7 ms·

TV set has become a digital billboard. And it's only getting worse

38 points by f_allwein 2y ago

mjcurl 2y ago
I bought a Hisense tv last year and I think I haven't seen an ad once (barring YouTube ads).
- WaitWaitWha 2y ago
  Is it connected to the internet?
h2odragon 2y ago
A display that only you can watch will become rare and extra valuable. I wonder what percentage of internet traffic is already "defunct" analytics, send home data for manufacturers that moved on, devices spying for masters that no longer listen.
- f_allwein 2y ago
  Maybe there’s a (limited) business opportunity here, for a dumb TV.
  - parl_match 2y ago
    Except.... that's just any tv on the market. Don't connect it to the internet, only use external inputs. Or buy a signage/professional model
    - poikroequ 2y ago
      That's increasingly no longer true. For many new smart TVs, you literally can't use them until you connect them to the internet.
      - mikestew 2y ago
        Then back into the box it would immediately go, and back from whence it came for a refund. What do they expect me to do with such a TV at my remote country cabin? Our new LG OLED purchased just weeks ago, BTW, works just fine without a network connection. Thanks to HDMI CEC, I’ve seen the TV’s home screen maybe twice.
        m463 2y ago
        Sort of annoying that really good LG sets have really not good sound. The remedy is to get an LG soundbar, which sounds great. ...but you can't use it without wifi. Even if you don't connect the soundbar to your wifi, the soundbar will create a visible wifi AP for the subwoofer to connect to.
      - thejazzman 2y ago
        I've never heard of a TV doing this. Would you mind shaming the brand(s) doing it?
      - parl_match 2y ago
        That is a wild claim, I'd need to know a manufacturer who does this.
    - nothercastle 2y ago
      I have a lg c2 never connected never going to.
      - parl_match 2y ago
        fwiw you should connect it to the internet if you haven't, and do a firmware update. they released some serious quality related stuff and also wear leveling improvements and then immediately disconnect it after. you might also be able to do the update with a thumbdrive, idk
- WaitWaitWha 2y ago
  > devices spying for masters that no longer listen. An excellent way to represent a problem that is spreading like fungus. I do not have this worked out yet, but ... The problem is significantly larger than just TV. I think the root problem is around software. Not necessarily software herself, but the notion that a good enough code can be deployed since the ease of updating is present. GM's response to Bill Gates criticism has come around ("If General Motors had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with..."), and now vehicles are built, and many other things including TVs the same as "software". I despise regulations, but here I think we would need something. If company is selling a product, it must be able to function without internet, it must be able to function without continuous updates. I just do not know how we can prevent companies switching to leasing, instead of selling.
JohnFen 2y ago
TVs have joined newish cars, anything IoT, and so forth on my list of things that aren't worth buying. They're all intended to be surveillance platforms and none of them offer enough value to be worth going to the effort to defang them.
- AtlasBarfed 2y ago
  The only smart in modern "smart" is around diabolical ad injection.
ddmma 2y ago
Feels like Idiocracy device
add-sub-mul-div 2y ago
> Roku has also tested a feature that "would force viewers to sit through effectively a mid-roll ad when clicking from the Roku City screensaver to return to home screen," This is absolutely horrible and I assume it's only a matter of time before I decide to hook up my PC straight to my TV so as to obviate the Roku/Plex combo which until now I've considered the least bad option.
hooverd 2y ago
Android TV too! They've besmirched the Nvidia Shield homepage with ads.
- hnburnsy 2y ago
  Projectivy Launcher, no side loading needed, beliveve me now, thank me later! Bonus extra, Aerial Views screensaver.
  - hooverd 2y ago
    Thanks!
- heywoods 2y ago
  Projectivy Launcher - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spocky.projengmenu&hl=en_US&pli=1 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spocky.pro...
hnburnsy 2y ago
Its not just the tv manufactures... NBC ran commercials during Olympic completion, shrinking the competition into the corner and they also ran 2-3 second ads during the program, too fast for you to skip. Hockey is placing continual advertising with rotating animations on the dasherboards and the ice surface. Youtube is placing much longer non-skippable ads into content displayed on smart tvs versus mobile or web browser. HGTV has raised the art of the in program ad popup to a whole new level in terms of frequency and size, even shrinking the current program while placing ads on the left and bottom border.
- f_allwein 2y ago
  „we estimate we can sell up to 80% of an individual's visual field before inducing seizures“ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1677720/characters/nm1467291 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1677720/characters/nm1467291
eutropia 2y ago
It's too much tk hope we can ban advertising, but surely we can ban all of this absurd tracking?

