The one weird thing that everyone seems to just accept is smart tvs with ads. I use my smart tv for many things, but disconnected from the internet and hooked into a little entertainment Linux machine that does all the processing. I can’t fathom taking the raw experience.
Bought a Samsung last year. Never connected it to a non existent Samsung account. Network connected to it has adguard. And the TV is only used for streaming apps (jellyfin, Netflix etc.) Never saw an ad.
The DRM on Netflix and other streaming sites makes the quality noticeably worse on other devices, even locked down ones like the PS5. On Firefox on Linux the quality is locked even lower, to like 720p.
The ads bother me, but my girlfriend says TVs have always had ads since they were originally created. She isn’t wrong. I see the distinction between the channel playing the ad and the device playing the ad, but I can kinda understand people not knowing or caring about that difference.
Truthfully, I can’t see the difference between 720 and 1080 across a room. I can tell the difference between 720 and 2160+, but nothing before that catches any details I couldn’t already see
That defeats the purpose of my setup, personally, as it invites more ads and targeting rather than less. Two routers going for data transfer was an option I considered, as I don’t know how to connect a smart tv to a router without allowing it to access the internet otherwise, but it’s not as wholistic.
Consumers are lazy and brain rotted, too much effort to build an htpc or do anything that protect yourselfs and your family’s data when the TV can just do it all for you, who cares that it’s a literal piece of spyware ad riddled garbage.
I guess I shouldn’t be blaming the consumer here, since it’s obviously the predatory capitalist company at fault. But still, I think most people are fucking dumb.
“…too much effort to build an htpc or do anything that protect yourselfs and your family’s data…”
So you change your own oil and do your own brakes, right? Cook all your meals, mow your lawn yourself, hand wash your dishes, and compost your food scraps?
No?
You’re just lazy and brain rotted; it’s too much effort for you to do those things.
(The point is the normal person has no idea and no interest in building a Home Theater PC (HTPC) nor in maintaining one, and I get that. Most people don’t brew their own beer, if it can/will come out superior to what’s in the store. Please just want to come home, sit down, and turn on something that works.
The only thing you got me on there is making all my own food, which I also try to do when I have time. Everything else, yes, I do myself.
Why would I pay somebody money to do a shittier job than I can do.
But yes, I realized my original comment was a little insensitive and rude because I’m just sort of an asshole. So sorry about that.
As another commenter pointed out, I do have a good amount of privilege that allows me to do this stuff, and I’m thankful for that and should work on being less of a jerk.
A HTPC requires a tech savvy person with a lot of free time. A Google TV box is better for most as they are as easy to use as the TVs own OS but don’t have the crapware.
Buy an Onn / Thomson box, set it to apps only mode, and there you are. They’re Google TV so Netflix is just as easy to use on it as on the TV itself, and as Google TV is Android based you can sideload whatever apps you want, copyright law compliant be damned.
I bought a micro PC and use that to stream Plex and other Internet media directly to my TV. I don’t connect the TV itself to the Internet and I don’t have cable or public access TV. I can block all ads with my micro PC and home network.
The one weird thing that everyone seems to just accept is smart tvs with ads. I use my smart tv for many things, but disconnected from the internet and hooked into a little entertainment Linux machine that does all the processing. I can’t fathom taking the raw experience.
Bought a Samsung last year. Never connected it to a non existent Samsung account. Network connected to it has adguard. And the TV is only used for streaming apps (jellyfin, Netflix etc.) Never saw an ad.
The DRM on Netflix and other streaming sites makes the quality noticeably worse on other devices, even locked down ones like the PS5. On Firefox on Linux the quality is locked even lower, to like 720p.
The ads bother me, but my girlfriend says TVs have always had ads since they were originally created. She isn’t wrong. I see the distinction between the channel playing the ad and the device playing the ad, but I can kinda understand people not knowing or caring about that difference.
Truthfully, I can’t see the difference between 720 and 1080 across a room. I can tell the difference between 720 and 2160+, but nothing before that catches any details I couldn’t already see
You can just cast from your phone anyway. Dunno why more people don’t do that…
That defeats the purpose of my setup, personally, as it invites more ads and targeting rather than less. Two routers going for data transfer was an option I considered, as I don’t know how to connect a smart tv to a router without allowing it to access the internet otherwise, but it’s not as wholistic.
You’ve got ads on your phone?
Consumers are lazy and brain rotted, too much effort to build an htpc or do anything that protect yourselfs and your family’s data when the TV can just do it all for you, who cares that it’s a literal piece of spyware ad riddled garbage.
I guess I shouldn’t be blaming the consumer here, since it’s obviously the predatory capitalist company at fault. But still, I think most people are fucking dumb.
So you change your own oil and do your own brakes, right? Cook all your meals, mow your lawn yourself, hand wash your dishes, and compost your food scraps?
No?
You’re just lazy and brain rotted; it’s too much effort for you to do those things.
(The point is the normal person has no idea and no interest in building a Home Theater PC (HTPC) nor in maintaining one, and I get that. Most people don’t brew their own beer, if it can/will come out superior to what’s in the store. Please just want to come home, sit down, and turn on something that works.
The only thing you got me on there is making all my own food, which I also try to do when I have time. Everything else, yes, I do myself.
Why would I pay somebody money to do a shittier job than I can do.
But yes, I realized my original comment was a little insensitive and rude because I’m just sort of an asshole. So sorry about that.
As another commenter pointed out, I do have a good amount of privilege that allows me to do this stuff, and I’m thankful for that and should work on being less of a jerk.
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I do, and I also realize I’m a dick, so sorry.
A HTPC requires a tech savvy person with a lot of free time. A Google TV box is better for most as they are as easy to use as the TVs own OS but don’t have the crapware.
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Getting my wife and kids on board and trained on this is a feat I’m just not talented to pull off.
Buy an Onn / Thomson box, set it to apps only mode, and there you are. They’re Google TV so Netflix is just as easy to use on it as on the TV itself, and as Google TV is Android based you can sideload whatever apps you want, copyright law compliant be damned.
I’m afraid that I have no solution for you, but can I ask how familiar they are with using a regular computer?
I bought a micro PC and use that to stream Plex and other Internet media directly to my TV. I don’t connect the TV itself to the Internet and I don’t have cable or public access TV. I can block all ads with my micro PC and home network.