I got this popup ad on my TV while watching a DVD
we live in hell
I don't even understand the pitch? you have the disc playing, in your hands, your ownership, no buffering, no subscription required. and they're saying....hey do you want a worse experience?
See the problem is that you let a display device connect to the internet
Connected a Samsung smart TV to my network when we first got it. The thing damn-near crashed my pi-hole asking for so many ad/tracking domains. Factory reset it later that same day. I think my % of requests blocked went from 15% to 68% in just the 3 hours or so the Smart TV was connected.
Yep - this. I absolutely abhor "smart" TVs for just this reason.
But, even lack of internet sometimes isn't enough. I recently, and inadvertently, left the wireless adapter on my TV enabled, after having to temporarily join it to my wireless for a firmware update (digital TV tuning needed updating for my region). After I was done, I cleared the wireless config, but I didn't think to go into the other menu where you can entirely disable the wireless adapter.
Little did I realise that meant the TV started broadcasting its own SSID, for friggin' Apple Airplay or some other shit. I found this out when my 9yo daughter was suddenly exposed to some adult content for about 10 seconds. Best guess is a nearby neighbour mistook my TV for theirs.
I've obviously disabled the wireless adapter again, but this has been a terribly difficult lesson I've had to learn.
For anyone concerned, my daughter is OK. My wife had a good chat with her about it. She had considerably more talking down to do with me - I was ready to start knocking on doors, to have my own chat.
I work in IT at a fitness center and we have TVs in front of the treadmills. They are not enterprise TVs, just standard Samsung TVs. Above the treadmills, we have a conference room. After setting up a conference room with wireless screen sharing, I found that all of the TV's below show up when trying to cast. Obviously I tried to disable them, but there is no way to do so outside of physically ripping out the antenna. I called support and everything. Why the fuck was that decision made
honestly, whoever connected to your TV is probably used to their device being the first one to show up. i would blame the streaming protocol for not requiring one of those one-time pin thingys.
All new Roku devices do that, even if it’s not a Roku tv. Roku went from one of the best video devices to the worst in one fell swoop. Literally the only good off the shelf device is the Apple TV.
My Roku TV will be in a landfill before I allow it to send 1s and 0s through anything but the HDMI cord
You can get mini PCs for solo cheap now and just load Linux up on it. Check out Beelink brand. I have a couple and they've been great.
Edit: so, not solo
I prefer the Nvidia shield over Apple TV. It supports direct streaming of Dolby Vision/Atmos on Plex. Pretty sure the Apple TV is missing some key codecs.
No, the fault is with the people who make the TV. It’s not the customers fault that other people are evil.
It's kinda both. Like, if I walk up to someone on the street who says they're gonna stab me, and I get stabbed, the fault is obviously on them for stabbing me, but at the same time I got exactly what he said I'd get
What brand? so I know NOT to buy it
I believe it's Roku. That purple symbol in the bottom right is on the remote as well.
Very budget so this doesn't surprise me.
This is called Automatic Content Recognition and it can be disabled in the settings, highly recommend doing that. It should have asked you whether you wanted it enabled when you set up the TV, as it's legally required to be opt-in in the US opposed to opt-out. Since you're using a Roku Smart TV, it specifically is taking two full resolution "video snapshots" every second.
"To disable ACR on a Roku TV, the privacy policy says to "visit your Roku TV's Settings menu (Settings > Privacy > Smart TV Experience) and de-select 'Use Info from TV Inputs."
'Use Info from TV Inputs.”
Well that is an incredibly misleading name that sounds like something I would want to keep enabled.
Since you’re using a Roku Smart TV
That link also works for other TV brands. Just scroll to the top of the article to find your TV section.
Where I live, it's usual practice to get the vendor to send a team to your house to do the unboxing and installation of expensive TVs so it's easier to deal with doa products and whatnot. When the guys came in to set up my LG oled, I watched in horror as they speed ran the setup wizard, checking all the boxes and giving my consent to every single tracking feature without even telling me anything. I had to go back and redo everything once they'd fucked off.
Part of me can't believe that I'm saying this, but I really hope you filed a complaint just so the installation service provider can be informed that this is an issue and hopefully advise the installers that they should always seek customer input on that kind of thing, it shouldn't add much time to the installation.
I get that they're just trying to get it done quickly, but customer service is paramount.
They’re taking pictures of what you’re watching on the screen and sending it to random 3rd party data collectors to analyze and then harass you with ads.
