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Television Businesses

LG TVs Start Showing Ads On Screensavers (arstechnica.com) 128

Posted by msmash from the leaving-no-stones-unturned dept.
LG has started displaying ads on TV screensavers, intensifying the proliferation of ads in smart TV software. The South Korean company quietly announced the move to advertisers on September 5, forgoing a public statement to consumers.
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LG TVs Start Showing Ads On Screensavers More

LG TVs Start Showing Ads On Screensavers

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  • Well now. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Black Parrot ( 19622 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @01:42PM (#64816747)

    The South Korean company quietly announced the move to advertisers on September 5, forgoing a public statement to consumers.

    At least we know who they think is important.

  • Thank you! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by lsllll ( 830002 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @01:43PM (#64816749)

    You've not only convinced me that I should continue to stay on my older TVs, but you've also upped their resale value!

    • You've not only convinced me that I should continue to stay on my older TVs, but you've also upped their resale value!

      My town has periodic recycling events where they'll take old TVs off your hands if you pay them $10. Maybe before too long, they'll start paying us cash for those old dumb TVs.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by bn-7bc ( 909819 )
      Or you vould buy the new smart tvs ( for improved picture etc) only connect it to the net for the initial activation, and for the ocational sw update ( once per quarter is probably enugh) and leave all the smart features to external boxes ( make shore to disable ethernet via hdmi) .boom nice new rwvand no screensaver ads. Added bonus third partybapps thatbar probably much more freqently updated than the apos on your tv ever would be, and the possebility to chose a streaming box tfrom a company that don't p

  • Second 2-letter company added to boycott list (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Sebby ( 238625 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @01:45PM (#64816759)

    LG is now the second 2-letter electronics company added to my list of companies I boycott, just after HP.

  • Time to disconnect (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Rick Schumann ( 4662797 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @01:47PM (#64816765) Journal
    'Cut the cord', part 2: disconnect your smart TV from the internet, and just deal with it, or get Even More Ads shoved in your face.

    • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

      by gosso920 ( 6330142 )
      Stop watching the boob tube altogether.
      • Really. What do you do when you need some non-sleep downtime, where you just want to 'do' something totally passive? Stare at a wall?
    • I guess there is a market for Fire sticks, etc... even with smart TVs. The stick gets loaded down with all the crap, but you can simply switch input from HDMI and not deal with it.

      • My Fire sticks all started showing ads in the screen saver recently, unfortunately. It's not very practical to disconnect them from the internet. I may try blocking them in the firewall just to see if I can still access my LAN Plex server.

    • I stream everything into a media PC, and have that connected to the TV. The TV is never connected to the internet, it's only another (big) display.
      • I too put together a 'media center' computer out of mostly salvaged older components (i7-4960X processor, freaky little 6-core thing) and even a DVD drive, and it works wonderfully for 1080p and even most 4k content, with 5.1 audio, running Ubuntu. The Samsung TV I ended up with has also likewise never been connected to the Internet, never will either, and just serves as a monitor for the computer and for TiVo, and occasionally I'll even use it's OTA tuner.

  • If you have one of these TVs, you should block the ports it is using to pull ads.

    I would provide them, but I don't have an LG TV that does this.

    • Re:Block the ad ports (Score:5, Insightful)

      by BeepBoopBeep ( 7930446 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @01:50PM (#64816779)
      You over complicating it. Get an Apple TV and ditch the LG OS and shut off wifi on it.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by m00sh ( 2538182 )

        You over complicating it. Get an Apple TV and ditch the LG OS and shut off wifi on it.

        I don't have Apple TV. Does it show related shows etc that are basically ads like Google TV does? It has a store in Apple TV right, with the subscription and buying movies. Does it push you there?

        It does require you to create an Apple login to even use. Does Apple login require a credit card or using the Apple TV device require a credit card on file?

