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Hisense TVs add unskippable startup ads before live TV
- bilekas 7mo agoUghh.. I recently turned on my 1000EUR+ LG Oled TV to find that it had automatically installed a Copilot app.. And keeps doing it every few days. Is there any smart TV that I can actually just use a TV how I want? Or am I reduced to buying an Apple TV device and unplugging the TV from the internet entirely ?
- steveBK123 7mo agoI would also like to know the answer here because I see similar slop across brands/prices/sizes/generations of TV now.. its inescapable
- zvqcMMV6Zcr 7mo agoIt is totally bonkers. For long time the low tech recommendation (without setting rules on router/firewall) was to never connect TV to network, and use cheap TV box, to use streaming services. And then community's favorite - TiVo - started to show their own ads. Everything based on Android TV is also hit or miss. And might get enshitified with an update at any time. I think NVidia Shield is the only device other than AppleTV that works as expected. Only it didn't have an hardware upgrade in 5+ years.
- steveBK123 7mo agoIt's unfortunate that the 2020s era Apple is so big/rich, in a way. Old Apple used to dabble in all sorts of niches, but now they need to sell 10M units/year to move the needle. So they'll never just make a TV now.
- imglorp 7mo agoRight, never give a TV internet access now. That's where we are. This means they can't surveil, brick, or change your hardware after you bought it. So yes, then add whatever dongles to provide content. If the dongle turns bad (evil), chuck it and get a different kind. You preserve your privacy, hardware ownership rights, and freedom to choose.
- dwedge 7mo agoOne of the main aims of 5G rollout was for the eventual inclusion of sims in these devices
- nszceta 7mo agoFor 5G enabled devices the medicine is to cut the antenna off
- gruez 7mo agoI'll believe it when I see it. The numbers simply don't pencil out. Streaming ads over cellular networks is going to be insanely expensive at rates that IOT/esim providers are currently offering. Not to mention that most people would connect to wifi anyways so they can watch neflix or whatever without a second device. If a 5G module costs $25 but only 10% of people actually never connect to wifi, you're basically paying $250 just to get that incremental customer connected.
- imglorp 7mo agoNot for ads, but maybe the numbers work out if you're selling intel. How much is a household's watching habits worth on the market? How about keyword mentions in the room?
- bzzzt 7mo ago> This means they can't surveil, brick, or change your hardware after you bought it. They can however continuously display 'NO NETWORK' popups until you give the device the access it wants. Of course, only after it's been active a while and the return window is closed.
- blitzar 7mo ago> an Apple TV device and unplugging the TV from the internet entirely Had this setup on different tvs for 10+ years, can confirm it is excellent.
- krzat 7mo agoI guess it's a matter of time until TVs include GSM modem for ads and DRM.
- codeflo 7mo ago> Or am I reduced to buying an Apple TV device and unplugging the TV from the internet entirely ? At least until TV makers wise up to that strategy and build a TV that requires internet access to unlock the HDMI port, that's the way to go.
- drewg123 7mo agoI don't have a reference, but I remember reading that some Samsung TVs require internet access to get past initial setup and allow access to HDMI. So we might already be here..
- Frotag 7mo agoAlternatively, dns block the update domains, wait a few months to few years for someone to discover an exploit for rooting, root and sideload.
- hellojesus 7mo agoWhat happens when they move from default dns to ech with pinned dns servers? I was reading about ech a bit yesterday so I could keep up with apps trying to circumvent dns filtering on my kids' devices. Usually I require a root cert so devices can have their traffic inspected or be isolated into an unsafe network where most nonessential traffic is blocked by default. I suppose letting an iot device connect will become more risky in the future when I can't control the dns resolver or can't confidently block requests through dns alone.
- Larrikin 7mo agoA Shield is the better choice because you can install apps that Apple would never approve of.
- newscracker 7mo agoBut the Nvidia Shield has (or had?) ads from Google, right? I recall there was news coverage and some uproar when this happened a few years ago.