Or just reading the file name on the DVD lol
Sure but this is actually Automatic Content Recognition, specifically Roku's video ACR that takes snapshots twice a second.
Sure, but they do take snaps of the screen and send it to advertisers. Almost all “smart” TVs do this.
Only if the DVD player is built into the tv
And then someone gets the idea to find a way to play a VHS instead and be like "Let's see you read that, you fucking spying idiots!"
This is why my TV does not have internet access.
I really don't get why you would allow your tv Internet access anyways. A huge number of them carry tons of spyware that not only is on the TV but creates backdoors into your network.
I gave away my tv to a friend in need. That was the best thing I did for the both of us.
I like the way 2000s tvs did it, an ethernet cable for any possible firmware updates needed, and an sd card/usb port for media viewing.
And this is why we buy dumb TVs
Where? Which ones?
Btw, my LG tv would be able to stream from my phone, if the app didn't accuse me of unsupported rooting, because i have no Play Services running.
A quick search gave me this: https://www.makeuseof.com/best-dumb-tvs/
I might save up and pick up one of the 32" ones after the holidays.
When looking at options, search for “monitors” instead of TVs.
Yes! got any recommendations because people are searching for dumb tvs and can’t seem to find them anywhere.
Were it so easy...
All my smart TVs have existed without wifi or connections to the net themselves, only the devices that connect (Nintendo, Playstation, Roku, etc) . It's easy from that perspective, all depends on what you want and need.
That doesn't exist apart from very expensive business screens.
Dumb tv with the latest panel tech is too much to ask for these days too.
this is one major reason i switched to a projector. The "smart" malware trend has not caught up to home cinema projectors
In the low end market (sub 500eur) they are mostly android tv, so not dumb. For this reason i own an old wxga nec projector. It can do 720p, is very bright, costs about 50eur used, replacement bulbs cheap on aliexpress. It gets hot though. I pair it with 5.1 audio and rooted android tv box and the wife fully approves this :)
Almost every TV is a perfectly good dumb TV when it doesn’t know your wifi password.
Seriously... Like just don't connect it to the Internet? I dont know how it works when you don't have a PC though, it's easy for me to say don't connect it because my PC is what gets the data im watching. Maybe these people only have a smart TV so that they can watch streaming services with it.
While I agree with you these practices do bring prices down for consumers. I just have the TV off internet and use an AppleTV.
But the prices being so low is exactly what makes people care less about things like privacy, so not great either
Now that is some serious privacy invading.
You like this episode of Futurama. Would you also like to watch this episode of Futurama?
We noticed you found a way to watch this episode without ads. We suggest watching it from one of our providers so they get a cut.
I love when i buy a new bottom bracket from cycling webshop x.
After i finish the payment and move to a different website the ad there is that same bottom bracket again from cycling webshop x.
Do they not understand it's a waste of space?
It's the amazon approach. You bought these jeans. Wanna buy them again?
We need a Lemmy community dedicated to find, repair and exchange dumb TV. These are become increasingly rare and increasingly needed.
Look for digital signage if you want one with a lot of input options and a guarantee it will do only what you tell it to do (they are however more expensive than consumer grade models)
Just don't connect smart TVs to the internet and boom, dumb TV.
Except my old TV would still try to load ads even though it wasn't connected to the Internet. Made it run slow as shit. When the screen died conveniently right after the warranty period, I just switched to using a monitor to watch stuff.
If my TV is full of functionnality I don't want, I called it bloated. And I don't like bloated TV more than smart TV.
Maybe someone will get the idea to start !dumbtvsarewanted@lemmy.world for that and it could end up going as far as being dedicated to find, repair and exchange CRT TV as well.
What should it be called?
Dumb is the new smart
Be smart, buy dumb
idk, I'm sure we could find better.
Simple TV Exchange
When my parents' "dumb" LG TV became faulty, I asked them to keep it so I could repair it and use it myself.
Best decision ever. The issue was just down to a dodgy connection to the LCD panel, just needed a thin shim material in there and the issue was solved. I added a fan in there too since it gets really hot, and also now run it on the lowest brightness (which is still pretty visible during daytime) since the old CCFL backlights kick out a ton more heat when cranked up
It's just over a decade old now and still going strong, currently hooked up to a Steam Link in the bedroom for streaming from other machines in the house, a Miracast/EZCast HDMI dongle for casting from my phone, and finally to my PS2.
The comments suggesting the system sends 2 screenshots a second is truly worrying.
