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Television Businesses

The Hidden Cost of Cheap TVs (theatlantic.com) 222

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
Perhaps the biggest reason TVs have gotten so much cheaper than other products is that your TV is watching you and profiting off the data it collects. From a report: Modern TVs, with very few exceptions, are "smart," which means they come with software for streaming online content from Netflix, YouTube, and other services. Perhaps the most common media platform, Roku, now comes built into TVs made by companies including TCL, HiSense, Philips, and RCA. But there are many more operating systems: Google has Google TV, which is used by Sony, among other manufacturers, and LG and Samsung offer their own.

Smart TVs are just like search engines, social networks, and email providers that give us a free service in exchange for monitoring us and then selling that info to advertisers leveraging our data. These devices "are collecting information about what you're watching, how long you're watching it, and where you watch it," Willcox said, "then selling that data -- which is a revenue stream that didn't exist a couple of years ago." There's nothing particularly secretive about this -- data-tracking companies such as Inscape and Samba proudly brag right on their websites about the TV manufacturers they partner with and the data they amass.

The companies that manufacture televisions call this "post-purchase monetization," and it means they can sell TVs close to at cost and still make money over the long term by sharing viewing data. In addition to selling your viewing information to advertisers, smart TVs also show ads in the interface. Roku, for example, prominently features a given TV show or streaming service on the right-hand side of its home screen -- that's a paid advertisement. Roku also has its own ad-supported channel, the Roku Channel, and gets a cut of the video ads shown on other channels on Roku devices.
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The Hidden Cost of Cheap TVs

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  • ...I still have an old fashioned CRT as my primary TV. I try to sell them on the built in VCR and DVD player and still they wonder. I do have a Roku that I run through a digital to analog converter for the times I want to watch modern content. I will not own a TV that requires an internet connection to work. Nope. No way. Not going to do it. I will now go sacrifice a chicken to the television god and pray he doesn't take "old reliable" from me.
    • A CRT uses a ton of energy. Is it even 4k? Just get yourself a big LCD and dont connect it to the internet.

      • Re: My friends wonder why... (Score:5, Funny)

        by PackMan97 ( 244419 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @11:20AM (#63176408)
        Yes, it does use a lot of energy. It's one of the things I love about it. I'm also still using incandescent bulbs, I have a land line and get a lot of postal mail! Someone has to keep these legacy businesses running!
        • Ok, that's a lie. We use almost all LED's thought we have a few CFLs that haven't yet given up the ghost. I love my light at 3500-4000K. We also gave up our landline once we got fiber internet and now just do the VOIP thing. We do use the postal service far more than we should. It's tough giving up checks. *shrug*
          • You should meet my dad. When he heard incondecents were being replaced with CFL and LEDs he went to Home Depot and bought enough incondecents to last the rest of his life. I asked why he doesn't just change his dimmer switch. Apparently he did, but didn't like the light produced by the new bulbs. Personally, I'm still using my last batch of halogens in my track lighting. The guy at Home Depot told me to get a bunch more before they're gone, but they cost me so much more to run, I'm just going to switch

            • I have a lifetime supply of halogens I can gift you.

              • That's ok. One of my halogens just burned out a week ago and I've got a new set of LEDs ready to go. As much as I like the light they produce, I'm looking forward to just being able to run them without worrying about whether they've been on all day. If they're really bad, I may regret not buying halogen, though.

            • I switched all of my lighting I could to LED at my previous house and at my new one. But I've gotta say -- the quality of many LED lights and fixtures is suspect!

              A buddy of mine resorted to disassembling the LED fixtures he bought and swapped the resistors in them, because he found a lot of them on the market are over-driving the LEDs to achieve the desired brightness levels and it just prematurely kills them.

              I bought several "Utilitech" LED shop lights the other day from my local Lowes earlier this week an

          • You really have a still-functioning CRT TV? My last one died nearly 10 years ago.
      • It doesn't really. I have a 27" CRT TV (a Samsung from 2004) and it uses about 140 watts. Compare with a cheap 50" Hisense, it uses about 135W, so it's about the same. Then compare with larger OLED screens, they will easily use 300-400W. Of course the CRT looks terrible with 480i resolution, but if all you're doing is watching old episodes of Star Trek there's nothing wrong with it.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by EvilSS ( 557649 )

          I have a 27" CRT TV (a Samsung from 2004) and it uses about 140 watts. Compare with a cheap 50" Hisense, it uses about 135W, so it's about the same.

