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.
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 also wonder what kind of price sensitivity we are looking at when it comes to a 1,500 tv.
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 have a Mac mini serving content to the (not dumb, but deaf, dumb and blind) TV.
Internet of "Things" indeed. John Carpenter, eat your heart out.
Imagine the FBI knocking on your door.
Brave new world.
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.
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.
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.