        • I have never used Google TV. Apple TV like all devices is locked to the Apple eco-system. It requires you to have an apple ID, it does not require a CC on the account unless you wish to purchase something or subscribe to service. All apps come from their AppStore. For instance: I use Youtube TV, Amazon Prime, Netflix all are paid through their own sites/accounts. I also purchase Infuse app (think plex/jellyfin front end) and that requires a CC since you purchase it from the app store. Apple TV is rid

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by bn-7bc ( 909819 )
            Well for mistbservices you can subscribe on their website and only use your login credentials on the apple tv app. Ok now you need to give your cc to n different streaming services, rather than have one place to monitor for breaches but hay at least apple does not have your cc, so I guess that's something a win

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by anegg ( 1390659 )

          An "AppleTV" is a little streaming media terminal. It plays content using one or more apps that are installed from the AppleTV app store. The apps are things like "AppleTV", "Hulu", "Netflix", "Amazon Prime", "Smithsonian", etc. The "home screen" for the device has a background that shows whatever content is "up next" in the app that is currently highlighted. I.e., if I was using Netflix when I last used the device, then the next time I turn it on it has a background that shows what content is "up next"

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by EvilSS ( 557649 )

          Does it show related shows etc that are basically ads like Google TV does?

          Only in the Apple TV+ app (Apple's streaming service). It does not do this on the hardware GUI.

          It has a store in Apple TV right, with the subscription and buying movies. Does it push you there?

          Yes it has an app store app. No, it does not push you there. You obviously need to use it to download apps for services you want to use but it's not forced on you and app ads are not in the hardware GUI.

          Does Apple login require a credit card or using the Apple TV device require a credit card on file?

          No. If you want to sign up for the AppleTV+ streaming app, yes. But if you don't plan on that, and don't want to buy any paid apps or in-app purchases then no.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          At least with Android TV boxes you can replace the default launcher with your own ad-free one, and then use ad-free viewing apps like Kodi and SmartTube.

          A box like that which you control is pretty much the only way to guarantee an ad-free experience. Because Apple lock their stuff down and only let you run approved apps, it can't be trusted. It may be tolerable today, but you have no control over what they inflict on you tomorrow.

    • Re:Block the ad ports (Score:4, Insightful)

      by lsllll ( 830002 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @01:52PM (#64816785)

      I wonder if Pi-hole blacklists would cover this. At this point, with all the ads thrown at us everywhere, if you don't have Pi-hole installed as your at-home DNS, then that's on you.

  • This is why you leave the TV air-gapped... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ctilsie242 ( 4841247 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @01:59PM (#64816799)

    I wouldn't be surprised if the LG option to disable the ads disappears sometime. In any case, this is a good reason to leave the TV air-gapped and never connect it to a network. Instead, there are many set top boxes that are far better than the firmware on a "smart" TV that offer more usability, be it the Apple TV or other options. Even an OTA antenna or cable box would be better.

    • Re:This is why you leave the TV air-gapped... (Score:4, Informative)

      by Big Hairy Gorilla ( 9839972 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @02:18PM (#64816857)
      OTA is always better quality image/sound... there is no imperative to save bandwidth, so the signals are not compressed.
      Any other transmission medium, satellite, cable, you make more money if you carry more data, so they love to compress the fsck out of your program to jam more of them on the wire.

      I use OTA and even in this provincial backwater I get about 15 channels.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AvitarX ( 172628 )

        Has OTA improved dramatically in the last few years?

        Because last time I used OTA it was pretty meh and suffered hard from artifacts in contrast change.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Darinbob ( 1142669 )

        Often OTA can't be received properly. A lot of people who had analog broadcast that was perfectly fine discovered that digital broadcast didn't work. A little bit of interference doesn't affect analog signal much but will make digital signals stop working. Especially in rural areas, which is where you would think that a broadcast signal is more accessible, when the traditional cable companies or ISPs refuse to serve low density areas.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        That's not the case around here. OTA is compressed to hell and back, far, far worse than YouTube and Netflix.

