Hisense TVs force owners to watch intrusive ads when switching inputs, visiting the home screen, or even changing channels — practice infuriates consumers, brand denies wrongdoing
7 months ago by Sahwa to c/technology
They’re not alone, either. I had to downgrade my Visio just to use the features that it shipped with. I’m sure this is illegal, but no one cares unless you’re rich.
I outright told them it's illegal, since they are unilaterally altering the terms of any T&C agreements when we started using the TV and materially interfering with our ownership and use of the TV we purchased. They didn't care. I then sent it to our state attorney general and nothing happened.
You can likely sue them in small claims court. Many states let you file for a couple hundred dollars and will give you 3x damages if you win.
The most likely outcome is they settle when the court date approaches or dont show and you win hy default.
There was a guy in Texas who thought a big tobacco company would settle out without showing, but instead he got counter sued to the tune of millions. That man? Rusty Shackleford.
There's a good documentary about it.
Unfortunately the firmware was the issue, not just OS software. So factory-resetting didn't help us. But yeah, that definitely radicalized me to the "never connect it to the internet" camp for future TVs.
I mean, that's great in theory. But the amount of manufacturers of non-smart TVs is tiny, and if you are interested in the best panels and display technology, refresh rates for gaming, etc (even removing affordability), it's very very hard to just boycott if you want to have a modern TV at all.
Getting the ad-subsidized tech without the ads sounds like a win to me
You're implying there is an option other than not owning a TV. Please send us specifics so we can join you.
I got a TCL last year and it wouldn't let me use the TV until I set up the internet. After 4 factory resets I figured out how to put it in store demo mode, and plugged in a separate streaming device that connects to the internet. Now I realize I could have connected the TV to the internet and then blocked it at the network level.
If you are using a network level block, make sure it's a black hole and not just a DNS filter. I tried a DNS filter with a Roku and found that they bypass it with hardcoded values, even when the DNS server was statically assigned and DHCP assigned.
What you mean by black hole and filter? I blocked a bunch of tcl domains on my pihole and made my router drop everything in port 53 coming from every other device that wasn't pihole. It seems to have worked for now.. Is that a good solution?
Unfortunately manufacturers are starting to get wise to this as well. I recently bought a new Vizio smart TV with no intentions of connecting it to the internet and during the initial setup it kept very persistently insisting that it needed to be connected and after setup it constantly bitches at me that it's not connected.
My mom has a Hisense TV (because my parents invariably buy the very cheapest they can. They'd get a B&W if they could), and it just started something new - on start up, it now shows a static page of color wash, then you choose a channel. It doesn't start on the same channel you turned off last night. Must be a new update came through. She let it sit on the screensaver all day, because it never occurred to her to try to change the channel.
Not a big deal, but weird, and NOBODY asked for this.
I’ve never connected my LG TVs to the internet and they work pretty well.
I hear you can jailbreak them, which is appealing to me.
Are people loading AOSP on there or something? I'm tired of the telemetry and ads LG built in, but my blocklists have seemed to block one of my LG TVs from working. I have a disabled adult in my home and I think Kodi might be too complex for them.
The person I was talking to just said they had jailbroken WebOS (LG runs webOS not android) and could do whatever.
Mine's never connected to the internet before, so I don't really feel any need to jailbreak it. Though apparently you can ssh in and do stuff, and that sounds kinda cool.
Nothing like Android no. You get the ability to install apps not available in the webOS store, homebrew basically. This is useful for running hyperion (open source project) for driving your own LEDs behind the TV for ambiance. I haven't peeked in that scene in a year or two but last time I did, the latest TV's or latest updated TV's were not easily hackable.
Um...no they don't?
Sony offloaded manufacturing to TLC. They made a joint venture and TLC gets to manufacture and distribute them, Sony does development. Sony still has control. What we may see in the future is build quality decline. I doubt it's gonna effect the software much.
