4 ms·

It's a speaker system. It plays sound. Why could it possibly have AI, tracking, or ad delivery?

nemomarx 2y ago
Insert ads into the music the customer is playing, using AI to find pauses, and track what songs they're playing for data gathering?
- grishka 2y ago
  Yeah but why would anyone actually buy that then?
  - paradite 2y ago
    You are asking the right question, but to the wrong person.
- timewizard 2y ago
  > using AI to find pauses, You can just use regular math to do this. We've been doing it for 30 years now. You don't need a trumped up overpriced garbage LLM to do anything for you here.
ww520 2y ago
Broadcast high frequency tunes in the background for other devices to pick up to identify you.
- grishka 2y ago
  Dogs hate this one simple trick
  - genewitch 2y ago
    on android you can install SoniControl Firewall to "see" the ultrasonics in your house. Try it with all tvs and things off, then try it with the TV on, youtube videos, and so on. Pixel tracking works better if the TV is connected to the internet. I remember samsung as one of the companies, where, if your TV was not ever given a wifi connection, it would attempt to connect to any open network to do what it needed to do. This sounds unlawful, so i don't know the veracity, but anyhow - if the TV is online, it can just send a half dozen pixels at known locations back home and there is a database of "content pixels at timestamps" and they match the half dozen pixel values to the database and know what you're watching to some degree of certitude. but for things like dumb panels older TVs and the like, ultrasonics still work.
gruturo 2y ago
> It's a speaker system. It plays sound. Why could it possibly have AI, tracking, or ad delivery? To recognize what you listen to, build a profile, feed it back to Samsung, which will use it in deciding what crap to display on your Samsung TV (and any other devices) associated to the same profile. For all we know it's even listening to your conversation in the room, I mean, it's Samsung - they literally do this: https://entertainment.ie/trending/yes-your-samsung-smart-tv-has-been-listening-in-on-your-conversations-340669/ https://entertainment.ie/trending/yes-your-samsung-smart-tv-... https://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/samsungs-warning-our-smart-tvs-record-your-living-room-chatter/ https://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/samsungs-warning-our-smart...
- onemoresoop 2y ago
  How much benefit could that bring versus burning reputation and losing it all? These companies are so big and powerful but time and time again they keep on forgetting that they can't exist without the users and when users start leaving it's hard to reverse that trend.
  - arcanemachiner 2y ago
    The idea of people getting upset at their tech spying on them is almost laughable at this point.
  - wcfields 2y ago
    Burning Reputation? It's so out in the open if you know, or more likely, worked in media advertising. Their competitor, Vizio, owns iSpot[1] which is, in my opinion, the best in the space. Samba TV[2] is it's nearest competitor and they have their hooks into 24 Smart TV brands globally[3]. These brands are listed on their website as Philips, Sony, Toshiba, beko, Magnavox, TCL, Grundig, Sanyo, AOC, Seiki, Element, Sharp, Westinghouse, Vestel, Panasonic, Hitachi, Finlux, Telefunken, Digihome, JVC, Luxor, Techwood, and Regal. [1] https://ispot.tv/ https://ispot.tv/ [2] https://www.samba.tv/ https://www.samba.tv/ [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samba_TV#Customers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samba_TV#Customers
  - gruturo 2y ago
jimt1234 2y ago
Because customers love AI! /s
Lanolderen 2y ago
Use the speakers as a microphone! WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY!
- thiagobbt 2y ago
  They usually already have mics to do automatic EQ calibration
  - Lanolderen 2y ago
    Didn't know that, thanks. Then speakers are actually a pretty big data source. I bet most people don't assume their speakers can be listening. I wonder if you can get internet connection over bluetooth aux or what'd be the best way to get someone to let you send data home on a speaker.
    - genewitch 2y ago
      i did some cursory digging, but i don't really want to read the A2DP or AVRCP specifications to see how much data is allowed in the non-audio payload. Besides, PAN exists, but i imagine you have to do something on your phone to allow it. Most of these expensive things also have wifi, though, don't they? > Connect your devices and control everything with our soundbar that integrates your favorite voice assistants and smart services like Built-in Alexa², Chromecast³, Airplay 2⁴ and more. > 802.11ac https://www.samsung.com/us/televisions-home-theater/home-theater/sound-bars/q-series-11-1-4-ch-wireless-dolby-atmos-soundbar-rear-speakers-w-q-symphony-hw-q990d-hw-q990d-za/ https://www.samsung.com/us/televisions-home-theater/home-the... yeah, they have wifi, so they don't even need bluetooth hacks.
wcfields 2y ago
Their competitor, Vizio, owns https://www.ispot.tv/ https://www.ispot.tv/ which is used for ad delivery tracking. It's much more reliable and precise than the familiar Nielsen ratings: since you know the total audience of X% TV households in a zipcode (which you know demographics of race/income/household size based upon), and Vizio TVs account for Y% of all TVs sold for households with incomes between A and B, and C and D you can get a confidence interval of how many people ACTUALLY saw your TV advertisement. Samsung was/is probably trying to do something similar: All sound in your TV pipes through their home theater system, so they can "Shazam" whatever media you're watching, regardless of the source (OTT, OTA, hell even YouTube or a Downloaded Torrent on your laptop hooked up via HDMI) and phone home.
BizarroLand 2y ago
You're not thinking like a true capitalist. Sure, you got your $2,000 out of the customer. But what about the money you could be making between now and the next time the customer buys something? You're giving up on tens of dollars a year by not tormenting the people who gave you money already and might do so again.