        There is an even bigger incentive to save bandwidth than there is with streaming, because broadcasters have to pay for transmitter bandwidth and can't choose whose transmitters they use, so there is no getting a better deal or giving ISPs cache boxes. The higher the bitrate they want, the more they have to pay.

        Long ago when digital HD broadcasts started, the quality was decent. Then the BBC decided t

      • OTA ATSC 1.0 uses older MPEG-2 algorithms, which wastes bandwidth. Some stations pack a lot of subchannels, and the signal can look pretty bad as a result. The main NBC channel in the bay area, KNTV, falls into this category. Anytime there is fast panning, there are a lot of motion artifacts.

        My HD homerun handles ATAC 3.0 also.
        Stupidly, the specs allow for DRM, and many channels are using them. The software is unable to handle DRM channels. I cannot view them at all with any combination of software or hardw

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by bn-7bc ( 909819 )
        Not true OTA usually uses older codecs ( ensore compatebility wit recievers made years ago that can 't be updated) so worse pg on same bandwidth , , oh yea bw, even tho ir seams like ota uses more bandwidth ( reaed DVBT2 specs)@ lot of that gets earen up by redundant data needed tonenshore workable reception in less than perfect conditions. Even if the cidec is the same Inwould take a 10mbps stram rather than a 15mbps ota transmission ( of the same source) doue to the streams lover overhead and thus mora
        • Looks like my understanding is a few years out of date from the various responses.
          I admit I only watch a minimum of TV... NFL, and news mostly...
          I do find the image quality of my OTA reception to be very good..

          but the games suffer no lag or artifacts at all.. .so I assumed it was still uncompressed

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by bn-7bc ( 909819 )
            Well bring a tv to the game once and you will see a delay in relation to the game on the feiald, encoding decoding delays, prcessing delays ( eqyipment in the studio ) etv. But all these delays are constant, what younsee on the internat is vareable delay ( jiter ) that is what broadcasts don't have ( unkess there is an oversubscribed link somewhere, not lightly for things like nfl but might becan issue for something unexoected hapoening a until the broadcast truck with dedicated links arrives, heck nowasay

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by bn-7bc ( 909819 )
          Ok shuld have checked before posting, the sub channel thing is just another way of describing a mpeg ts, so the channel 28.1 is probably just the ts with address( or whatever they call the pointer to the actual ts) to the "first " ts in the multiplex, the multiplex is whatever is transmitted on the allocated channel of the radio spectrum with the nesescarynphy encoding

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sinij ( 911942 )

      In any case, this is a good reason to leave the TV air-gapped and never connect it to a network.

      They are just going to stick SIM and cell modem into it. They are cheap and prices constantly going down.

      • In a way this would be interesting... if the SIM allowed for unlimited data transfer, it could be popped out, tossed in a router and (ab)used for free Internet. Not sure on the legalities, but there are people who extract the SIM off of parking boots and use that for free Internet.

        This would be a cat and mouse game on their part. Cellular antenna? It gets snipped off or disconnected. If the TV refuses to work because of that, it gets sent back under an implied warranty clause.

        Of course, it would be nice

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by sinij ( 911942 )

          Of course, it would be nice if someone just came to market with a simple TV.

          They still exist, search for commercial TV display.

    • It's got a tuner built in. On a large TV, they could build a very large internal antenna. It might pick up some channels. And voila, it can display ads. They won't be able to do forced firmware upgrades, though. Not without the FCC banging at their doors anyway. But I shouldn't give them any ideas

  • Am I allowed to have a pleasant nature scene, such as a night time starry sky display on my TV screensaver without some crap intruding on to it telling me how I can get a $50,000 check for some poor schmuck that I was involved in an auto accident with? Fuck me, I'm just something to be milked for $$$ all my life
    • for - from

    • Re:Christ on a unicycle riding the BART train (Score:5, Interesting)

      by TigerPlish ( 174064 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @02:25PM (#64816871)

      I'm just something to be milked for $$$ all my life

      Yes, yes we are -- from cradle to grave.

