I imagine for many (most?) people, it's not that they want the "internet connected garbage"; it's that they want the big 4k TV and they're wiling to put up with the garbage that comes with it.
They also want streaming from their service of choice (thus "apps") and casting.
That's kind of it, though. Nobody asked for ads. Of course it makes the manufacturer money, but also severely degrades the UX. I wonder how much higher demand would need to get for them to offer a shit-free experience for a bit more money.
I imagine most people on HN would take the latter, but most people in the broader population aren't that bothered by ads, and most people would probably put up with ads rather than pay e.g. an extra $50 (especially if it's a side-to-side option, like an "ad-free upgrade").
The kindle is probably a good test case for this hypothesis. The base version has an option to show ads on the off screen for a nominally reduced purchase price. I wonder how many people choose ads.
I also wonder what kind of price sensitivity we are looking at when it comes to a 1,500 tv.
I thought that's what I wanted too, but then I got the big 4k TV and in the end the "smart" features are really convenient. You don't have to control a separate box to watch something. You don't have to cast from your phone. You don't have issues with an Apple TV show not casting to a Chromecast. You just click on it with the TV remote.
And if you think you'll put up with it just to avoid connecting the TV, your family members won't.
So I just blocked the ads via DNS. So far so good.
I heard rumor (that sounded believable enough to me) that the content-detection part of "smart TVs" (i.e. they sample pixels in each frame to figure out what show you're watching) is valuable enough that the software will try any unsecured wifi network in the area to phone home. On hearing that, I immediately password-protected my guest network that had previously been open (I live in the boonies),
Internet of "Things" indeed. John Carpenter, eat your heart out.
None of my TVs are connected to the Wifi... or at least that's how it used to be.
One of my TVs, a Samsung, will pop up a huge window complaining it doesn't have internet access, and it will keep it on screen until it gets internet access, which happens fairly quickly after my wife starts complaining. Ironically the thing it complains about is wanting to update it's antivirus, which is only needed because it is connected to the internet.
I will vote (and have) with my vallet next time, and that includes never buying Samsung again. I will also "try it out" in the shop before buying another brand.
Some TVs will actively try and connect to any open wifi they can see without your consent or intervention. And wait until 5G is cheap enough so that any device can embed an always on cellular connection.
This may work until 5g (or a successor) rolls around and becomes cheap enough for iot devices to just embed a cell, so as to provide "a seamless experience" and to jam ads down our throats come hell or high water.
At that point there won’t be a TV in our home. I simply won’t tolerate it on principle.
A bit of an aside but this T-Mobile thing too is really pissing me off. I’m fine with “if you don’t pay, you have to view ads”, but if I’m paying and still getting ads/tracking - not happy.
We need legislation and different technology options to capture this.
On the TV front - an enterprising young startup could make really nice looking TVs with guaranteed no ads and probably sell for at least double the price.
That’s what I do. Apple TV + Sony Bravia TV that has never been connected to the Internet, and external speakers. I was looking at others like Samsung but they came with this external piece for the TV (like a receiver type thing?) and I’m just like - I want this thing to just display video and output audio, not do all this other stuff.