- Larrikin 7mo agoThe default Google launcher is a disgusting mess. But since it is an Android, you do not have to use it and can use one of the many ad free ones. I use Projectivy
- floatrock 7mo agoProtection of one's attention is our generation's luxury product. Whether it's the TV hardware or the streaming service in your house, your standard of living is now judged by whether you pay extra for the ad-free tier. Apple tends to skew luxury purchase, so it makes sense it hasn't been riddled with adware yet. The Apple logo is a status symbol that you're not being bombarded with ads in every corner of underutilized screen real-estate.
- vikingerik 7mo agoOne workaround is to buy a computer monitor and use that instead. Most of those are still pretty dumb HDMI or USB terminals that you can plug any signal source into. They don't come in huge sizes like TVs (although search "digital signage" for some options), and you'll need a dedicated sound speaker system, but this route could be an option.
- smusamashah 7mo agoIF its an android, connect to it via ADB and disable all the BS apps, even launcher. I am using projectivity launcher on mine, even has child lock which we really need. No ads or popups etc at all. YouTube is all we watch on this TV anyway, and retro gaming and movies. I also have Nvidia Shield connected to it, that one is setup the same way.
- lostmsu 7mo agoDo any Android-based TVs allow you to install and use a custom launcher?
- tjpnz 7mo agoI bought a Sony Android TV a few years back which has yet to be enshitified - doesn't shove ads or shovelware down my throat, acts like a TV. It's a model made for the Japanese market though and they may have incentives to play nice with domestic customers.
- newscracker 7mo ago> Is there any smart TV that I can actually just use a TV how I want? I’ve heard that large computer monitors and TVs intended to be used as displays can be used without connecting them to a network. > Or am I reduced to buying an Apple TV device and unplugging the TV from the internet entirely ? An Apple TV is a good choice even otherwise. I’ve never seen a smoother and quicker interface on a native Smart TV (granted that I’ve only seen Android and webOS). I use my Apple TV as the only network connected device while my TV is not connected to any network ever. Once in a while, I update the TV’s firmware by downloading it to a thumb drive and plugging that into the USB port of the TV.
- drnick1 7mo agoBetter yet, use a Linux HTPC. The Apple TV box is comically restricted. For example, because there is no web browser, there is no straightforward way to watch YouTube ad-free on it.
- everdrive 7mo ago>Or am I reduced to buying an Apple TV device and unplugging the TV from the internet entirely? Why would this be something that you're "reduced" to? Why would it be a bad thing?
- bilekas 7mo agoIt kind of defeats the initial purpose of buying a smart tv though. I wanted to avoid having an extra peripheral for connectivity.
- everdrive 7mo agoNo such device exists, though. All smart TVs are as user hostile as manufacturers believe they can get away with. If they could make them worse for the user, they would. They're just pushing the boundaries as far as they can.
- andsoitis 7mo agoHisense has low taste.
- ASalazarMX 7mo agoIMO when ads have to be force-fed to consumers means the ad industry has already jumped the shark. Advertising is dominated by a few giants, trying to push a niche of even more ads becomes a waste of resources for always diminishing returns. Yet advertisers still believe more ads always mean more sales.
- frm88 7mo agoJust wait until these ad spaces are used for political propaganda/messages from the leaders. The unskippable stuff already implements the toolkit for further escalation. Related: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47325280 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47325280
- ktallett 7mo agoAnother brand I will not buy. What has become of so many companies selling out? Apple, Lenovo, Hisense, and so on.
- cr125rider 7mo agoIt’s unfair to say Apple has sold out when they’re the last bastion of commercial streaming boxes that aren’t riddled with ads
- rebeccaskinner 7mo agoIt is pretty riddled with ads though. By default the Home Screen shows the tv all and it’s completely crammed with ads.
- Y-bar 7mo agoDepends on your definition of ”ads”. As someone deep in the apple ecosystem without a subscription to Music or Apple TV I get regular full screen promotions/ads to subscribe when all I want to do is listen or watch my bought content.
