, and your kids had better not throw a Wiimote into the thing. Otherwise that "free $1000 TV!" quickly is a terrifying liability, not a perk.
- vgeek 3y agoNetzero, but with a TV and cameras.
- wazoox 3y agoIt looks almost exactly like the dystopian, brain-sucking, ad-laden television from "Idiocracy". What a sick world we're living in.
- faangguyindia 3y agoBut not forced by government and not monoply Or only choice, so not so dystopian yet.
- Kaotique 3y agoThat is not the definition of dystopian. This could have come straight from a Black Mirror episode.
- SturgeonsLaw 3y agoFrom the landing page: > Now, all smart TVs come with ads. But you still pay for the TV So much for choice
- gumballindie 3y agoConsidering the symbiosis between corporate and government i am not sure there is a distinction.
- Aleklart 3y agoIdiocracy had such TVs with ads around broadcast.
- xen2xen1 3y agoOr the episode of Black Mirror where everyone's bedroom was a small room with only a bed and walls that ran TV shows 24/7 and took up the entire walls and ceiling with shows and ads.
- kimbernator 3y agoThis TV would have to be pretty damn good for me to accept advertisements being shown to me constantly as I watch a movie. By the vague description, I assume it's not. I'm sure you could find something that matches the description "55” 4K HDR Theater Display" for under $300 easily. Something about this makes me feel uneasy, as though its success would cause the rest of the TV industry to adopt similarly invasive ideas without any price reduction.
- aiisahik 3y agoI would love a Telly and put tape over the bottom screen (or put some decorations in front of it) so i don't have to look at the ads.
- hammyhavoc 3y agoYou have no problem with them surveiling you in your own living room?
- ewzimm 3y agoTape also solves this.
- hammyhavoc 3y agoTheir T&Cs also solve evading surveillance by charging you two grand for tampering, so no, tape doesn't solve anything in a meaningful capacity for the consumer when they could buy an equivocal TV for much less than that.
- ewzimm 3y agoThat's interesting. Thanks for pointing that out! I see that anyone can opt out of the arbitration clause, and I wonder how it would play out in court if someone put a shelf or some tape in front of the camera and was charged for it. I wouldn't suggest anyone try it, but it would be interesting to know how effectively this could be enforced. The dystopian aspect of the telescreen isn't the fact that there's a camera on the TV but the enforcement mechanism behind it.
- VincentEvans 3y agoIs there and hope in solving homelessness problem with this approach? Free housing, clothing, food and transportation - completely paid by brands :) We got entertainment companies covered already it appears.
- xnzakg 3y agoThis website has some of the worst scrolljacking I've ever seen. It seems okay at first, but then sometimes it ends up scrolling at a ridiculous speed??? and then it goes back to normal.
- elkos 3y agoIs Telly short for Telescreen? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescreen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescreen
- MandieD 3y agoIt's also common British slang for television... but maybe.
- hammyhavoc 3y agoI really don't like seeing Orwell's ideas leave the page. Sigh.
- withinrafael 3y agoI'm curious how the following will be enforced: > Any attempt to open the Product’s enclosure will be deemed an unauthorized modification. The FTC has previously warned others (e.g., Microsoft) about similar attempts https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2018/04/ftc-staff-warns-companies-it-illegal-condition-warranty-coverage-use-specified-parts-or-services https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2018/04/...
- clnq 3y agoProbably it's different because Telly is clearly lending you the hardware (according to their ToS). There are many reasons why they would ask the users to return the hardware, like if it's not connected to the internet for too long. They are presenting it like the TV is a product you own, but that is not in line with how their ToS are phrased.
- steeler_train 3y agoTv isn’t a necessity. Don’t give up your privacy that easily. 99.9% of tv is trash anyway. Mine has been on once in the last 2 years (no cable to streaming services). My wife wanted to watch something on YouTube. We live great lives without it. And we save money.
- BugsJustFindMe 3y agoFrom a business perspective, the problem I see is that 55" TVs are already extremely cheap because TVs are the one product segment that consistently defies inflation. So the target market is definitively people for whom $250 is a lot of money (55" TCL 4K HDR TV price at Walmart right now), which doesn't seem lucrative for US advertisers.
- scohesc 3y agoI wonder if it runs on top of Android. Hopefully would make it easy to exploit and flash new software onto it. Maybe get one of those prepaid credit cards and put it on the Telly account so if they see you haven't turned your TV on or flashed the firmware they can't really do anything about it. Are they really going to hunt you down and ding your credit over a $200 television? Seems very post-capitalism economy. Looks like a very anti-consumer business model, or maybe it is a very friendly consumer model?
- mrtweetyhack 3y ago[dead]
- ajdude 3y agoAlso see: > Telly to Give Away 500k Free 4K TVs with a Second Screen Showing Constant Ads > 12 hours ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35948916 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35948916
- bartislartfast 3y agoTelly is slang for TV here in the british isles - does it exist over there too?
- joelegner 3y agoYes, but I have not heard it used for years. It seems to have fallen out of favor like my dad’s favorite: “boob tube.”
- thenerdhead 3y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Arguments_for_the_Elimination_of_Television https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Arguments_for_the_Elimina...
- gerbilly 3y agoWhats to stop people from just taping black construction paper over the 'special ads screen?'
- pedrogpimenta 3y agoUh! Good idea. Maybe it uses the camera to track your eyes. And it won't turn on if you tape the camera! That would sound on brand, right? Edit: I mean, it may track you to say "you've not watched ads for the past 30 minutes"
- gliiics 3y agoPlease drink a verification can. Also: > Now, all smart TVs come with ads. But you still pay for the TV. Here's the crazy other solution: let me pay for the TV and don't put ads on it. But I guess milking those who can't set up a simple DNS ad blocker (you wouldn't believe how many people don't even use a browser ad-blocking extension) is too pretty of a penny.
- rockostrich 3y agoI'm totally fine with buying a TV that's default OS includes ads when connected to the internet if it means the price of the TV is subsidized and I don't have to sign some kind of agreement that requires I don't modify the TV in anyway/always have it powered on and connected to the internet. Honestly, even using the default smart TV OS in most cases isn't really that obtrusive. I don't do it anymore but when I did I really didn't mind.
- 3iggy 3y agoCan anyone guess how this will be reinforced? can they make legal action on every guy who decides he wants to throw it off a cliff or harvest the panel and speakers?
- aio2 3y agoSweet, now I can open it up and sell the parts on eBay!