Up until now I’ve only seen suggestions for content offered by the various streaming services. Today I started getting ads for a Hyundai car!

I tried to log a support call with Sony but they said they couldn’t do anything without a photo of the offending ad. I now have a photo so will try again tomorrow. I know a single support call won’t do anything (though I intend to be very persistent), but if enough people log formal complaints maybe Sony will “talk to” Google.

I know this is deep first world problems territory, but I feel really betrayed having a device I paid $2,300 for being used to shove ads in my face.

113 points

Rule one of a smart TV is to never connect it to the internet.

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26 points

Rule zero of a smart TV is to not buy a smart TV.

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28 points
*

Except quite often they’re cheaper because the manufacturer expects to recoup some of their costs by selling your data and showing you ads. So it’s often more economical to just buy one and never use the “smart” features.

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14 points

I wish there were more options.

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12 points

You’re not wrong. Samsung has some “digital signage” devices that are just non-smart TVs.

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11 points

Non-smart TVs don’t really exist anymore if you want a good panel. The Sony ones are pretty solid but Google TV and Android TV have just been undergoing enshittification.

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10 points

Easier said than done these days. Last time I tried to find a “dumb” TV (3-ish years ago) anything above 30" was going for 4x the price of a similar-sized Smart TV.

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16 points

Rule one of a smart tv for me is to never get one.

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5 points

It’s a real struggle. I couldn’t find a TV over ~32" when I was looking to get one. Want to say they were asking WAY over the price of a smart TV. That was like 2 years ago, so I forget the details, but I expect things have gotten worse since.

So got a 52" smart TV and just haven’t ever plugged it in to the interwebs ¯_(ツ)_/¯

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2 points

I miss my 50’’ dumb TV. I had to leave it behind when I moved cross-country.

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2 points

I just got a 43" 4k monitor and hooked it up to my media pc.

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16 points

Or setup a pihole or similar DNS blocker. My Samsung SmartTv would love to show me ads, if I let it.

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13 points

Just hope you’ve also blocked all the other manufacturer telemetry

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4 points

Fur sure. Gravity Lists from those smarter than I and also spending time looking at DNS requests per IP to further isolate.

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1 point

This is the way.

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-5 points

While I agree, you open up problems, the apps often work better than a separate device when it is new.

I have a PS5 connected to my LG TV. Some local channels are missing as Sony requires payment to be listed. Some apps have lower fidelity audio or video.

Saying not to use it and spend more money for other products is worse consumerism, fdrom my perspectives than ads, that I will take steps to.agoid.

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7 points

I’ve used multiple TVs in the last few years and I’ve never seen one where the native apps are better than an Apple TV or Google Chromecast. They are almost universally horrendous.

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1 point

Apple TV is good, but pricey for a feature that’s already built in. Chrome cast works most of the time but they sometimes glitch or don’t connect to the phone controller. Ps5 is missing apps and doesn’t deal with 5.1 audio well, although they are improving it over time.

Lg is the only one where I’ve been happier with the apps than using a seperate device. I imagin Sonys newer tvs are similar as they are android based, but I’d worry about ads.

I have never had ads on my Lgtv, it this post is concerning.

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1 point

This TV is (was?) actually pretty good. I have an nVidia shield that I used with my previous TV and it’s sitting in a drawer - I haven’t felt the need for it with this one.

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52 points

Factory reset -> pick an EU country during setup -> fixed

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35 points

You can also install a different launcher then disable the default “leanback” launcher. Be sure to install the alternate launcher FIRST!!!1! You’ll need to google how to do it, but there are lots of articles and videos that explain it.

I’m using an NVIDIA Shield Pro with flauncher and it’s completely ad-free.

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12 points

Yep - I’m aware of the options. That doesn’t stop me being angry about my device being abused like this.

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8 points

I didn’t know this! Thanks.

Are there any as glossy as the default? I had a look at F Launcher and Wolf screenshots but they didn’t wow me that much

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2 points

Projectivy Launcher, FTW.

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1 point

Thanks for the suggestion. I searched for Launchers on my Android TV and the search results are bad. It will always show Disney+ and what not in the results, instead of showing me actual launchers. Using Flauncher now, but that looks really nice.

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1 point

There are some much nicer ones, but they all require sideloading and some require extra apps to supply widgets. Flauncher is definitely fugly but I appreciate its minimalism.

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19 points

Hyundai is vehicle of choice for orcs now?

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19 points

This is literally the reason I set up a PiHole.

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11 points

Not sure a pihole would stop this. I have one running, didn’t do much for tv ads.

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5 points

I’ve block androidtvwatsonfe-pa.googleapis.com and I have no more sponsored content.

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3 points

Hmm ok maybe it’s time I take another look and research! Thanks

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2 points

I have one running and just blocked the entire roku domain. No ads, no calling home. Works really nicely.

Roku, however, has decided this means war and breaks my apps roughly once a month (all TVs started doing it on the same day, because I reset them all on the same day most recently, before that they staggered so it’s not a legit app update, they just want me to connect so they can harvest my stored data) so I’ve stopped using the apps and started using old computers. Fuck roku. The interface is nice (when it doesn’t have ads) but the remotes are shit and they are an ad company.

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1 point

Hmm. I guess it depends on your Blocklist and the TV type. For my Samsung, it worked perfectly.

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