- RankingMember 7mo agoYeah I see them creeping in everywhere in Apple's world- now there are ads in Apple Wallet
- shantara 7mo agoConnecting new AirPods to an iPhone for the first time now shows Apple Music subscription ad right on the pairing screen
- chung8123 7mo agoSupply and demand. Unfortunately there are way more people that would rather the lower price than the ad-free.
- mathgeek 7mo agoHopefully these can still be blocked by adguard et al: https://old.reddit.com/r/Adblock/comments/116144l/is_there_any_method_to_putting_adblock_on_a/ https://old.reddit.com/r/Adblock/comments/116144l/is_there_a...
- ramesh31 7mo agoWorth it for the price though. A 100" Hisense can be had for $1k now at Best Buy. Would have been a $20,000 TV 10 years ago.
- steveBK123 7mo agoThe problem is slopware is everywhere now You can buy a $5k TV and its startup time, auto-play adware at the Home Screen, constant OS popup notification BS, etc are almost universal. You can't buy your way out of scammy experiences anymore because the market has figured out the people most able to afford buying their way out of it are the highest value ad/scam targets.
- chung8123 7mo agoAt 100" the packaging, shipping from china, the delivery, etc. add have to be so much more than $1k. I bought a 100" TV with setup and it was only $1600. I don't know how they make money on that with all the logistics required. Two people for delivery, two different people for the wall hanging, all the materials for the packaging, and that is just to get it to my house.
- dgacmu 7mo agoShipping from China to a US coastal warehouse is probably modestly under $200, including packaging, assuming it's shipped in a 40" container. Possibly less if there's other cargo that can be used to fill the remaining space. I suspect the domestic costs are really dependent on volume (like, can you ship a container of 45 TVs to a warehouse near NYC or do you have to ship each unit individually) and I don't feel confident estimating that side of it.
- summermusic 7mo agoIt's amazing how cheap Hisense TVs are, but the two we got are developing really bad white spots just outside the warranty period. You get what you pay for I guess.
- The-Bus 7mo agoHisense has never operated at the top end of the spectrum. They can sell these TVs for $1000 because they're buying the cheapest panels that the actual high-end TVs aren't using.
- andsoitis 7mo ago> live TV Does anyone watch linear TV other than for sport and news? Everything else (movies, TV shows) is through streaming apps, no?
- vitaflo 7mo agoWe only watch OTA TV and have no streaming services so I guess the answer is yes.
- andsoitis 7mo agoCool. Do you have a favorite new TV show that you’re watching currently and that you’d recommend?
- DoctorOW 7mo agoNot the person you were responding to but I work at a TV station here in the US. What kind of shows do you like? My husband and I are getting into "The Rise and Fall of Reggie Dinkins" if you want a new show. If new episodes of a long running show is fine, I still relax to Jeopardy when I can. If you don't stream anything, you can usually still find golf on the weekends which we use for our cats. :)
- ThinkingGuy 7mo agoMy local PBS station has some good shows (ad-free)
- jonhohle 7mo agoWe might watch it “live”, but it’s through a TiVo, and not the tuner in the TV. Usually, though, we start the few scheduled shows we watch 30-60m late to be able to skip commercials.
- ectospheno 7mo agoOnce I verify a home video product works as intended I remove its network connection and never connect it again. I then leave its static ip address configured and block any traffic from it on the off chance it’s ever connected again. The sole exception is my PlayStation 5. I use apps on it for all streaming.
- p0w3n3d 7mo agoThis is outrageous and we need to stand up against it. You're merely avoiding the danger of uber-enshittification of hardware (now once software is enshittified enough), but this will crawl further and further. Meanwhile rating companies are lowering ratings of firms that DO NOT have 'subscription model' in their products, that's why we're intended to pay for enabling heating in car seats from now on.
- ectospheno 7mo agoMy car has heated and ventilated seats. These do not require a subscription.
