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Comment by dgellow | Hacker News Reader

It’s a whole computer that runs YouTube, Netflix, Amazon video, etc

I've never used a TV that way, that's the job of whatever is connected to the TV. But if you do use your TV like that, didn't those things work when you got it? Why do you need software updates?

I think you're being deliberately obtuse. You would update software on a TV for all the same reasons you update software on any other device: improved performance, better compatibly, new features, etc

No. My computer is a tool I actively use. The TV is an almost entirely passive consumption device. Was performance not good enough when it was new? If it wasn't, will the new software versions truly buck the trend we've seen in software for the past few decades and improve performance? What new features are necessary? Video playback has been a solved problem for the past few decades.

With streaming apps unfortunately you can run in compatibility issues if you do not update. So for people using the TV for streaming, it does make sense to at least update that part of the software.

And if a streaming app stops working due to a compatibility issue, I might consider updating if it's a streaming app I use a lot. If I can update the app independent of the OS, great; if not, it might mean an OS update.

All of the software on a tv is a client to some service, and the service changes constantly, and so must also the client whether anyone likes it or not, and you already knew all of this perfectly well.

The author of the comment further up this thread seemed to suggest they use their television as a traditional television rather than as a host for several streaming service clients.

I think it’s quite reasonable with this framing to question frequent update cycles.

It’s likely you understand this well and have decided to argue something else for reasons unknown.

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