38 points by f_allwein 2y ago

mjcurl 2y ago

I bought a Hisense tv last year and I think I haven't seen an ad once (barring YouTube ads).

WaitWaitWha 2y ago
Is it connected to the internet?

h2odragon 2y ago

A display that only you can watch will become rare and extra valuable. I wonder what percentage of internet traffic is already "defunct" analytics, send home data for manufacturers that moved on, devices spying for masters that no longer listen.

f_allwein 2y ago
Maybe there’s a (limited) business opportunity here, for a dumb TV.
- parl_match 2y ago
  Except.... that's just any tv on the market. Don't connect it to the internet, only use external inputs. Or buy a signage/professional model
  - poikroequ 2y ago
    That's increasingly no longer true. For many new smart TVs, you literally can't use them until you connect them to the internet.
    - mikestew 2y ago
      Then back into the box it would immediately go, and back from whence it came for a refund. What do they expect me to do with such a TV at my remote country cabin? Our new LG OLED purchased just weeks ago, BTW, works just fine without a network connection. Thanks to HDMI CEC, I’ve seen the TV’s home screen maybe twice.
      - m463 2y ago
        Sort of annoying that really good LG sets have really not good sound. The remedy is to get an LG soundbar, which sounds great. ...but you can't use it without wifi. Even if you don't connect the soundbar to your wifi, the soundbar will create a visible wifi AP for the subwoofer to connect to.
    - thejazzman 2y ago
      I've never heard of a TV doing this. Would you mind shaming the brand(s) doing it?
    - parl_match 2y ago
      That is a wild claim, I'd need to know a manufacturer who does this.
  - nothercastle 2y ago
    I have a lg c2 never connected never going to.
    - parl_match 2y ago
      fwiw you should connect it to the internet if you haven't, and do a firmware update. they released some serious quality related stuff and also wear leveling improvements and then immediately disconnect it after. you might also be able to do the update with a thumbdrive, idk
WaitWaitWha 2y ago
> devices spying for masters that no longer listen. An excellent way to represent a problem that is spreading like fungus. I do not have this worked out yet, but ... The problem is significantly larger than just TV. I think the root problem is around software. Not necessarily software herself, but the notion that a good enough code can be deployed since the ease of updating is present. GM's response to Bill Gates criticism has come around ("If General Motors had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with..."), and now vehicles are built, and many other things including TVs the same as "software". I despise regulations, but here I think we would need something. If company is selling a product, it must be able to function without internet, it must be able to function without continuous updates. I just do not know how we can prevent companies switching to leasing, instead of selling.

JohnFen 2y ago

TVs have joined newish cars, anything IoT, and so forth on my list of things that aren't worth buying. They're all intended to be surveillance platforms and none of them offer enough value to be worth going to the effort to defang them.

AtlasBarfed 2y ago
The only smart in modern "smart" is around diabolical ad injection.

ddmma 2y ago

Feels like Idiocracy device

add-sub-mul-div 2y ago

> Roku has also tested a feature that "would force viewers to sit through effectively a mid-roll ad when clicking from the Roku City screensaver to return to home screen," This is absolutely horrible and I assume it's only a matter of time before I decide to hook up my PC straight to my TV so as to obviate the Roku/Plex combo which until now I've considered the least bad option.

hooverd 2y ago

Android TV too! They've besmirched the Nvidia Shield homepage with ads.

hnburnsy 2y ago
Projectivy Launcher, no side loading needed, beliveve me now, thank me later! Bonus extra, Aerial Views screensaver.
- hooverd 2y ago
  Thanks!
heywoods 2y ago
Projectivy Launcher - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spocky.projengmenu&hl=en_US&pli=1 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spocky.pro...

hnburnsy 2y ago

Its not just the tv manufactures... NBC ran commercials during Olympic completion, shrinking the competition into the corner and they also ran 2-3 second ads during the program, too fast for you to skip. Hockey is placing continual advertising with rotating animations on the dasherboards and the ice surface. Youtube is placing much longer non-skippable ads into content displayed on smart tvs versus mobile or web browser. HGTV has raised the art of the in program ad popup to a whole new level in terms of frequency and size, even shrinking the current program while placing ads on the left and bottom border.

f_allwein 2y ago
„we estimate we can sell up to 80% of an individual's visual field before inducing seizures“ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1677720/characters/nm1467291 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1677720/characters/nm1467291

eutropia 2y ago

It's too much tk hope we can ban advertising, but surely we can ban all of this absurd tracking?