Would have loved to. It was just over one year (right after the warranty ended as well), though.
I went through something similar and am trying to recall, I think I did look and it was past the time period. I should have tried. It's +2 years now for me.
Edit: Words.
Hisense are also selling their TVs with different specs on different markets which is really annoying. In the United States you get Google TV but in Europe you get the awful Vidaa OS where you can't install Google Play Store. And the big national TV streaming apps are missing in their own app store where I live.
I talked to a retail seller and he said that they ultimately had to stop selling them because they got so many complaints and returns. Maybe it's a licensing issue or something but it's just such a braindead decision that is damaging the brand.
Funny story, they actually did this to me before this all happened, and I was on a "I'm never going to update again" beta firmware that they gave me a link to, when the forced-update happened that broke my wifi. I didn't disable any ADB-level processes, and I don't think the system let me disable updates.
This is the cyberpunk future that the 80s kids were so hyped for.
If anyone remembers the cyberpunk 80s TV show Max Headroom, then they know that TV was everywhere all the time in that universe. There was a scene in one episode where the police enter a suspect’s home and discover that she had an off switch on her TV. The cops react in shock to the fact, and one of them says “She’ll get twenty years for that.”
This universe also had "blipverts" which were a type of ad (advert..advertisement) that directly accessed your brain's motivation to get you to buy something. The only problem was that blipverts also had a high chance of killing the people that watched it.
This was a TV show from almost 40 years ago now and it looks like these would be the things that are coming in the next few years from now.
Sci-Fi dystopia/Cyberpunk has called a lot of things correctly.
Rather, rich people are copying dystopias
I loved in the story of that episode that the TV execs learned that blipverts could kill their audience, and briefly switched back to adverts, but when sales fell they went back to blipverts knowing the danger because it was more profitable. The writers of that show nailed a corporate dystopian future.
Our own hope was our protagonist Edison Carter "live and direct from Network 23"...who was also part of the giant corporate machine.
Somewhere between Snow Crash and Hackers it became the dream instead of the nightmare.
For sociopaths like Musk, yes. The rest of us, not so much.
I actually commented on that somewhere. Cyberpunk is a good example of authors warning us of dystopian possibilities, not glorifying them.
And the kids were hyped over it, like i said.
We were hyped over the tech and the "punk" aspect. That's the rebellion against the dystopia, not embrace of it.
I no longer get excited about new tech. For the most part, I feel like we peaked about 10 years ago. Medical advances are the outlier and represent real benefit, but consumer electronics are getting enshittified.
I have a HiSense TV and use ADB AppControl to disable/remove the telemetry or forced updates, and Projectivy Launcher to get a home screen/launcher that doesn't show ads. Both are free and work really well. I don't see trash on my homescreen anymore.
Until sept 2026...
Do you really think Google will approve those APKs once they have fully lockdown android (that includes Google TV)?
That's why this push from google to kill the APK installation without their blessing infuriates me!
I will 100% jump over to it if that does turn into a thing
Oh cool, I'll have to checkout those other tools!
I basically left it vanilla after switching the launcher and borking the updates. We use emby for our home streaming but I am always looking for extra functionality
Stremio is also an option.
No doubt. The market is shriveling up for people who want a new tv that isn't garbo. Outside of commercial displays which are like 3-4x as expensive and have lower image quality, I don't know of anyone making dumb tvs in a 55" plus size. Yes, you can opt not to hook them up to the internet but in a house with non-tech people, its a huge hassle to get them to want to use anything other than the built in apps. Even diy set top boxes running on a pi or shield are not as user friendly for kids or grandparents.
What's that?
This is why, for years, I've been trying to point out that "if you don't like it, just don't buy it" isn't good enough. Boycotts aren't enough; we have to force the law to change to prohibit the abusive corporate behavior.
I agree 100%. Nothing we do is good enough because it's a game of cat and mouse. They do something, people react. They do something else, they react.
