3 ms·

"Commercial displays" are "dumb mode" TVs. Alternatively, you can get an Apple TV and keep the TV off networks or in network jail.

2III7 1mo ago
Samsungs commercial grade signage displays have become quite smart and so have LGs.
- lostlogin 1mo ago
  > commercial grade signage displays If there is ever a campaign where people smash these, I’m in. Driving around a shopping strip while the damn things flash and change is awful. It’s distracting too, and seems likely to cause crashes.
  - deleted 1mo ago
    [deleted]
patch_collector 1mo ago
Network jail isn't a 100% for these -- in their testing, they determined that they could connect to the public Comcast networks that Comcast tries to blanket areas with. So even if you don't let it access your own networks, it will look for other ways to phone home.
- tensor 1mo ago
  No, they did not find this. They speculated that in the future the tvs "could" do that and that there is precedent with other devices. But despite this being repeated over and over as fact, it is in fact not proven to be the case.
  - whateveracct 1mo ago
    The point is more that LG has proven fully untrustworthy so the fact that it is possible is troubling. And ofc, an adversary can operate that way.
    - tensor 1mo ago
      Yes, it's extremely troubling, and not constrained to tv manufacturers. We need some sort of legal overhaul to protect people from this sort of thing. For example, I was looking at Bird scooters/e-bikes while travelling since they were the local provider of rentable bikes. I noticed a particularly aggressive EULA declaration in their app and decide to skim through the EULA. In it, they had language that stated that I gave them unlimited rights to my likeness and voice. So by clicking this EULA this company could then harvest any photos of me, interviews, what have you, clone my voice or likeness with AI, use it for ads or even sell it to others to use! Needles to say I uninstalled instead of agreeing. But how many other things did I unknowingly sign to in these EULAs? It's genuinely crazy.
      - account42 1mo ago
        It really should be even in the FCC's interest to clamp down on unwanted transmissions just to keep the airwaves from being needlessly filled.
joekrill 1mo ago
> Alternatively, you can get an Apple TV and keep the TV off networks or in network jail. The problem is that a lot of TVs won't even let you use it that way without signing in or downloading an app first. My Vizio wouldn't do anything until I acknowledged a terms of service screen. The only way I could do that was by downloading the Vizio app and connecting it to my network.
- kazinator 1mo ago
  I would march it back to the store in that situation. They are getting away with this shit because the return rates are low. Bumping up the return rate isn't something you can count on others to do; if you don't return it, you're part of the problem.
  - ssl-3 1mo ago
    The cost of returning the thing to the store can be high. The packaging can be precarious; what was once stapled cardboard is now taped, what was once a neat and rigid rectangle is now kind of floppy and misshapen and getting worse every time it moves. Besides, they're big things that can be challenging to move around. Doing it solo is mostly a non-starter. But sure: Eventually, it gets wheeled back in through the same front door of the store that it came out of just a few hours before. Now the real fun starts: They don't want it back. They hem and haw. Other associates arrive to reinforce the ultimately firm standpoint of "No." You point at the return policy on the wall. You read the relevant passages aloud, word by word. You tell them, over and over again, that you're here to return merchandise. Some smart-sounding person shows up, gives everything an appraisal, and explains "Sir, it even says DO NOT RETURN TO STORE right here on the box!" It's not clear who got loud first, but it's quite obviously the case that things are definitely loud now. Finally, the store manager appears. He just needs this fucking circus to end. He asks no questions, issues the refund without hesitation, and everyone walks away pissed off. --- I mean, I guess that's resolution. But what often happens instead is this: The TV is unpacked. It's mounted on the wall or arranged just-so on whatever furniture is involved, requiring sometimes-tricky bits of assembly the whole way through. There's excited anticipation in the air about the new widget and how much better it is going to be than the old widget. Finally, you switch it on and discover that it can't proceed without a network login. This raises a series of red flags that you find impossible to ignore. So you go out back to cool off for a few minutes, think about life's decisions, and Google ways to get this 2026 build of this TV that nobody online ever mentions the specific model number of to work offline without any connection. And the missus knows how these things can go. So while that's happening, she signs the thing into the network and gets it set up with an account "just to see how it really works." Now the TV is connected and it's never going back to the store. The end.
theandrewbailey 1mo ago
I work in the refurb department of an ewaste recycling company. I had a TV on a roller stand come in some months ago. When I turned it on, I realized that it wasn't any ordinary consumer-grade TV, but a commercial grade one. It lacked any sort of smart functionality, had no apps, and reported DCI 4K resolution (4096x2160) when connected to a PC. I found a remote that worked with it (even though it was a 'smart' TV remote). I listed it as a "dumb TV" for $200 and it took a while to sell.
- account42 1mo ago
  > and reported DCI 4K resolution (4096x2160) when connected to a PC Was that the actual panel resolution though? Because my 4K Samsung consumer TV also reports 4096x2160 resolutions in its EDID and will accept that input (but the native 3840x2160 is marked as preferred). It would be surprising if there were entirely separate panels used only for commercial displays.

