this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2025
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[–] slumlordthanatos@lemmy.world 84 points 1 day ago (5 children)

Instead of buying a TV, look for a digital signage display. It's a TV, but with none of the "smart" crap on it.

Alternatively, just don't hook your device up to the internet.

[–] Empricorn@feddit.nl 2 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 42 minutes ago)

I've seen this advice over and over and I have to ask: does it really compare? Gaming for me is all about frame rate, and no, I'm not a competitive gamer or anything. What's the response time on those "digital signage" models designed to show static food menus 24/7 for a decade. I'm sure they don't have a "game mode", but what's the refresh rate? If you're going to literally pay more for a display sold to corporations, these factors need to be considered. Personally, I got a good consumer TV and just never connected it to the Internet...

[–] renzev@lemmy.world 108 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

This is good advice, but I really wish we lived in a world where consumers could bond together and get laws passed that make this type of crap illegal so that buying TV's (or any type of appliance for that matter) didn't involve having to do research on weird non-consumer hardware just to have a nice experience.

EDIT: some morons in my replies keep on saying shit about "voting republican" and We Do In OtHeR CoUnTRiEs. I'm not american, I don't live in america, and I cannot remember the last time I set foot in america. Shut the fuck up, nobody asked you.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 48 points 1 day ago

In other words, you wish we lived in a democracy instead of a plutocracy. 'Cause that's exactly how it's supposed to work. This thread is squarely about the FTC failing to do its goddamn job, because this should not be legal.

[–] Dkarma@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago (3 children)

We can you idiots just keep voting Republican

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This kind of fucking attitude is why Dems always have sand in their potato salad. "This wouldn't happen if democrats never lost an election :( " Miss me with that shit. Trump is talking about using military force to annex Panama and Greenland and making Canada the 51st state and you've got online Democrats sitting in the corner timidly and indirectly suggesting that maybe ads wouldn't be so bad under them. The Democratic party deserves to get bullied until they grow a spine and start giving people a real reason to vote for them besides "republicans bad". Call me when we get AOC hopped up on barely sub-lethal amounts of cocaine and she bites Gavin Newsom's head off like a praying mantis.

Are you sure. Maybe if we lean in a little further right these "moderates" who are considering authoritarian rule might just change their mind.

[–] Turret3857@infosec.pub 12 points 1 day ago

Consumer rights is a bipartisan issue, Dems fuck us over too.

[–] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Just look at the printer situation. It's gonna get worse. Much worse.

[–] flying_sheep@lemmy.ml 2 points 14 hours ago

As long as brother b&w laser printers are still not enshittified, everything's right in the printer world.

[–] figjam@midwest.social 1 points 1 day ago

Books it is then

[–] MadBob@feddit.nl 5 points 1 day ago

We do have that in other countries (so in this world), and you're going to laugh, but the Dutch one is literally called the Consumentenbond.

[–] shasta@lemm.ee 38 points 1 day ago (5 children)
[–] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 1 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

They are also capable of running 24/7 without ever overheating, no matter the location. And have extra software specialized for signage.

It isn't just a marketing gimmick.

[–] shasta@lemm.ee 2 points 14 hours ago

Yeah sounds perfect for my living room. I'll definitely pay an extra $3k for those features.

Recommending digital signage for personal TVs is still a bad recommendation.

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Alternatively, Sceptre are mostly sub-$1k

[–] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

Sceptre is the GOAT. I've got a 4k dumb panel for cheap during Black Friday a year or two back. It's fantastic. No WiFi on it (because it is a dumb TV) but a streaming device like nVidia Shield is perfect.

[–] dodgy_bagel@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

My understanding is that TV prices are subsidized by bloatware. No bloatware, no subsidy.

[–] wheeldawg@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 day ago

If they were, they should be free. Yet there's still triple and quad digit prices on these things that probably cost like 8% of that to build (because of slave labor probably), and the subsidy on top should mean they're literally paying us monthly to have their screen.

[–] BarbecueCowboy@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Plus side there though... Like most devices marketed towards enterprise, once they hit the used market, the price drops dramatically. You can get a pretty good deal on a used one.

[–] notthebees@reddthat.com 2 points 1 day ago

There's other business oriented tvs that aren't just for signage. It's more for conference rooms.

[–] Ibuthyr@lemmy.wtf 7 points 1 day ago

Or just don't buy Samsung. Never had this kind of trouble with any other brand except Samsung. Because of this, I'll never ever buy another Samsung product.

[–] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

The smart stuff isn't the issue. It is all the connected shit.

There are plenty of smart TVs that you just don't have to connect to the internet. Then it can't download ads, be laggy or reboot because of updates, send all your data to the manufacturer, ...

Just connect a small PC over HDMI like you would a dumb TV, and other than a slow boot it will work the same.

I can recommend TLC as a TV that doesn't require an internet connection. But I would steer clear of ever connecting it to a network, the remotes have microphones in them.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

There are plenty of smart TVs that you just don’t have to connect to the internet

AFAIK many of them will continue to nag you to connect them to the Internet if you don't do it. Those nags can be just as bad as ads.

[–] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 2 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Yes, just don't buy those brands.

TVs are a minefield, but one that can be navigated.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 hours ago

How does one do that? Which brands are dangerous?

[–] lud@lemm.ee 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

My Samsung tv also has microphones for voice control.

[–] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 2 points 15 hours ago

Yes, that is most likely what they were designed for.

But I wouldn't trust these brands to not misuse them for other things.

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Take a crayon, jam it in the pinhole for the mic, then scrape the excess off the surface. Problem solved.