Right now I own a Hisense because it's 75" and cost me $300. It has a decent enough picture and sound. Works for all of my uses.
It has never seen the internet nor will it. I use my 6 year old shield for apps, mostly of which is my own content.
In case they decide to use any subsidiary or or partner tech company to daisy chain internet (I don't put it past any of these guys) I have a blacklist on my firewall that catches most stuff trying to go out.
I have done everything I can, but it won't be enough at some point.
They won't stop until laws pass that stop them (actually stop them and not slap on the wrist).
Boycotts only work in competitive markets where there is real differentiation between the choices.
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. My TV contacts the unruly ACR servers, but the later firmware probably contacts nexxen.
People like you help to make the internet a better place — which matters a lot to me, because one of my most desperately held beliefs is that it is possible to take the hopefulness of the early internet and combine it with the wisdom of the last few decades to produce a more robust kind of hope
attempts to query 8.8.8.8, regardless of your DNS settings.
Streaming box / stream app makers have been working around local DNS for a long time. Sometimes of course they're assholes that want to do shitty things and do this to make interdiction harder. But sometimes there are legitimate reasons. Ones I remember... users who don't really understand what they're doing can be overly aggressive with blocking and block things that are necessary for a particular service (causing support problems). Sometimes the ISPs DNS servers have shit performance, and using a well known commercial provider like cloudflare or google can improve performance at scale. It's not always evil.
I fear the day these fucks figure out DOH or something. Not sure there's any way to suppress or intercept that, short of just blocking all external traffic to the TV.
For other readers here is a tutorial to do DNS capture into a pihole server or other DNS
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,
Well then I guess I make the room a giant faraday cage.
Tracking/privacy and ads are related, but separate issues. Cars might track where you are going, but they aren't showing ads (yet).
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.
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.
The apps available on the TV may work when it’s new but quickly become nonfunctional because of a lack of updates. Best to use something else to stream, hopefully something more trustworthy.
Applies anything too "smart" for its own good. Too many cases of those having obvious backdoors like trying to reverse ssh home, not to mention stupidest vulnerabilities imaginable nobody fixes
Don't let your TV be on the internet.
I got a Hisense tv in November and never connected it to the internet. Now I am extremely pleased that I never connected it.
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
This. Have played with similar devices in the past and I was surprised how many of these devices are running standard Linux kernel with some custom engineered distros. Projects like Buildroot, OpenWRT, Busybox and a few others are what the vendors use to roll their own builds.
A few of them agressively lock down the bootloaders in an attempt to (try to) prevent people from owning the device they've paid retail price for. Many don't really bother. The good news is, that such measures are relatively easy for experts to circumvent and break down. This, of course, is not cheap, but needs to happen only once, often for more than a single model. Some kind of bounty-based system could provide incentive and financing for such efforts.
Based on the limited experience with a few devices (LG), the SoC in TVs are not new pieces of tech. At all. They seem old and underpowered crap. Similar to DVB-T sticks available for the price of 2 pizzas and a pack of gum on AliExpress.
What could have go wrong by connecting a screen to internet!?
there's literally no reason to buy a smart TV so long as TVs have multiple Hdmi inputs
Stop tempting them. I'm already down to 2 HDMIs on most of the TVs I've touched in the last decade. Some 3, one with 4. That's anything from a cheap 32"Roku to a high end LG LED 70". I expect to find a 1xHDMI soon enough.
They can’t force me if I don’t connect it to the internet
I can imagine them shipping TVs with built in cellular data just for ads
... and exactly 2 weeks later modders will have figured out how to get their hands on the yummy free unlimited data inside it.
Getting outdated ads crammed down your throat for companies or products that no longer exist is a special kind of trolling.
It's going right back to the shop, if that's the case. Not accepting an HDMI input means it's not fit for purpose.
It's textbook rent-seeking behavior. They discount the TV $201 to undercut someone else, and make up the difference selling the ads over the life of the TV.