          Yes, because that's totally an apples to apples comparison.

          • Yes, because that's totally an apples to apples comparison.

            I'm fairly certain that was the point — the modern TV uses a lot less power, inch for inch, and it has higher image quality. And actually, that's a pretty good comparison, because the average screen size* is now over 55" [statista.com], and 27" was towards the top end of common CRT TV sizes.

            * in North America

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by nagora ( 177841 )

        You say "is it even 4k?" like 4k matters.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by taustin ( 171655 )

        Some televisions, these days, won't work without an internet connection.

        I don't own any of those. I prefer to have my cable box spy on it instead.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Nonesuch ( 90847 )

          Some televisions, these days, won't work without an internet connection.

          [Citation Needed]

          I haven't found any mainstream (defined as sold at retail in Best Buy, Walmart, or Costco/Sams Club) television which will refuse to display content from a HDMI input unless the TV is provided with Internet.

          I've seen a few claims of televisions which will hunt for "open WiFi" and establish internet connectivity even if you never do any manual configuration, but have yet to see proof of that, either

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by lsllll ( 830002 )
        4Kv in parts of the circuits maybe.
    • You can also get a commercial display (intended for hotels, restaurants, airports, etc.). It'll have the same panel as a "regular" TV, and it'll cost a little more, but it will not have the "smart OS".

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by necro81 ( 917438 )

        You can also get a commercial display (intended for hotels, restaurants, airports, etc.). It'll have the same panel as a "regular" TV, and it'll cost a little more, but it will not have the "smart OS".

        Even better: some of these signage displays have a built-in Raspberry Pi (compute module, on some carrier board), such that you could flash whatever Roku/MythTV clone you want on there.

        In other words: you can get the benefits of a smart TV while also having full control of the OS.

    • I have a Samsung OLED that I just purchased a few months ago. It has never been connected to a network so I don't see how they could be monetizing it unless they have built in their own cellular modem or have some kind of agreement with a massive wifi provider like Comcast.

      In any event, I am not THAT concerned about it. I have a Roku connected to it, after all.

      • Ah, curious, am thinking about replacing my rear projection sony as the bulb is going again. When I looked it appeared as if modern smart tv's can be used without internet as you seem to be doing. Did you have to look to get one that worked as a dumb tv or is it pretty common smart tv's can fallback to dumb without internet? I'm looking for one that has an ATSC tuner as well, no cable. And I don't plan on streaming either. Movies(DVD/BD) and OTA only.

  • Just don't enable network access (Score:5, Insightful)

    by magzteel ( 5013587 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @11:10AM (#63176376)

    Just don't enable network access, problem solved

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • The TV still remains disconnected and my FireStick is rooted & running a modified OS

        • Re: Just don't enable network access (Score:5, Insightful)

          by TuballoyThunder ( 534063 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @11:29AM (#63176452)
          I guess we are heading to a future where privacy will be available to the rich or technically literate.

          • Re: Just don't enable network access (Score:4, Interesting)

            by jmichaelg ( 148257 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @11:55AM (#63176524) Journal

            In a dictatorship you would be right.

            But in a capitalist society, some of the technically literate will realize there's an opportunity by selling specialized firewalls for TVs. The choices will proliferate for awhile until a few clear winner emerge and their inventors will make a nice sum of money selling to the technically illiterate.

            One of the virtues of capitalism is it decentralizes power - an effect dictatorships abhor.

            • Except that we have proved time and time again in the USA that there isn't a critical mass of people who both understand and care about the implications. Not enough to drive mainstream product options anyway. Most people just are not willing to spend any extra money on it.

          • The market has spoken. By and large, consumers don't care about they privacy. AT ALL! They get mad when something like the Cambridge Analytica scandal happens, but they expend exactly zero effort towards protecting their privacy from the likes of Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc.

            So, we already live in a world where privacy is only available to the rich or technically literate, because those are the only groups who are willing to expend even a modicum of effort towards protecting it.