It might take 2 screenshots a second, but I suspect that will be hashed in some way, even if just to save their on incoming bandwidth rather than for privacy reasons.
It's still fucking absolute bullshit though, and has at least told me that anything with Roku written on it is well worth avoiding.
See this shit. They're fucking proud of it.
That looks like an advertisement to advertisers though so they would want to be proud of it.
Roku:"money money money fuck the user money money fuck privacy money! Who cares that they paid for the device and the content money money money!!"
Advertisers: "OMG! Money money fuck the user! Money money money!"
"Building audiences for activation" sounds like they're planning to just activate a sleeper army to execute dastardly plans with a highly specific Activia commercial.
It's crazy how marketer-speak sounds like PR-friendly Saturday Morning bad guys.
Well I guess that explains why my Roku TV is the worst culprit for hammering my pihole.... Holy shit.
hammering my pihole
giggity
on my TV
good joke
The SMART thing to do is to buy a DUMB TV. Pay a little more and get a real TV- you know. A display, with speakers and HDMI inputs. Nothing else.
Sometimes you have to be a bit more pragmatic. I'm not aware of any TV with HDR, Dolby Vision, OLED, etc. that isn't smart and reasonably priced. Your best bet is to buy a smart TV and block Internet access.
Another thing you can do is visit the selfhosted subs and they can help you out with other things like pihole for blocking ads and intrusive network activity on your home network.
This is what's up. Buy a small Intel NUC, a USB-C combo Blueray & DVD player, and watch any service / play any content without the ridiculousness.
Spectres are reasonable TVs. Screen tech hasn't improved drastically for the last few years, and streaming quality hasn't had any major facelifts outside the frameworks we know and love -- don't let anyone fool you otherwise. Netflix, Hulu, Prime, etc., all stream comparably to one another.
Or just don't connect the smart TV to the Internet.
Lol that’s my exact tv!
Or jailbreak your smart tv.
Underrated answer
Why the F does it require a captcha to go to an Amazon page? I have no idea what you are trying to show, because I'm not doing that.
"He says 'he's already got one!'"
Drink verification can, peasant.
Disable ACR on your TV. There was a news report that came out last week about this very thing.
Also never connect it to the Internet
And this concludes the enshitification of everything.
I try and see the world as only half full of shit on most days.
On your Roku go to Settings > Privacy > Select Smart TV Experience and disable "Use Info from TV Inputs"
Crazy but expected it isn't off by default
Because who would willingly turn that on? Lol
"Automatic content recognition" https://advertising.roku.com/resources/blog/insights-analysis/acr-the-future-of-tv-and-audience-data#! Roku is not the only ones doing it :(
So the only way to opt out of this hell is to kill your internet connection? That sucks!
I blocked the servers with my pihole. Coincidentally, my two smart TVs are the two most blocked devices on my network. It’s not even close.
This was with only ~1 hour of TV watching, while the device in the third spot is my phone (which I had been using all day). And yet the second TV still had almost 3x as many blocked requests.
Smart TVs are fucking invasive.
So the only way to opt out of this hell is to kill your internet connection?
No. It's actually simple to disable. On the Roku TV just go to:
Settings > Privacy > Select Smart TV Experience and disable “Use Info from TV Inputs”
Turn off Smart TV experience on your Roku.
Hey! How dare you only pay once for a lifetime of viewing, you should be paying monthly... No daily, for the right to view pieces of cultural history.
The pitch doesn't need to make logical sense. The entire purpose of horrible shit like this is so some asswipe with a marketing degree can say "look boss, I did a thing". Welcome to late stage capitalism, where no one ever gets fired for shoving another advertisement in somewhere.
It’s called “Post-Purchase Monetization”, and it’s why your 65” OLED tv is so cheap. They capture and sell your viewing data - but only if you hook it up to an internet connection. So don’t hook them up to an internet connection.
Bro they dont have buttons and dont even let you change channels without logging on first with youf full social credit its mad world
and it’s why your 65” OLED tv is so cheap.
If this were true, the few remaining "dumb TVs" (e.g. from Spectre Sceptre) wouldn't be cost-competitive, but they are.
This abusive shit isn't subsidizing the cost of the TV; it's just padding the manufacturer's profits.