This is how SO many things work, it's only surprising that it's taken this long. If you watch YT on this fancy TV, you're getting the same thing.
I guess it's hard when they've probably factored in ad revenue in the pricing. It's not a new practice - it's been done with cheap Chinese smartphones that were sometimes sold below the cost of hardware and production.
It's terrible, I agree. Brands like this go into a list of offenders that I'll make sure to avoid in the future.
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.
I haven’t had a Tv in years but not 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.
Edit: NOT because 🫣
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 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.
My first 4K TV was a Samsung. The last update broke eARC making the Samsung home theater in a box thing I had much more inconvenient.
My 2nd (free in a raffle) Samsung 4K TV connected to my WiFi without a password when a guest in the house casted a video to it despite on setup refusing to consent to any web things due to privacy concerns. Kinda interesting and concerning.
I blocked the TVs MAC address on my router after a factory reset.
It completely ignored my privacy preferences just because someone pressed "cast" on their phone.
I don't think internet was required for setup, but in each case I did want to get the latest firmware in case there were fixes to the UI or whatever. But I never use the built-in apps or anything, I have a media box for that stuff.
Anybody have un-enshittified 4k tv recommendations?
Mainly want good picture quality for movies + high refresh rate for games.
The biggest thing you can do is just never connect it to the internet. I even block the MAC addresses so ever if someone tried to connect it, it won’t. Then use an external box like a Roku, PC, or AppleTV to connect to your content.
And, if any TV requires an internet connection to set it up, immediately return it.
Exactly this.
"Smart" TVs never go online, never connect to anything but power and an HDMI, and quite frankly..if it didnt risk causing warranty headaches, I'd open teh fucker up and unplug its wifi antenna too.
Always use an old PC/Laptop/Raspberry Pi/whatever to get them online/on youtube/streaming/etc. You have full control over those devices, and can update them as desired and modify them at a whim.
Fuckin hate smart TVs. a bunch of fucking spyware and adware that just makes the device run hotter and die sooner.
LG is solid as long as you don’t agree to the terms. I get no ads but I only use the internet on it to update the firmware. Samsung is more annoying with their ads.
I only use the internet on it to update the firmware.
You don't even need to do that. I download firmware updates from the LG website, throw it on a USB drive, and plug that into the TV. Actually important firmware updates are so rare that I'm fine with the extra effort required.
i dont have an LG, but I've only had to firmware update 1 TV in like.. the past 13 years, and that was because it had a horrible issue with the image vertically splitting in half and green corruption across the bottom. Which makes you think hardware failure, but it wasnt, the firmware update 100% fixed it for the rest of its life.
So unless you are facing a major, catastrophic issue like that, I'd say fuck updates.
Exactly. If it's displaying the line-in correctly, I don't see what a firmware update would bring to the table.
It's a display. Once it's achieved being able to act like that, then you should be done for as long as the hardware lasts.
For now. That can change at any time with an update.
you can say that about literally any TV brand, this doesn’t help.
Hell yeah. I was considering a C5, but saw people online saying ads are present on LG.
I use shield anyway, but I will probably just follow your advice and set default input to the shield
There are ads, but if you're willing to slog through the settings you can get rid of them. I just used a pihole LG blocklist. I really enjoy using the magic mouse on the screen and I'm finding it hard to give up.
No. Mine is totally connected. Use all the apps. I don't get ads on it.
Mine doesn't have ads. But like I said, I've never connected it to the Internet, so I don't know if it would start showing them if I did. I just use a Chromecast, my Switch, or an antenna.
I have one connected to the internet due to WAF, but I never signed into an LG account on it. As a result, the "home" page just shows something about signing in "for the full experience" rather than any ads.
Well what about a PC monitor? You can get u to like 43" and beyond. Obviously they are great for gaming as well.