2III7 1mo ago

Samsungs commercial grade signage displays have become quite smart and so have LGs.

lostlogin 1mo ago
> commercial grade signage displays If there is ever a campaign where people smash these, I’m in. Driving around a shopping strip while the damn things flash and change is awful. It’s distracting too, and seems likely to cause crashes.
- deleted 1mo ago
  [deleted]

patch_collector 1mo ago

Network jail isn't a 100% for these -- in their testing, they determined that they could connect to the public Comcast networks that Comcast tries to blanket areas with. So even if you don't let it access your own networks, it will look for other ways to phone home.

tensor 1mo ago
No, they did not find this. They speculated that in the future the tvs "could" do that and that there is precedent with other devices. But despite this being repeated over and over as fact, it is in fact not proven to be the case.
- whateveracct 1mo ago
  The point is more that LG has proven fully untrustworthy so the fact that it is possible is troubling. And ofc, an adversary can operate that way.
  - tensor 1mo ago
    Yes, it's extremely troubling, and not constrained to tv manufacturers. We need some sort of legal overhaul to protect people from this sort of thing. For example, I was looking at Bird scooters/e-bikes while travelling since they were the local provider of rentable bikes. I noticed a particularly aggressive EULA declaration in their app and decide to skim through the EULA. In it, they had language that stated that I gave them unlimited rights to my likeness and voice. So by clicking this EULA this company could then harvest any photos of me, interviews, what have you, clone my voice or likeness with AI, use it for ads or even sell it to others to use! Needles to say I uninstalled instead of agreeing. But how many other things did I unknowingly sign to in these EULAs? It's genuinely crazy.
    - account42 1mo ago
      It really should be even in the FCC's interest to clamp down on unwanted transmissions just to keep the airwaves from being needlessly filled.

joekrill 1mo ago

> Alternatively, you can get an Apple TV and keep the TV off networks or in network jail. The problem is that a lot of TVs won't even let you use it that way without signing in or downloading an app first. My Vizio wouldn't do anything until I acknowledged a terms of service screen. The only way I could do that was by downloading the Vizio app and connecting it to my network.

kazinator 1mo ago
I would march it back to the store in that situation. They are getting away with this shit because the return rates are low. Bumping up the return rate isn't something you can count on others to do; if you don't return it, you're part of the problem.
- ssl-3 1mo ago
  The cost of returning the thing to the store can be high. The packaging can be precarious; what was once stapled cardboard is now taped, what was once a neat and rigid rectangle is now kind of floppy and misshapen and getting worse every time it moves. Besides, they're big things that can be challenging to move around. Doing it solo is mostly a non-starter. But sure: Eventually, it gets wheeled back in through the same front door of the store that it came out of just a few hours before. Now the real fun starts: They don't want it back. They hem and haw. Other associates arrive to reinforce the ultimately firm standpoint of "No." You point at the return policy on the wall. You read the relevant passages aloud, word by word. You tell them, over and over again, that you're here to return merchandise. Some smart-sounding person shows up, gives everything an appraisal, and explains "Sir, it even says DO NOT RETURN TO STORE right here on the box!" It's not clear who got loud first, but it's quite obviously the case that things are definitely loud now. Finally, the store manager appears. He just needs this fucking circus to end. He asks no questions, issues the refund without hesitation, and everyone walks away pissed off. --- I mean, I guess that's resolution. But what often happens instead is this: The TV is unpacked. It's mounted on the wall or arranged just-so on whatever furniture is involved, requiring sometimes-tricky bits of assembly the whole way through. There's excited anticipation in the air about the new widget and how much better it is going to be than the old widget. Finally, you switch it on and discover that it can't proceed without a network login. This raises a series of red flags that you find impossible to ignore. So you go out back to cool off for a few minutes, think about life's decisions, and Google ways to get this 2026 build of this TV that nobody online ever mentions the specific model number of to work offline without any connection. And the missus knows how these things can go. So while that's happening, she signs the thing into the network and gets it set up with an account "just to see how it really works." Now the TV is connected and it's never going back to the store. The end.

theandrewbailey 1mo ago

I work in the refurb department of an ewaste recycling company. I had a TV on a roller stand come in some months ago. When I turned it on, I realized that it wasn't any ordinary consumer-grade TV, but a commercial grade one. It lacked any sort of smart functionality, had no apps, and reported DCI 4K resolution (4096x2160) when connected to a PC. I found a remote that worked with it (even though it was a 'smart' TV remote). I listed it as a "dumb TV" for $200 and it took a while to sell.

account42 1mo ago
> and reported DCI 4K resolution (4096x2160) when connected to a PC Was that the actual panel resolution though? Because my 4K Samsung consumer TV also reports 4096x2160 resolutions in its EDID and will accept that input (but the native 3840x2160 is marked as preferred). It would be surprising if there were entirely separate panels used only for commercial displays.