alt Hacker NewsEvery time this discussion comes up folks point out that you can dumb displays marketed for business use. But they typically cost way more.
Conventional advice is to buy a smart TV and never connect it to the internet. Just plug in [device of your choice] to HDMI.
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Problem is that they have wifi chips that will scan and connect to cell phones. The TV manufacturers have agreements with the cell providers for open wifi services on all their phones so you can't block it unless you live in the middle of nowhere and even that may change with LEO satellite service.
I opened up my LG TV because I saw it doing aggressive wifi scanning even when the wifi was "disabled" and physically removed the antenna wire and wrapped the whole guts in RF blocking foil.
Yes, a common response is not to connect to WiFi, but I'm not 100% persuaded that it's a good answer. I don't connect my Kindle or some medical equipment to WiFi, but somehow they both (possibly Over The Air tech) are shared with the companies. Also, Amazon Sidewalk shares my bandwidth with others nearby against my stated wishes.
"Your device of choice" is not a solution. Your device of choice is still "spying on you" per the definitions provided here.
They have microphones and listen to conversations while transcribing the words to listen for "wake words". THey are in fact always awake, and transcribing the words they hear.
They all send telemetry and usage data and they all scan for devices in your home and SSIDs.
The only difference is that you think you can trust these devices vs the TVs which use ACR.
I dont see much of a difference here.
Then, someone's going to say that TVs could be automatically connecting to open Wi-Fi networks. I don't think that's a thing any more. I haven't seen any open Wi-Fi networks around me in a long time.
I'd love for a TV to include a 4G/5G connection that they pay for; it'll be hacked for free Internet before the first production run leaves the store shelves.
> But they typically cost way more.
Yes, because the price is not subsidized from the selling of personal information.
> “The business model is shifting away from making money on TV sets and instead to making money on ads and data that is delivered by those TV sets,” said Paul Gray, Omdia’s Research Director, Consumer Electronics and Devices, at last week’s HbbTV Symposium in London.
* https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2024/11/18/tv-companies-sell...