The other very impractical mention - after TVs starting adding ads, cameras and microphones, I switched to a 2nd hand projector. Most have no smart features.
All you need is a white or off- white wall to protect on to. And the ability to block some light coming into the room.
Downsides:
- They can be bulky and noisy. Particularly the 4k ones
- might need separate speakers
- Not as low latency as a tv but models do come with VRR
- bulbs do get darker from prolonged use (and aren't always cheap to replace)
- you might need separate speakers
- and there are the trailing cables
- And you'll never get the inky blacks of oleds. But for picture size and immersion for the cost, they are basically unbeatable.
Some can project from a coffee table.
For tv series and YouTube like content, I use a laptop. Then for big movies, I use the projector and 5.1 sound system (mostly 2nd hand as well.)
projectors are just not a practical recommendation for most people. unless you take pretty drastic measures to set up your room like a proper theater, the picture quality will be drastically worse than an average TV.
I have one in my room. It gets pretty hot with it and my PS3 running, and I live in Minnesota and sleep in the basement
Yeah I'm still using the last of the good Panasonic VT50 models. It's still going strong with a great picture. We got it in 2009. It's early smart features were retired long ago.
These articles make me shudder what I might replace it with
LG OLEDs are still great. Mine is not connected to the internet and use an external media box (AppleTV). It can be set to turn on to the last used HDMI input instead of the Home Screen. I never see the LG OS.
There are still non-"smart" monitors (as opposed to tvs), get one while you can. I would but too poor. My world's full of 1080p trickle down :p
I bought mine a few years ago, never connected to the internet, never had a problem.
Now I'm definitely never connecting it.
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.
Well that's just a day one return then and an openbox discount for the next person
My new LG didn't require it, but the settings menu and 'home' screen nag about lack of connectivity.
"Why did you buy a smart TV if you didn't want the smart features" brother, it was the best tv in that price range and few true dumb ones exist in that range. IMO the smart features should be considered optional but I guess these companies don't agree
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.
Which cause I haven’t come across any that do that.
Wait for how long? HDMI devices need to handshake with the TV so there is always a delay unfortunately. It’s not just a good ol’ video signal anymore.
Sending pics of your moldy leftovers to your crush if you don't pay up
at least it isnt a samsung fridge.
They are cheap for a reason...
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.
Yeah. I think none of us really understands how valuable all our data really is.
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.
The TVs absolutely have automated content recognition. They use Unruly and nexxen.
https://nexxen.com/nexxen-vidaa/
I also stumbled across a diagram lately that showed how this data eventually flowed into displaying ads for medical products. The size of this platform behind the scenes would be huge.
From the article it appears to be some technical experiment in Spain they were too disorganised or lazy to remove from the ROM.
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'm feeling a lot less crazy having my strict rule on AV equipment:
It should work out the box without connecting to the internet, and it shouldn't be connected without a damned good reason.
To the point that I insisted on setting up the PS5 and playing a game on it before connecting, just to be sure.
One hint that it's still listening is if it runs through batteries too fast. If it lasts at least a year, you should be okay. I had to get a Chinese knock-off remote without a microphone for my last TV to stop it.
Yep. My LG is not configured for internet. I updated it once with a USB stick. There is no reason to connect tv or speaker to internet. A good antenna gets me critical stuff.
"Brand denies wrongdoing"
Of course. "Use is consent to the user agreement."
They could get you to swear eternal fealty to Lord Xenu, Alien God of the Universe in the user agreement that you consent to by connecting the TV to the internet.
No, this is different. They're not saying "we're allowed to," they're saying "we didn't do it":
In no circumstance did the test affect the standard functionality of the device nor did it limit access to its main features. The users could and can continue to normally use all HDMI inputs, external devices, consoles, subscription streaming apps, or standard broadcasts without any type of interruption or obligation to watch advertisements.
Which is totally believable. /s
I believe this is roughly the premise of the Humancentipad South Park episode.