      I was in my 40's when I figured out this was the game. That was only 15 years ago. Before that, I believed in the shiny, glossy veneer of life as it's presented to us on tv, movies, etc.

      Now I see it for what it is. A machine to make money from you, from the moment you're born to the moment you leave.

      People absolutely shit on boomers in this and other sites, but I'll remind all of you the first gen to be truly exploited like this was the Boomers, and it was done to then by the fine "Greatest" and "Silent" gens. What, you think it was Boomers on Boomers? Nah. They got "had" by their own parents and grandparents. Maybe not directly, but by people of those same age brackets.

      I do honestly suspect it existed before, it's just that Boomers were the inflection point of tech that didn't exist prior -- radio, movies, especially TV.

      I imagine in Roman times it was the same, only the advertising and such was much slower and narrower in reach.

      • Re:Christ on a unicycle riding the BART train (Score:5, Informative)

        by Baron_Yam ( 643147 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @03:08PM (#64817005)

        >I imagine in Roman times it was the same, only the advertising and such was much slower and narrower in reach.

        FYI, gladiators were the WWE wrestlers of the time, and there were merchants in the streets around the Colosseum. Games were advertised on billboards. Sponsors hoped to rake in financial or political benefits from setting up a show.

        Not all of them were captured enemies essentially being put to death in a public spectacle, many were volunteers. There were people who complained about the barbarity and wasted money, and eventually they got their way and the most brutal stuff was banned. Then banned again.

        We haven't changed, we just have shinier toys now.

      • Yes, yes we are -- from cradle to grave.

        No we are not. They want you to be, but you can choose for yourself. Don't use a TV, you'll survive. Vote with your wallet, and your actions.

  • So what? (Score:5, Informative)

    by msauve ( 701917 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @02:03PM (#64816819)
    How many people watch screensavers? And in any case, the article says "you can disable them in the TVs' settings."

    • I have an Apple TV on a 7 foot screen. I might have the screensaver up from the AppleTV if i'm doing something else.. oh, I don't know. Playing the violin. Reading something. Yes, with the projector on. My bulb, my terms.

      As to being able to turn it off.. that's "now."

      "Pray we don't alter the deal any further"

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Rexdude ( 747457 )

      And in any case, the article says "you can disable them in the TVs' settings."

      I find your over-abundance of trust disturbing.

  • I already disliked LG because of a microwave of theirs I had.. it'd pop breakers when the cooking would stop.

    Now this. This is exactly how you alienate customers.

    For those of you too young to remember, LG had a different name back in the day.. they were Gold Star.

    I also had a Gold Star microwave and it was utter garbage too.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by dgatwood ( 11270 )

      I already disliked LG because of a microwave of theirs I had.. it'd pop breakers when the cooking would stop.

      Breakers or ground fault interruptors? If it is blowing a breaker, there's something massively wrong, probably with the breaker, because there's just no way a microwave oven draws enough current to blow a breaker that is working properly. If it is a GFI, you might try changing it out. I've had some GFCI outlets that were excessively sensitive, and replacing them with newer GFCIs from a different manufacturer very nearly eliminated my false trip issues from a Tesla Mobile Connector, and those are notoriou

      • Breakers or ground fault interruptors? If it is blowing a breaker, there's something massively wrong, probably with the breaker, because there's just no way a microwave oven draws enough current to blow a breaker that is working properly.

        My best guess is the circuit is older and probably 15A. Some microwaves can run on a 15A circuit but newer ones especially ones that are mounted need 20A. The LG is newer and not a counter top model which means it needs a 20A circuit.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by dgatwood ( 11270 )

          Breakers or ground fault interruptors? If it is blowing a breaker, there's something massively wrong, probably with the breaker, because there's just no way a microwave oven draws enough current to blow a breaker that is working properly.

