this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2025
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Technology

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Reposting this from here from 2023, after I stumbled across it tonight and it hits hard.

The text in the image:

I love my smart TV. I love the way it takes a long time to boot up because it’s trying to refresh the advertisements on the home screen. I delight in the way it randomly restarts because it’s downloaded an update without asking me, each of which makes the TV slower and slower with every subsequent install. I adore the way it buries the apps that I want to use, and that I use without fail every single time, below the apps that it’s being paid to promote and which I have never touched in my life and would never use without the cold metal of a glock pressed hard against my sweating temple. I am infinitely thrilled by the way the interface lags constantly, due to the need to have one thousand unnecessary animations rendered on hardware ripped wholesale from a ten year old phone. I feel myself borne aloft on wings of pure joy when I am notified that my data will be collected and analysed to determine my usage patterns. Even now I am writing this from a field of beautiful flowers and soft luscious grass as I lie and look up happily at the bright blue sky, smiling happily to know that this is the future of technology

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

I have a Samsung smart TV and the operating system on it is so annoying. It's so slow, has dumb ads, and I can't cast to it like at all.

I'm even more pissed that they just disabled the Steam Link app for essentially no reason; it worked great for streaming games from my PC.

I've been thinking it would be cool to flash a different OS onto it, but I'm not sure if that's actually possible.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This is why I am dreading when my 2017 dumb TV dies. It's really telling that dumb TVs, which should be cheaper to produce and sell, are either not available or very expensive (as in commercial displays). Really proves the point that the consumer is really the product.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Here is what I do: I use a firetv with Kodi, Plex, Smart tube Next (free YouTube), and various live TV apps. That's it!

Unfortunately there is zero way to disable the home screen in order to run a custom desktop environment and there is zero way to replace the Netflix, primetv, DirecTV, etc. buttons on the remote.

Seems like every year it gets harder and harder to change settings on the TV and all the things I just mentioned not being able to do used to be things you could hack together.

It sucks!

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I never understood why people hated smart TVs until one day mine decided to install an update that presents me with advertisements and a hub screen when I turn it on. If I don't select something in time, the screen disappears, which locks all of the controls, and I can only reset it by turning it off and on again. Why??? Just why?!?!

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago

You know why.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 months ago (4 children)

I wish there was a company like Fairphone or Framework laptops but for TVs.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I'm surprised nobody has yet jail-broken Samsung and LG TVs and made a custom Tizen ROM

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (2 children)

LCD panels do exist. They are just very expensive because they are not made for consumers and have no ads or data collection.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 months ago

Generally it's not too hard to disable the smart TV part of it and just use HDMI for TVs running Android. But on Roku TVs for whatever reason you need to connect them to the internet and a Roku account at least once to unlock the picture settings. Hardware features of a TV like brightness adjustment have no business relying on some random server.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I'm in the market for a new tv and all this crap just makes me want to scream in frustration. But prolonging the decision will just make it even worse.

On top of that my 2017 shield is starting to show its age and there is really no comparable 4k (streaming) alternative thats not a security risk. I feel more and more pushed towards piracy, so that I can use my linux box and decide how and where to watch content. I hate it...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Found any promising leads? My Samsung is still holding on but I know I'm counting the days until it's time to replace it

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago (3 children)

smart TVs mostly can be used as a dumb TV if you reject the terms of services when you set it up. I understand they are annoying, but people making such a big fuzz about them are clearly just fabricating drama.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I think it is a drama, because it's not just the tvs doing that. Almost everything is getting more and more annoying and restricting. Things are starting to constantly nag you one way or another, shove things into your face you don't care about, take away functionality and generally worsen user experience... It's just mentally exhausting.

And yes I know you can reliably turn that data collection stuff off (at least in the EU) but hopping through those hoops each and every time for each and every device and service can and will hollow out your resolve (and you have to find all the buried options every time...). Thats how you get masses that just don't care anymore.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You don't even have to reject the terms of services, just never connect it to the internet. Not even once.

Won't even be able to send rejections to a server.

I can recommend TLC, they can be used as a dumb TV and never need an internet connection if you just use it as a screen. Wouldn't recommend them with internet though since the remote literally has a microphone build-in.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (4 children)

But I want to use the Internet. I want it to be able to access my network files and to cast video from my phone. Why does it have to be either all or nothing?

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Sounds like an obvious spot in the market for a bullshit-free smart TV. You'd just have to get the UX right.

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