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Comment by tiernano | Hacker News Reader

easy way to solve the problem: disconnect the TV From the internet... do you really need a smart TV? i got my samsung a few months back, and when setting it up, never connected it to the wifi or ethernet. I have an AppleTV, XBox One and NVidia Shield all plugged in and they are the smarts... The TV is JUST A SCREEN. It shouldnt be any more. It also means that 3 years down the road, Netflix changes something and your "Smart TV" looses access, your not "forced" to buy a new one... Apple change something and the AppleTV needs replacing? its $150 quid. Your TV is $1000+...

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I have a thousand times more confidence that the operating system on a Xbox one or PS4 will remain patched and updated over a multi year time span... Than I do that some weird Android or webOS variant on a TV from Samsung or LG or others will remain safe to connect to the internet.

People will say, "yes , but the Xbox or PS4 home screen also shows ads". In my opinion those ads are far less annoying than having an ad on the actual TV. If I want something totally ad free I also have my HTPC connected to the screen.

I don't see giving any TVs the wifi password or a direct Ethernet cable any time in the future.

I feel the same way, but there are problems with this method. Especially with the artificial limitations on 4K/HDR content. For example, my PS4 Pro cannot watch Disney Plus in 4K/HDR mode, but my built in TV app can.

Another example: 4K on Netflix on a PC - you can't do it (unless using Intel IGPU > kabylake and Edge on Win 10 only). Mac users need to use a Win VM. But my TV app works.

It sucks, it really really sucks.

I might be wrong but I'm fairly certain I've been watching 4k netflix just fine on a HTPC that consists of a ryzen 1500x, geforce 1030 fanless, latest version of Chrome, and windows 10 home. The geforce1030 drivers have the hooks in them for HDPC transport to my home theatre receiver. Chrome has the various DRM software modules in it that keeps Netflix happy. I can definitely tell the difference on a big 4K TV if I toggle the quality setting in the netflix in-browser GUI.

That's not what Netflix says.

https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23931

Netflix is available in Ultra HD on Windows computers and tablets. To stream in Ultra HD, you will need:

A Windows 10 computer or tablet with the latest Windows updates installed.

The Microsoft Edge browser or the Netflix app for Windows 10.

A 60Hz 4K capable display (with HDCP 2.2 connection if external display).

NOTE: Every monitor connected to your computer must meet these requirements to successfully stream in Ultra HD. Intel's 7th generation Core CPU (i3, i5, or i7 models in the 7xxx or 7Yxx series) or newer, or a NVIDIA GPU that meets these requirements.

A plan that supports streaming in Ultra HD. You can check which plan you're currently on at netflix.com/ChangePlan.

A steady internet connection speed of 25 megabits per second or higher.

Streaming quality set to Auto or High. More information about video quality settings can be found in our Playback Settings article.

My configuration meets all of those requirements except I'm using the mainline Chrome browser. Is it really specifically Edge? Because edge is just the chrome browser engine internally now. I certainly do have edge installed on the same PC (kinda hard to have an auto updating copy of win 10 home without it), so I'll have to compare side by side.

Chrome doesn't support PlayReady DRM, which Netflix needs, they support Widevine instead. Right now you need a hardware device (like Roku) or a MS browser. In fact, Chrome only supports 720p on Windows/Linux.

https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23742

https://medium.com/@rihardsgailums/adventures-of-netflix-win...

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/chromium-mic...

Are you sure that's up to date? Because I'm sitting here right now with a 75" 4k screen, the PC in question, Chrome, Netflix, and it's definitely not 720p. I would notice if I was watching Altered Carbon in 720p. I can also see that the PC is moving about 23.5 Mbps of traffic from my home router, which matches with one of netflix's 2160p HEVC bitrates.

What does it say when you press "Ctrl + Alt + Shift + D"?

Also gaming consoles have advantages for specs that's for gaming but also useful for smoothness UI.

The problem is I don't gaming on TV so I buy STB with crappy SoC.