- dwedge 7mo agoFor now
- john_strinlai 7mo agohttps://www.thedrive.com/news/bmw-commits-to-subscriptions-even-after-heated-seat-debacle https://www.thedrive.com/news/bmw-commits-to-subscriptions-e... "But while BMW ultimately backed down over heated seats, the company still believes in the features-as-a-service model, and will continue to offer post-purchase upgrades through its ConnectedDrive platform. "
- greatpatton 7mo agoAnd then they will complain that Chinese company are simply crushing them... As a European, I have been buying only Asian cars for ages as I don't want to play their "add options" game, and I think that more and more people are tired of that.
- drchaim 7mo agoThe other day I was at a spa, they had a TV in the background showing a channel with relaxing images, but after 5 minutes ads started playing.I don't think the spa staff even knew about it. we're fucked
- The-Bus 7mo agoThis is likely either a YouTube/Roku channel that shows relaxing images but monetizes them via ads.
- RankingMember 7mo agoReminds me of someone who tweeted at YouTube about an experience trying to perform CPR and the CPR video on YouTube got interrupted by an unskippable ad
- dotcoma 7mo agoThat’s what I call progress! ;)
- globular-toast 7mo agoIf someone was offering you a sweet but in exchange they punched you in the face, you'd probably question whether the sweet was really worth it. Unless, of course, you're addicted to the sweets. Time to kick the addiction. Seek out ways to spend your time that are good for you and/or others.
- xuhu 7mo agoIt's not sweets and it's not an addiction, not everything on TV is for mindless consumption. The viewer is not who's at fault here. The right mindset is not "accept their terms or give up", it's "make your voice heard and try to make the manufacturers change their practices".
- lpcvoid 7mo agoI have a rooted LG WebOS TV. It's really nice. I can ssh into it. It's on a dedicated VLAN which has all LG domains and IP firewalled off. It can connect to Youtube, using a version of the Youtube app with integrated adblocker and sponsorblock. It's absolute superb.
- newscracker 7mo agoDo you have any recommended links for such a setup? I don’t connect my TV to the network and use it with an Apple TV. But I’m interested to know more on this.
- lpcvoid 7mo agoSure, first you check if your TV is rootable: https://cani.rootmy.tv/ https://cani.rootmy.tv/ If not, you can try and find one on Ebay or local classifieds that is. That's the hardest part. Then you setup a VLAN (I use OpenWRT, which has great support for this) and some firewall rules that forbid all traffic that isn't port 80 or 443. Then you create a dnsmasq blacklist for all the LG domains (good list is [1]). Then you install this: https://github.com/webosbrew/youtube-webos https://github.com/webosbrew/youtube-webos Enjoy Youtube on a large screen under your control without ads, and without annoying sponsors. [1] https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hagezi/dns-blocklists/main/domains/native.lgwebos.txt https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hagezi/dns-blocklists/main...
- st_goliath 7mo agoIn the past, you had to wait for the tubes to warm up, before you got a picture. Nowadays, you have to wait for the thing to finish booting. In the future, you have to wait for the ads to finish playing?
- MathMonkeyMan 7mo agoGotta chug that verification can.
- daft_pink 7mo agoLove my Apple TV box. Just sayin’ Why you would want your TV Manufacturer to control the experience at this point I have no idea. 5-6 years ago, we were a Roku only household. Now we are Apple TV all the way and haven’t looked back.
- dekken_ 7mo agothis is theft of time
- erremerre 7mo agoHere could some European company that already makes tv to step in and create something good, with no ads, and even better if they promise to open the sourcecode, bootloader etc... Something like Philips for example. But I guess they are too busy making lightbulbs to notice that they could fill that gap on the TV market space.
- deafpolygon 7mo agoeuropean TVs aren’t that much better
- erremerre 7mo agoExactly that is my point. They could be. There is no incentive to buy Philips over any chinese brand if they all are going to spy. But it could be different. Like how Oneplus allowed Cyanogen on their devices.
- bzzzt 7mo agoThere are no real European TVs anymore. The Philips TV brand is Chinese owned for more than a decade now.
- gh02t 7mo agoPhilips has made "smart" TVs for years, including OLEDs, and they're more or less Android TVs like most other manufacturers. So I wouldn't hold your breath for them.