        • I can root my firestick?? Thanks for the tip!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by e3m4n ( 947977 )
        yea its not the TV doing the selling of info. Hell I doubt its even Roku. If you have Paramount+ then that app queues up streaming of a show from Paramount servers. Its that back-end that knows everything you are watching in order to advertise to you. If you are in the FireTV ecoverse then your ads within Prime, Freevee, IMDB TV, come often from your amazon shopping profile. And why does the writer assume its only cheap TVs? I have a 75in Samsung Neo QLED which has its own smart TV OS. Im sure it does the

        • Not only that, but in the case of Paramount+, I have found that I have had to exempt my Roku from the pi-hole ad-blocker just to get shows to save progress. So, it would seem that Paramount+ is handing off the job of state tracking to an ad company.

      • I am guilty of using a Roku Ultra with my non-connected "smart TV". I might not get around whatever information Roku harvests from me, but at least the TV manufacturer (LG) can't install whatever sort of spyware/crap they want to or backdoor you.

        I used a Sceptre TV for a while, which is one of the few modern cheapo TVs that come without any sort of networking, but it's an utter piece of shit and I can't recommend it. I agree with magzteel:

        Just don't enable network access, problem solved

        • Install PiHole on your network! Blocks Roku tracking and ads.

          • Only problem is that some services (or at least Paramount+) require communication with an ad service to track video progress. So, when my pi-hole blocks the Roku, Paramount+ video progress is not tracked/saved. The result is no resume for any show watched on that service...

    • TVs don't even need network access (laptops have HDMI ports, nowadays...)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by srg33 ( 1095679 )

      Yes x 1000! Treat it as a monitor. (Personally, I use mine for video only and route everything through my sound system. Only 1 HDMI to the monitor and no ARC.) A lingering Q: if streaming via a "common" service (Netflix, Roku, etc.) then how exposed am I?

      • A lingering Q: if streaming via a "common" service (Netflix, Roku, etc.) then how exposed am I?

        Very because even if your TV isn't selling your viewing habits then the services you're using are likely to be. Netflix’s privacy policy says data can be shared between partners and suppliers such as your TV or internet service provider, streaming media device providers, mobile phone carriers and voice assistant platform providers.

    • That's true for the TV itself but your Roku is just as bad if not worse. Best solution is install PiHole on your network. It blocks all Roku tracking and ad serving.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by flink ( 18449 )

        Some content providers are wise to this and now serve ads and run their telemetry from the same domain that serves the content, so you can't use a simple blacklist - you need more advanced app-level filtering.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by _xeno_ ( 155264 )

      Then whatever you do use to access content can spy on you instead!

      Because unless you're watching OTA TV, chances are, whatever you're using to send content to the TV, is also uploading telemetry about what you're doing to whoever owns it. I suppose if you have a sufficiently old DVD player you might get away with watching DVDs without being watched, but these days, everything else expects to be able to check in with the Internet, and that means spying.

      Modern cable boxes are bi-directional, so your cable com

    • I've been wondering about this. I do want to upgrade my TV. I have a computer stuffed into my tv unit plugged in via HDMI.

      But I have this cynical feeling that if I try to use a modern "smart" TV in the same way, I am going to somehow run into problems. Is it really just as simple as "don't use these features, no network access, problem solved" for most of them?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Nonesuch ( 90847 )

        I've been wondering about this. I do want to upgrade my TV. I have a computer stuffed into my tv unit plugged in via HDMI.

        But I have this cynical feeling that if I try to use a modern "smart" TV in the same way, I am going to somehow run into problems. Is it really just as simple as "don't use these features, no network access, problem solved" for most of them?

        It really is that simple. Never plug in an Ethernet cable, never tell it your WiFi password.

        There might be some weird locked-down TV available only through sketchy websites which will refuse to even display HDMI input content until you give it Internet access, but nothing you'll find on the shelf at Best Buy or Walmart or Costco will behave like that

  • "Smart TVs" are really "Dumb TVs" (real "smart TVs" have only HDMI port plugged in raspberry pis, probably running libreelec.tv)

  • External Media Player (Score:5, Informative)

    by bubblyceiling ( 7940768 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @11:23AM (#63176418)
    Use an external device like AppleTV to play your media. Set the TV as an HDMI input & keep internet off. That way everything can be bypassed and the TV remains a TV
    • ...and your external device gets to post-purchase monetize you.
      • It's it funny that a Chinese-sourced Android box may be the most secure and private solution?

        • "Just" put it behind a pihole and look up NAT reflection rules and DoH blocking.

          Imagine if Netgear or somebody provided a stock privacy mode.

        • It's it funny that a Chinese-sourced Android box may be the most secure and private solution?