That's what I thought, until I got a Samsung with integrated Netflix, youtube etc. No more hassle with separate boxes and multiple remotes etc, I can use the Samsung minimalist remote (which is both beautiful and really usable - the aluminium one) and jsut switch from one app to another to TV etc

There's even a feature where you can directly access a channel's "smart" features from that channel (so if I'm watching Arte I press the red button and get replay episodes etc)

And then they force ads down my throat :(

The channel smart features are powered by HbbTV (Arte+7, BBC Red Button, France.tv Salto, etc.), they should work on non-smart TVs that are connected to the Internet.

ah good to know! i didn't know there were intermediate tvs that had internet without being "smart"

So build a Pihole. Now you get the best of both worlds: Use the Samsung integrated features but no ads.

I've read that you can get a non-smart and more reliable TV if you call it "digital signage".

At four times the price.

This is what i did years ago when i got my samsung smart TV to use as a monitor. Still havent agreed to the EULA. Unfortunately the firmware it came with is total shit. Sometimes there are straight up errors in whats being displayed, or it wont lock to signals, and the tv has to be restarted. There is of course no way to fix any of this without permanently enabling ads, telemetry, and audio spying as far as i know, assuming they ever fixed the firmware. Ill never buy another samsung product, i dont care how cost effective it appears in the moment. It's hard to put a price on the peace of mind of using devices that aren't actively hostile to me. You also have to be vigilant about other people boneheadedly picking up your remote and consenting to the agreements so they can use the hobbled internal processor to watch netflix with ads. When guests are using the TV there basically has to be a mini PSA about only using the attached computer and how insidious samsung is. Really great word of mouth advertising for them...

Yes, I think I absolutely do need a smart TV. The ability to just switch on netflix or even a DLNA client directly on my TV without having to switch on another device is worth the little bit of bullshit that comes with it. I've had the same "smart" Bravia TV for 7 years now, and it still works absolutely fine, the Netflix client runs just the same, the DLNA streaming works the same.....the biggest disappointment was when PlaystationNow support was discontinued, I could no longer play games using just the TV and a bluetooth controller.

Hmm. We use an Amazon Fire Stick connected to a projector.

The projector is dumb. It has its own remote, but we don't need to use it; the recent Fire Stick remotes understand how to control the volume and how to turn it off, and that's all you need.

HDMI-CEC means the Fire Stick turns on the projector when you click on it, so you don't need to turn on multiple devices.

How does one use a DLNA client on a Samsung tv?

I can only find a list of useless apps (other than Netflix, YouTube)

I have a smart TV. I connected it to WiFi for setup and update and then I "forgot" the network. Two weeks later my wife is watching Netflix and I notice it's the TV not my Roku or Apple TV. She swears she didn't configure it.

I didn't mention the brand because I haven't gone back in to double check what's happening here.

Here un mexico some providers tie your accounts to your IP (phone/internet provider has a Netflix like service) so one you login / auth from one device, it will read your ip and save it for other devices.

I have my LG TVs hooked up so I can power on/off them via ethernet (with SimpleControl).

Besides that their access to the internet is blocked on my firewall.

I don't want nor need "smart" features and I would have paid more for the same panel with fewer features.

Except that I paid not just for the screen, but also for the additional advertised "smart" features.

But it's factored into the price. TV prices fell a lot during the last two years or so. They earn from the ads, they sell your usage stats. You get a subsidized TV. Don't connect it to the net.

Spit-balling; when will they put GSM chips in them? The cost of a data-plan could easily be reached with estimated figures for ads and selling usage data.

GSM is old-hat. The new cool is 5G chips embedded in TVs, and they are coming. And you won't be able to opt out unless you build a Faraday cage around the TV.

https://www.t-mobile.com/tvision/tvision-5g

It’s ok, you are allowed to admit you made a mistake.

What was the mistake? There are no options here anymore. You want an OLED? You're getting a smart OLED.

Just dont connect it to the internet. If it doesnt work, return it.

Well, there is this OLED option. Bring money.

https://www.lg.com/us/business/oled-displays/lg-55EW5F-A

Smart TVs are cheaper, not more expensive. You didn’t pay for those features—you saved money by having them foisted on you.

Even if true, maybe I liked those features (not advertising) and wanted to have them?

Then the advertising and the spying/telemetry are part of the bargain that you struck.

According to the GDPR, they cannot be.

> NVidia Shield

Have you seen all the ads on an Nvidia Shield? So now I have to also install LineageOS?

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