this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023
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It's not just that they're smart, it's that the "smart" features actively interfere with normal operation, though it's bad enough that you can't find "dumb" versions. TVs for example: a few years ago I tried to replace my dying "dumb" TV and discovered that they basically don't sell TVs that aren't smart. I figured "eh, worst case I can just use it as a normal TV" only to discover that on some models no, I could not. I've come to despise Roku-integrated TVs: standalone Roku devices are great, but their TVs lock down basically every single adjustment you'd find on a normal TV other than brightness and volume, so too bad if you have to deal with glare I guess?
Finally wound up going with an AndroidTV, which at least lets me change inputs and adjust the picture as needed... but also the home screen is loaded with ads that you can't disable. At least it still lets me have it boot straight to a specific input instead of showing the home screen.
You have your TV connected to the internet? If my TV came with ads preloaded I would have brought it back to the store the same day
Every smart TV is like that now. Every single one has ads of some kind, at least that I've tried. I mean there might be one weird knockoff brand that doesn't but chances are it's got even larger problems, and forget about finding apps for it.
But yeah, I have my TV connected to the internet. One of the things I had plugged in to my old "dumb" TV was a Chromecast, and the Android TV has one built in... but that requires it be on the internet for it to work. It is running Android so you bet your ass I loaded it up with all sorts of sideloaded goodness (Revanced, SmartTube, Retroarch to name a few). I just haven't gotten around to replacing the launcher to get rid of the ads, since it's a bit involved.
Oh, also it didn't originally have ads, that came in an update about a year later. I'd care more if I spent much time on the home screen, but most of the time the TV's just displaying the output of the Roku.
Ads on the home screen?? If that became the norm, I'd stop using TVs. I only have one as it is, and I barely use it.
Unfortunately it's becoming the norm. Some are less obtrusive or take up relatively little space, but every Smart TV I've used in the last year has some un-removable portion of the home screen that displays an ad. So far it's almost entirely limited to TV shows or movies or services or otherwise TV-related things, but it's really not hard to imagine that expanding to other goods and/or services.