          But the western apps you install to watch media channels will spy on you anyway. You can go to great lengths to block URLs/IPs, use adblockers, etc., but they're still gonna get loads of data just because you're logged into their services & they know what you're watching, when, & where from. I bet if you could successfully block, spoof &/or obfuscate your personal data, they'd probably block you. You can't win.

          Instead of fighting some kinds of spy vs spied-upon arms race, what we really need i

    • Re:External Media Player (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Computershack ( 1143409 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @11:53AM (#63176514)
      You've changed nothing other than who is spying on you and potentially sharing your data with third parties, in this case AppleTV.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by taustin ( 171655 )

        Precisely. When you're watching something from any outside source, that source is collecting data on you, to whatever extent they can, and they do so for a reason (and that reason is to monetize it).

        The only choice is who spies on you, or don't watch television at all. Both are quite viable.

  • There's a lot of better TVs in landfills from mediocre capacitors. I am sure that the cheaper ones get to the landfall pretty quick.
    • Yep. More parts/features/software/hardware all in one inseparable box means when one bit is no longer supported, you may have throw the whole thing out rather than just replace one screen, computer, &/or media player. It's just more landfill. Make the manufacturers responsible for repairing &/or replacing parts for their customers, e.g. reasonable life-time guarantees & software updates, so they have an incentive to reduce landfill.

  • yts.mx and eztv.re (Score:2, Informative)

    by fbobraga ( 1612783 )
    Best sites of the internet!

  • Roku was great before it merged with an advertising company. Now roku is just a tool to profile you and sell you out.

  • What TV is cheap? They all cost about the same amount 10 and 20 years ago minus tech marching on.

    • What TV is cheap? They all cost about the same amount 10 and 20 years ago minus tech marching on.

      I can buy a 50" 4K Smart TV here in the UK for £249. How much was a 50" TV in 2002? Even if you could buy one it wasn't 4K.

      • I can buy a 50" 4K Smart TV here in the UK for £249. How much was a 50" TV in 2002? Even if you could buy one it wasn't 4K.

        Back in the day we got a typically sized Trinitron TV for roughly $249, I want to say it was about 24". Today, you can get a ~42" name brand LCD for that, and $250 is $118 in 30-years-ago dollars... you might get a 14" set for that back then, and it would have been an off brand.

      • No shit. 4k wasn't around then.
      • When I can no longer follow movies and shows in 1080 then I will want 4K. Until then I won't pay extra for it.

  • You can't pay your way out of it (Score:5, Insightful)

    by _xeno_ ( 155264 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @11:36AM (#63176478) Homepage Journal

    The headline seems to suggest that there's away to avoid that cost, by not getting a cheap TV.

    But it doesn't matter. You can't pay your way out of it - every TV sold these days is "smart" because they're going to end up with the hardware to support "smart" features anyway, so might as well add more features to make them "smart."

    After all, you still need some form of interface on the TV for things like setting picture settings and choosing inputs. These days it's cheaper to use commodity parts that are powerful enough to enable smart features, so you get smart features, whether you want them or not.

    Companies will always make more money off spying on you then not spying on you, so they'll always do it. The worst are companies like Apple, that manage to both constantly spy on their users while at the same time selling their users on a false idea of privacy.

    • The headline seems to suggest that there's away to avoid that cost, by not getting a cheap TV.

      But it doesn't matter. You can't pay your way out of it - every TV sold these days is "smart" because they're going to end up with the hardware to support "smart" features anyway, so might as well add more features to make them "smart."

      This. I have OLED TVs so we're talking at the top end of the market. Within the settings are some for Advertiser ID and other stuff to do with personalising adverts. The OS of the TV serves ads on the Home Screen. Not read the terms and conditions but I'd not be surprised if there wasn't something in it about sharing with third parties such as content providers.

  • Vizio makes more money from ads & subscription (Score:5, Interesting)

    by QuietLagoon ( 813062 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @11:38AM (#63176482)
    ... than from selling TVs. https://www.flatpanelshd.com/n... [flatpanelshd.com]

    Vizio's gross profit from ads, subscriptions and data collection is now more than double its profit from selling actual TV screens, according to the company's earnings report as noted by The Verge.

  • My Telescreen isn't plugged into the network at all, and I just plug in my PC's HDMI Out port when I want to put a video on the screen. So until they start building in wireless support... that "Smart TV" won't have any way to send data about me.