Fuck that. heh.
I use a TV for my computer monitor and it's perfect. I do not use any of the TV features. And it pisses me off when something happens to lose my signal and it switches over into TV mode because it autoplays some free channel that spouts fascist nonsense. I have to poke around for the remote (which is always around but never close because I only need it every month or few months) so I can cut that shit off as soon as possible. heh
Any video I need to watch happens via my computer, thanks, where I'm in control.
i wish people were less tolerating about this shit. most likely users of those tvs will grumble a little at first and then just accept and eventually disparage anyone for speaking against it.
people should get way more angry about this publicly.
just think about how things used to be 50 or 100 years ago. Having a huge scandal could actually end someones career or put down a company. Now there is nothing shitty people and companies can't do because everyone is so apathetic they wouldnt care if they themselves are the victim.
and when you do call it out, other consumers make fun of you and tell you you're being annoying and to get with the times
see: LED headlights
Most people just dont care or notice. They go to work get money and then go to walmart snd buy whatever is cheapest. Theyre used to ads everywhere so they buy the ad infected tv and dont even notice anything wrong, ads are just a mundane fact of life.
I suspect part of the lack of outrage is the fact that you don't have to change your inputs much these days. If you only stream content from a gaming console with apps then you're never changing the channel or the inputs. and if you ARE changing the channel, they could easily seem like just regular TV ads.
I don't think the average 20 something or 30 something is channel surfing like they used to in the old days either way. If you're changing a channel you likely know what you want to watch and what channel it's on. So, each change of the channel is one or two ads every hour or so. because even with cable you have the cable based TV guide interface.
be more vocal about how shitty this kind of behavior is and show support to those who are vocal about it.
If small loud minority can have effect on things, loud majority has big effect. It could for example lead to having protections against this because politicans would start to feel like their position is threatened if they dont, and if enough people care then they actually might be.
Just showing that you care about anything will have an effect even if people dont show it, because others will see that you care and if even one of those people also gets inspired by it you have done well. This is why its important to attend rallies too imo, even if you think it doesnt change anything. This is also why authorities want to suppress even peaceful rallies.
What does it even cost to you to be vocal about something that is wrong? People do it all the time about stupid things too, so why not do it for things that might benefit you?
And i dont mean be vocal just about this particular tv brand pushing ads all the time. i think its obvious but i have noticed it apparently isnt often.
Who the hell downvoted you for this, lol?
We're all going to be buying computer monitors to watch TV soon.
The line between TV and PC Monitor is pretty thin. I've got my computer hooked up to my LG via HDMI and if there's a difference between that and my office monitors, I can't find it.
The difference is the LG TV has a computer already in it. Otherwise the panels are pretty similar.
But some types (and especially sizes) of panels are hard to find in "dumb" PC monitors and vice versa. You can (maybe) find a 42 inch TV, but I'm not aware of a 65 inch display without TV features, let alone any larger sizes.
Well, cool, then. It's a genuine struggle to find a 32 inch TV of any decent quality these days.
But by far the most popular TV size today is 65 inch, which as far as I know isn't available as a PC monitor at all, and even 32/40 inch PC monitors with a similar feature set can be as expensive or significantly more expensive than an equivalent-sized TV. That's probably partially due to the focus on speed and responsiveness and partially due to the whole... you know, monetizing your data and selling ads thing.
Storage management.
And projectors, many are still "dumb"
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!
Oh i don't support any streaming service, never have. But my plex server app on my smart tv is my go to. I've had an eye patch since Napster.
"Ads help pay for the smart part of the TV" /s
"the ads help us make more money above and beyond all the apps who've paid us to pre-load their shit on our product"
It's not shit, is customer oriented consumer experience. Or the other way around, not sur anymore.
I reminds me I should start writing my clickbait "(Millennials/GenZ/GenA or whatever) are killing TV manufactureres" article
I have never connected a TV to the Internet. I do have a smart TV but I just use it for my computer.