Edit: the company isn't named after the villainous org from James Bond
The question is how long that will help. Just recently read about the first TVs popping up that try to connect to any available open WiFi to phone home, regardless of your settings. Soon our TVs will need tinfoil hats 😱
Stop spreading unsubstantiated bullshit. Cite a source or GTFO. There's no way this would be legal since you have to agree to an EULA for them to spy on you. It's the first thing you see when you start enabling WiFi on a smart TV.
Just because some idiot on the internet said its possible doesn't count as evidence that companies are doing it. They're smarter than that and they know they'll get sued if they do it. They wouldn't take that risk when 99% of smart TV owners agree to the EULA and enable the smart features themselves.
mine doesn't do this fortunately, but once in a while when you turn it on when it isn't connected to wifi, it will bring you to a wifi selection screen instead of your last input, and the list is sorted so that unsecured APs are at the top, and the OK button highlight (which you'd normally use to activate the feed from your last source when you turn it on) just so happens to activate the top unsecured AP, to which it will immediately connect and launch into the "internet connected" onboarding process.
this almost happened to me once when I first got it... so I set up an AP on my router that has all traffic completely blocked, and connected the TV to that. it periodically tells me to call support about internet problems, but all the nags and promos and "sign in" begs went away otherwise, so I guess it's just happy to hear from my router.
Jesus, really? That’s dismaying. Any chance you got a link?
I have two TVs. One is 15 years old, the other is so old that, even though it is still HD (only 720p but it's fine for me) it still has component video.
I will use those TVs until they die and not buy a new one unless I have no choice. I haven't seen a single feature on a "smart" TV that I want and a lot that I don't.
Picture quality..... Watching movies on oled is not comparable to literally anything else. But any decent 4k TV that came out in the last decade will blow out your TVs.
And besides, if you already have dumb TVs, and you don't care about the smart side... Don't add internet to a new TV, and it becomes dumb. With all its glory screen
The picture quality is fine for me. If you want higher quality, go for it. I have no problem watching 720p video on a 24" TV or 1080p video on a 40" TV. I don't need higher quality than that.
Dumb TV forever.
There are almost no dumb TVs on the market. Just get a smart tv and don’t hook it up to the internet. Use a separate streaming box
One reason why I opted for a monitor instead of a TV. AFAIK monitors don't do this shit.
Good luck finding a 65"+ monitor at a reasonable price.
Not everyone needs or has room for huge displays. For those ppl monitors work great.
Yeah, for a living room TV the only option is either "digital signage" or no network.
I'll just stick to not connecting my TV to the network.
You can look into "hospitality" tvs. The ones used in hotels and the like. Those can be better.
Samsung smart monitors 🤧
i heard you can buy the monitors hanging over the counters at mcdonalds from the OEM where the "smart" is a module you have to buy seperately. is it something like that, or was it sold as a really big PC monitor?
They're called digital signage displays. Those module slots are usually in the intel SDM form factor.
This stuff is expensive as these displays and modules are rated for 24/7 operation and the software they ship with by default is specifically made to manage content on a large fleet of them.
You're honestly gonna get a way better experience for cheaper by getting a normal TV + a NUC/Nvidia shield and just not connecting the TV to a network ever.
Yes, worse, but also more money on something you don't own - you just don't get it, bro... It's progress sorry I always confuse those words, profits.
That's terrible. This is why we need Foss
If they can do it, they will. It's ad dollars to them, as good as any others.
Don't let them do it. Buy dumb electronics, or at least smart electronics you can use airgapped.
Three Words: Digital Signage Display
So when I searched for that, this is the first result that came up:
https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/jvl-55-led-uhd-digital-signage-display-jvl055tv
Seems pretty enshittified.
Where do you normally get yours? Do you have brand recommendations?
I rooted my 2013 Samsung TV and overclocked it from 800 to 1200Mhz (the whole system is actually build for 1200Mhz but only the Highend-Ones are qualified for it). To my surprise the amount of data it send to Samsung was quite reasonable but still I removed most of it. Full removal of Internet is not an option because then I lose HbbTV and Prime TV which is like 50% of what I use that device for. And since I rooted it I also use it for BS and the public broadcasting mediatheks. Also, it now runs Quake2 in 1920x1080 in ~20fps.
Pihole or similar DNS blocking. I can't recommend it enough. My smart TVs are the #1 offender on my network. The only thing that will try to pull in more ads are my wife's mobile games.
Can confirm, pi hole is awesome.
Some initial configuration required especially if you are doing it by device instead of at the router, but the results are well worth it.
NextDNS is also great for this kind of blocking. It’s like pihole as a service.