    • They have built wireless into the TV's and not only that, several of them will scan for open wifi networks to connect into if you do not set one up so that it can still send the data and receive targeted ads. This includes hopping to a different network if the network they connect to can not reach the destination(s) they are attempting to connect into.

      And even doing what you are doing is not enough. There is this thing called ACR (Automatic Content Recognition), which as you can infer attempts to automatic
      • They have built wireless into the TV's and not only that, several of them will scan for open wifi networks to connect into if you do not set one up so that it can still send the data and receive targeted ads. This includes hopping to a different network if the network they connect to can not reach the destination(s) they are attempting to connect into.

        Welll then, I guess it's a good thing there is no wifi anywhere in my place.

      • They have built wireless into the TV's and not only that, several of them will scan for open wifi networks to connect into if you do not set one up so that it can still send the data and receive targeted ads. This includes hopping to a different network if the network they connect to can not reach the destination(s) they are attempting to connect into. And even doing what you are doing is not enough. There is this thing called ACR (Automatic Content Recognition), which as you can infer attempts to automatically determine what it is you are watching even if you are using over the air antennas, HDMI connections to a computer/cable box/receiver, bluetooth streaming, etc.

        Then maybe they already know that the only content I play on my smart TV is torrents streamed via HDMI from a dedicated media player laptop. They can send the nastygrams to whoever owns the open wireless network, maybe that will encourage them to fix it.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Nonesuch ( 90847 )

        They have built wireless into the TV's and not only that, several of them will scan for open wifi networks to connect into if you do not set one up so that it can still send the data and receive targeted ads. This includes hopping to a different network if the network they connect to can not reach the destination(s) they are attempting to connect into.

        I've seen this claimed more than once, but if this scanning behavior was actually baked into any TV, why has nobody documented it and published their findings?

        Show me one reputable report of a TV with out-of-the-box behavior where it either scans for open networks "if you do not set one up", or a smart TV which has been documented as "hopping to a different network".

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by dissy ( 172727 )

          I've seen this claimed more than once, but if this scanning behavior was actually baked into any TV, why has nobody documented it and published their findings?

          This used to be common 8+ years ago.
          Technically it was an Android feature, it didn't matter what the device was. This behavior was changed/fixed in android a very long time ago.

          I had a Sharp Aquos LC 70" tv from back in 2012 I believe, which ran android and shipped with wifi enabled.

          I also had a Sony bravidia(sp?) that I know had the same version of android, although I didn't have it in a location near wifi to witness auto-connect, I used hard-wired ethernet.
          I only even remember that detail as the two TVs

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by MobyDisk ( 75490 )
      Yes! Call them Telescreens! Everyone PLEASE DO THIS! Make this term mainstream!

  • Is this a sustainable business model? (Score:3)

    by xanthos ( 73578 ) <xanthos&toke,com> on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @11:59AM (#63176558)
    Putting the privacy concerns aside, I wonder how feasible all these "post-purchase monetization" schemes are? Tying your company's continued existence to an advertising model makes you extremely vulnerable when the ad dollars shift in a different direction. This is what killed off newspapers and it seems that more and more people are streaming to non-TV devices. Make a workable, affordable VR style headset to watch content on and these tvs follow VCRs and DVD players into obsolescence.
    • What if that VR headset also gathers private data to reduce its purchase cost?
    • Until the ad dollars shift, it's a totally reasonable source of revenue. Newspapers only had a problem after news shifted to online search, and I think the streaming TVs are still sitting in a pretty good situation for now. However, your implied message is true, that some kind of disruption will come along eventually.

      Is that disruption VR? I dunno. I remain unconvinced about the appeal of VR headsets. As a peer-poster noted, the VR headset might be no better than the smart TV in terms of sending you

  • I gave away my (last/only) TV in 2003. Tracking problem solved. Bonus: IQ jumped by 20 points inside a month!

  • I give less than one. It is of exactly no interest to me who knows what youtube videos I watch. Amazon already knows the inner workings of my soul, google know my darker inclinations... doesn't bother me at all. I'm not that interesting. The days of anonymous viewing are gone. Even cable tv is now generally delivered online and metered. There is no going back. Choose the hills you want to die on, and don't let the others stress you out.

