changing the TV’s DNS servers or disconnecting it from the internet entirely.
Chiming in as an Australian budget VIDAA owner.
I spotted that this TV attempts to query 8.8.8.8, regardless of your DNS settings. I implemented a port 53 (DNS) redirect so those queries get resolved by my local server.
I also figured out which servers are serving up ads/tracking. I fired an email to Pete and got them added to his list. You’re welcome. I’m guessing a pi-hole would work with it.
https://pgl.yoyo.org/adservers/serverlist.php
I didn’t install the latest update, and probably never will.
Time to tear the thing apart and patch the firmware.
They can’t force me if I don’t connect it to the internet
I can imagine future TVs refusing to work without an always-on internet connection.
I saw an unboxing for a TV for a Chinese market and it refused to start until the owner paired it with a Chinese phone otp for “age verification” 😉
I can imagine them shipping TVs with built in cellular data just for ads
We need openWrt for TVs :(
I believe some custom firmware for TVs exist, the issue is that they are relatively new pieces of tech, while routers have existed for a comparatively long time.
I had a 65" Hisense TV for just over a year, and a firmware update bricked it. It was stone dead, and Hisense wouldn’t even try to repair it. So I spent a little extra money and got a Samsung instead. And once it was set up, I turned off its wifi…just in case.
Hisense can eat a bag o’ dicks.
They are cheap for a reason…
It’s true that things are worse on a cheap tv but even if you buy a $5000+ flagship model it will still have advertising baked into the os
Most of the “commercial” TVs, the ones intended for businesses, don’t have this. They also don’t have streaming services and whatnot not built in. They’re just a display with a few inputs, and maybe a tuner.
that’s true but they’re more expensive, sometimes prohibitively so. If you want an oled panel they’re basically unfeasible, especially if you want a larger panel >55”
I bought my last TV about 7 years ago. I got a “small” 38" TV. As I was checking out, the cashier asked me if I’d rather upgrade to a larger model from the same brand with smart features for 10 dollars less. I flat out told him ‘no’ and that was probably the best decision I made that year.
If you don’t connect a smart TV to the internet, it’s functionally the same as a dumb TV.
Sadly more and more TV’s will now require you to connect to the Internet, even when you just use HDMI
Well that’s just a day one return then and an openbox discount for the next person
Which cause I haven’t come across any that do that.
Ive had LG, Vizio, TCL, and Samsung TVs (still have all but Vizio) and haven’t ran into one that requires internet yet, not to say that some manufacturers haven’t/wouldn’t do this at some point.
I have a Hisense that I bought late last year and have never connected it to the internet (I stream everything through my PS5) and boyhowdy does that TV take every chance it gets to let me know I’m not connected lol
IF YOU BUY ANY TV, DO NOT CONNECT IT TO THE INTERNET.
Televisions were never meant to be smart devices. There’s no reason your screen should have software of its own. That would be like your face having a mind of its own.
Ummm, <eldrich horror rant text>
Cell modems are getting cheaper and cheaper, it’s only a matter of time before cheap smart TVs will flood the market with always-on telemetry and intrusive personalized ads.
That sounds like a great reason to return it and buy used lol
Until a few years later when all the used TVs have cell modems. The same thing is already happening in the used car market, it’s getting harder and harder to find a reliable vehicle that doesn’t have a cell modem and a long T&C that let’s them spy on you.
Well then I guess I make the room a giant faraday cage.
I haven’t experience this myself but I’ve read that some newer TV’s are forcing you to connect to the internet before you can do anything else.
Not to mention it seems like the apps on a smart tv get ignored when it comes to updates.
My face’s mind sits right behind my face.
i don’t know why i didn’t expect hisense to do it.
Would it not make sense for them to? Since they make budget televisions, they have to subsidise the cost somehow.
Either that, or because they’re so budget, you’d expect them to cheap out on the electronics and not bother with anything that sophisticated compared to a bare-minimum chip.
Oh they are that cheap.
Right, i have a hisense fridge i bought 12 years ago after my second hand fridge broke, destroying all my food. I had saved up enough money to go away for the weekend but got home from work to the broken one. Had cancel my trip and use the money to buy the fridge thinking it won’t last long.
That fridge now sits outside with drinks in it and its never missed a beat.
I also have a deep freezer of theirs I’ve had for 8 years with no issues apart from having to replace the door seal.
I would resort to violence, Holy shit.
Bought a new TV and this is precisely the reason why it will never be connected to the Internet. I miss out on the built-in AirPlay which is annoying but I’ll live.
I don’t have this issue with my higher end hi sense, but the article states it’s for the lower end models. So this proves that companies are lowering the costs of TV’s and offsetting it by selling your data and forcing you to watch ads they get paid for.
Mine is connected to the internet and no issues. If they ever do this to my TV, internet is off and i’m buying a shield pro.
Why wait? Streaming services are only getting worse, and we can only really fight back one way. Yo ho!
Anyone has a list of TV manufacturers that don’t suck yet?
The easy answer is to use commercial displays. They are more expensive and may not have the latest tech BUT they last longer and don’t do the spyware shenanigans.
I’ve got a Sony and even it’s showing home screen ads - normally it’s just “suggestions” for shows on streaming services I don’t have, but the occasional car ad also comes through. I have a theory that the reason Sony are getting out of the TV business is that they don’t want to develop their own TV OS and they’re sick of their customers complaining about the ads in Google’s OS.
I’m about to get a 2nd one and I’m seriously considering a computer monitor hooked up to a mini PC running XBMC or something.
Personally, I use computer monitors. They’re cheap enough. 32 inch ultra wide. 36 inch. They’re only getting larger and cheaper.
As for remote control, I hook it up to the computer and use unified remote.
At this point I consume most media literally on my computer or my phone, but I still want there to be a good solution for a big living room TV (50"+ range). I have yet to see any reasonable ‘computer monitor’ option for that.
The other problem with using a monitor as a TV, BTW, is that they often don’t have built-in speakers.
A projector might be an option, but they have their own problems, like with the contrast not being great.
It seems like a lot of the bigger names suck. I bought a Blauerpunkt and it is awful - not hackability wise but as a product. Probably for the same reasons as Nokia, Phillips, JVC etc are pale shadows of themselves (sold off / rebagged)
I have a Blauerpunkt, a TCL and a Samsung. Of the three, it’s the TCL that’s been the least locked down.
At this rate, I’m probably going to go for a short throw projector or just get an old school plasma if /when these go tits up.
I used to recommend Sceptre, but even they appear to have stopped making dumb TVs now too.
I haven’t had a Tv in years but because I wanna be cool or some shit but I don’t want to have one of these intrusive machines in the middle of my house. I already have enough of those.
Ohh it’s not wrongdoing and when we refuse to buy anything from them, they’re getting what they gave.
I reminds me I should start writing my clickbait “(Millennials/GenZ/GenA or whatever) are killing TV manufactureres” article
I’m genX, but now that you mention it, My kids refuse to watch anything not on a tablet or phone, so there’s that…