Just get a dumbTV
That's getting increasingly difficult to do.
The enshittification continues.
tiny, but it does work
Get any TV. Build HTPC. Never let the TV access the network itself.
I've been doing this for 15 years. It gets easier and less expensive each year as hardware improves.
Judging from the trend, soon smart tvs may include a cellular modem (always on, paid by the manufacturer) or support mesh networking (passing your data through your neighbour's tv) so it can always send out telemetry data and retrieving ads. Amazon already did it via Amazon Sidewalk, which is said to cover over 90% of people in the US.
Do you know of any good guides on this? I started messing with Linux plasma bigscreen and got twisted
And Netflix downscales resolution on Linux btw. It's almost like you have to host your own media and pirate it all to get the best experience
Ah yes I want to watch the exact same thing I am watching but from another provider, definitely just take my money, hypercapitalist
if buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing
Is this a samsung tv? If it is one of the cheap tv's like Vizio and such they have this live advertising which is awful. I always buy non-smart TV's but now they actually cost more then the smart ones if you are going for a big 65-85" TV.
You can save the cash and just never let it connect to the internet.
Be careful because they automatically ping around for passwordless wifi
This. It's a simple as a really good router or a pihole at home or similar. Just block their domains they ring home to.
It's not particularly hard to open and disconnect the Wi-Fi antenna. But it probably voids the warranty.
I'm not excited for the day they realize that HDMI allows the transmission of network traffic through the device it's plugged into.
Why that's in the design, I don't know. But I also don't understand why HDMI has fucking DRM built into it.
What are some good non-smart TVs?
None, I have a Vizio that shipped with non shitty firmware, only to be upgraded over time to shitty firmware.
Laugh.
They still make non-smart tvs?
I mean if it's possible to use it without connecting it to a network... You should be good until they cut a deal with cell providers to push their shit over soldered on LTE chips.
some TVs that are used in a business environment are able to be set up without internet, mainly because the displays are almost always externally driven over LAN or HDMI.
Based on the * button, it looks like some sort of Roku device or TV with Roku built in.
How? Did you got your dvd player hacked?
Most modern TVs have this lovely “feature” called Automatic Content Recognition so papa Google can tell when you’re watching pr0n.
i sadly do not have a dumb tv
my smart tv though has most stuff blocked by pihole and acr is off
Newer TVs take screenshots and send em off to give you recommendations or ads for things you like.
Damn, that's wonderful.
I can almost guarantee this was some stupid marketing exec's idea. Someone had to write the code that interprets that you're watching an episode that someone else has available for streaming. Any software dev worth their salt would have seen this request and said "This is the dumbest fucking idea I have ever seen in my life" and they probably had to make it anyway because it pays the bills.
What model TV do you have?
I can tell from the interface it's a Roku Smart TV of some sort. I have a TCL with Roku and it does not do this crap.
Why would you want to watch the episode you’re already watching somewhere else?
Because you can!!! 👍💪 Need to flex that your paying for streaming services to your friends. Lol
I can kinda see a potential use case for this. That you have say cable tv or local dtv. You tune to a program you've never seen before and it's good. The option to watch more on a streaming service might be wanted.
But for most people, it's just plain intrusive.
Because it's more convenient
The streaming service needs subscribers. Think of the shareholders
Thats instant grounds for breaking Consumer law here in the UK. I'd be returning the TV and if they didnt accept. Small claim court.
⛵🏴☠️
2 words people: Pihole and Unbound.
Learn them, use them, and promote them.
Unbound is going to need some context.
That's more burn it with fire then mildly infuriating. Never go "Smart" not even once.
terrible; keep your tv off the internet; it used the mic to determine that
It's worse than the mic. They're taking screenshots and sending them to a server that analyzes the image to determine what you're watching.
Proof? There are other (some equally creepy) ways that it could get this info. Depending upon how the DVD player is connected, it could simply be getting info from that. It could also be taking occasional screenshots. There are other things as well.
Edit: poster below links to Roku and they use screenshots.
My LG tv just update and now anytime I turn the tv on I have to wait 2 minutes for the default screen to go away. It has ads and app suggestions.
I only use a fire stick and don’t have the original remote. So nothing I can do but wait
Just got the same update. If you can get a remote you can go into settings and turn off the new Home experience.
If you lost your remote, you might be able to connect a USB mouse or keyboard to control it.