          My best guess is the circuit is older and probably 15A. Some microwaves can run on a 15A circuit but newer ones especially ones that are mounted need 20A. The LG is newer and not a counter top model which means it needs a 20A circuit.

          Okay, but wouldn't that trip when the microwave turned on (peak power consumption), rather than when it turns off (as consumption drops to zero)?

          Besides, a 15A breaker typically won't trip at 20 amps of current until it has been running for a minute or so. A surge sufficient to trip at 15A breaker in under a second would involve more like a 100A draw, hence my "no way a microwave oven draws enough current" comment. You'd smell, see, and hear the arcing if that happened.

      • I have old ITE GFCI Pushmatics in this house.

        The trips only happened when the relay in the microwave would open. 3/10 times it'd trip the breaker. Never happened under load. Only at the end of the microwave's runtime.

        The micro came with the house, they (whoever sold the seller the microwave) came out 2x out here, and replaced a board in the power supply. They did this twice.

        The last time was the last, i kicked it to the curb, got a different microwave, and that's the one I've been using since. 14 years

    • That's weird. Was your microwave on a dedicated breaker ?

      I had an LG dishwasher from them. It washed OK, but the noise was way higher than its specs, as measured with my decibel meter, and heard from an adjacent room. They sent a tech, who declared it in spec. It was replaced with a Bosch, that was actually quiet.

      That said, I chose LG washer and dryers based on Consumer Reports recommendations. So far, I'm very happy with them. But it's only been a couple years. I use the automation with Home Assistant.

    • Actually they were Lucky-Goldstar, first exposure as our strangely named customer in Korea.

  • So, when will they be on all the time and unable to be turned off?

    Then they can go for no "mute" or 0 volume level next.

    Then, you can pay to have it not on.

    Then you can pay to not have one.

    Perfection in a business model.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rossdee ( 243626 )

      When we bought new TV's recently, we got LG's since they were the only ones that had a power button actually on the TV. I don't know what will happen to newer models.

    • A camera is already included in some models, ostensibly so it autoselects who is watching. You can see where this is going... :p

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PPH ( 736903 )

      Only inner party members can turn off their telescreens.

  • LG (Score:4, Insightful)

    by MachineShedFred ( 621896 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @02:40PM (#64816901) Journal

    Excellent. One more reason not to buy their TVs.

    I already had them on the do-not-buy list due to their terrible UX with their weird mouse-scrollwheel-remote thing - it was a better solution to buy a 4k chromecast and hang it on an HDMI port than it is to use their garbage "smart" software and remote.

  • ...is why my LG TVs aren't connected to the Internet, but rather are behind commercial-free AppleTVs which do the streaming. Nor have I ever accepted their privacy policy.

  • If you are in marketing (Score:3)

    by RitchCraft ( 6454710 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @02:59PM (#64816967)

    If you are in marketing then I would have to say you have surpassed the hatred level of automobile salesman and telecommunications companies combined. You are ruining everything people!

  • From the FlatPanelsHD [flatpanelshd.com] link in TFA:

    How to disable screensaver ads

    Luckily, there is a way to disable the intrusive screensaver ads on LG Smart TVs – at least for now.

    If you go to Settings and navigate to 'Additional Settings', you will find a 'Screen Saver Promotion' toggle. It is on by default, so flip it off. While you are there, you might also want to disable the other ad formats from LG [flatpanelshd.com].

    • And based on past experiences, this setting will get reset to the default on every firmware update...

  • At least in the article it says you can disable it (which I'd do in a nanosecond), but if not I'd return my product as defective and force the issue.

    But - I won't buy a smart TV in the first place. I have streaming devices that do what I want it to do, and they're way better than built-in crap in TV's. However, I'm not sure how long the option of "dumb" TV's will last... especially if they see more opportunity in advertising than just sales.

    We are the product, not the consumer. :(

    • Even Costco will only let you return a TV within 90 days. If the firmware "upgrade" happens after that, you're SOL.

