Your TV set has become a digital billboard. And it’s only getting worse.
Your TV set has become a digital billboard. And it’s only getting worse.
TV software is getting loaded with ads, changing what it means to own a TV set.
Easy solution. Don't plug the tv into the internet.
Use it basically as a monitor. 🖕To the tv makers
69Then how would I run my private Plex server?
5Run Jellyfin instead. I don't know how Plex has stayed as popular as it has.
37I have a private Plex server and all TVs disconnected from the internet. What does one have to do with the other?
11Isolate the smart TV in restricted VLAN in your home network that can access your local media server but doesn’t allow internet access.
Segmenting a home network like this is also a good idea for smart home/IoT devices.
7I'm not seeing any replies that are super helpful for your question - so here's what I do: throw a Linux desktop on a Raspberry Pi, or NUC and use the TV like monitor. Get a wireless keyboard/mouse combo and watch Plex through the appimage or just Firefox. Bonus, now any website that does video can be viewed on your big screen tv without dealing with any casting apps.
5Downvoted for what?
I recommend either an AppleTV to watch WEB-DL or a Nvidia Shield Pro for REMUX if you don't have a Samsung TV; otherwise a Zidoo.
0
I have no cable and my TV isn't hooked to anything except a Chromecast so I can stream to it. Can TVs send stuff out over Chromecast? I feel like it's no but?
1No.
HDMI does have a feature called Ethernet over HDMI that in theory could allow that.
Thing is though it’s literally never been implemented in anything. It died because cheap WiFi became common.
For it to work you’d need both the TV and Chromecast and HDMI cable all to support it. It’s not uncommon on cables and a surprising amount of them include it in features list (probably to trick low info people).
But I believe that’s a hardware design thing so not something even a software update could enable. It costs extra money and they’re already paying for a WiFi chip so why bother?
2
I'm not looking forward to replacing my dumb tv when it finally dies.
32Just get another dumb one. Sceptre still sells good dumb TVs.
19Even though those show up on their website, none of the 4K models are available on Amazon/Walmart or at best have very limited/erratic stock. I only see the 75” one in stock, and only on Walmart. Furthermore, they are just simply worse quality than a comparably priced smart TV. For the same price as their 55” 4K HDR TV you can get a TCL that’s also QLED and has local dimming, plus HDMI 2.1 and google TV do you can put it in a dumb mode anyways. So really there isn’t a great reason to get one of these.
3
Just don't connect it to the internet. I play everything from an HTPC, LG gots zero data from me.
12Don't sweat it. Just get what's on sale.
They're all the same.
There's only one reason I'd opt for a high priced name brand. And that's the ability to apply filters to everything you're watching.
Imagine watching Ace Ventura but every character has the Chad Face filter on.
8A few ideas to consider in this kind of situation:
If you watch broadcast TV, consider stopping. Is it really of any use? Could your time have better uses? Maybe you'll never need that ad stream.
If all you need is a display for console/computer/media box, get a display instead. No tuner, no networking, no ads.
-4
I have a google tv, and the “Basic Mode” when you set it up or the “Apps only mode” both are a lot better than the overstimulation nightmare that is most smart TVs (and a google TV with normal settings)
19Still might want to monitor how many packets the tv sends back to Google and block them.
12Agreed, I should probably check that with my pi-hole.
1
This is the inevitable path for nearly all proprietary smart devices. There’s a handful of manufacturers that will see privacy as a marketable feature, but most won’t be able to resist the sweet taste of data.
It’s a shame there are no “dumb” TVs left, except for expensive industrial options.
10The dumb ones last forever though. My parents are still running the tv my aunt deemed too big in 2008ish, which she must’ve been owning for a few years at that point.
3
Apple TV is a bit pricey, but at least it’s ad-free. Connect it to a modern TV without internet access, stream your Jellyfin (or Plex) media via Infuse and you are good to go.
8$130 menu price but regularly goes on sale for $99. Still not cheap (especially compared to the "free" ad platform built in to the TV) but lessens the sting a bit. And much less likely to be abandoned by its manufacturer and get exploited.
3
Not with pihole and other ad-blocking measures.
5Ok so honestly I cut the cable years ago. There's a product called Tablo it's an OTA tuner & DVR pair this with a Roku and choose a streaming service for the extras you want and... For the love of God spend the money on a projector. For some reason projectors are missing all the advertising bullshit that's baked into modern tv's and please just game on a 32 inch 4-8k monitor instead of a TV something with a good response time instead of your laggy ass 40+inch TV.
3Sailing the seas until they stop trying to fck me in the ars
2Jokes on you. The only TV I own is over 30 years old.
2Didnt noticed it with smarttube https://smarttubeapp.github.io/ or https://github.com/polymorphicshade/Tubular ;)
1