That’s a good idea. I’ll try that
If it's like mine there's an option to return to the old interface
Mine doesn't do that 🤷♂️ Although it doesn't keep bugging me to accept the Google Assistant ToS, which isn't new and I've already done it like three times.
That's the reason i bought a dumb tv. No i don't need those subpar computer running my tv with a chance of crashing and which i can't control what fuckery they do, i have my PC tq.
I agree in general, but to mention one potential benefit: DVD only supports SD resolutions, streaming services may have the same content in HD.
Of course! How else are you supposed to rent things you already own? Of course ownership is no cure for renting out these days.
As Professor Farnsworth once said, "I don't want to live on this planet anymore".
The fuck?
Even if you must own a smart TV (because it's impossible to buy a large-ish TV anymore that isn't), I see no reason to actually connect it to any network. But! I notice recent models will bitch at you on every single power on if you leave them disconnected. So you're not even safe from being annoyed then.
Some people get big computer monitors instead of a TV, because of shit like this.
That's the route I took. I recently bought a 48" 4K monitor, hooked a mini PC up to it, and now I stream my movie and TV show collection through Plex. I still have Internet access on my "TV," but I'm in control of what pops up (I block all ads on my home network). I just use a small wireless keyboard and mouse instead of a remote.
I haven't actually owned a TV since about 2008. I have better media options through computers, and the technology just keeps getting better. Cable and public access television are a pain because you're constantly bombarded with ads. With my own computer, I can circumvent ads and get a solid viewing experience.
Bro throw that tv. Its roku, absolute garbage. Never buy a roku, never
Pretty soon you won't be allowed to use a tv to watch stuff that isn't state approved media from a state approved source. I had an airbnb once that was set up in such a way that you could sign in to any streaming service you wanted but hdmi was blocked. I doubt the owner intentionally did that but it's scary to actually see this type of shit firsthand.
Replace state-approved with corporation-approved and yeah, this is our world now.
Both, states & megacorps hand in hand.
From a matter of convenience I could actually appreciate what they are trying to do.
Binge watching TV on disc, especially DVD, is frustrating. If you aren’t using the extra content (such as commentary), streaming is much better, as you can binge more episodes at a time or watch certain episodes without having to switch discs.
If I was unaware this was available on a streaming service I had, I’d appreciate the reminder. But I’d appreciate it more at or before the main menu, not during the content, and certainly not more than once (or reset when the disc is removed).
Don't buy cheap TVs subsidized from ads 🤷♂️
What do you expect when you buy a 43 inch TV for $150?
Even better, buy the cheap TV and block its attempts to phone home.
If this is hell, it ain't so bad....
Ads 20 years ago are just some dumb gify banners. Now your hdmi input got sniffed by your tv and identified by some fancy ai stuff in order to serve you the most profitable ads. I'm excited to see what kind of innovative ads we'll experience 20 years from now /s
Bonus: Sony's smart tv patent
indeed
There are patents for nuclear bicycles.
If only there was a marketplace of ideas to determine what patents were worth anything. Maybe some invisible hand all those libertarian privacy nuts are always on about.
Protip: Do not connect your TV to the Internet.
I ended up giving up and just putting a Linux PC attached to my TV as a media center. I host plex on it.
This is the way (Jellyfin here)
I don't see how this is giving up though. Been doing this to close to two decades in one form of another and I wouldn't consider any other way. Except kodi instead of plexus here.
Until Plex gets unbearable as well. They have been getting a lot shittier lately.
I have my Steam Deck attached to my TV. It's great for watching pirated sports streams via web browser.
I still get Roku recommendations on plex content from my Apple TV. They are doing content recognition off of the hdmi input
or just get a cheap-ass android box (like xiaomi or google)
Honestly, I'm just using a cheap Android TV box with stremio and smart tube. Those two apps pretty much cover everything I'd wanna watch. Those $20 Walmart ones are super easy to root/bootloader unlock too, so you can put lineageOS on it if you want
Protip: destroy your 'smart' TV.
Protip: burn your house
You go ahead and destroy something that cost you hundreds of dollars. Be it a TV or cans of Bud Light, I'm not going to destroy something I already got out of some need for a moral victory.
I hate 'smart' TVs. I wish they didn't exist. But telling someone to destroy the one they already had- meaning that if they want to watch TV, they'll just have to buy another- doesn't really make much sense to me.
Or, if you must (cringe), use anonymous credentials, have a router level VPN, and maybe even run pihole. But much better to just hook up a PC to your TV and run all of your apps off of that.