      IMO, there needs to be a law about such upgrades. There should always be a process to rollback. Many firmware updates for a variety of products remove functionality. Sometimes critical functionality that was instrumental in the decision to purchase the product. I'm looking at you, Google and Chromecast audio. I used to be able to cast my Android device audio to a group of any ir my 15 CCAs.
      The


  • Time to get out the old disassembler and get that firmware fixed...

  • Guess I don't buy LG anymore (Score:3)

    by Holi ( 250190 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @03:55PM (#64817183)

    I will not normalize other people feeling like they own the things they sell to me. I did not rent, nor lease the TV, I bought it and with that comes a transfer of ownership.

  • However, I see this:"...However, some time back it (pihole) was deprecated and eventually removed in favor of AdGuard Home."
    (https://community.home-assistant.io/t/pi-hole-installation/434320)

    1- is this true?
    2- is there a simple alternative like just pointing the dhcp dns at a trusted ad-killing ip??

    I have an ax86u router.

    thanks

    • Think that's just referring to the Home assistant addon. Pihole is still going strong. It's overkill but I have a VM instance for Pihole running on my basement server under Proxmox providing a dedicated IP for serving local DNS. Then, as an backup, an old RPi under a secondary IP for the rare instance when the server gets rebooted (or the small downtime when nightly VM backups run). Simply point your network(s)' DNS on the router to those primary and secondary IPs and everyone in the house is covered.

  • I'm buying the new Google TV Set top box then so I don't have to look at LG's bullshit.
  • Ads can drive clicks, often unintentional, but are there studies showing that intrusive adds actually encourage consumers to buy the product? I can see targeted adds as part of a search result working: if I search for a type of product, an add for that type of product might get a useful response, but if I see an intrusive add for a car, I'm a lot more likely to put that car company on my "bad" list.

    Of course if I every catch a device showing me adds this way, that manufacturer will go on the bottom of m

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sinij ( 911942 )
      Intrusive ads probably have negative effect. A better question would be do marketing people know exactly what their ad dollars are being spent on?
      • Some sales organizations are "parasitic" they exist for their own benefit, not for that of their company. I find this with equipment vendors where marketing insists that there is no way to order online, no prices, so that all purchases require contacting a sales person so that they get credit for the sale. The company would make more sales without the sales people. I wonder if the same logic applies to some marketing departments.
  • Another fine example of how all companies (especially public ones) will inevitably turn to cramming advertising into every square inch of their products once they run out of other growth ideas.
  • Two of my LG OLEDs have fucked up ethernet ports and if I plug them in, they continuously connect and drop connection every 30 seconds (and tell me with a modal dialogue for 10 seconds each) I never have them connected. All they need to do is fucking display the input signal. Fuck your garbage ass OS

  • And I never plugged it into Ethernet or gave it my WiFi network. Absolutely not going to do updates to the proprietary Android distro. I'd gotten a dumb TV if they weren't more expensive than this thing.

  • System of a down summed it up succinctly [youtube.com]

  • Do not buy LG TVs (Score:3)

    by sinij ( 911942 ) on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @09:22PM (#64817857)
    If this does not cost LG sales everyone will roll these ads and more - they WILL interrupt what you watch to insert more ads.

  • Still hope (Score:3)

    by Slashythenkilly ( 7027842 ) on Thursday September 26, 2024 @12:51AM (#64818215)
    I got an analogue if need be. Fuck all the paid programming.

  • Serious question, is anyone actually using these âsmartâ(TM) functionalities, and not airgapped? I remember the first Samsungs and they were atrocious, the UI lagged like crazy. And on modern TVs, why would I trust some TV-maker to get software right and keep it up2date when I can just get an AppleTV or Fire-whatever and have a half decent streaming device that I can swap if it acts up.

  • My LG TV is 15 years old (Score:3)

    by UnixUnix ( 1149659 ) on Thursday September 26, 2024 @07:23AM (#64818715) Homepage
    No ads. No connection; it casts glances full of sad longing to the router a few feet away it has no access to.

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