Anyone who allows their TV to connect to the internet deserves what they get.
If you went into a data center with a random device from amazon and asked to plug it in and see what happens an sysadmin would slap you silly.
At home folks are content to plug in whatever. Not only do you have no idea what it's doing but what it MIGHT do in the future.
https://www.theverge.com/23573362/anker-eufy-security-camera... ... Anker was a pretty respectable brand, their marketing department out right lied, about a device where privacy is critical.
Control your network, trust nothing you plug into it... It won't stop, so cut it off is the order of the day.
But it is not common wisdom, and saying everyone deserves it is unproductive and lacks empathy.
I deserved it when I started getting ads on Twitch after re-enabling updates for it for no particular reason, because I know better. My dad who wants to use Criterion on his smart TV but can't figure out how to use a smartphone camera? Different story.
If you have no problem with Roku et al. pushing updates to your TV, then by all means use integrated software.
A proper built-in box will let you bypass it.
Consequently, any additional revenue from selling customer data is incredibly attractive.
Especially if you can do so better/faster than your competitors, thereby competing at the same retail price points with better net margins.
As a result... they have every incentive to fuck their customers over from a privacy perspective.
And what they're doing is invisible.
And this is an entity people are comfortable trusting with unfettered access to their devices/network?
By 'bypass', I mean something that does not require the cooperation of the box.
I should have said the proper way of adding it will let you bypass the box, not phrase things as if the box is the gatekeeper.
Samsung: https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00062224/
Vizio: https://support.vizio.com/s/article/Firmware-Information-215...
TCL: https://support.tcl.com/rokutv-common-questions/01-how-to-ma...
I prefer to use an external box as opposed to the built-in apps, to have a more responsive interface, to keep the TV as clean as possible, and to have control over choosing to update the TV or not.
What brand is the one you’re talking about?
I wanted to make my "smart" tv "dumb" without losing smart tv functionality, so I bought a mini pc and installed Kubuntu on it. Normally I don't use KDE but it is a very highly customizable DE and so I customized the hell out of it to make the desktop look like a typical smart tv launcher page. I created launchers for streaming services and YouTube etc. and bought a USB remote control from Amazon.
Now I have a Linux machine that is entirely under my control, runs FOSS software and runs streaming services in a web browser instead of installing proprietary software on my TV. I also have way more features, like being able to use VLC to play local media so it supports pretty much every file format ever (and I have a lot of older video files from decades ago so that's nice).
My "smart" tv is no longer connected to any network but I can still do every smart tv thing that I want to and more.
So you get freedom, but a worse product. Which is a trade off not all would be willing to make.
As for Netflix quality, I've not noticed any quality issues at 1080p but I've not measured the stream to confirm if that's what they're actually streaming.
An unplugged network cable.
If you’re using the TV online, then yes, get updates, but if you never let it have network access then this isn’t a deep concern.
If I could have saved a little money by getting a 65" monitor, this advice would make a lot of sense. But that's just not an option these days. You're getting a built-in computer whether you want it or not.
As for plugging in drives, it looks like you can only do that with either microSD or USB. Either way, doing that for every item I want to watch is very inconvenient compared to just using Jellyfin, which lets me browse everything on my PC.
Your observation about every TV forcing built-in junk on you is legit; but I use a projector, which doesn't have any of that bullshit. Every source I have goes through my receiver, which is another reason to use a media player that's not your TV.
The whole thing is a sad commentary on the state of A/V and people's laziness today. They're buying giant TVs but settling for the shitty audio from its built-in speakers... or fooling themselves with a sound bar.
The projector thing is a no-go for many people. They cost a lot of money, the bulb inside has limited life and is very expensive (and makes a lot of heat too), but worst of all, they just aren't bright enough for many viewing environments. I would never be able to see it in my apartment, except late at night.
It’s still not going to work out in a good way over any significant timeframe.