Whats the benefit of using a smart tv for your computer?
50" 4k couch gaming
Better than a 50" 4k dumb tv?
This is the way. Bonus with HDR, Dolby vision, Atmos.
Steam Deck looks and sounds awesome with this setup.
Thats why you dont get smart tvs.
Increasingly difficult to find a dumb one. If Walmart or Best Buy carries them, they don't make a show of it.
I find myself wondering just how complicated TVS could actually be before it's no longer possible to hijack the display signal that's fed to the display
Unlike with cars, TVS seem simple enough that a sufficiently motivated novice could modify a cheap TV to circumvent these bullshit features. If they ever started requiring internet connections to start or use these, i think enough people would be bothered by it that there would probably be a secondary market of modified hardware
As with most enshitifications, the question will ultimately be one of complacency of the average consumer.
Not trying to be a Sony Bravia shill but I have two Sony Bravia XBR (X950G and X900H) TVs. Neither of these has ever attempted to show me an advertisement. They aren't the newest versions nor the most expensive. I don't include YT ads since those are YT generated.
Sony pissed me off a few years back. Day one: wanna share data with us? No. Year later: data? No. Year 3. Your tv will no longer accept internet connections unless you agree to share your data. Ok, fuck. Year 4. 30% apps no longer work due to system requirements. You - bastards. I just used a firestick in it until it died on year 6. Which also sucks since it was $3000 in 2017.
Get 'em while that last:
“In a major industry shift announced in early 2026, Sony is entering a strategic partnership where TCL will take a 51% stake in its home entertainment division, including Bravia TVs, with a new joint venture expected to be fully operational by April 2027”
It’s the end of an era for the Sony Bravia.
From what I read earlier beyond the single line you quoted, this seems to be for the panels and not the processors/boards.
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.
Im still using an LG tv from 2007, and you could be too if you were my friend :^) I have jurassic park on bluray and i make pretty good popcorn
this is actually fucking terrifying
Pro tip, buy a "Commercial Didplay" not a SmartTV and be happy.
I just stopped using a tv, period..
Fucking Hell? Just allowed it to update an hourago and already had a bad feeling and now I am reading this?
All the TVs nowadays are pretty obnoxious with their bars staying up for a few seconds too long between turning them on and switching to the source. I suppose that might be the price we pay when we get a 75" for under $500. My samsung TV forced me to accept an update I didn't ask for and approve the changed "terms of service" as if I read that. I could have given them rights to my firstborn for all I know.
So far, I haven't seen any of this with my Hisense TV. I have a Pihole but I believe smart TV's, at least this brand, has a hard-coded dns so it can dial home without going through my default dns.
A hard coded DNS means nothing when it’s not connected to the internet
Or, the PiHole can spoof whatever hardcoded IP. Sooo... Things change with DNSSec, but chances are they are not bothering with that in embedded devices.
Anyway, learned something new today; note to self: fron now on, always make sure that a TV works off-line before buying.
So glad my TV is a dumb-as-shit model from the early 00s I bought secondhand for about $30
whats funny is people could not give away even lcds a few years ago. charities would not take them. my family knew I would though if they worked still.
My Hisense TV screen also broke in half by itself and they refused to honor the warranty.
"To use this vacuum cleaner you have to watch some ads."
I took the money I was going to spend on a TV and bought a 50 inch on facebook market place. Then, I got a last-gen gaming PC. Is it tedious? yes, but I can play video games and watch whatever I want without getting spied on so its a fucking win. *ads from changing the inputs and channels on your own device?" fuck you. I hope this tv lasts the next two decades.
Sceptre
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Relatedly, Hisense also forces updates and disables use of the TV if you do not accept the update (via a full screen non-cancelable prompt).
I learned this the hard way after Hisense broke my TV via an update that I didn't want and then refused to fix it even after 6 months of escalations and emails.
save