- erremerre 7mo agoThat is what I meant, they are no different from any other brand. But they could be. They could guarantee no enshitification, or an open platform.
- beej71 7mo agoSearching for "commercial display" will get you some dumb TVs. They tend to cost 2x, but you get what you pay for. We just gave away our 55" Hisense to our friend. I hope she doesn't think it means we hate her now. ;) (Side note: not having a TV in the living space allowed us to freely design it to be a living space.)
- pithos 7mo agoWhat do you do with this living space without a TV? Serious question from someone who grew up with a TV companion. I imagine this is what the current generation feels when thinking about smartphones.
- beej71 7mo agoWe curl up on the couch and look at our phones. ;) Actually we've made an effort to have people over more now, and we gather around the coffee table to chat. And even when we don't have people over, we're more likely to talk and be social.
- ProllyInfamous 7mo ago>What do you do with this living space without a TV? My main social space is my front porch, which is a semi-enclosed dogrun with ample seating (no TV). My "living room" doesn't have a couch, which naturally forces you towards seating (aforementioned outside). There is a small table, with two chairs only; bookshelves, artwork, and projectspace mostly for standing room only. Not really much of a socialite, but I really don't like TVs (nor people in my small space). >current generation feels ... about smartphones I don't use those, either. Hate that everything is now an app (including parking). old_man_yells_at_clouds.gif (early forties)
- hn_acc1 7mo agoWhile I sadly have to have a phone for some things (Okta, for example, for work) and in general for phone calls / texting, I try to install as few apps as possible. If there's a web interface and I don't need the info with me, I'll use the web interface.
- LaSombra 7mo agoI'll keep not connecting my TV to the Internet and keep using a Fire TV stick for now.
- Dwedit 7mo agoFire Stick/Fire TV is a pretty dreadful experience as it is. Video ads on the home screen, but at least you can currently install custom apps. No way to replace the home screen.
- phaser 7mo agoReminds me of the people of the future in Mike Judge’s “Idiocracy” who watch large TVs where most of the space is taken by advertising. It’s amazing how this one turned morphed from humor into an eerie warning of the future in 20 years. https://youtu.be/YqQ6D0Bu-a8 https://youtu.be/YqQ6D0Bu-a8
- wat10000 7mo agoMore and more I think that advertising should just be banned. People will tell me it's useful. I don't believe it. But even if it were true, it's not worth it. Sorry, advertisers, you abused it horribly, you ruined it for everyone.
- deafpolygon 7mo agoi am never buying another smart tv again. we all should vote with our wallet, but alas — such is life. i will be replacing my existing (3 year old tv) when its time with a pc monitor and yes, i will go down in size. i’ve found that really large tbs aren’t really adding that much and dominate your house the minute you walk in.
- beAbU 7mo agoI love my Hisense TV. It was the best bang for my bucks when I bought it. Nice and big, nice and bright and 4k. I'm not a pixel peeper by any stretch of the imagination, so I'm not too fussed about having the best of the best in my living room. I've had it so far for about 5 years, and I might keep it for much longer. That TV has not whiffed a single packet over it's network interface, and it never will. I've learnt my lesson with smart previous smart tv's (looking at you Samsung), and I'm more than happy to run outdated firmware on my TV. If it works it works. If I buy a new tv that needs internet to get working, or the shipped firmware is buggy, then I'll take it back to the store as it's not working. Simple as.
- ethbr1 7mo agoAnyone who lets their TV on their network is naive. It has one job. I never would have thought Zero Trust would be a requirement for home networking, but here we are since ~2020.
- bookofjoe 7mo agoPeacock app does the same thing. Mandatory 15-second-long commercial before starting whatever you want to watch.
- puppycodes 7mo agocompletely unsuprising, Hisense is garbage and actively user hostile.
- mikeyinternews 7mo agoI was going to Lowe's tomorrow to buy a Hisense dehumidifier, but fuck them. Will find a different brand