    Now if I start planning to blow up a bridge, my research won't be done f

  • They claim there's a "cost" but never say what it is. They assume I think this is a "cost" to me but it's not. I genuinely don't give a shit if they're collecting "muh data". Oh no, they will see I watch Netflix, Crunchyroll, Hidive, Paramount, Disney+, and use Emby. This will surely greatly negatively affect my life!!

  • Dupe from 2018, 2021 (Score:3)

    by JeffOwl ( 2858633 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @12:19PM (#63176628)
    https://yro.slashdot.org/story... [slashdot.org] https://tech.slashdot.org/stor... [slashdot.org] Vizio CEO publicly admitted to this on more than one occasion saying that the data gathering and sales subsidizes the purchase price of the television.
  • While I am sure there are plenty of Luddites using the built in software on the TV, the interfaces are generally pretty awful and way worse aftermarket boxes like apple tv 4k. To top it off to even use the voice command function on the bare bones tv remote without a number pad that comes with the Samsung TV you have to sign up for a Samsung account and give away your privacy. I bought an after market remote instead with an actual keypad for those rare times I want to want something that isn't streaming. Th
    • But if you use an Apple TV then Apple is tracking you... It doesn't solve the problem.
      • Not completely, however what is worse a company sell your information to X number of mystery companies who then do who knows what else with it or one company tracking you who doesn't sell your information?

  • And I thought this was /. a site for nerds and privacy aware ppl. !

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

  • Don't connect your TV to your wireless network, and don't use any of its smart features... just watch OTA TV or feed it HDMI input from a device you can trust.

    That said, I have a Roku box and I use PiHole to block the worst of its offences. I also have a Smart TV, but don't connect it to my network and don't use any of the smart TV features.

  • "You can turn it off!" (Score:5, Insightful)

    by eniac42 ( 1144799 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @12:28PM (#63176680) Journal
    "As O'Brien passed the telescreen a thought seemed to strike him. He stopped, turned aside and pressed a switch on the wall. There was a sharp snap. The voice had stopped.
    Julia uttered a tiny sound, a sort of squeak of surprise. Even in the midst of his panic, Winston was too much taken aback to be able to hold his tongue.
    'You can turn it off!' he said.
    'Yes,' said O'Brien, 'we can turn it off. We have that privilege.' "

    (extract from 1984, George Orwell)
    http://www.george-orwell.org/1... [george-orwell.org]

  • https://www.consumerreports.or... [consumerreports.org]

    Even Consumer Reports started talking about this almost 8 years ago. You can turn off ACR but you can't turn off the telemetry. Obviously the resident geeks have their solutions; sadly, that does little to assist the average consumer.

  • pi-hole.net is your friend (Score:3)

    by Ritz_Just_Ritz ( 883997 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @12:34PM (#63176720)

    Blackhole all the spying at your border. I run pi-hole on a raspberry pi and it drops the vast majority of that shizz on the floor. You'd be shocked at how much those "smart devices" phone home. Mine blocks literally tens of thousands of requests to just Roku per day (my wife likes the UI). We never consume the "smart features" on the TV. It's just a display for Roku. We also don't consume cable TV.

    https://pi-hole.net/ [pi-hole.net]

    Best,

  • Businesses make money by monetizing a recurring cost opportunity. News at 11.

    Seriously if you didn't at least suspect this already then you're living under a rock.

  • this is illegal (Score:3)

    by OrangeTide ( 124937 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @12:45PM (#63176790) Homepage Journal

    Young children are the primary users of TVs and they cannot consent to data collection nor is collecting data on children allowed in civilized countries. This needs to end immediately.

  • Behold (Score:3)

    by Lije Baley ( 88936 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @12:49PM (#63176806)

    All of the blatant, unapologetic self-righteousness and self-importance in these comments. There is nothing like a T.V. discussion to bring out the former, and now that our T.V.s are on the network we get the latter bundled in as well.
    A. Go find a real virtue to extoll.
    2. Unless you are famous, nobody cares what you watch on T.V. except your contribution to ratings, and easily-ignorable people trying to sell you things. Oh look, I have a targeted ad playing just above this. I automatically ignore them, but I'm really sorry that they enslave you.

  • Can be disabled in some cases (Score:5, Informative)

    by Shaitan ( 22585 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2023 @01:57PM (#63177082)

    This Tom's Hardware guide is fairly fresh (Sept 22) and details how to disable this collection on every major brand.

    https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/stop-your-snooping-smart-tv-how-to-turn-off-data-collection-for-every-brand

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