Insert ads into the music the customer is playing, using AI to find pauses, and track what songs they're playing for data gathering?

grishka 2y ago
Yeah but why would anyone actually buy that then?
- paradite 2y ago
  You are asking the right question, but to the wrong person.
timewizard 2y ago
> using AI to find pauses, You can just use regular math to do this. We've been doing it for 30 years now. You don't need a trumped up overpriced garbage LLM to do anything for you here.

ww520 2y ago

Broadcast high frequency tunes in the background for other devices to pick up to identify you.

grishka 2y ago
Dogs hate this one simple trick
- genewitch 2y ago
  on android you can install SoniControl Firewall to "see" the ultrasonics in your house. Try it with all tvs and things off, then try it with the TV on, youtube videos, and so on. Pixel tracking works better if the TV is connected to the internet. I remember samsung as one of the companies, where, if your TV was not ever given a wifi connection, it would attempt to connect to any open network to do what it needed to do. This sounds unlawful, so i don't know the veracity, but anyhow - if the TV is online, it can just send a half dozen pixels at known locations back home and there is a database of "content pixels at timestamps" and they match the half dozen pixel values to the database and know what you're watching to some degree of certitude. but for things like dumb panels older TVs and the like, ultrasonics still work.

gruturo 2y ago

> It's a speaker system. It plays sound. Why could it possibly have AI, tracking, or ad delivery? To recognize what you listen to, build a profile, feed it back to Samsung, which will use it in deciding what crap to display on your Samsung TV (and any other devices) associated to the same profile. For all we know it's even listening to your conversation in the room, I mean, it's Samsung - they literally do this: https://entertainment.ie/trending/yes-your-samsung-smart-tv-has-been-listening-in-on-your-conversations-340669/ https://entertainment.ie/trending/yes-your-samsung-smart-tv-... https://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/samsungs-warning-our-smart-tvs-record-your-living-room-chatter/ https://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/samsungs-warning-our-smart...

onemoresoop 2y ago
How much benefit could that bring versus burning reputation and losing it all? These companies are so big and powerful but time and time again they keep on forgetting that they can't exist without the users and when users start leaving it's hard to reverse that trend.
- arcanemachiner 2y ago
  The idea of people getting upset at their tech spying on them is almost laughable at this point.
- wcfields 2y ago
  Burning Reputation? It's so out in the open if you know, or more likely, worked in media advertising. Their competitor, Vizio, owns iSpot[1] which is, in my opinion, the best in the space. Samba TV[2] is it's nearest competitor and they have their hooks into 24 Smart TV brands globally[3]. These brands are listed on their website as Philips, Sony, Toshiba, beko, Magnavox, TCL, Grundig, Sanyo, AOC, Seiki, Element, Sharp, Westinghouse, Vestel, Panasonic, Hitachi, Finlux, Telefunken, Digihome, JVC, Luxor, Techwood, and Regal. [1] https://ispot.tv/ https://ispot.tv/ [2] https://www.samba.tv/ https://www.samba.tv/ [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samba_TV#Customers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samba_TV#Customers
- gruturo 2y ago

jimt1234 2y ago

Because customers love AI! /s

Lanolderen 2y ago

Use the speakers as a microphone! WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY!

thiagobbt 2y ago
They usually already have mics to do automatic EQ calibration
- Lanolderen 2y ago
  Didn't know that, thanks. Then speakers are actually a pretty big data source. I bet most people don't assume their speakers can be listening. I wonder if you can get internet connection over bluetooth aux or what'd be the best way to get someone to let you send data home on a speaker.
  - genewitch 2y ago
    i did some cursory digging, but i don't really want to read the A2DP or AVRCP specifications to see how much data is allowed in the non-audio payload. Besides, PAN exists, but i imagine you have to do something on your phone to allow it. Most of these expensive things also have wifi, though, don't they? > Connect your devices and control everything with our soundbar that integrates your favorite voice assistants and smart services like Built-in Alexa², Chromecast³, Airplay 2⁴ and more. > 802.11ac https://www.samsung.com/us/televisions-home-theater/home-theater/sound-bars/q-series-11-1-4-ch-wireless-dolby-atmos-soundbar-rear-speakers-w-q-symphony-hw-q990d-hw-q990d-za/ https://www.samsung.com/us/televisions-home-theater/home-the... yeah, they have wifi, so they don't even need bluetooth hacks.

wcfields 2y ago

Their competitor, Vizio, owns https://www.ispot.tv/ https://www.ispot.tv/ which is used for ad delivery tracking. It's much more reliable and precise than the familiar Nielsen ratings: since you know the total audience of X% TV households in a zipcode (which you know demographics of race/income/household size based upon), and Vizio TVs account for Y% of all TVs sold for households with incomes between A and B, and C and D you can get a confidence interval of how many people ACTUALLY saw your TV advertisement. Samsung was/is probably trying to do something similar: All sound in your TV pipes through their home theater system, so they can "Shazam" whatever media you're watching, regardless of the source (OTT, OTA, hell even YouTube or a Downloaded Torrent on your laptop hooked up via HDMI) and phone home.

BizarroLand 2y ago

You're not thinking like a true capitalist. Sure, you got your $2,000 out of the customer. But what about the money you could be making between now and the next time the customer buys something? You're giving up on tens of dollars a year by not tormenting the people who gave you money already and might do so again.