Televisions that can stream platforms like Hulu or Max usually come loaded with technology that collects information on what viewers are watching, and buyers consent to have their viewing tracked when they open their new TV and click through terms of service agreements. Sometimes, data firms can connect those viewing habits to a voter’s phone or laptop via their IP address, promising a trove of information about an individual and the ability to track them across screens.
Other times, firms focus on dividing households into groups based on what they’re watching, how they use their TVs and how many campaign ads they’re seeing, which is a boon to political campaigns eager to target specific groups of voters. Connecting this data to voter files is increasingly a focus — a move that adds individual voting habits into the mix.
I wish there were more high quality dumb TVs. Most of the dumb TVs I can find today are both very expensive and lack the features I’m looking for like HDR and 120hz+ frame rates.
I know the argument is that the privacy invasions are subsidizing the cost of the TV but I have yet to see non-anecdotal evidence of that and suspect that the price of the TV would be the same either way because the market will only support so much expense.
Just don’t let it connect to internet.
There are no good dumb teevees for home use
It will work at a premium cost, and only until they start selling them with LTE chips buried away in the motherboard.
Punish me harder daddy… No doubt on LTE chip tho haha
LTE? That costs money. But do you remember that 5G has a low range, kind-of P2P variant?
That is the solution. Connect your box to the internet, never the TV.
It’s becoming harder to find TVs that will operate without a network connection
Even if you just passing your device to it?
Yeah, I’ve seen it on some Samsungs and LGs that get real pissy when the TV itself isn’t online. I’ve also heard of some brands (that I don’t remember atm) that won’t even let you go through the initial setup without a connection.
I use computer monitors for TVs. Mostly because they’re smaller and I don’t have that much space for stuff. Most have all those features but don’t have a smart interface. I plug them in over HDMI and make sure CEC is enabled so I can turn it on and off with a dumb remote the RasPi. Works pretty well actually.